Child Safety | Mom's Blog

Beware of Road Rage: Aggressive driving is a major problem

Shocking Stat: Sixty-six percent of people surveyed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration feel that unsafe driving is a major threat to them and their families.

During the first few months of learning to drive, teens are most likely driving during daylight hours, possibly at peak traffic times. This is prime time for the aggressive driver who is often ignited by heavy rush-hour traffic, job stress, time pressures or just general frustration.

Have your teen follow these tips to counter aggressive drivers

* Stay calm.
* Make every attempt to get out of their way.
* Put pride in the backseat. Don’t challenge them.
* Make sure the seatbelt is fastened.
* Avoid eye contact.
* Ignore gestures and refuse to return them.

Parent Tip: Make sure your teen knows to get out of the way of drivers who tailgate, flash their lights, rev their engines, blow their horn, or weave in and out of traffic. They’re a real danger to everyone on the road.

Parent Tip: Enroll your child into a Defensive Driving course - they are low-cost, will teach life-saving skills behind the wheels and most insurance companies offer discounts for drivers who have completed a Defensive Driving course.

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Posted on December 7th, 2006 by Dee
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Tips for Highway Driving

Fact: There is a logic to the numbering system for interstate highways in the United States. Odd numbered highways run north-south while even numbered highways run east-west. And, the higher the number, the farther north or east the road.

Highway driving often gives new drivers trouble - especially merging and driving in high-speed traffic.

Practice these pointers with your teen driver:

* Identify where you want to enter the highway well in advance.
* Check all your mirrors for traffic behind you.
* Always signal to let other drivers know what you plan to do.
* Adjust your speed for the merge lane.
* Check the traffic ahead of you on the ramp, making sure these vehicles have merged first.
* Select a safe gap in traffic to merge into.
* Adjust your speed to the flow of traffic, signal and merge.
* Stop or pull onto the shoulder if you find yourself at the end of the acceleration lane and still cannot merge.
* Use minimal steering (small movements) to change lanes on the highway.
* Understand that slower moving cars stay in the right lane.
* Change lanes one at a time.

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Posted on October 24th, 2006 by Dee
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The Dangers of Cell Phone Use

Shocking Stat: Incoming calls are responsible for 42% of wireless-phone-related crashes. Drivers, age 16-20, are 63% more likely to take incoming calls on their cell phones.

Many teens today have cell phones, but using a cell phone while driving is a distraction and increases the risk of a crash by up to 400%.

* If you have to use a cell phone from the car, make sure you are completely stopped and off the road in a safe place first.
* Hands-free devices are no exception. Studies show that they’re still a distraction during driving.
* Talking on the phone while driving causes “inattention blindness,” the inability to recognize objects in the driver’s visual field.

Parent Tip: Make it a hard-and-fast rule with your teen that cell phone use in the car is limited to calling home or reporting an emergency. They can talk to friends from home.

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Posted on October 21st, 2006 by Dee
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Slow Down: You’re Moving Way Too Fast

Shocking Stat: As of June 2003, about 37% of drivers aged 14-19 were involved in fatal crashes caused by speeding.

Excessive speed is often a major factor in teen crashes. Here are some reasons why:

* Teen drivers tend to speed — especially with other teens in the car.
* Traveling at higher speeds means less reaction time.
* Lack of practical driving experience makes teens more prone to driver errors such as missing or ignoring traffic control devices (stop signs, red lights, etc.).

Parent Tip: Emphasize the importance of obeying all traffic laws and control devices such as speed limits, stop signs/red lights and pedestrian crosswalks — not just to avoid legal trouble, but also to prevent dangerous consequences.

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Posted on October 20th, 2006 by Dee
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You Drink, You Drive, You Die

Shocking Stat: In 2001, 26% percent of the 16 to 20-year-olds involved in fatal crashes had 0.08 percent or higher blood alcohol concentrations.

While teens are less likely to drink and drive than adults, the crash risk is substantially higher when they do because of inexperience with both driving and drinking alcohol. Remember, it only takes them trying it once to end a life.

Instruct your teen that if they, or a friend, drinks:

* Don’t drive or accept a ride from a drinking friend.
* Call a cab; some cities offer free cabs during the holidays.
* Agree beforehand that if your teen calls you for a ride, you will defer discussion until you both have had time to cool down.
* Sign the “SADD Contract for Life.”

Parent Tip: Kids will do as we do, not as we say. Set the example; never imbibe and drive. It could save BOTH your lives.

