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The holidays will be here before we know it, and for many, that means making a road trip to spend time with family. But before you hit the road, there are some helpful seasonal driving tips you’ll want to review. This way, you can enjoy a safe and stress-free trip—wherever you may be traveling.

Give Your Car a Once-Over

In the few days before your trip, take the time to inspect your car and make sure it’s ready for the road. Make sure that you’re not overdue for an oil change and that your fluids get topped off. You’ll also want to check your tires for excessive wear. If your tires are almost bald, you’ll want to have them replaced before your trip. It’s not worth taking the chance to drive on bald tires.

Also, don’t forget to have your car’s battery tested before you leave. Most auto shops will conduct a free battery test for you with no need for an appointment.

Check the Weather Forecast

Plan based on the weather forecast for the days of your trip. If there is a chance of a snowstorm when you’re supposed to leave, it may be worth leaving a day early or late. That way you can avoid the storm. You don’t want to be stuck driving in dangerous conditions so you can make it to your family function in time. If you don’t plan around the weather you could miss the holiday gathering altogether.

Pack Energizing, Healthy Snacks

If you’ve got a long drive ahead of you, make sure you pack some healthy and energizing snacks. Snacks will help keep you alert and focused while on the road. Don’t rely on energy drinks, sodas, and sugary snacks to keep you awake on the road.

Energy-packed foods you can bring include nuts, protein bars, and caffeinated tea or coffee.

Make Time for Breaks and Stops

You’ll also want to make sure you give yourself plenty of time to stop and take breaks as needed. This is especially important if you’ve got a long drive ahead of you. Every few hours, make sure you allow yourself and your passengers to stretch and use the restroom. You don’t want to finally arrive at your loved one’s house, only to feel exhausted and worn out. As a general rule, you’ll want to stop for a break every 100 miles or every two hours.

Exercise Defensive Driving Skills

The holiday travel season brings increased traffic. You’ll want to take this time to refresh your defensive driving skills. In other words, do your best to protect yourself on the road and foresee potential hazards. In practice, this means never assuming that other drivers will make the right decisions. Check your mirrors many times before merging or changing lanes. Do your best to avoid getting flustered by aggressive drivers. And, keep a fair distance from other drivers, especially in bad road conditions.

These are just a few driving tips to keep in mind as you prepare for your holiday travels. By following these guidelines, you’ll have a safer and more enjoyable trip.

Although winter hasn’t yet officially arrived, in some areas of the country, winter weather has already begun and will continue into spring. Of all the seasons, it’s winter that can cause the most damage for cars. That’s why it’s extremely crucial to get vehicles prepared in advance before the harshest winter weather hits. Here are seven basic tips for preparing vehicles for winter conditions.

Check Tires

Once a month, check your tire pressure. Remember that tire pressure should be between 30 and 35 PSI (Pounds per Square Inch). The right tire pressure is particularly important in winter because tire pressure can quickly drop from exposure to colder air. Consider that for every 10-degree reduction in temperature, tires lose one PSI of air. When tires aren’t properly inflated, gas mileage can be affected as well as tire wear.

If you live in an area prone to extremely harsh weather, you’ll need a good set of snow tires that have more tread and can withstand extreme temperatures. Check tire tread by doing the “Lincoln test”. This is done by inserting a penny into the tread of a tire. Have the top of Lincoln’s head point upward toward the tire. If the entire head is visible, it’s time to replace the tire before harsh weather arrives.

Get Your Car’s Battery Tested

One of the main preparations in getting a vehicle ready for winter is to have the battery tested because inclement weather can significantly decrease battery capacity. Furthermore, keeping your car parked in a garage, rather than in freezing weather, also helps in preserving the battery.

Be Sure Brake Lights and Headlights Are Working

Your brake lights and headlights should always be in good working order, but they must be functioning well when driving through heavy snow or dense winter fog. What’s more, you need to be sure other drivers on the road can see you.

Regularly Replace Worn Windshield Blades

If live in a harsh climate, you’ll need winter or rubber-clad blades to manage ice accumulation. You’ll all need plenty of windshield washer solvent for winter weather, in addition to an ice scraper.

Check Your Cooling System Regularly

Flush and refill your car’s cooling system, as recommended. Moreover, check the level as well as the concentration and condition of the coolant. The usual recommendation is a 50/50 mixture of water and antifreeze. Also, be sure the engine has been completely cooled before removing the radiator cap.

