Safe Driving Tips

Night Driving

Visibility is reduced at night, why? Because it's dark. Even those of you with 20/20 vision can't see as well at night. In some areas the nighttime speed limits are 5 mph lower than the daytime limits. It is difficult to see pedestrians and other non vehicle activity from a distance even with street lighting. If you're traveling too fast and come up on some road debris or large pothole you may not

have time to maneuver and can lose control of the car and cause damage to your vehicle, yourself or another person or vehicle. So just slow down when driving at night especially if you're unfamiliar with the area.

Elderly Drivers

I give kudos to those who are still driving in their eighties. I sure hope to be one of those. Anyway, they are a little slower . . . ok, sometimes a lot slower. But they still need to get to the grocery

store and their medical appointments. Maybe visit their kids and grand children because their kids say they are too busy to visit them. Or maybe they just want to hang out at the senior center

for bingo, checkers or whatever else is going on. Sure their reflexes are slower and their vision isn't as sharp anymore, but point is, don't flash your lights or honk your horn if you should end up

behind them. Don't get as close as you can without hitting their car and then passing at a high rate of speed. That type of behavior can make them lose their concentration and lose control of the

vehicle. The tip here is to back off and as soon as it is safe you can pass in a courteous fashion.

Attentive Driving

My first rule of safety is to not talk, text or check messages on your cell phone while driving. Everyone thinks they can do it and still keep up with traffic and their surroundings, but they can't. You end up holding up traffic because you waited an extra three seconds or more after the light turned green or you abruptly cut across two or three lanes of traffic to make your turn because you were looking at the phone and not the road. Applying make up, yelling at the kids in the back and sometimes eating can cause inattentive driving. Most auto collisions can be avoided, so let's all pay attention and drive!