Tips for Safe Driving Near Schools

Safe driving is always important, but nowhere is it more critical than near schools. Protecting the lives of children is everyone’s responsibility, which is why there are special laws in place for drivers near schools. But it’s important that you do more than follow the letter of the law. To keep kids safe, make sure you follow these tips from Edmunds:

• Expect the unexpected: "Children run and play. They can come from anywhere," says James Solomon of the National Safety Council.
• Stop properly at stop signs and crosswalks: It's illegal to pass through either a stationary stop sign or one held by a crossing guard or other safety representative.
• In all 50 states, when a stop sign is displayed, motorists must stop for it, Solomon says. Drivers should stop completely at the stop sign, before the crosswalk area. Blocking a crosswalk could force kids to go around your vehicle, putting them in danger. And wait a bit before driving through after the crossing guard clears the intersection, warns Solomon. "There are always one or two children lagging behind that are now going to run through the crosswalk to catch up with the rest of the group."
• Obey the speed limit: "The faster you are going, the more likely you are to injure a pedestrian and to injure them more seriously," says Nancy Pullen-Seufert of the National Center for Safe Routes to School.
• Most school zones have speed limits of 20 mph or less. Studies have found that 5 percent of pedestrians hit by a vehicle at 20 mph suffer a fatality. The fatality number increases to 45 percent when hit by a vehicle going 30 mph, and to 80 percent for a pedestrian hit by a vehicle traveling at 40 mph. And because of their smaller size, children fare even worse. Faster driving means longer stopping distances. At 20 mph, it takes an average vehicle 69 feet to come to a total stop, and nearly double that distance, to 123 feet, at just 30 mph, according to NHTSA.
• Put away electronic devices: A few states, including Illinois, have made it illegal to use a cell phone while driving in a school zone, and for good reason.
• Talking on your cell phone has been shown to reduce reaction time. Looking away for just 2 seconds doubles your chance of crashing. Texting while driving has been shown to be as dangerous as driving drunk.
• "The ability to multitask is a myth. If you are going to drive your child to school, drive your child to school. Leave the cell phone in a place where you aren't going to be distracted," says Kate Carr of Safe Kids Worldwide.
• Solomon agrees. "You want to navigate the school zone 100 percent prepared to handle a situation," he says.
• Make eye contact with pedestrians: "If you haven't made eye contact with them, assume that they haven't seen you and that they are just going to keep on going," says Carr.
• Wait your turn near school buses: It's illegal in all 50 states to pass a bus on undivided roadways if the vehicle is stopped to load and unload children. State laws vary regarding passing a school bus on a divided roadway when the bus is traveling in the opposite direction, but all vehicles behind a bus must stop. Make sure you know the rules in your state, and regardless of whatever they are, never pass a school bus on the right. It's a sure recipe for disaster.
• According to the National Safety Council, most children who die in bus-related crashes are pedestrians ages 4-7 who are hit by the bus or by motorists illegally passing the school bus.
• Pay attention to bus warning lights: A yellow flashing light means the bus is preparing to stop to let kids on or off. A red light means kids are getting on or off the bus.
• Give buses ample space to load and unload: Children are in the most danger of being hit by a vehicle within the 10 feet around a school bus. And just in case you're tempted to violate any of the bus-related rules, many school buses are now equipped with rear cameras to catch motorists who illegally pass them.
• Follow the school's drop-off rules: "Oftentimes parents get very tempted to drop their child off across the street from the school and tell their child to just run across the street. And we really, really don't want drivers to do that," says Pullen-Seufert. "Any time any pedestrian of any age is crossing the road, they are at a greater risk."
• Choose a different route: If you are a daily commuter and not a parent picking up or dropping off their child, avoid a school zone if you can.
• Be more careful in the fall: More children are injured by cars in September than any other month. "Kids are going back to school and drivers have to adjust again after a summer season," says Carr.
• What to do if there's a near miss: Never reprimand or approach the child directly. The child is likely to be nervous or frightened when confronted by a stranger, Solomon says. Do let an adult know what happened, though. You might be alerting authorities to a potentially dangerous area within the school zone.
• You need to find whoever is in charge, if it's a crossing guard, a law enforcement agent or school staff," Solomon says. "You need to safely park the vehicle and explain what happened. Sooner or later, enough near-misses mean someone gets hit."
• Treat every kid as your own: It's not always some unwary motorist who is responsible for school zone traffic accidents. Whether they're dropping off or picking up their children, parents also often break school zone road rules, say safety experts.

To learn more, check out the original blog post at Edmunds:

http://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/driving-safely-in-school-zones.html

Regular Maintenance for Your Car

Buying a new car is great. You drive off the dealership, basking in a car that drives well and works like it’s supposed to. What if you could keep that new car feeling for years? In many cases, you can! Basic preventative maintenance helps you spot trouble before it becomes a costly repair down the road. The DMV offers some advice to help keep you and your car safely on the road:

It may seem intimidating, but basic care car is often simply a matter of popping open the hood and taking a look at the engine of your vehicle.