Add a Coat of Wax to Your Car

Before snow begins to fall, apply a fresh coat of wax to your vehicle as this helps protect it from damage caused by dirt and salt on roads. Although road salt is used for treating icy roads, it can do severe damage to cars because salt is corrosive.

Carry Glycerine for De-icing Frozen Door Locks

Sometimes freezing weather can cause door locks to freeze. Forcing a door lock to open by using a car key can result in breaking the key. That’s why it’s a good idea to carry glycerine, which is used for de-icing. You can usually find this product in auto parts stores, hardware stores, and even discount stores.

Other Considerations and Warnings

Always have jumper cables in your car just in case your vehicle breaks down.
Don’t use plastic headlight covers as they can reduce brightness.
Check your car’s heater system to ensure it’s working properly. Be sure the blower is functioning, the core isn’t leaking and the window defroster works.
Keep an emergency kit in your car that includes items, such as boots, extra gloves, blankets, kitty litter, a shovel, batteries, snacks, an additional car charger, and other essentials.
Replace all dirty filters, including fuel, air, PCV, and others.
Make sure your wheels are correctly aligned. Realize that wheels that are poorly aligned can make an engine work harder, which results in using too much gasoline.
Maintain vehicle fluids.
The next time you have your oil changed, use winter-grade oil.

Because winter conditions create more driving challenges, drivers can be more at risk for getting traffic citations than at other times of the year. At Traffic School Online we offer an online traffic school and defensive driving courses for dismissing traffic citations and reducing insurance costs. Please contact us and learn more about how we can help you.

As Millennials age into a powerful demographic of young adults, their older coworkers, managers, and neighbors have begun to discuss how this new generation is different from all others that came before. We’ve heard about how tech-savvy they are, how they prefer text communication to speaking, and how they expect more from their employers, but very little about what it’s like to live with them through normal daily tasks like commuting to and from work. The fact of the matter is that even the youngest millennials are now legal drivers and are joining the rest of the adult world out on the roads and their driving habits are now everyone’s concern.

Using Devices in the Car

The millennial affinity for technology and mobile communication doesn’t stop when they get behind the wheel. Young drivers are notorious for using navigation devices with ease but they also have a terrible reputation for the risky behaviors of talking and texting while driving. Many of them learned this behavior from their busy boomer parents. However, while boomers vary wildly in device adaptability, it’s a rare millennial who drives without a mounted phone or tablet handy.

Guilt Free Speeding

Speeding has long since been a problem with overconfident motorists of every generation. From mid-life crisis hot rods to little old ladies from Pasadena, Americans love to drive fast. So why is it that Millennials have such a bad reputation for racing down the highways or running red lights in comparison to previous generations? Older people, when pulled over or asked about their speeding, often display guilt and knowledge that what they did was wrong. Millennials, on the other hand, generally consider speeding to be a fact of life and are unabashed to admit that they speed without the usual signs of guilt.

Calling Roadside Assistance

Far fewer millennials than members of past generations are comfortable working on their own cars, even for minor maintenance tasks like refilling the windshield wiper fluid or changing a flat tire. This means that they are much more likely to call for roadside assistance and take their vehicles in for maintenance. Their attitudes on car repair most likely stem from busy boomer parents who didn’t have time to spend with them in the garage and the increased emphasis on college careers for their generation.

Constant Ride Sharing

The sharing economy and overall lower wages for millennials have resulted in a culture of ride-sharing, carpooling, and public transportation. A smaller percentage of millennials can afford their cars those that do will often get involved in one or more sharing networks like Uber, Lyft, or Grub Hub. In many cases, if you see a Millennial on the road with one or more passengers, there’s a good chance they’re earning a little extra money and trying to complete gig missions quickly. This could easily be another reason our youngest drivers are known for moving quickly.

Driving Hybrid Cars

Every generation becomes recognized for the kinds of cars they prefer and Millennials are no exception. While many people are jumping on the fuel-efficient bandwagon of hybrid cars, millennials have shown a strong preference for them. In 2012, a survey found that 60% of millennials would buy a hybrid rather than a regular car or truck.

