Archive for the ‘Weekly Safety/Law Tip’ Category.
March 12, 2011, 9:31 pm
…the eyes. “Cognitive distraction contributes to a withdrawal of attention from the visual scene, where all the information the driver sees is not processed.” (Strayer, D. L., Drews, F. A., & Johnston, W. A. (2003). Cell phone induced failures of visual attention during simulated driving. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 9(1), 23-32.)
IN OTHER WORDS, the more your mind is preoccupied the narrower your field of vision, or the less you’ll see. This is as true driving as it is walking.
Hence the old adage, “When driving, think about driving.”
March 9, 2011, 9:53 pm
In every state the minimum requirement of a motorist when passing another vehicle (bicycle=vehicle), is to pass at a “safe distance.” This holds true when passing a bicyclist in a bike lane. In no state, that I am aware of, is this “safe distance” requirement suspended if passing a bicyclist riding within a bike lane. Given our crumbling transportation infrastructure give bicyclists wide berth when passing. Bike lanes are notorious for debris. Many a bicyclist are forced to move side to side within them in attempt to avoid road carnage.
February 28, 2011, 7:34 pm
consider: according to the National Safety Council, the “lives lost on U.S. roadways
each year are equivalent to the lives that would be lost from a 100-person jet
crashing every day of the year.” This is a sobering and sad reality.
February 23, 2011, 10:37 pm
When driving in snow a quick and accurate way to judge whether or not you are driving on ice
is to look at the rear tires of the car in front. If the rear tires are free of snow and just the black
of the rubber is showing, odds are you’re driving on a layer of ice. Slowly back off the accelerator
and create more room between you and the car in front. You might just need it.
February 18, 2011, 11:00 pm
….don’t do it in an intersection. On a multi-lane controlled intersection (one with traffic lights), there are 54 points of conflict. So, if you’re going to talk,
text, reach or doodle, do it when you’re not in the middle of or approaching
the war zone. Do what you gotta do where there is less potential of being involved in a crash.
February 17, 2011, 9:54 pm
Ironic that the way a pedestrian establishes right-of-way in the street is by prudently stepping from a
place of safety (the curb) and into the kill zone (street). Heads-up, drivers, (this means bicyclists too),
once a pedestrian has stepped into the street at an intersection we must slow down or come to a complete
stop so as to yield. Whether the driver must stop or simply slow down depends on the individual states.
For example, in Oregon and Washington, it means stop and stay stop until the pedestrian is clear of the
adjacent lane. In California it means, slow down and stop if necessary.
January 28, 2011, 10:04 pm
Roads are constructed with material that helps minimize skidding. When that pavement
becomes wet it loses approximately 50% of its friction capability.
In other words, the odds of finding yourself skidding while braking in an emergency and possibly
losing control of your vehicle, increase by 50% when those roads you’re driving on are wet.
Don’t underestimate a wet road or overestimate your ability to drive on it.
January 25, 2011, 9:43 pm
Sure fire way of knowing if you’re keeping a safe following distance between you and the vehicle in front:
while driving, imagine an ice pick protruding out of the center of the steering column that stops 1 inch from your sternum.
This ‘lil visual will help you establish a fairly accurate safe following distance if you drive as if it were true.
January 16, 2011, 11:54 am
Every state (except one or two) has a “due care” law on the books. This is important because it can, and does, come into play when involved in a motor vehicle crash. Many believe that if involved in a crash and aligned with the letter of the law they’re “as good as gold.” Not. There is the letter of the law and the intent of the law. The intent of traffic law is to ensure the safety of all road users. The letter of the law is the rungs on the ladder that get us there.
Just because you may be standing on a rung of that ladder doesn’t mean you’re climbing in the right direction. Due care takes into account context and reasonable expectations – or what would other reasonable drivers do in the same situation.
December 28, 2010, 8:32 pm
When approaching an intersection you plan to make a turn at, BEWARE of a bicyclist you’ve recently passed. Why? Because that cyclist is traveling much faster than you might think. By the time you’re committed to a turn (across the path of the bicyclist) he/she will most likely be right on top of you.
Your responsibility as a motorist is to respect the bicyclist as having the
same rights/duties as any other motorist. What this means? If the bicyclist is traveling straight and you’re making a turn across the path of the cyclist, the bicyclist has PREFERENTIAL right-of-way. In other words, you, the motorist, must yield before turning. It’s easy to misjudge a cyclist’s speed. But beware, if there is a collision between you and a bicyclist, you, the motorist, will be held liable.
