Cold Weather Driving Safety

With the cold weather back, please drive safely!

Winter driving safety is as easy as following the three "P"s.

~ Prepare

1. Prepare for the winter season. Maintain you car to perform in cold conditions. Check the battery, windshield wipers and tire tread. Put no-freeze windshield wiper fluid in the washer reservoir. Check your antifreeze.

2. Stock your car with essentials in the event of a breakdown, bad road conditions or an accident:

Flashlight Jumper cables Flares Sand or cat litter Ice scrapers and snow brush Shovel Blankets

While the first three should always be in your trunk, the last three are winter necessities. Sand or cat litter will help you gain traction should you find your car on an icy road or parking lot.

When your car stalls, put on the hazard lights, put out flares and put on the dome light. Make sure other motorists can see you.

Ice scrapers are a necessity for clearing the windshield. Remember, ice builds up while you are parked in a lot, so you need scrapers in the car. Snow flying off the hood can stick to the windshield and refreeze into ice. Brush it off.

If you could not control the skid and ended up in a snow bank, you will need to dig out your tires, hence the shovel. If your car is stopped, use the shovel to be sure the exhaust is clear so you can stay in the car and be warm.

You know the heater works, so why carry blankets? If you are in an accident or the car breaks down, you cannot guarantee your heater will work. In freezing weather, hypothermia can grip you in as little as fifteen minutes.

3. Plan your route. Avoid areas where accidents occur on clear days, as they will be particularly dangerous in wintry conditions. If you must go through these areas, be overly cautious.

Plan how long it will take to get there and add ten minutes. No one will fire you for being early.

Check the weather. On days of snow, allow an extra minute per mile to account for other drivers who may not be as winter driving savvy. Leave earlier for sleet.

Let someone know your route and when you should arrive. If you are late, they can call for help for you.

4. Practice winter driving. If this is your first winter, you are uncomfortable on winter roads or you are inexperienced, drive during daylight in an empty, snow-covered parking lot. Get a feel for the way you car reacts to the conditions.

Steer into a skid. Turn your wheels into the skid. Pump standards brakes or apply constant pressure to anti-lock brakes. Practicing what to do when you skid on ice will help you calmly react if you skid on the road.

Know braking distances. Cars are harder to stop on water, snow and ice. Test how far it takes you to stop the car.

~ Protect

Protect yourself by buckling your seat belt. Use child safety seats and restraints properly. Never place a rear-facing infant car seat in front of an air bag. Keep children under twelve in the backseat, buckled up.

~ Prevent

1. You are the number one person to prevent an accident. Never mix alcohol or drugs with driving. If you are planning to drink, designate a sober driver.

2. Slow down and increase the distance between your car and other drivers. Watch out for pedestrians and bicyclists. Share the road courteously.

3. Avoid fatigue. Get plenty of rest. If driving long distances, stop every three hours. When you can, alternate drivers.

Driving safety is the responsibility of all drivers. Driving safely in winter does not have to be difficult.

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Pedestrian Fatalities: When, Who & Why

Let's look at more facts about pedestrian crash fatalities in the United States.

When does it happen?
Every 107 minutes a pedestrian dies from a crash. On average, a pedestrian is struck every 12 minutes, every day.

New Year’s Day and Halloween account for the highest number of pedestrian fatalities, consistently 20%. The third day has changed from December 23 to December 1. October, November and December account for 32% of all pedestrian crashes.

Weekends are deadliest for pedestrians. More than 45% of all pedestrian crashes occur on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with nearly 18% occurring on Saturday.

Three hours pedestrians should stay off the road are 6-9 p.m., when 25% of the deaths occur. Another 21% happen between 9 p.m. and midnight. Only 6% happen between 9 a.m. and noon. Darkness is considered the number one factor.

Who gets killed?
More than 33,000 men were killed. Even though men represent 49% of the American population, they are killed in pedestrian crashes 69% of the time.

60% of pedestrians killed are white and 15% black. American Indian, Pacific Islanders and Asian represent another 5%. 19% of the deaths were determined to be of unknown race, based on corresponding death certificates.

Contrary to public perception, children under 16 only account for 10% of pedestrian deaths each year, even though children make up 21% of the American population.