Millennials are being considered one of the most dangerous generations currently behind the wheel due to their affinity for devices and their casual disregard for the official driving laws. Whether or not this is a fair characterization or simply a sign of the world they grew up in doesn’t seem to be up for debate. If you are a millennial in need of a crash course in driving safety and etiquette, it may be time to brush up on defensive driving best practices and how to respectfully follow both the legal and unspoken rules of the road.

Skidding, sliding, hydroplaning…. Cold and wet weather brings a whole host of scary driving possibilities! In conditions like these, you’ll want your tires to have the best possible grip on the road.

In addition to checking your tire pressure, here are five more tips to help you make sure your tires are ready for fall and winter driving!

1. Check Your Tire Tread Depth

To function safely in the variety of weather conditions your car will encounter, your tire tread must be in good condition. In wet conditions, tread grooves help to channel water out from under your tire and off to the sides, allowing your tire to maintain contact with the road. When these grooves become too shallow, water cannot drain fast enough, and the tire can lose its grip on the road, causing you to hydroplane. Shallow tread can also contribute to skids in dry conditions.

How to Measure Tread Depth

In most states, tires are legally considered “worn out” and must be replaced once the tread is worn down to 2/32 of an inch.

Depth gauges are available, but you can also use the penny test to check for legal tire tread depth. Place a penny into a tread groove, with Lincoln’s head facing down into the groove. If part of his head is covered by the tread, you’re good to go – but if you can see all of his head, it’s time to replace the tire.

Most tires also have built-in treadwear indicators or “wear bars.” When your tires have worn down to 2/32”, the indicators will look like narrow strips of smooth rubber across the tread. If you can see these, your tires are worn out and need to be replaced.

Legal Tread Depth May Still Be Unsafe

Recent performance tests of stopping distances and road grip conducted by Tire Rack, an independent tire testing group, revealed that the legal minimum requirement is significantly less safe than just 2/32” tread depth.

As this video shows, the test vehicle equipped with tires at 2/32” tread depth was still traveling at 44 MPH at the point where the vehicle with 4/32” tread depth had come to a complete stop.

As a result, the American Automobile Association now recommends using a quarter instead of a penny to check that your tread is at least 4/32 of an inch, the distance from the edge of the quarter to the top of Washington’s head.

Also keep in mind that drivers expecting to encounter snowy conditions will need more tread depth to “bite” into snow-covered roads. Tire Rack recommends replacing tires when they reach 6/32” if you are anticipating snowy weather.

2. Examine Tread Wear Patterns

Check your tread depth at the outer edge of the tire, the center, and the inside edge. If the measurements aren’t the same, your tires are wearing unevenly.

Uneven tire wear can indicate that tires are over or under-inflated, that the wheels are out of alignment, or that suspension components are worn. AAA provides a guide to Tires and Wheels with more information.

3. Determine the Age of Your Tires

Like any rubber, tires break down over time. As they age, tires lose integrity and become more prone to failure. According to the NHTSA, tire aging is a factor in 90 traffic deaths and 3,200 injuries per year.

Some tire companies recommend replacing tires after 6 to 10 years, but exposure to the elements and how well you take care of your tires will determine how long your tires are safe to drive on.

You can look at the information printed on the tire sidewall to find out their age. The last two digits of the seven-digit Tire Identification Number will tell you the year it was manufactured.

Make sure to also check tires on cars that aren’t driven very often, and don’t neglect your spare tire! Tires age whether or not they are driven on regularly, so in these situations, the rubber in your tires could deteriorate to an unsafe level even before your tire tread wears down. You can ask your automotive repair professional to examine the tires at your next service.

4. Be Prepared with Snow Chains

If you’re heading to a snowy area, make sure you have tire chains stored in your trunk! Not only are they an important safety measure, but they’re required by many state departments of transportation in snowy conditions. If you decide to skip them, you’re taking the risk of having to buy chains at steep prices when you reach the point where they’re required, if they’re even available, or turn around and head home.

To purchase snow chains, you’ll need to know the size of your tires, which can be found on the Tire Identification Number. Your owner’s manual will also tell you whether your car can be equipped with chains, and what types are recommended.

It’s also a good idea to familiarize yourself with installing and removing the chains before you’re forced to do so in poor weather conditions!

