Posts Tagged ‘Safety’

Someone’s car is totaled once every 5 seconds in the US. Avoiding accidents can save you a lot of time and money. If you want to stay safe on the road, the message is clear–stay sober and pay attention. There are a number of actions you can take, to increase your chances of making it through your daily commute accident-free.

1. Keep your car in good condition:

Keep the tires properly inflated, the brakes adjusted, and the windshields and windows clean. Replace windshield wiper blades when they begin to streak, and all make sure all the lights are working properly.

2. Use your signals properly:

Always use your signal, even if you think no one is there. When changing lanes on the freeway, don’t signal as an afterthought or during the lane change. Signal at least a couple of seconds in advance so others know what you’re going to do before you do it.

3. Position all Mirrors for Good Vision:

Every time you get in the car, you should check the positioning of your mirrors. While driving, Periodically shift your eyes to the side-view mirrors, the rear-view mirror, and ahead to where you’ll be in 10-15 seconds. Doing this, you can spot a potentially dangerous situation before it happens.

4. Judge a Car by its Cover:

If it looks like it is never been cared for, you can bet it cares not for you. More important then rust or fading paint, look for a fair amount of dings, dents and hanging parts. This driver, in general, has a perchance for accidents or at times may not even realize they have caused one.

5. Know Your Blind Spots:

Every car has at least one. It is just a fallacy in design. One usually finds their cars blind spots just when you need them to not be there, like when you are changing lanes or backing up. It only takes one long loud horn blowing at you to find your cars blind spot. From there on your blind spot should be forever etched in your brain.

6. Avoid the Left (Fast) Lane:

Most highway accidents happen in the fast lane. Everyone has encountered the car in the left lane that drives just at the speed limit or below and will not move from that left lane for anyone. Don’t be that driver!

7. Never Tailgate:

No matter how slowly traffic is moving, follow the 3-second rule for distance between you and the car ahead. Any less and you won’t be able to stop in time if the driver ahead slams on the brakes.

8. Let others pass you:

Defensive driving means letting others go ahead-not defending your position in traffic. Avoid the urge to have a vigilante, “you’ll see how it is to be cut off now” attitude. Accept the fact that someone is always going to think they’re in more of a hurry than you. The road is not a place for driving competition.

9. Other Drivers:

Pay attention to other vehicles actions, in so doing you can anticipate a hazardous driver and avoid them.

10. Looking both ways:

Before executing a turn, it is important to check both your left and right side for oncoming vehicles Then do it again, in case you missed something the first time. When turning, remember to look right once more to catch any pedestrians that may have appeared suddenly.

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Today’s automobile incorporates air bags crumple zones and automatic seatbelts. These products are all intended to protect the driver and passengers in the event of an accident. The next innovations coming up the pike are intended to help you avoid an accident all together.

Collision-avoidance systems would benefit all drivers and, hopefully, reduce the

annual number of U.S. traffic deaths, which is currently over 40,000. These intricate systems have been used in aircraft for years. However adapting such a large application to a vehicle will be a chore as there is a far greater variability of a multitude of different drivers and conditions then are encountered in the air.

Two current technologies undergoing federal guidelines by the Department of Transportation are:

The Carnegie Mellon University study using an experimental station wagon outfitted with a video camera. The camera is pointed straight ahead at the roadway. The camera records the view and downloads the data to a computer, which determines the car’s position. The driver will then be alerted if it looks as though the car is headed off the road or into an obstacle.

The Calspan project uses vehicle-mounted radar that “looks” both sideways and in front of the car—scanning for any other vehicles that are moving fast enough to pose a threat. Steering sensors and accelerometers feed data into the computer to give it a hint of what the driver is intending to do, and the computer examines the logic of the system.

Collision avoidance starts with a system called adaptive cruise control. This is like regular cruise control, but with the addition of radar sensors that can “see” the traffic ahead of you and slow your car to maintain a safe following distance. If you are a notorious tailgater, this system over-rides your own bad driving habit.

Collision avoidance systems can also sound alarms or flash warnings on the windshield if the sensors determine that your car is getting to close to another car too fast. The system will then apply brake pressure perhaps sooner than you would. If the computers and sensors determine that a crash is unavoidable, they also work to tighten up seat belts, adjust headrests, or close the power windows and sunroof to make the car safer in the collision.

Collision avoidance also includes other related technology, like lane departure warning and blind spot monitoring systems. This technology works by using a camera to “see” the road and alert the driver if the car begins to drift out of a lane, or if another car approaches from the side.

The simple is these systems make your car safer. Avoiding accidents isn’t just good for your health it saves time and money that would be spent dealing with the aftermath of a collision, too.