day74: drive defensively!!

 defensive driving: a set of driving skills that allows you to defend yourself against possible collisions caused by bad drivers, drunk drivers, and poor weather. If you look ahead and keep your eyes moving, you will spot potential hazards more easily. Once you have identified a potential hazard and decided what to do, act immediately.

(driversed.com)

After doing just a bit of research for this post I wonder why any of us get behind the wheel of a car in the first place!!! propelling one's self around at varying speeds in a collection of metal, plastics, glass and electronics that weighs, according to Google,  an average, 4,079 pounds* The statistics about crashes, fatalities and injury incurred while driving is staggering,  but then we add a whole list of distractions and risks and one wonders why we are not all dead!?!

At the bottom of this post are some facts and figures which reenforce the importance of certain driving practices that you should ALWAYS follow to be a safe driver, such as:

1. DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE
2. DON'T TEXT AND DRIVE
3. DON'T EVEN TOUCH YOUR CELL PHONE WHEN BEHIND THE WHEEL
4. ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELT 
5. DON'T GET DISTRACTED WHILE DRIVING, meaning besides not texting or checking your phone, don't put on make-up, try to find something in your purse, bag or in the car, don't have your music excessively loud, don't have intense or complicated conversations with other passengers, KEEP YOUR EYES AND HEAD ON THE ROAD.

But it is NOT enough for you to practice safe driving rules, it is just as important that you 

DRIVE DEFENSIVELY!

because there are many people on the road who are NOT practicing safe driving.  

So along with  being a safe driver, you need to be a defensive driver; alert and aware and prepared for the other drivers being drunk, distracted, angry, tired and/or generally unsafe.  You need to be able to anticipate possible dangerous situations and be prepared to adjust, even though you may have the right of way.

Drive defensively.  Be on the alert!!! Notice the cars in the adjoining lines while on the highway, are they swerving or drifting?!?! When approaching an 4 way stop, make sure the other drivers are stopping.  Don't just pull out in front of a moving car just because that car is supposed to  stop!  Never assume anything about other drivers when you are behind the wheel of a car! 

Soon after we moved to the Boston area I had the unnerving experience having someone who was in the right-turn only lane, charge out into the intersection the minute the light turned green and turned LEFT in front of three lanes of traffic!! It was a serious wake-up call about the insane way some people drive.  If I had darted out into the intersection when the light turned green, I would have been in a nasty crash, even though I would have had the right of way. It could have been messy and dangerous and possibly deadly, but I usually hesitate when my light turns green because drivers run red lights, especially if they just turned red.  Also it is good to make sure all pedestrians are out of harms way.  

I encourage you to drive safe and drive defensively not only because I want you to be safe, but I also do not want you to carry the weight of injuring or killing another person with your car, be it a passenger in your car or someone outside your car.  No matter if you had the right of way, that is a heavy weight to carry around with you.

A car is a deadly piece of machinery and can wreak havoc in a split second, checking a text averages about 5 seconds, 5 seconds that your eyes are off the road and your mind is somewhere else ... CRASH!!  

So be a 

SAFE DRIVER;

 NO DRINKING and driving, 

NO TEXTING and driving, 

and be a  

DEFENSIVE DRIVER

BE ALERT

PAY ATTENTION.  

be safe 💙

love, mom

SOME STAT.S ABOUT DRIVING ....

1.  An average of 90 people died each day in motor vehicle crashes in 2014, one fatality every 16 minutes.

 2.  In 2014 there were 9,967 alcohol- impaired-driving fatalities, representing an average of one alcohol-impaired- driving fatality every 53 minutes.

3. Of the 209 children 14 and younger who died in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes, 56 percent were occupants of vehicles where the drivers had blood alcohol con- centrations (BACs) of .08 g/dL or higher. 

 4.  On average, a pedestrian is killed in a motor vehicle crash every 108 minutes, and one is injured about every 8 minutes.

5.  Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for 15- to 20-year-olds, according to the most recent data available (2014) from the National Center for Health Statistics.1https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/#/DocumentTypeList/11

CELL PHONE USES: Researchers found that drivers manipulating their cell phone (includes calling, texting or other uses), had their eyes off the road for an average of 4.1 out of the final six seconds leading up to a crash. The researchers also measured reaction times in rear-end crashes and found that teen drivers using a cell phone failed to react more than half of the time before the impact, meaning they crashed without braking or steering.

Defensive driving incorporates the other tips shown here, such as maintaining a safe distance and not speeding, but remaining calm in the face of frustrating traffic issues is another major part of the concept. Accept small delays, such as staying in line behind a slower car instead of abruptly changing lanes. Yield to other cars, even if you technically have the right of way.

*FULL ANSWER - average weight of a car: The weight of a vehicle varies greatly depending on its type. The lightest cars on the American market weigh less than 2,000 pounds, while a mid-sized SUV weighs between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds. A large, heavy-duty pickup truck can weigh well over 10,000 pounds. Regardless of the model, the trend in the automotive industry is shifting toward less weight. All other things being equal, a lighter vehicle gets better gas mileage, and with gas prices continuing to rising, fuel economy is an increasingly valued commodity. 

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