5. Understand Professional Maintenance Procedures

Uneven tire wear, unusual vibrations or noises, or a pull to one side, as you drive, can indicate problems that require special skills and tools to fix.

Most drivers will want to leave these tasks to professionals, but understanding the basics will help you make sense of what your mechanic tells you! Refer to your owner’s manual for your vehicle’s recommended maintenance schedule, but if you notice a problem, it’s best to get it fixed as soon as you can.

Tire Rotation

Tires on the front and rear of your vehicle perform different steering and braking functions, causing the tires to wear differently. Rotating your tires, or moving them to different wheels, helps to even out tire wear.

Tire Balancing

Wheels and tires often aren’t precisely round, so mechanics balance tires by adding small weights to even out the weight distribution of the wheel and tire around the axle.

Wheel Alignment

Normal wear and tear or an impact with a pothole or curb can cause your vehicle to get “out of alignment.” You might notice uneven wear patterns on your tires, or notice the car pulling to one side. When correcting the wheel alignment, mechanics adjust a variety of suspension components to meet the car manufacturer’s specifications.

Looking for more information about tire safety? Check out Tire Rack’s Tire Tech and Winter Tire Tech articles!

You see people walking just about everywhere these days. While walking can help you stay healthier and physically fit, it can also be extremely dangerous. Tragically, the number of pedestrian traffic deaths increased by 11 percent last year, according to a recent report by the Governors Highway Safety Association, making 2016 the largest increase in pedestrian deaths ever. Here are some of the reasons for the rise in pedestrian traffic deaths, along with a few considerations and warnings.

Reasons for Increased Pedestrian Deaths

One reason for the rise in pedestrian deaths is the increase of motorists on the roads. This is largely due to improved economic conditions, along with somewhat lower gas prices.
Drivers and pedestrians using cell phones and texting while driving and walking is a huge factor. Because people talking, texting, and engaging on social media on mobile phones are easily distracted, pedestrian accidents can easily happen.
Another reason that more and more Americans are walking these days is the popularity of activity trackers, which can record the number of steps a user takes in a day.
It’s becoming trendier to walk to work, which increases the number of pedestrians on the streets.
Vehicle speeds are higher, which leads to pedestrians being more at risk of being struck.
Additionally, more people are walking now because they’re concerned about protecting the environment and decreasing the amount of carbon emissions in the atmosphere.

Pedestrian Safety Tips

Only walk-in safe areas. For example, use sidewalks, when possible. When no sidewalk is available, always walk on the side of the road that faces traffic so that you’ll be more visible to drivers.
Don’t walk along roadways or highways where it’s illegal to walk.
When walking near traffic, don’t use your phone or any other type of electronic gadget as they can easily distract you.
Don’t use headphones when walking near traffic. Besides being able to see what’s going on around you, you also need to listen carefully.
Never walk when under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or other strong medications.
When you cross the street, use crosswalks. If there’s none available, use the most well-lit area on a road to cross. Only cross when you see an opening wide enough to walk safely across the street.
Be familiar with and follow all traffic regulations, signals, and signs.
Always make good eye contact with drivers.
Don’t assume a driver will grant you the right of way.
When walking in daylight, wear bright colors, but at night wear reflective clothing or clothes that are lightly colored.
Carry a flashlight when you walk at night.
Be sure your presence isn’t hidden by parked cars, hedges, or buses before you cross a street.
Don’t cross a street between parked vehicles as well as at the back or front of larger vehicles or buses.

Considerations and Warnings

Some pedestrians are more at risk than others of being killed in a traffic accident. These populations include older people, ages 65 and older, as well as children. Alcohol-impaired drivers and pedestrians are also more at risk because having too much alcohol in your blood can cause slower reflexes and faulty judgment.
Larger urban centers tend to have more pedestrian deaths.
If you’re a pedestrian you’re 5 times, more likely to be killed in a traffic accident than if you were a passenger in a vehicle.
Some states are more dangerous for pedestrians than others. While New Mexico had the highest number of pedestrian fatalities last year, Minnesota had the lowest number, making it the safest state for pedestrians.

Motorists are just as responsible as walkers are when it comes to safety. However, in some cases, even the safest drivers can get tickets for traffic violations. To learn more about our online traffic school and how our defensive driving course can dismiss traffic citations, besides reducing insurance costs, please contact us.

