BEWARE AT HILL TOPS

WRECK-LESS DRIVING©
by Gunther Doerfert, Auto Safety Columnist

BEWARE AT HILL TOPS
ST. LOUIS, MO: "Fast moving teen killed as she crashes into slow vehicle just over a hill top" reports the local newspaper. Slow drivers infuriate a lot of younger drivers, mostly because these faster drivers resent someone impeding their "right" to go faster. Usually the slow one is older. In retirement areas the resentment by the speedsters may reach the boiling point. The horn blowing, gesturing and cursing may become more dangerous than is the slow driving.

Hill tops can be especially dangerous. Just after passing the top of a hill a slow vehicle is a potential danger to others coming up behind at a lawful speed. They may crash into the slow vehicle before seeing that it is moving too slowly. Older persons, especially, may have difficulty judging the speed of autos they are approaching. Younger ones simply may be preoccupied or mesmerized by the radio or by companions. Slow driving can be just as deadly as is speeding.

Faster drivers should be aware of this possibility whenever topping a hill or in a blind curve. In short, approaching a hill top requires extra vigilance by all drivers, including the slow movers just beyond the top. Also, all vehicle occupants should be using the seat safety devices to minimize injuries from a crash into an unexpected slow mover.
GHD112 all rights reserved

AVOIDING THAT FINAL EXIT

WRECK-LESS DRIVING ©
by Gunther Doerfert, Auto Safety Columnist

AVOIDING THAT FINAL EXIT
BOVINE, MS: Many older persons prefer to drive the back roads rather than the Interstates. Retirees seem to have enough time to do so. It is more relaxing, there is more to see, and there are more antique stores for that every 2 hour leg-stretch. Believe it or not though, statistics show that controlled access highways are far safer than ordinary roads.

Going from Jackson to Vicksburg, I-20 is the only direct road. On that highway there are numerous drivers slowing in the Interstate lanes just prior to exiting. This puts others in danger, not expecting the driver ahead to take the foot off the accelerator, not using the brake lights as a sign of slowing, nor using the directional signals. Such drivers apparently have no idea that they are endangering their own lives by such thoughtless driving. To be sure, they are found in all states so this is not a complaint just about Mississippi motorists.

MS auto safety experts say that in Y2005 about 3,400 MS drivers over age 50 completed a classroom safe driving program. Among many skills they renewed was making safe exits from high speed roads. For their attendance they received an extra auto insurance premium reduction in addition to refreshing their life-saving driving habits.
GHD111 all rights reserved

GREYHOUNDS DO IT

WRECK-LESS DRIVING©
by Gunther Doerfert, Auto Safety Columnist

GREYHOUNDS DO IT
MESA, AZ: Izzy D. writes that “It was raining at high noon on University Ave. Some drivers were burning the beams and others were not. It was easy to see (no pun) that the ones with headlights turned on were visible sooner than those driving without lights. Those using just the parking lights were a poor second”. That extra distance offered by the headlights could be the saving grace in a possible crash situation. We want the unsafe drivers to know where we are and would appreciate the same courtesy returned from them. Many states require that the headlights be on whenever the wipers are on continuously.

When rain, fog, mist, snow or other stuff is in the air it is smart driving to burn the beams and to go slower. On I-10 south of Phoenix that week before Super Bowl a dust storm caused a 25 vehicle pile-up with some personal injuries. Safe drivers would have slowed and turned on their lights when they saw the dust cloud ahead.

In most states motorbikes must burn lights any time they are running. Greyhound buses do it, too. Tyson Food Company trucks had this message on their rear door, "For your safety we drive with our headlights on". If that is good for them it should be good also for all of us. Many new autos have running lights which are on whenever the engine is running. Others allow “permanent” switching on of parking or headlights which then go on or off in sync with the ignition switch. Owners of older cars ought to retrofit theirs for safety, or simply remember to turn them on and off manually whenever the ignition switch is operated.
GHD110 all rights reserved

STUMPING ON THE INTERSTATE

WRECK-LESS DRIVING©
by Gunther Doerfert, Auto Safety Columnist

STUMPING ON THE INTERSTATE
LAREDO, TX: Howie X. was driving on I-35 after a quick trip across the Rio Grande to get some truly hot salsa. He saw what could have been his crash about to happen. There was an ancient auto stopped in the right driving lane and several young men were outside the vehicle looking at a tire.

It is absolutely foolhardy to stop on a busy highway unless the vehicle simply will not move another inch. On Interstates, vehicles are not permitted to stop on the roadway except in dire emergency. If your auto breaks down, move it off the road to the service lane. Raise the hood or tie a white cloth on the door handle or antenna. Stay inside your locked auto until reliable help arrives. A woman alone invites real danger by using the CB radio to call for help. Every kook within hearing could go looking for her. A cell phone on a minimum cost contract is an inexpensive safety device for all drivers.

Finally, do not walk along the service lane to obtain help. Too many distracted drivers wander into the service lane and your small frame may be noticed there too late. Each year more than 90,000 pedestrians are hit by autos. About 5,500 of them die from the injuries.
GHD109 all rights reserved

35 STATES REWARD DRIVERS

WRECK-LESS DRIVING ©
by Gunther Doerfert, Auto Safety Columnist.

35 STATES REWARD DRIVERS
COLUMBIA, MD: Surprisingly, most of our Country's drivers do not know whether their state legislature has given them the benefit of an extra insurance premium reduction. This incentive would be given to those who complete a safe driving classroom program. It is the best bargain the legislature can offer. This takes no tax dollars to make the roadways and streets safer.

The insurance companies give up a little premium and gain a significant reduction in injury and death claims. One major auto insurer says that its 10% extra discount is fully justified by its claims experience. Those completing the program have significantly fewer injury and fatal crashes and fewer moving violation convictions. Employers save money too. They have lower medical insurance premiums and less lost time and retraining costs because fewer employees are injured.

Everybody wins in these 35 states (and DC): AK, AL, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, KS, KY, ID, IL, LA, MN, MS, MT, ND, NM, NV, NJ, NY, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WY. In the remaining 17 states and territories sponsors of such legislative incentives need your help in getting their bills passed. Meantime, be among the many drivers who say, "Safety Does Sell" and take a few hours to become a better mature driver.
GHD108 all rights reserved