Tips for Defensive Driving

Taking defensive driving measures is one of the best ways you can stay safe on the road. You never know what other drivers might do. By anticipating what other driving mistakes other people might make, you will always be prepared for them. Use these tips to be sure you stay alert as a defensive driver and are always anticipating the next move of the guy driving beside you.

Pay Attention to Your Surroundings
As you head out on the road, it pays to be especially observant. Watch what is happening on all sides of your vehicle, not just in front. A great defensive driver is always aware about what is happening on all sides of the car. You can make this awareness a habit in the following ways:
• Each time you stop at a light, quiz yourself about the color of the car behind you. Check your guess by looking in the rearview mirror.
• Think about what you see in your peripheral vision as you drive. This will include cars on your left or right, as well as the shoulder of the road.
• Scan ahead for hazards, including deer, pedestrians, and other vehicles. Don't just focus on the car ahead of you.
• Be aware of the road surface, including whether it is slippery or dry. 

Stay Focused and Alert
While everyone knows that driving under the influence of alcohol is dangerous and illegal, many people are not aware of how dramatically their level of alertness can affect their safety. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drowsy driving is the cause of more than 100,000 accidents each year. Fortunately, you can take steps to stay alert when you drive:
• Avoid driving near or after the time you usually go to bed. Your body is used to sleeping at this time, so you will not be as alert.
• If you're sleep-deprived for any reason, stay off the road if at all possible.
• When you find yourself feeling sleepy behind the wheel, pull over and take a short nap or a brisk walk to wake yourself up.
• If you need to get focused, drink a hot beverage to increase your body temperature. According a 2002 study, an increased body temperature helped subject perform better even when they were tired. 

Leave Plenty of Space
Leaving enough space between cars is essential for being a defensive driver. Think of this extra space as a safety buffer around your vehicle. If something happens ahead of you, you will have that safety buffer to react to the event. According to theCalifornia Department of Motor Vehicles, you'll need a minimum of three seconds between the car ahead of you and your vehicle. This means that you should leave as much space as it takes you to count three seconds. If you're driving at high speeds or in adverse conditions, you should lengthen this distance. 

Look Left Twice
It's common practice to look both ways before you pull out into traffic. However, in some situations, this may not be sufficient. For instance, if are making a left turn, you'll look left first and see that the lane is clear. Then you'll look right to check for cars, and you may need to wait a moment for that lane to be clear. In the time you were waiting, a car may have come around a curve or over a hill from the left. If you pull out after only looking left once, you'll get in an accident. 

It's best to get into the habit of looking left, then right, then left again before pulling out. Simply make this part of your regular driving routine every time you turn left or cross an intersection.

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A Dirty Car Interior Can Make You Sick

Just because your car is spotless and shiny on the outside doesn't necessarily mean it's clean. A dirty car interior can harbor bacteria and allergens that could possibly make you sick! This article from AOL Autos explains the dangers of a dirty car interior and how you can take steps to keep your vehicle's interior clean:

Germs 

A study conducted several years ago by researchers at Queen Mary University in London showed that, on average, 700 different kinds of bacteria can be found inside cars. Only 60 types are found in the average public toilet. Keeping hand sanitizer in the car can help cut down on cross infection and bacterial build-up. The surfaces in your car that are regularly touched should be cleaned often with an anti-bacterial solution. 

Dust mites 

Dust mites make themselves comfortable in upholstered fabric and are often found in cars as well as homes. People with allergies need to regularly clean their homes to combat the tiny bug, according to the Mayo Clinic, but the car is often overlooked in the battle to reduce allergic reactions. Regularly vacuuming the floor mats and the seats in your car can reduce dust mite numbers. 

Pollen 

Pollen can build up inside of cars in the spring, as well. After this harsh winter, many experts are expecting a worse-than-usual allergy season, as plants will begin blooming along with grasses, according to ABC News. Using a disinfectant wipe to clear dust and germs from the dash and consoles can help cut down on allergy attacks behind the wheel. If you are particularly sensitive to pollen consider regularly cleaning the heating and cooling ducts, too.