There’s a lot to keep an eye on as a driver – the road, your mirrors, your speedometer… and, of course, the price of gasoline. This is the last post in a three part series on what’s driving gas prices, and how you can save at the pump.

With gas prices so high, every drop of fuel counts. Here are seven ways to make the most of the fuel you buy.

1. Don’t Top Off Your Tank

You’ve probably seen warnings about topping off your gas tank before, but it turns out that topping off is harmful to the environment, your car, and your wallet.

Overfilling makes it easy to spill gas. Not only is this a fire hazard, but gasoline vapors are harmful to breathe, and you’re still paying for the gas you pump, whether or not it ends up in your tank.
Your vehicle’s vapor collection system could become damaged. As your car warms, the gasoline in your tank will expand, and if your tank is overfilled, it could be forced into your vehicle’s vapor collection system, damaging or ruining it.
You could end up paying for gas you don’t even use. If you add more gas after the pump clicks off automatically, it may be drawn into the gas pump’s vapor recovery system and fed back into the station’s storage tanks.

2. Check Your Fuel Cap

To prevent evaporation, make sure your fuel cap is on tight and isn’t broken or cracked. Fuel caps are easily replaceable at an auto parts store.

3. Don’t Pay for Premium Unless You Have To

Check your owner’s manual to find out what grade of gas the manufacturer recommends. If your car doesn’t require premium gas, there’s no reason to use it. It won’t provide better performance – it’ll just cost you 20 to 30 cents more per gallon.

Find out more at CarTalk and Edmunds.com.

4. Keep Tires Properly Inflated

The decrease in fuel economy caused by underinflated tires results in more than one billion gallons of wasted gasoline annually in the U.S. alone.

Make sure you learn how to find out the correct pressure for your tires, check your current tire pressure, and add or remove air.

5. Rethink Where and When You Drive

To prevent unnecessary idling, and boost your gas mileage, AAA recommends:

Driving during cooler parts of the day when possible
Avoiding congestion
Planning your route in advance
Planning where to park

6. Don’t Speed

Speeding might get you to your destination a little faster, but it’s not very fuel-efficient. Fuel efficiency usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 55 MPH. Driving 65 MPH instead of 75 MPH would reduce fuel costs by 13%, and driving 55 MPH would save you 25%.

And that’s besides the cost of a ticket or an accident!

7. Look for the Best Prices

Websites such as GasBuddy.com offer gas price listings that you can search by zip code. While it’s probably not worth it to drive out of your way for cheaper gas, you can easily get an idea of where in your area has the best prices, and plan your fuel-ups for times when you’re in those areas.

It turns out that short yellow lights and snitch tickets aren’t the only things about red light camera systems that are a little less than straightforward – very few of the other questions we wondered about had the simple answers we expected!

Where do I need to watch out for red light cameras?

There’s no official list of all the communities in the United States that have red light cameras. In 2011, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) estimated about 553 communities had them, while the U.S. Public Interest Research Group reported that the real number was probably more like 700, based on contract lists provided to researchers by camera operators Redflex and American Traffic Solutions. Today, the IIHS estimate has fallen to 502 communities in 24 states.

PhotoEnforced.com maintains a mapped database of specific intersections across the country that have red light cameras or speed cameras, and locations where cameras have now been removed. It’s based on user-provided information, so keep in mind that it may not be completely up to date. If you know of a camera that’s not listed, you can consider submitting it to the database.

You may sometimes see small cameras placed on traffic signal poles – these are probably just traffic surveillance cameras. Red light cameras are large and boxy, positioned 10-15 feet off the ground at the side of the road. Check out photos of each at the PhotoEnforced.com blog.

Do red light cameras really make intersections safer?

In a word… Maybe.

In the world of traffic safety research, red light cameras are a hotly contested topic. While plenty of studies have been done, many have found contradictory results. In reviews of each other’s studies, researchers point out methodological flaws and possible influence by the insurance industry. As a result, it’s hard to know whose findings to trust.

The best resource we found was the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Automated Enforcement: A Compendium of Worldwide Evaluations of Results, which established design and data standards for the many studies it reviewed.

Of the seven studies that met these standards, most found that installing red light cameras caused a decrease in right-angle crashes – the kind usually caused by red light running – and an increase in rear-end crashes.

