It's just around the corner; winter is on the way and, if the past couple of winters are any indication, people as far south as central Georgia and Alabama, where snow is a rarity, could be looking at record snow and ice storms. That means a lot of drivers, who may have never driven in the snow, could be could be surprised by snow and ice while they are out on the road.

For someone who has never driven in snow and ice, conditions on the road can be deceiving. A light dusting of snow can be treacherous and it can hide a layer of ice below. Novice drivers often find themselves spinning out of control because they failed to fully appreciate how slippery a small amount of snow fall can be. Here are some of the issues to be aware of:

• Bridges - When temperatures start to fall below zero, the first areas on the road to freeze will be bridges and over-passes. While the ground under a road surface will stay warm for a while, the frigid air is circulating both above and below the bridge surface dropping the temperature of the bridge surface rapidly. Even a small amount of moisture on the road can turn into almost invisible patches of ice on bridges and over-passes.



• Traction - You must drive slower; your tires will not have the same grip that they would on dry roads. Most state driver's manuals provide the following guidelines for driving in bad weather:
  
  
  
  • Wet road: Slow down 5 to 10 mph.
  
  
  • Packed snow: Slow down to half speed.
  
  
  • Ice: Slow to a crawl.
  
  
  
  If you do start to skid and can't regain control of the car, try to find something to stop you. Try to get a wheel on dry pavement or on the shoulder of the road, or slowly edge into a snow bank or some bushes.



• Visibility - Falling snow can make it difficult for you to see other vehicles and for them to see you. Treat snow just like fog; turn on your low-beam headlights (high beams will reflect off the snow and make it more difficult to see) and slow down.
  
  Before driving make sure you completely clean the snow off of all of your windows and lights. Many states also require that you remove accumulated snow and ice off the surfaces of your car to keep them from flying back and blinding the driver or damaging the vehicle behind you.
  
  If you expect snow or ice overnight, lift your windshield wipers away from your windshield to keep the rubber from freezing to the glass surface.



• Watch for Other Drivers – Other drivers who either don’t know how to drive in snow and ice, or who think they can control their vehicle in spite of the road conditions can present a danger to other drivers on the road. If you see a driver like that approaching you, try to get out of the way and let them pass.

The National Safety Commission recommends The Driver Education Handbook for Parents as a valuable teaching tool for parents who are concerned with their teen's driving safety and understand the value of quality instruction.

Labels: driver safety, ice and snow, road safety, winter driving, winter weather

In spite of all the rhetoric from politicians and political pundits calling for less government regulations, it seems that there is one area where Americans agree more laws and regulations are needed. According to the results of a recently released survey by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Americans seem to agree on the need for more laws and regulations to make America’s roads safer.

Released in conjunction with the “Decade of Action on Road Safety”, an initiative designed to reduce highway deaths and injuries worldwide by the year 2020, the survey shows some surprising results. According to the AAA Foundation press release:

Specific survey results include:

• 62 percent of Americans agree the U.S. needs more laws to prevent people from doing dangerous things while driving (17 percent disagree)
• 57 percent of Americans agree their respective state government needs to do more to make their roads safer (11 percent disagree)
• 86 percent of Americans agree all new drivers should be required to complete a driver education course before they can get a driver’s license (3% disagree)
• A majority of Americans agree that both auto manufacturers (60 percent) and the federal government (41 percent) need to do more to make cars safer (9 and 21 percent, respectively, disagree)
• 70 percent of Americans agree that driving safety laws should be enforced more strictly (6 percent disagree)
  

For global context, separate information provided by the "Make Roads Safe" global campaign shows:

• 1.3 million people are killed on the world’s roads each year
• 3. 5 million people globally are injured, many disabled as a result
• Annual road deaths globally are forecast to rise to 1.9 million by 2020
• Road deaths are the #1 cause of death for young people worldwide (including in the U.S.)
• By 2015, road deaths will be the leading health burden for children

This survey comes on the heels of a study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) released in February that shows that red light cameras save lives. The study compared cities (with and without red light cameras) with populations of more than 200,000 and determined that:

• 159 lives were saved in the 14 biggest cities with red light cameras
• An additional 815 lives could have been saved during the same period had red light cameras been installed.
• 676 people were killed and approximately 113,000 were injured by red light runners in 2009. Two-thirds of the victims were people other than the red light runners.

If you agree that more needs to be done to make the roads safer, contact your local and state representatives and let them know how you feel.

Labels: driver education, driving safety, red light, red light camera, red light runners, road safety, vehicle safety