Some basic car care starts with examining the exterior. Check your tires at least every other week to make sure they are inflated properly. This should be an actual check with a tire pressure gauge, but you may also advantage from a visual check to make sure the tires appear equally and properly inflated.

Other visual checks that require almost no vehicle mechanics knowledge include the following:

• body and bumper damage, which should be monitored for insurance purposes
• leaking fluids underneath the vehicle, including oil, power and brake fluid, transmission or other fluid (air-conditioning may cause water to drip under a vehicle)
• smoke in vehicle exhaust, aside from normal diesel emissions or startup fumes
• engine or fluid warning lights, which should be promptly addressed before any further driving

Of course, much of the day-to-day driving maintenance for your vehicle must occur with the hood opened and up, but that doesn't mean you have to be a mechanic. The most important things to monitor and check regularly include the following:

• engine oil level and cleanliness
• antifreeze/coolant level (never attempt to remove radiator cap while engine is hot or warm)
• brake and power steering fluid levels
• transmission fluid
• belts

Learn more about what you should look out for over on the DMV’s website: http://www.dmv.org/how-to-guides/basic-car-care.php

You Don’t Have to Buy a Green Car to Go Green

If you want to help the environment, you may think about things like using non-toxic cleaners in your home, using less electricity in your life, and even going vegetarian. In some extreme cases, you might even consider ditching your car for a bike! But you can keep your car and help the environment (even if you’re not driving a hybrid or an electric car) by taking a few simple steps. Tweaking your existing car maintenance routine can help you save gas and help the environment. This article at Huffington Post explains what you can do:

1. Maintain proper tire inflation. Tires are meant to be inflated according to the recommended pressure standard for your car. Information regarding your vehicle's recommended pressure is usually listed inside your car's doorframe, or look for it in the owner's manual. Maintaining tire pressure is important for efficient fuel use. A reduction of 3 pounds below the recommended pressure results in a loss of 1 percent fuel economy. Tires may lose up to 1 pound of pressure in a single month. Check your tire pressure at regular intervals, before any significant car travel, and before carrying large weighty loads. Flabby tires can affect driving safety, handling, and tire wear and tear.
2. Purchase the new low rolling resistance (LRR) tires. Buying new tires typically lowers fuel economy by up to 4 percent. Replacing your tires with LRR tires, on the other hand, will actually improve fuel efficiency. All the major tire manufacturers are now producing these greener tires, so look for them when it comes time to replace your current set of tires.
3. Keep an eye on your personal fuel economy. If you see a reduction in fuel economy after a few weeks this may signal some small problem with your brakes or engine. Fixing a minor problem now may prevent a major breakdown at some point down the line.
4. Get regular tune-ups. If you're handy, do it yourself, otherwise take your car to a mechanic for regular tune-ups. Getting car tune-ups can increase fuel economy. You should have some instructions in your owner's manual on how to carry out the tune-up. In general, you should make periodic checks for worn out spark plugs, brake drag, and transmission fluid levels. Wheels should be realigned, tires rotated, and air filters replaced. When replacing transmission and other vehicle fluids, dispose of the old fluids in a safe manner or better yet, recycle them.
5. Replace the oil and oil filter. Changing your car's oil and replacing its oil filter on a regular basis will keep your car running longer and will also help you save on fuel. The owner's manual that came with your car should give you guidelines on how often this should be done. If you have your oil changed at a gas station, check first to make sure they recycle the old oil. If you change the oil yourself, save the old oil and bring it in to be recycled. You can replace the old oil with recycled oil, too.
6. Keep an eye on emissions. Get your emission control system checked out on a regular basis. If you see a warning light come on, it's time to get your emission control system serviced.

So, before you ditch your car and get a bike, remember that you can still help the environment and keep your car. All it takes is a few little tweaks.

Read the original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/varda-epstein/6-greener-ethos-car-tips_b_4858542.html

Gearing Your Car Up for Spring

We know, we know - it’s still winter and it’s cold and gray too often. But look on the bright side: Spring is less than a month away! Getting your car ready for warmer weather may not seem critical, but winter can damage your car in lots of little ways. By “thinking spring” now, you can prepare for erasing winter’s damage, restoring your car back to its warm-weather beauty.

Edmunds recommends taking the following steps to restore your car in the spring:

1. Get rid of road salt on the undercarriage.

2. Check the tires.

3. Check wiper blades.

4. Rotate the tires.

5. Change the oil and oil filter.

6. Change the air filter.

7. Flush and fill your cooling system.

8. Check the radiator and gas caps.

9. Check the battery and spark plugs.

10. Clean the cabin.

As USA Today points, out, it’s critical to get rid of salt and dirt on the undercarriage of the car. They explain,

“Wintertime driving will coat the bottom of your car with salt, sand and other grime that can cause corrosion. Corrosion can lead to rust problems, which can make your car much harder to resell or even dangerous to drive.