These studies advised that red light cameras can only improve safety if the crashes they prevent are more severe than the rear-end crashes they cause. Unfortunately, crash severity is still hard to measure – there isn’t a standardized scale for reporting it, and some studies don’t even address it.

Other factors that researchers must account for are:

Crash severity. Red light cameras can only improve safety if the crashes they prevent are more severe than the rear-end crashes they cause. Unfortunately, crash severity is still hard to measure – there isn’t a standardized scale for reporting it, and some studies don’t even address it.
Changes in traffic volume at the intersection. Drivers may change routes to avoid an intersection where cameras have been installed, and the decreased number of cars may contribute to reductions in accidents.
Differences in crash reporting thresholds, or the level of damage or injury at which the state requires crashes to be reported to the police or DMV.
Law enforcement efforts and public awareness campaigns may be taking place at the same time.

Why do cities install cameras in the first place, and why do they get rid of them?

Many cities install red light cameras to monitor intersections efficiently and without risk to officers, to reduce crashes caused by red light running. The federal government does recommend cameras as the very last step in a long list of other safety improvements, including traditional enforcement and education along with engineering improvements like signal timing and visibility improvements.

However, critics say that contracting with a private company to take over this aspect of law enforcement can put the focus too much on profit at the expense of public safety. As described in a report by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, contracts with private red light camera companies can end up being a raw deal:

Some cities end up losing money. This was the case in Los Angeles, which let its camera contract expire in 2011 after an audit revealed that the red light camera system had cost the city $2.5 million over the previous two years.
Tickets issued may not be justified. Chicago has not yet removed its red light cameras, but public opinion appears to be leaning in that direction after it was reported that thousands of questionable tickets have been issued in dozens of sudden camera ticketing spikes since 2007. It’s not yet clear whether the issues were caused by malfunctioning equipment, human intervention, or both. Chicago has already switched vendors following the news that Redflex had bribed Chicago city officials to win the city’s red light camera contract in the first place. The city is planning to review 16,000 potentially erroneous tickets.
Contracts can penalize cities for failing to approve a sufficient number of tickets generated by the system, limiting officer discretion and effectively setting a ticket quota.
Contracts can prevent cities from lengthening yellow light signal times, which has been shown to decrease red light running violations and crash rates.
Ditching a red light camera contract may be easier said than done. Some include penalties for early termination, or failure to provide for early termination at all, even if the red light camera programs fail to meet their safety goals. Because of this, some cities are simply waiting until their contracts expire.

Have any states banned red light cameras?

Yes. So far, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wisconsin have all banned red light cameras entirely.

Arkansas and Nevada have laws against red light cameras but include narrow exceptions allowing them to be used under certain circumstances with direct law enforcement oversight.

South Dakota has gone even further by passing a law preventing its Department of Motor Vehicles from providing vehicle registration records to other states if the information would be used to impose a civil fine for a red light camera violation. To accomplish this, the South Dakota DMV is blocking all requests made by red light camera companies via the interstate data-sharing system used to obtain registered owner information from license plate numbers. However, local law enforcement agencies can still make those requests, and the law doesn’t get South Dakota residents out of paying tickets once they’ve been issued. It remains to be seen whether the law will be challenged in court.

New Jersey introduced a similar bill this summer, and its pilot red light camera program is set to expire this December if no further action is taken.

What should I do if I know there’s a red light camera at an intersection?

Red light cameras change the decisions we make – even if it’s not clear whether those changes make intersections safer! It’s worth thinking in advance about how to react when you do encounter a camera.

Be prepared to make your decision and control your speed as you approach the intersection. Driving close to the speed limit will help you take advantage of how the signal is timed and allow you to stop safely without the need to panic and stop suddenly.

Make sure to also leave plenty of space in front of your car in case the driver ahead of you slams on the brakes!

This is the first post of a two part series in recognition of Distracted Driving Awareness Month, a national campaign against cell phone use while driving.

Cell phone use while driving is now being targeted by researchers, lawmakers, and law enforcement officials as one of the most important driving safety issues today, and for good reason.

If you’ve ever seen a driver drifting out of their lane while texting, or you’ve found yourself braking suddenly as traffic slows because you were distracted by your phone conversation, then you already know that driving distracted can be a hazard. But just how badly does it impair your driving performance, and how can you avoid the distraction?