Read the full article here: http://aol.it/1lcc3TT

How to Maintain Your Car's Value

Did you know the value of a new car depreciates the minute you drive it off the dealership lot? However there are some steps you can take to help maintain the value of your vehicle. That way you'll get back as much as possible when you're ready to buy a new one. This article from AOL Autos gives you can use to keep your car's depreciation to a minimum:

1. Keep your service records
Service records are the best way for you to show a potential buyer you've taken care of the car's mechanical components. Without service records, it's difficult to prove that you've changed the oil on time and that you've met factory service requirements. Most sellers will claim they cared for a vehicle properly, but actual records can give you an advantage. Records can be computerized or they can be put into a booklet in the car's glove box. If your dealer or mechanic uses a computerized system, make sure to get printouts of all maintenance performed. 

2. Avoid dents and scratches
Dents and scratches can happen when you're parking, when you open your door or even when you place an object on your car. Cosmetic imperfections are expensive to repair, and can be a huge turn-off to potential buyers. Luckily, by washing your car regularly and taking extra care to avoid contact with other objects, you can keep your car looking like the day it left the factory. 

3. Keep the interior clean
The appearance and smell of the interior can also impact the attractiveness of your car to a potential buyer. Most people wouldn't want to buy a car with foul odors or food stains. To keep your interior fresh, avoid smoking, eating and drinking in your car. If you do eat or drink, throw away the empty food and beverage containers immediately, and clean spills with the proper cleaning solutions. 

4. Don't curb your wheels
Parallel parking can be a risky proposition if your car has alloy wheels. If you get too close to the curb, the edges of the wheels can get scratched or bent. Many buyers of higher-end vehicles pay close attention to the condition of the wheels, and will walk away if damage is readily visible. While it's best to avoid damaging your wheels in the first place, professional wheel repair shops can refinish damaged wheels for much less than the replacement cost. 

5. Polish faded headlights
After years of sun exposure, your car's plastic headlight lenses will fade and turn yellow. While the rest of your car might look terrific, the yellow headlights will reveal the vehicle's true age. Luckily, faded headlights can be polished by most auto detailers. Polishing the headlight lenses doesn't take long, and shouldn't be very expensive. Buyers will appreciate the difference when they compare your car to other cars of the same age.

Click the link to read the full article from AOL Autos: http://aol.it/1kLKqB0

Sharing the Road Safely with Bicyclists

 Crashes that involve bicyclists and vehicles often end in fatalities or serious injuries. Many of these accidents can be avoided if proper safety precautions are taken by drivers. This article from Edmunds.com lists a number of steps drivers can take in order to maintain safety while sharing the road with bicyclists.

1. Appreciate Bicyclist Vulnerability: A car weighs 2 tons or so, while the average bike is a mere 20 pounds, says Tim Blumenthal, president of People for Bikes, an advocacy group.
"In any collision, any physical interaction between car and bike, the bike always loses," he says. "I've never seen a collision where the bike rider came out less injured," he says. 

Gary Brustin, a bicycle accident attorney in Santa Monica and San Jose, California, says he has seen the severity of the injuries to cyclists increase in recent years. Among the factors driving the increase, he suspects, are older riders, including baby boomers, whose bones may be more fragile than those of younger riders. An increase in high-speed roads with bike lanes also contributes to the rise, he says. 

2. Know Bicyclists' Rights: Drivers sometimes have little idea of the traffic laws that apply to bicyclists. A recent visitor to a message board discussing cyclists and motorists wanted to know why cyclists can't just use the sidewalks. 

In fact, bicycles in the roadway are considered vehicles. NHTSA says cyclists 10 years and older should behave as though they were vehicles on the street, riding in the same direction as other traffic that's going their way and following the same traffic rules. 

The cyclists, then, are on the same level as motorists. Information on the California Department of Motor Vehicles Web site spells out the law in the Golden State: "Bicycle riders on public roads have the same rights and responsibilities as motorists, and are subject to the same rules and regulations." 

The site encourages drivers to ''look carefully for bicyclists before turning left or right, merging into bicycle lanes and opening doors next to moving traffic. Respect the right-of-way of bicyclists because they are entitled to share the road with you." 

Nearly every state has similar language covering bicyclists, says Andy Clarke, president of theLeague of American Bicyclists. 