Spend a few extra dollars for the undercarriage power wash at the local car wash or spray the car's bottom with your own hose. If possible, use a car jack to raise the vehicle for a more thorough cleaning, advises Bill Kropelnicki, president and owner of Rambling River Repair in Farmington, Minn. There's no need to use soap or any other cleaner.

While you're at it, open the hood and wipe down the engine with a soft mitt and soapy water. And remove all the leaves and debris that can find their way into the car, says Cliff Weathers, deputy autos editor for Consumer Reports. And remove any crusty white residue off the battery with a toothbrush, baking soda and water. The residue — caused by corrosion — can eventually prevent your car from starting. The cleaning also helps prepare the battery for the stress of warmer temperatures.”

While you’re getting through the last few weeks of winter, start thinking spring and make an appointment to get your car checked for winter damage, have tires rotates, and fluids topped off. You’ll be ready for spring and summer road trips in no time in a few simple steps.

Helping Your Teen Learn to Drive

When it comes to raising a teenager, there are few things scarier than teaching your kids how to drive. Driving comes fraught with many different dangers, but with experience and proper preparation, you know how to mitigate many of these dangers. Your teen, unfortunately, may not. That’s why it’s so important to teach them how to drive. KidsHealth.org suggests remaining calm and having a plan when teaching your teen to drive:

When it comes to driving, experience is an important teacher. The more time young drivers spend building a variety of skills in different road and weather conditions, the more calm and confident they will feel and the better they'll be able to react to challenging situations.
Before each practice session, plan the specific skills you want to go over. If possible, make your lessons coincide with what your teen is learning in driver's education at school. Consider your teen's temperament — and your own. If the lessons are too long, nerves might get frayed and it may be difficult to stay calm.

Not sure what skills your teen will need? Edmund’s rounds up many skills parents may not think to teach their children, including what to do should they be pulled over by a cop or how to handle the “check engine” light coming on. These are skills that may be just as important when it comes to owning a car.

And of course, there’s more to driving than simply getting behind the wheel. Teaching your teen what to do before they get behind the wheel can be just as important as teaching good driving techniques. This website offers a helpful checklist of what teens (and all drivers) should do before they even begin driving.

Are you teaching your teen to drive? What are your best tips for helping teens master driving a vehicle?

Is Texting and Driving an Addiction?

A recent study, commissioned by AT&T, has found that compulsively checking your phone or texting while behind the wheel has a similar effect on the brain as drug addiction.

The study found that more and more people are demonstrating compulsive behavior — dubbed "cell-phone addiction" — with three-quarters of people admitting to at least glancing at their phones while behind the wheel. That's despite 90 percent of people reporting that they know better. 

"We compulsively check our phones because every time we get an update through text, email or social media, we experience an elevation of dopamine, which is a neurochemical in the brain that makes us feel happy," Dr. David Greenfield, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and founder of the Internet and Technology Addiction, said in a statement. "If that desire for a dopamine fix leads us to check our phones while we're driving, a simple text can turn deadly." 

There is good news, however. According to the research, phone addicts can successfully rehab themselves. "Those who are most likely to text and drive are also the most likely to take steps to stop," AT&T said in a statement. "And 82 percent of people who take action to stop texting and driving feel good about themselves." 

To help people stop this dangerous behavior, AT&T is promoting its free DriveMode iPhone app, which activates automatically at 15 mph, silences text-message alerts and automatically responds to incoming messages letting the sender know the user is driving; it also notifies parents if the app has been shut off.

Click here to read the full article from Kicking Tires: http://bit.ly/1tN7dUg

Staying Safe on the Road for the Remainder of Winter

While we all may be dreaming of spring, winter is still in full swing. Make sure you're staying safe on the road with these tips from the NHTSA:

Take Precautions

• Check the weather. Don't hit the road if it's too treacherous to depart.

• If you absolutely need to go outside, plan to leave earlier or arrive later than usual.

• Keep your gas tank at least half-full. If you get stuck in a traffic jam, you might need more fuel just to stay warm.

• Pack a shovel, broom, ice scrapper, flashlight, jumper cables and warning markers or flares.

• Have an abrasive material, such as kitty litter or sand, ready to help with traction.

• Have a blanket, cellphone, some water, food and any necessary medicine (for longer trips through rural areas).

On the Road

• Always wear your seat belt (this really should go without saying).

• Wear winter outerwear, and make sure your passengers, especially children, are bundled up for the snowy conditions.

• Do not text or engage in distracting activities while driving.

Stranded in the Cold

• Stay in your car, and don't overexert yourself.

• Make yourself easy to find by keeping your interior light turned on and removing the cover from the dome light, if possible.

• Put bright markers or reflective material on your antenna or windows.

• Avoid carbon monoxide buildup by avoiding long stretches of idling with the windows up. If you have to keep the car running, make sure the exhaust pipe is clear of snow, and keep the engine running just long enough to stay warm.

Click the link to read the full article: http://bit.ly/1zGTeDZ