This April, law enforcement agencies across the country are cracking down on drivers using cell phones as part of the national Distracted Driving Awareness Month campaign. With many police departments planning zero-tolerance enforcement of existing laws, this month is a great opportunity to kick your distracted driving habit once and for all.

Tips to Help You Stay Focused

Remove the Temptation

Make calls or send texts before you drive, and put your phone out of reach while you’re behind the wheel.

Take Advantage of Smartphone Apps

If you have trouble resisting the urge to use your phone, there are plenty of smartphone apps available to help.

Many cell phone carriers have developed their own apps for their customers, including AT&T’s Drive Mode, Sprint’s Drive First, and T-Mobile’s Drive Smart.
DriveSafe.ly is a free app for Blackberry, Android, and iPhone which will read your text messages out loud and send an automatic reply.
SafeCell automatically activates when it detects movement faster than 5 MPH, intercepts text messages and calls, and sends an automatic reply. It’s available for iPhone and Android devices at a cost of $11.99 per year.
TextNoMore is available for free on Blackberry and Android devices. The app turns off notifications for texts and calls, and sends an automatic text reply.

Be Aware of Current Laws

Be aware of current laws in the states and cities you plan to drive in.

Distracted driving is currently a hot topic for state legislators, and many states are passing updated laws. Distraction.gov, the official US government website for distracted driving awareness, provides an interactive map to help drivers review cell phone laws.

Create a Workplace Policy

Are you an employer? The National Safety Council provides resources for employers seeking help creating and implementing cell phone policies, and even offers a free seminar on building support for a cell phone policy in the workplace.

Notify Friends Ahead of Time

Let your friends and family know that you won’t be able to answer the phone while you are driving, and that you’ll return their text or call as soon as you can do so safely. Encourage them to do the same!

How Dangerous is Distracted Driving?

Besides preventing expensive tickets, saving your calls and texts for before and after you drive can help you avoid serious safety risks.

Talking on a cell phone makes you four times more likely to crash, with no difference in crash risk between using hands-free and hand-held devices (Distraction.gov).
Texting makes you 23 times more likely to crash. Text messaging takes your eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds on average. At 55 MPH, that means traveling the length of a football field without looking at the road (Distraction.gov).
Using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37% compared to undistracted driving (Distraction.gov).
Cell phone users’ reaction times are as slow as those of a drunk driver. A study by the University of Utah found that drivers using cell phones had reaction times as slow as those of a driver with a blood alcohol content of .08%, above the legal limit to drive in the United States (National Safety Council).

Looking for More Information?

The National Safety Council provides a detailed list of links to key research studies on distracted driving. SR22Insurance.net also provides a comprehensive list of government and privately-funded distracted driving studies.

Distraction.gov offers facts and statistics as well as ways for teens, parents, educators, and employers to take action.

Click here to learn how children can also cause distracted driving

Safe driving is taught in driver’s ed classes, but if you’re like most people, this is the only time you’ve been exposed to any intensive education on the subject. This allows the information to fade over time, and in the process, bad habits can develop. Here are a few refresher tips to help you stay safe on the road:

1. Put the Phone Down

This may seem obvious, but according to USA Today, 1 in 4 accidents are caused by using cell phones while driving. Between January and March of last year, a whopping 245,358 car crashes were attributed to cell phone use. Only 5 percent of these accidents were caused by texting, while the other 95 percent were caused by the distraction of talking on the phone. Surprisingly, using a hands-free phone didn’t help. The USA Today report says that a study found that a driver will be just as distracted by talking on the phone if the hands aren’t used.

2. Keep Your Car in Good Shape

Repairs like advanced brake jobs are expensive, and this causes some people to be unmotivated about getting them fixed. Unfortunately, the laws of physics have no concern for a driver’s financial status. If you can’t afford to get safety-related repairs, it’s best to use another form of transportation until you can save up enough to take the car to the mechanic.

3. Go With the Flow

Be aware of the other traffic and try to match its average speed. This helps both you and the traffic around you avoid dangerous swerving maneuvers. You’ll also be less likely to rear-end someone or be rear-ended.

