With millions of people on the roadways today, everyone needs to share these roadways with other drivers. For this reason, there are some safe driving tips that all drivers need to be aware of to ensure the roadways are safe for everyone!
**Full Disclosure: This is a sponsored post.
Adjust your mirrors properly– Ensuring that your car’s mirrors are properly aligned will help to avoid blind spots and to provide maximum visibility. Several years back, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) published a research paper stating that “your side mirrors should be adjusted outward, far enough to make their viewing angle slightly overlap that of your rear-view mirror.”
Always wear your seat belt – All states, except for New Hampshire, have mandatory seat belt laws. Seat belts, when used correctly, are designed to keep you in place in the event of a car crash. If you’re not wearing your seat belt and you are involved in a crash, you may be thrown around inside your car or worse, thrown out of your vehicle. Wearing your seat belt is not only the law, but it will help to save your life as well!
Don’t drink and drive – According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2017, there were 10,874 motor vehicle accident fatalities, as a result of the driver having a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of .08 or higher. That’s nearly 30 deaths every single day! The sad part is that the majority of those deaths could have been prevented if the driver, who consumed alcohol, just stayed where they were, had a sober friend drive them home or called a taxi instead of getting behind the wheel of a vehicle.
Don’t text while driving – 47 states ban text messaging for all drivers. Missouri bans text messaging for drivers 21 years and younger. Arizona and Montana are the only 2 states that don’t have any laws when it comes to texting and driving. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), every day in the U.S., approximately 9 people are killed and over 1,000 are injured in car accidents where a driver was distracted. Reading or sending a text message, even a brief one, can easily distract you from paying attention to what is going on around you when you’re driving. If you must read or send a text, pull over and stop in a safe place to do so. There are also a couple of apps that can help with distracted driving, such as Cell Control, Drive Mode and Life Saver.
Keep your windshield clean– Keeping your car’s windshield clean helps to ensure that you have a clear view of the road in front of you. When the sun is out, the light will reflect off the dirt and dust from the windshield, limiting your visibility. Things like fingerprints and smudges can leave a nasty film on the inside of the windshield, while bugs, road grime and tree sap can dirty the outside. So, take a few minutes to clean the interior and the interior of the windshield.
Obey the speed limit – According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2017, high speed driving killed 9,717 people, accounting for 26% of all traffic fatalities in 2017. Those are pretty startling statistics! While driving over the speed limit may save you a few minutes time to get where you are going, it also significantly increases your risk
of an accident. Adhere to the posted speed limits and if you need to get somewhere fast, plan to leave a few minutes earlier.
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