Tips for Safe Driving Through New Year’s Celebrations
December 19, 2019What Does It Mean to Be ‘Car Care Aware?’
January 12, 2020
When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, consider adopting the following driving changes in the new year for better driving.
Reduce Aggressive Driving or Road Rage
Road rage and aggressive driving are extremely common in America. In a recent study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety they discovered that “nearly 80 percent of drivers expressed significant anger, aggression or road rage behind the wheel at least once in the previous year.”
Understanding the difference between aggressive driving and road rage can help you detect dangers around you and make sure that your behaviors are not threatening or misinterpreted on the road.
According to the AAA the following behaviors are labeled as aggressive:
- Speeding in heavy traffic
- Tailgating
- Cutting in front of another driver and then slowing down
- Running red lights
- Weaving in and out of traffic
- Changing lanes without signaling
- Blocking cars attempting to pass or change lanes
- Using headlights or brakes to “punish” other drivers
Sometimes, aggressive driving can build into an anger termed “road rage.” The AAA describes road rage behaviors as:
- Cursing and rude or obscene gestures
- Throwing objects
- Ramming
- Sideswiping
- Forcing a driver off the road
Manage your behavior and your responses to better handle road rage and aggressive driving. AAA offers these tips.
Wear a Seatbelt
Some 40,000 people die each year in car crashes, the leading cause of death for people age 3 through 34, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). If you don’t wear a seatbelt every time you are in the car, what is your reason?
Most don’t wear a seatbelt because they just don’t think an accident will happen to them. They think they are a great driver, or they aren’t driving very far.
Others imagine that an airbag would save them if anything serious happened (An air bag increases the effectiveness of a seat belt by 40 percent. But airbags were never meant to be used in place of seat belts, says the NHTSA.)
Some just don’t think seat belts are comfortable so they would rather roll the dice with their fate–don’t. Don’t take a chance with your life, or the lives of others that are in your car. Make sure everyone is buckled up. Accidents aren’t expected events. Avoid disaster by obeying seat belt laws and being a responsible driver (or passenger).
Enable a Phone App While Driving
In this day and age, pretty much everyone has a phone. The temptation to answer the phone or text while driving is a common one. Luckily, there is tech out there to help adults and kids stay safe.
“CellControl is a unique program that is designed to disable only the driver’s phone, leaving other passengers free to use their phones normally. CellControl prevents behaviors that have been defined ahead of time: texting, taking selfies, using social media accounts, and playing games, among others. It can also be set to simply monitor usage to determine whether or not a teenage driver is using their phone responsibly,” says UKnowKids.com.
Never Drive While Under the Influence
If you think that driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is okay, think again!! It is difficult to gauge how much alcohol puts you above the legal limit. Medication, weight, gender, body type, and food intake can all impact your ability to pass a blood alcohol test. So don’t try and guess how many drinks you can have and legally drive–the best and safest answer is zero.
“In the United States, almost 30 people die every day in crashes that involve a driver impaired by alcohol. That’s at least one death an hour,” says Pyscom.net. “Over a million drivers are arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs”
In conjunction with your goals for safer and better driving this year, call Scott’s Fort Collins Auto today at (970) 682-4202, to make sure your car is safe and ready to hit the road.