4. Drive Sober

This doesn’t just apply to alcohol! There is a common misconception in some areas that it’s safe to drive while under the influence of marijuana. In reality, a study shows that someone who drives while stoned doubles his or her chance of an accident. The controversy arises because legislators have had a hard time pinning down a hard blood-THC percentage for a legal definition of marijuana intoxication. If you want to be safe, simply don’t get behind the wheel if you’ve had pot and still feel the buzz. The same goes for any other type of drug that doesn’t have a firm legal level of intoxication, such as prescription medications.

5. Make Sure You’re Well-Rested

Driving while fatigued slows your reflexes in a way similar to that of a few drinks. Fatigued drivers can also fall completely to sleep while behind the wheel.

6. Accommodate the Weather

Many people attempt to drive the same way all year round, without regard to rain, snow, or ice. Unfortunately, cars react differently than normal during all of these weather conditions, and this leads to accidents. Being “used to” such weather gives some benefit of practice, but can also lead to overconfidence and wrecks. Therefore, it’s important to always stay alert to how various forms of precipitation affect road performance.

7. Don’t Hurry

If you observe traffic just before and during the rush hours, you’ll see plenty of people zooming out in front of others, speeding, trying to beat red lights, and engaging in other such behavior. Their excuse will be that they’re “in a hurry.” Alas, the requirements of safe driving don’t change because of a hurry. Cars take just as long to stop, people still go on the green, and other drivers don’t miraculously gain the ability to miss you. The best solution is simply to refuse to hurry. If that means you’ll be late, so be it – better to be late and intact than end up in an accident that’ll delay you far more than safe driving ever will.

These are just some tips for avoiding accidents while driving. The final one is simply to drive defensively. A driving style that uses caution and common sense at all times is the best general protection from wrecks.

Getting points on your license is bad enough when you’re in the car and commit an offense while driving. It’s even worse, however, when you aren’t in the car at all! The last thing you want is to see your insurance rates increase or potentially lose your license due to offenses acquired when you were far away from your car. Fortunately, there is help available for these situations.

Red Light Cameras

Traffic light cameras are one of the biggest causes of points on your license — not to mention unwanted tickets — whether you were in the car or not. If you’re the registered owner of the car, you’re the one who will receive the ticket in the mail if your car has been seen sailing (or even rolling) through a red light. If you’ve committed this offense, you’re probably quite familiar with the system: a few days after the incident, you receive a picture of your car’s tires across the line in the road when the light turned red and a demand that you pay the associated fees.
Unfortunately, if the car is registered in your name, you’re going to get that ticket regardless of whether or not you were the one driving the car. The system is automated and relies on the fact that people will automatically pay the ticket rather than taking the time and effort to contest it. Fortunately, in some cases, it’s easy to prove that you weren’t guilty.

Checking Your Guilt

If you’ve been hit with a red light ticket from a camera, there needs to be solid proof that you were the one driving the car. There needs to be a clear picture of you behind the wheel at the time of the incident. If it’s arbitrary, or if it’s impossible to tell whether or not you were the one behind the wheel — or even better, if it’s obvious that you weren’t the one driving the car — then it’s easy to tell that you aren’t the one responsible for the ticket.

If you know that you weren’t the one driving the car and remember who was at the time of the infraction, you also have the option of sharing that information. You can pass the blame on to the person who was actually responsible, thus avoiding the cost of the ticket and the points on your own license. Keep in mind, however, that you aren’t required to share that information. The burden of proof is on the law.

Check the Calibration of the Cameras

In some cases, the calibration of the camera may not be perfectly matched with the timing of the light. If you crossed the line while the light was still yellow, even if the light turned red while you were still in the intersection, you aren’t guilty of running the light and won’t need to be responsible for the ticket. Ideally, in order to send you a red light ticket based on the input from a camera, you want a picture showing that your front wheels were on the wrong side of the line when the light turned red. If you made it before the light turned, even if you were driving, you’re in the clear!

All Right, It Was You: Removing Points from Your License

Sometimes, red light cameras are able to provide irrefutable proof that you were the one driving and that you did cross into the intersection after the light turned red. In this case, you don't have to live with the points on your license! Attending traffic school can help get those points removed earlier. trafficschoolonline-dev.plume.co.uk/ is the nation's first and most respected traffic school, making it easy for you to take care of those points, erase the ticket, and prevent it from showing up on your driving record all in the convenience of your own home. 100% satisfaction guarantee or your money back.

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