Car accident prevention tips
This
year there has been over 33 million automobile accidents, and the year isn’t even over yet. The more important
figure is the number of people who are annually killed in these accidents.
Have any idea? Close to 50,000 people have died in these accidents; another
5.4 million people received injuries. The chances of being involved in an automobile
accident, at least once in your life, is highly realistic; however, there area
few things that you can do to make it less likely.
- Be alert for dangerous situations
- Adapt to road conditions
- Use your breaks effectively
Some of the safety tips below will help you to become alert to potentially dangerous situations. They will also tell you how to improve the probability of you being able to walk away from the crash, and what to do if you are involved in one. Make sure that you have a safety/medical kit aboard your vehicle in case of an emergency.
Being alert to dangerous conditions
Spotting a dangerous situation is not rocket science. Here is some useful advice:
- Be expectant. If you are expecting something to happen you are at a far greater state of alertness. Keep your eyes on the road ahead of you and be prepared to take evasive action at any time. At city driving speeds, scan about a block ahead of you. For highway speeds, scan about 400-500 meters in front of you.
-
Don’t tailgate. Stay far enough away from the vehicle in front of you so that if they suddenly stop
you’ll have time to react and stop as well. Most experts advise using the below as a guide to judge your following distance:
Observe the car in front of you pass a stationary reference point such as a tree or shadow on the highway.
Count "one-thousand-one, one-thousand-and-two." If your vehicle passes the same spot before you finish counting then you’re following too closely. Slow down and give yourself some more reaction room. - Avoid tailgaters. If someone is following you too closely, slow down and allow them to pass you. Try not to irritate them by slamming on your breaks or consistently speeding-up. The tailgating personality is a very aggressive personality and they will pass you no matter how fast you speed-up.
- Looking for distracted drivers. Keep and eye out for drivers talking on their mobile phones, putting CD’s into their player, petting their dogs or looking from side to side as if they are lost of looking for an address. These drivers often make sudden movements that lead to an accident.
- Pass parked cars with caution. Never assume that a parked car on the side of the roadway is vacant. Always use caution when you are passing them and give them some extra space. You never know if a car door is going to fly open or maybe the car will decided to merge back into traffic just as you are passing them.
- Crazy drivers. If you see a car on the road being driven erratically try to keep your distance from them. You don’t know if the driver is drunk, if the car is malfunctioning, or a number of other potential dangerous variables.
Paying attention to road conditions
Certain road conditions make it tough to drive. When the roads have ice or snow on them things get even more difficult. To reduce your chances of being involved in an accident in adverse conditions, keep your traveling speed to a minimum and always give extra space to cars on the road. In addition, reduce your speed during the first 10 minutes of a downpour. During this time the rain causes the oil on the road to surface and creates a potentially slippery surface. Keep your windshield clear being using good cleaner and good quality wiper-blades.
Breaking
Instinct makes us want to slam on the breaks during a dangerous situation. You will greatly benefit if you train yourself to pump the breaks or to "squeeze" them rather then slamming them on. Your instinct can be modified with some training and a conscience awareness to avoid doing it. Slamming on breaks causing wheels to lock up and you lose all control of your vehicle. ABS is reducing this threat and allows some controllability, but add ice into the equation and the above advice becomes more compelling.
Tips on what you can do to increase your chances of surviving an accident.
Whenever we get into our car, there is always a split second moment that we pray to ourselves that everything will be alright, that we won’t have an accident. Sometimes accidents happen and doing a few things before may help you to live through one.
Use your seatbelt. Most States have seatbelt laws, but the number of drivers that still do not use their seatbelts is shocking. Make sure that you always use your seatbelt as well as any passengers in your car. Remember, as the driver you are responsible for their actions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that lap and shoulder belts can reduce the likelihood of fatality by 40 to 50%. Seatbelts save lives because:
It allows you and your car to decelerate at the same speed. You become a union with your vehicle rather than an independent object. This also reduces your chances of being propelled forward as the car stops. Think of it this way, put a stone in a bottle and move it and shake it around. The bottle represents the car and you’re the stone. You can hear the stone hitting all the sides of the bottle? Now, put some glue on the pebble and allow it to dry. Hear the difference? The bottle represents the car and you’re the stone. Next time you get into your car think of the stone and the bottle.
An air bag can save your life.
If you have the opportunity, buy a car with an airbag. They really do save lives. The NHTSA reports that an airbag can reduce the chances of crash being fatal by 20 to 40% and when combined with using seatbelts this number climbs to 45% survivability. This is a huge percent when talking about the difference of life and death.
- Lock your doors. Locking your doors prevents them from flying open upon an impact. An open door increases your chances of ejection and ejection is a bad thing. Getting ejected from your car is the last thing that you want to happen.
- Remove unnecessary objects. Everything in your car is a potential weapon upon impact. Do you really want that ceramic coffee mug you have on your dash flying at your face at 70mph? Clear your dash and your vehicle of everything you don’t want to get hit with. Leaving the jacket in the car is ok, that’s not going to hurt much. But everything else should go in the trunk.
- Use your headrests properly. Headrests are a little bit of a deceptive name. They are not just there to rest your head on during long hours of driving. Maybe they should be called necksavers because that is what they do. They prevent your neck from suffering from whiplash. Position them correctly and centered on your head.
"Learn as if you were going to live forever. Live as if you were going to die tomorrow." - Mahatma Gandhi