| According to the National Institute for Highway | | | | tires can cause your car to hydroplane and lose all |
| Safety, the number and severity of auto | | | | control almost guaranteeing an accident. Take a |
| accidents increases 10 fold between the hours of | | | | penny and make sure you cannot see the |
| 11 pm and 3 am. Here are proven tips to | | | | presidents head, else replace the tire. Also have |
| decrease your chances of an accident. Some of | | | | them properly balanced and rotated at least once |
| this may sound like common sense, but you | | | | per year. What good are good reflexes if your |
| wouldn't believe how many people don't follow | | | | car won't respond correctly? |
| these tips. | | | | 5) Replace windshield wipers every spring. When it |
| 1) Stay home. Don't go out unless you have to. | | | | rains, especially at night your visibility is reduced. |
| Even if you implement every safety tip below, | | | | Ineffective wipers will further reduce your vision |
| you still run a higher risk of running into someone | | | | and increase your risk of an accident. Some auto |
| who isn't following these tips or is driving drunk. | | | | parts stores will even install them for free - take |
| Every night there are reports of people killed by a | | | | advantage of this. |
| drunk driver that were on there way home - it | | | | 6) Have your battery checked at every oil |
| isn't worth it. If you don't need to go out, don't. | | | | change. This will reduce your chances of being left |
| 2) Don't drink and drive. You may think you hold | | | | stranded on the road in the middle of the night. |
| your liquor well, and that you won't get arrested | | | | More pedestrian accidents happen this way. The |
| or be over the legal limit in your state, but it is a | | | | other driver is less likely to see you and |
| proven fact that any alcohol in your system will | | | | pedestrian accidents are awful. You will not win |
| slow down or impair your reflexes. What if | | | | with a 3000 pound car going 50 mph. For |
| something happens where you will need to react | | | | emergencies pack a flashlight in your car and a |
| quickly? Its not worth the risk. Get a designated | | | | reflective vest so you can be seen. |
| driver. Everyday there are families torn apart by | | | | 7) Take advantage of driving classes offered by |
| a drunk driver who thought they could handle | | | | local companies, the DMV and your local police. |
| driving. Alcohol also impairs judgement and will | | | | 8) Wear your seatbelt. Working for an |
| make you think you can drive when you shouldn't. | | | | emergency squad, you see the grimm results of |
| Don't drive drunk - and don't let others drive | | | | victims not wearing their seat belts - being thrown |
| drunk. Contact MADD if you have questions on | | | | from the car - this resulted in many deaths, |
| this. | | | | paralization, severe burns and disfigurment, etc... |
| 3) Fix, repair, restore your headlights so they | | | | I'm sorry if you find it uncomfortable, but if you |
| work like new. It amazes me when I see people | | | | are in an accident it will increase your chances of |
| driving at night with very dim headlights. If you | | | | survival and decrease the severity of the |
| can barely see, how safe do you think that is? | | | | accident. Wear your seat belt. |
| Your headlights are the number one safety | | | | Many people think the police are just out to give |
| feature for night time driving. If you need new | | | | tickets, but who would want to have to pick up |
| bulbs, get them (they only cost around $10 each). | | | | severely injured children or worse. They see this |
| If your lenses are cloudy, scratched, worn get a | | | | stuff too often and then they have to go home |
| headlight repair, cleaner, restorer kit (see the | | | | to their families. When I was working at the |
| authors link below). These kits will return your | | | | volunteer emergency squad we found even the |
| headlights to like new condition and save you | | | | toughest cops would cry at some of the |
| hundreds over replacements. Having worked on a | | | | accidents we were called to. State Psychologists |
| volunteer emergency squad, dim headlights were | | | | were sometimes assigned to help the police, |
| only second to drunk driving in the number of | | | | emergency medical personnel, etc... as the |
| accidents we dealt with - and they tended to be | | | | accidents would be so traggic and they could |
| the most severe. There is no excuse for having | | | | have been easily prevented by some of the |
| dim headlights - get them fixed. | | | | above tips. Please don't drink and drive, wear your |
| 4) Don't drive on bald or worn tires. This is | | | | seat belt and drive safely. |
| especially true for driving in the rain. Bald or worn | | | | |