What is distracted driving? We teach in defensive driving class that distracted driving is any activity that could divert a person’s attention away from the primary task of driving. All distractions endanger driver, passenger, and bystander safety. These types of distractions include: Texting Using a cell phone or smartphone Eating and drinking Talking to passengers Grooming Reading, including maps Using … Read More

Defensive Driving Tip #69: Choose Your Route for Safety!     Life is tenuous, and although we are tough, it doesn’t take much for us to exceed the limits of what our bodies can take. How do we mitigate the dangers of an active life? For me, the answer is to consider the risks and eliminate or manage them. That’s … Read More

Defensive Driving Tip #68: Don’t “Pump” ABS Brakes!   We teach in defensive driving class that ABS brakes have been around awhile, but they have had a “close to zero effect on fatal crashes involvements” (The Long-Term Effects of ABS in Passenger Cars and LTVs, National Highway Safety Administration Report, DOT HS811 182, 2009). The problem is that drivers have … Read More

Defensive Driving Tip #67: Keep Your Child Safe in the Center This may come as a surprise if you’re not a parent, but We teach in defensive driving class that kids aren’t born with perfectly formed and completed bodies! Their skeletal structure, for one thing, isn’t fully grown and “put together” at birth. Their bones aren’t as supportive and rigid … Read More

Defensive Driving Tip #66: Secure Loose Objects! We teach in defensive driving class that many injuries are caused by loose objects that “fly” in a collision. When your vehicle suffers a sudden deceleration (as in a collision), the only things that stop with it, at least immediately, are the ones that are secured somehow. When the vehicle decelerates, a loose … Read More

Defensive Driving Tip #65: Don’t Ride in Pickup Truck Beds! We teach in defensive driving class that the bed of a pick-up truck is for CARGO, not people. If you care about your passengers (or your pets), do not allow them to ride in the back of your truck. You may be the best driver in the world — but … Read More

Defensive Driving Tip #64: Avoid Head Injuries We teach in defensive driving class that the one part of the human body that doesn’t heal quickly (or at all) if injured? Forty to fifty percent of brain injuries occur in vehicular mishaps and even in cases of minor injuries, the long term effects can be permanent and life-altering. For kids, 20% … Read More

Defensive Driving Tip #63: Seat Belts and Air Bags Go Together! We teach in defensive driving class that in any crash, there are three collisions to worry about. The first collision is when your vehicle hits something – another vehicle, a tree, an embankment, etc. The second collision is when an occupant’s body is thrown against the vehicle structure. The … Read More

Defensive Driving Tip #62: Don’t Cross a Freeway Median!   We teach in defensive driving class that the “technical” term for an Interstate, a freeway, highway, or an expressway is “controlled-access highway.” The elements behind the safety and speed of travel on these highways are common direction, common speed, and no intersections to choke traffic or create conflicts. Simply stated, … Read More

Defensive Driving Tip #61: Never Stop on a Freeway!   This one seems like such a no-brainer, but you see vehicles stopped on controlled access highways all the time. You may have no other choice if you have an emergency, but otherwise, take an off-ramp and find a parking lot to get out of traffic and off the road for … Read More