Online Defensive Driving Tips

With gasoline prices on the rise (again!), drivers can benefit greatly from a few tips on how to reduce gasoline expenses said the U.S. Department of Energy. According to this agency, reckless driving includes speeding and rapid acceleration and braking, and this can result in lowering your gas mileage by nearly 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent in town. In general, it is a known fact that every 5 miles that you drive over 60 mph is going to result in you paying an additional $24 cents per gallon of gas. Excessive engine idling also results in wastage of gasoline. Using your car’s overdrive gears and cruise control appropriately also leads to better mileage. Try not to place unnecessary heavy items in your car, as adding an extra 100 pounds to your car will reduce the miles per gallon by nearly 2 percent. Maintaining your car regularly can save you a lot of money on gasoline. Fixing any serious problems like a faulty oxygen sensor can result in nearly 40 percent improvement...

While law makers are trying to eliminate distractions like texting and using cell phones while driving, many motorists are now tagging along another risk – their dogs. According to experts, an unrestrained dog in a moving vehicle can be lethal. Dogs curled up on a lap, resting their paws on the steering wheel or merely hanging out of the window can pose quite a lot of risk. Several thousand car accidents that occur each year are believed to have been caused by unrestrained pets. Katherine Miller, the director of applied science and research for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says, “An unrestrained pet can be hugely distracting – if he is seeking your attention, putting his face right in front of yours, starts chewing up the upholstery or is vomiting because he is carsick”. This issue is now attracting attention in some of the statehouses. Hawaii, for instance, absolutely forbids drivers from driving with a pet on their lap. Similarly, the Oregon lawmakers...

Drivers are multitasking anywhere, anytime while driving. They read messages, call, eat, talk, apply makeup and lots more. Not that we encourage them to do it but let’s be clear – Multitasking is dangerous especially when you are driving! Multitasking is an addiction that most of us have. We live in a fast paced world and we can’t stop ourselves from killing two birds with one stone. Multitasking is good to some level. But seriously during driving, let’s hope the drivers have not lost their sense. Not only are they putting their lives in danger but that of others as well. Recently a guy was spotted reading books, taking calls and drinking coffee while driving. If you are doing all these things in one time, where exactly is your concentration? More than 80% of drivers have identified themselves as multitaskers. 60% of them eat while driving, 19% of them indulge themselves in fixing hair, texting or chatting while 14% have to comfort or discipline their children while on the road and 8% ...

An association between OSHA and U.S. DOT has been formed in order to fight against distracted driving. The main goal is to stop texting while driving on the job. “It is imperative that employers eliminate financial and other incentives that encourage workers to text while driving. It is well recognized that texting while driving dramatically increases the risk of a motor vehicle injury or fatality.”, says Hilda L. Solis, Labor Secretary. President Obama had signed an Executive Order related to safe driving last year. This order included the prohibition of federal employees from texting when they are driving. On the 21st of September, OSHA announced an initiative. The following points were included in it. A special campaign that will work on educating employers to discourage work related distracted driving. Reaching out to young employees by coordinating with the DOL partners and agencies. Investigate and issue penalties whenever a complaint is lodged regarding an employer that demands ...

The state is celebrating National Teen Driver Safety Week from Sunday to Saturday with a view of bringing attention to the laws that govern new drivers. Also, the impact parents have by setting down limits on their teens for modeling responsible driving behavior will be taken into consideration. Recent studies have shown that parents are the number one influence on their teens' driving. The leading cause of death among the teens aged between 16-19 in Washington is motor vehicle accidents. It has caused the death of 27 teen drivers in the year 2010. 84 teens died in motor crashes through 2008-2009. Parents should keep in mind the following steps to help teens become safe drivers: Try to enforce intermediate driver licensing law. The teens should not be allowed to carry passengers younger than 20 during the first six months. During the next six months they should be allowed to carry no more than 3 passengers that are younger than 20. Teens should not be allowed to drive between 1 am ...

The AARP Driver Safety Program is scheduled for 8 am to noon on Wednesday, Oct 13 at the Alvin Police Department, 1500 S. Gordon St. This upcoming session is sponsored by the Alvin Police Department and the American Association of Retired Persons(AARP). This driver refresher course was first initiated in 1979 by the AARP. It is specially constructed to help out older drivers. This Driver Safety Program tries to cover issues and health problems like physical changes related to age, declining perceptual skills, license renewal requirements and other local driving problems. The instructor appointed by AARP, Ken Moore, will be teaching this course. He says he is looking forward to “reminding seniors of the skills and techniques that they must have once learned” and to “give them an update on the rules of the road”. Only the first 18 seniors, aged 50 or older, who register will be admitted into the class. The members of the AARP will be charged $12 person, whereas those who are non-members ...

There are people who say that driving on the road in Houston in best days is very difficult. It’s a total nightmare with people who can’t manage to drive the speed limit on freeways and lack the street signage across half the town. A lot of construction in this state which is seems a never ending process lack the signature and so many streets and even highways get completely different names on random sections. There are reports which states that Houston comes under the category of least road rage services. Last year the city was ranked beyond top 10 cities all of which contributed to move “up” drivers in Houston which are tied with San Diego for no.1 spot in terms of seeing other drivers too fast. A recent survey states that when it comes to talking on cellphones behind the wheel, Houston stands on second number to admit that while driving they are on their cell phones. Seeing this one can say that Houston traffic is not a joke. But there is no solution to it. The only thing one can d...

A National Study had been done aiming to provide old drivers with clean records which are safe and licensed taking the dangerous drivers off the roadways. The program has been designed by Canadian Driving Research for its vehicular safety which is aimed to provide some of the myths associated with seniors to drive . The document received by the study aims at providing some of the safest drivers on the road which are old drivers aiming to reject any calls for age-based restrictions. This program receives on an average $5.5 million grant from the state and currently recruiting around 1,000 elderly people to participate in such course. To check their driving capacity and quality a electronic device will be attached to participants car. Also tests would be done which includes physical and mental functions test to let doctors analyze the seniors who are safe drivers and thus would ensure to avoid risk of car crashes. The drivers above the age of 60 must come from various countries which inc...

The Mid Ohio School and keybank in support with Kumho Tires has been innovated the idea to offer a “key to safe driving” a free program for teens which gives temporary learner’s permit or driver’s license. This program will be a condensed version of The Mid Ohio School’s popular defensive driving program wherein upto 100 students will get knowledge about classroom instructions and the chance to practice emergency lane change in the vehicles watchful eyes. The main highlight for day students would be to drive Honda car, which simulates driving in worst situations along with hands-on experience for distracted driving. Depending on the profession the average time to get coached on driving would differ. The key to the course is that it will provide teen drivers additional skills which aren’t taught in regular driving training programs. The skills taught in Honda Teen Defensive Driving Program acts as a preventive measure to the inexperienced driver. In this program the participants would...