3. Adjust That Attitude: Motorists tend to think of cyclists as ''in their way," Clarke says. Rather, they should think of them as equals, just as entitled to the roadway as drivers are, says Clarke and other experts in the cycling community. 

Drivers who get impatient with bicyclists might want to stop for a moment and think about the human being on that bike, says Bob Mionske, a Portland cycling attorney and cyclist: What if that rider was my friend, a friend of a friend, or a neighbor? Somehow, seeing bicyclists that way makes people a little more patient, he says. When drivers don't humanize cyclists this way, he finds, they often perceive riders as mere objects 

If you can pinpoint the moment when a bicyclist is starting to irritate you — because you can't see where he is going or because he's moving slowly and is making you late — picture him as a family member or friend. That might calm you down, Mionske says. 

4. Consider the Benefits of Bicycling — for Drivers: "One cyclist on the road is one less car," Mionske says. Cyclists don't wear out the road, he adds (which means fewer potholes for you). "We lessen traffic congestion," he says. "We can't pollute." 

So if you're idling in your car behind a cyclist who you wish would go faster, think of it this way, Mionske says: "Well, he might be in my way temporarily. At least he is not in a vehicle and in my way the whole commute." 

5. Spare Them the Right Hook: Intersections are venues for serious car-cycle collisions. Drivers making right turns, especially, should watch out for cyclists. A cyclist may be a little behind and to the right of you, and may be planning to ride straight ahead. If you don't signal your right turn, you could wind up hitting each other, with the point of contact somewhere on your car's right side. If you are trying to figure out if a nearby cyclist is planning to turn right, look for his raised left hand in a squared position, or an extended right hand. 

6. Beware the Left Turn: A driver trying to make a left turn sees an oncoming bicyclist, but the driver figures he has plenty of time to complete the turn. Sometimes, that's not true. Brustin says it's a common scenario: After a collision, a driver often says he didn't realize the cyclist was going that fast. 

A bike can easily get to 15- or 20-mile-per-hour speeds, Brustin says. "If in doubt, yield," he says. Exercise the same caution as you would for an approaching vehicle. 

7. Give Cyclists 3 Feet of Clearance: Twenty states have now passed laws requiring motorists to give bicycles on the roadway about 3 feet of space, Blumenthal says. "Bike riders really appreciate that," he says. The 3-foot rule helps drivers by giving them a concrete frame of reference, he says. 

And thanks to Joe Mizereck of Tallahassee, Florida, that figure is becoming a standard reference. Mizereck took up cycling five years ago and is an avid participant. He says he was so unnerved by a few close calls that he founded the "Three Feet Please" campaign. He sells cycling jerseys emblazoned with the motto. "Everyone who has bought one of these jerseys says, 'It works,''' he says. 

On his site, Joe writes: "Please understand, our campaign is not about painting the motorist as the bad guy. Unfortunately, we have scofflaws on both sides and the key is to lay down the rules for all parties to follow, make sure the parties know the rules and then enforce them." Everyone needs to be held accountable, he says, "including cyclists." A list of the states that have passed the 3-feet law is here. 

Besides giving cyclists that breathing room, Blumenthal says it's best for drivers to pass them slowly and smoothly. The motorist's tendency is to speed up and get by the cyclists as quickly as possible, he says. "It's pretty unnerving when you are on a bike and a car accelerates." You can also spare cyclists' nerves by honking sparingly, he says. 

8. Look Around — but Not at Your Phone: Brustin, who has been handling bicycle injury lawsuits for 20 years, says that drivers who have hit cyclists almost always say the same frightening, sobering thing: "I never saw him before I hit him." 

If drivers only expect other cars on the road, they're setting themselves up for dangerous interactions. A model of greater awareness can be seen in the European-style ''roundabout," with traffic coming from all directions and merging into a traffic circle. Roundabouts require every participant's attention, as does the more comprehensive "shared space" concept of traffic design, which uses minimal road signs, crosswalks, lights and barriers and integrates pedestrians, cars and bicycles in the same terrain. The need for heightened interaction, paradoxically, makes everyone safer, traffic-design experts say.
"Start looking out for everybody," Brustin suggests, including other vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.

Click the link to read the full article and get more tips for sharing the road: http://edmu.in/1eqchpQ