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Posted on October 18th, 2006 by Dee
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Defensive Driving for Teens

Shocking Stat: During the first year of licensed driving, one-in-five male and about one-in-ten female 16-year-old drivers will have a crash.

The first year of driving is the most dangerous time for teens when looking at unintentional death rates. The mix of inexperience, lack of practical driving skills and distractions can lead to death. Create a home graduated licensing program for your teen:

* Continue to ride along and coach your teen even after they obtain a license.
* Set a driving curfew (morning and night) to limit “after dark” driving.
* Monitor and limit your teen’s driving during inclement weather.
* Restrict the number of passengers when your teen is driving.
* Talk to your teen — find out what situations or techniques they have trouble with; then take them to a low-traffic location and have them practice with you in the car.

Parent Tip: Look at driving as a sport or activity your teen takes part in. Your teen is not going to be a great soccer player or concert pianist if they only practice for one year. Developing good driving habits and experience behind the wheel should not stop once your teen gets their license.

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Posted on October 16th, 2006 by Dee
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What You Should and Shouldn’t Do after a Crash

Fact: If you are involved in a crash, staying calm will help you remember the important details of the incident.

We hope no one will need to follow these steps, but if you or your teen driver is involved in a crash, there are some important things you need to know.

What to Do

* DO move your vehicle off the road or out of traffic, if possible. Protect the scene with reflectors or flares and be alert for leaking fuel.

* DO notify the police, and call an ambulance or rescue squad immediately if anyone is injured or killed.

* DO exchange the following information with all the drivers and witnesses involved:

- driver’s name, address, telephone number and driver’s license number
- make, model and license plate of the vehicle
- insurance company name and phone number and the policy number

* DO attempt to locate the owner and/or notify the police if the collision involves a parked vehicle or, other property, or if a domestic animal is injured.

What Not to Do

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Posted on October 5th, 2006 by Dee
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The Impact of a Crash

Shocking Stat: A car traveling at 30 mph that hits a stationary object will crumple by approximately two feet.

They say actions speak louder than words. Here is a way to instill in your teen an understanding of the forces that can be unleashed in a crash.

* Drive to an empty, dry parking lot with the teen properly belted into the passenger seat.

* Without warning, slam on the brakes while traveling at 5 mph. The g-Force created even at this minimal speed will throw the unsuspecting teen hard against the seatbelt, simulating a low-speed crash.

* Ask your teen how the quick, abrupt stop felt.

* Discuss what a crash–even at that speed–might be like.

Parent Tip: Use comparisons to explain the severity of even low-speed crashes to your teen driver. For example, “Crashing into a stationary object at 20 mph is equivalent to driving off a two-story (20′) building.”

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Posted on August 28th, 2006 by Dee
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The 3-Second Rule

Shocking Stat: Rear-end crashes account for approximately 23% of all crashes of which 4.5% result in death.

Keeping enough space between you and other cars on the road allows for time to react in case of an emergency.

* As the car in front of you passes a fixed point like a sign, tree or building, count off three seconds (1,001, 1,002, 1,003.) If you reach the designated point before “1,003,” slow down.

* Increase your distance by one second for each bad driving condition. For rain and fog you would add two seconds.

* Make sure you drive in the center of the lane to allow space around you.

* If the driver behind you is too close, change lanes and let them pass.

Parent Tip: Let your teen know that adding additional space between cars will not slow down their travel time by more than a few minutes. Better to arrive a few minutes late than not at all!

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Posted on August 18th, 2006 by Dee
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What Happens in a Car Crash?

In driving class you may have observed clips of car crashes, but these cars were going only 30 mph. If a driver is not wearing a seat belt and if the car doesn’t have an airbag, then when a car traveling at 55 mph hits a solid object, the following occurs:

* 0.1 sec. - The front bumper and grill collapse.

* 0.2 sec. - The hood crumples, rises and strikes the windshield. Spinning rear wheels lift from the ground. Fenders begin to wrap themselves around the solid objects. Instinct causes the driver to stiffen his legs against the impending crash. They snap at the knee joint. The passenger compartment is still going 55 mph.

* 0.3 sec. - The steering wheel starts to disintegrate and the steering column aims for the driver’s chest.

* 0.4 sec. - At this point, 2 feet of the car’s front is wrecked, the rear is still moving at 35 mph. The driver’s body is sliding forward at 55 mph.

* 0.5 sec. - The driver is impaled on the steering column. The blood rushes into his lungs.

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