People over 65 represent 13% of the population, yet represent 21% of the pedestrian fatalities. Different factors cited in this anomaly are frailty, poorer mobility and poorer eyesight.

Why does it happen?
In most cases, the pedestrian has to bear some of the blame for the crash. Their actions are represented by the following statistics:

Percentage/Action
27.3 Improperly crossed the street
25.4 Walked against the traffic flow
13.9 Failed to yield the right of way
12.1 Darted into the flow of traffic
9.8 Not visible to the driver
2.6 Were inattentive to traffic
1.5 Failed to obey traffic control

More than one-fourth of the deaths occurred because the pedestrian crossed the street improperly. Another fourth of all pedestrian deaths were attributed to walking, working or playing near the road. Nearly 14% of the crashes were caused by the pedestrian failing to yield to the vehicle.



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Pedestrian Fatalities: On the decrease & Where

What do New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix and Houston have in common? More pedestrian deaths than all other cities in the United States.

Pedestrian deaths are on the decline. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration commissioned a ten year study to examine the trends in crashes resulting in pedestrian deaths.

Twelve percent of all vehicle crash deaths are pedestrians. This means they are not occupants of a vehicle, motorcycle riders or bicycle riders: they are on foot.

The study, authored by Dow Chang, Ph.D. and P.E., revealed trends in those killed and the conditions under which they were killed.

• Men are more likely to be killed as pedestrians than women.
• January 1 and October 31 were the deadliest days of the year.
• People over the age of 64 are more likely to be killed as pedestrians.
• Blood alcohol content (BAC) increase the probability of dying as a pedestrian.
• 58% of pedestrian deaths are not in a crosswalk.
• Most pedestrian fatality crashes occur between 6 and 9 p.m., on Friday or Saturday, under sleet conditions and/or in the dark.

A look at the numbers
Between 1997 and 2007, the number of pedestrian deaths decreased from 5,321 to 4,784, representing a decrease of nearly 10%. Pedestrians are the only group of people whose fatality statistics have declined. They represent 12% of all fatalities in vehicle crashes.

While this sounds like good news, the chances of being killed has increased. In 1997, the chances a pedestrian would be killed in a crash was 5.3%. By 2006, that chance increased to 7.1%.

What did not change over the decade was the number of pedestrians killed in single vehicle crashes. Ten times more pedestrians are killed each year by single vehicles than those killed by multiple car crashes.

Where does it happen?
You already read about the top five cities, but there is more. Cities do account for 67% of the fatalities, but 87% of the cities in the United States do not report any fatalities. More than 90% of the cities which did have fatalities had nine or fewer. Less than 1% of cities had over 100 pedestrian fatalities.

Pedestrians are not being killed on the Interstate highway system, which forbids pedestrian travel. Nor are they on interstate highway roads (10%) or expressways (only 4%), instead 51% of pedestrians are killed on major traffic arteries around and inside cities. Local roads and streets accounted for another 30%.

The top five states are New Mexico, Florida and Arizona, with Washington D.C. and Nevada tied. Per capita, these states average more than 2.5 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 population.

Tomorrow we will look into when these crashes happen, to whom and why.


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Car Facts & Safety

Driving safety is important to everyone, even those who do not drive. This week's blog will investigate some interesting statistics on vehicles, driving safety and the combination of children and cars.

A view of the future

Driveway accidents
Children under four are the most likely to be killed in accidents in driveways while adults (or teens) are backing up.

Be on the lookout for safety tips and advice on how to protect your child from this type of accident.

Vehicle Fires
Vehicle fires on the highway took the lives of 365 people in the United States in 2007.

Do you know what to do in the case of a car fire? Do you know how to prevent one? I will be answering both of these questions in this week's blog.

Teen Drivers
35% of teens who die do it in a vehicle crash.

What causes teen crashes? Do you know the best ways to help teen drivers (and passengers) survive to age 20? Both of these questions will be highlighted and answered this week.

Pedestrian crashes
January 1 and October 31 are the most dangerous days for pedestrians. More pedestrians die on these two days than any others.

This week we will look at which pedestrians are at the highest risk (and it may not be who you think), what conditions are the most dangerous and how to avoid becoming a pedestrian fatality.

Stay tuned or subscribe to get a full palette of driving safety tips.


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