A Bona-Fide, Foolproof, Absolutely Guaranteed Way to Allow You To Drink All you Want, and Still Drive Yourself Home Without Getting a DUI.

I’m going to tell you a secret. It’s a very old and cherished secret. It’s how to drink yourself into a stupor, and then drive yourself home safely right afterwards. Are you ready? It’s right here..I filed it next to some other similar stories so I wouldn’t forget it...Hmm, The Tooth Fairy, no that’s not it. Aladdin’s lamp? No, that has nothing to do with drinking. How to tame Unicorns in five easy steps. Nope. This last one has to be it, let’s see...Lead into Gold for dummies. No. Now where did I put that secret?

Did you notice anything about those stories that I filed my drunk cure next to? If you said that they are all make believe or fantasies, you’re absolutely right. Why would I file my drunk cure story with those other ones? Simple, because the idea of drinking yourself into a stupor and then driving yourself home safely right afterwards is as much a myth as unicorns, alchemy or anything else. If you are human (and I assume you are because you’re reading this, but if not, welcome to Earth!) you simply cannot drink yourself stupid, then drive home safely. Can you drink excessively then drive home and make it in one piece? Absolutely. Miracles happen every day, and there is that occasional drunk who manages to stay coherent long enough to drive himself or herself home without major incident. But those are the exception to a very large rule. Most people who drink and then try to drive home end up doing nothing but making more business for funeral home directors and gravestone engravers. I’m sure those are great people, and you will give them your business at some point, but it doesn’t need to be now.

So getting back to the topic at hand. Is there a way to drink waaaay too much and get home safely? Yes, but it doesn’t involve you having anything to do with the driving. It involves you either walking home (not recommended because your chance of getting hit by a car or doing something that might land you in jail is greater) taking a bus, or getting a cab or some other person, who is sober, to drive you home. That’s it. Human beings cannot drink to excess and then drive a car safely. I don’t care who you think you are, how long you’ve been drinking, how strong or how healthy you are, it just doesn’t work that way. What needs to happen is that you go to your bar or buddy’s house, drink until you see two of everything, then find a way home that involves you not operating a car. Period. End of story, Elvis leaving the building level of finality.

And before I go any further, I get it. I’m an American, writing and living in America (Arizona actually, but still America). We love our independence. We love the idea that no one tell us what to do, and we take care of ourselves. We love our cars and the freedom they give us. The last thing we want to do is rely on someone else to do such a mundane thing as take us home from a party. I understand all of that. Now I’m going to tell you why you need to ignore all of that when you’re drinking, because it truly is a matter of life and death.

So knowing that, how do you get home safely from a night (or a day, or a day and a night) of drinking? Like anything else in life that’s done well, the real secret to drinking and getting home safely is pre-planning. Get one of those cab apps or ride home apps on your phone that let you get a cab or a ride with a swipe of your smartphone. Arrange for a designated driver to join your party so he or she can drive you home. And another secret here. Take care of your designated driver. Make sure you buy them as many sodas as they want (many bars or clubs will give DD’s (designated drivers) free sodas while they are there, so take advantage of that if it’s available.) Also, if there’s food there at the place you’re partying, buy the DD dinner, or buy the DD dinner before you go out (you should be drinking with a full stomach anyway, but more on that later). Designated drivers are very often ignored as people get drunker and their attention span falls. This leads some of them to get fed up and either start drinking themselves, or abandon you altogether. You should  think of yourself as a good host for your DD, and make sure they are taken care of while you are partying. Don’t forget about them, so they won’t forget about you when it's time to leave.

Another tip: eat before you start drinking. Even if you just go to Mickey D’s and grab a greaseburger and some  cardboard fries, it will be better than nothing. Having a full or partially full stomach before drinking makes it possible to lessen the effects of the alchohol. I don’t say this so that you can slam more tequila shots or prove your strength by chugging full bottles of Bacardi 151. I say it because having a full stomach while you drink will allow you to pace yourself, and it can make you less drunk, and less helpless as the night goes on.

So now let’s say that you have done the bad thing, forgotten about your DD (or forgot to get one planned for in the first place) What do you do? You are truly in a bad spot here. The best option for you is to call a friend or family member or cab to come pick you up. Wait in the bar or club as long as you can. If no one comes, do not, I repeat do not, enter your car. If you get in your car drunk even if you don't start it, you can get slapped with a DUI (driving under the influence) or a DWI (driving while intoxicated) just because you entered the car, and that is because entering the car is a precursor to driving it, and if you got in it drunk, it wont take a judge long to side with the police and accuse you of drunk driving. And they’d be right to do that. Wait at the bar as long as you can, and then if no one answers your phone, walk home. It will suck to walk home, because you will be in a bad state, but as long as you stay on the sidewalk, and you don't make a nuisance of yourself by being loud or doing anything to harm anyone else, you can't be arrested for being drunk and in public in most places. Get home as best you can, and make a note to make sure you don't get in this situation again.

Another important point to raise here is the condition of the DD or ride to drive you. If you suspect your DD or ride has been drinking (another good reason to keep the DD with you as you party and take care of them, that way you can monitor that they have been staying sober all night), or if it’s very late and you suspect them of being too tired to drive (which is just as dangerous as driving drunk) do not hesitate to either refuse to get in the car with her or him, or insist that they stop the car and get out. From that point call someone else or walk home or sit down and try and sober up. Any of those will be preferable to dying

The last thing I’ll say here is watch how much you drink. It’s important to pace yourself with your drinking. The alcohol isn’t going anywhere. There’s no reason to slam 20 shots in an hour. Get yourself a drink, nurse it, and enjoy it. Alcohol is expensive, so drink things that taste good, don’t just drink for effect. Your drink should take you five minutes to finish at least (And I’m talking drink here, not shots. Shots are literally just wastes of alcohol designed to get you slammed quick. I would avoid this route if you are out, as shots lead to drunkenness, and bad decisions much quicker than nursing drinks.). If it’s taking you only a minute or two, you need to slow down, as you are going to get drunker quicker and potentially be out of control or be more able to be taken advantage of, something else we are going to talk about now, especially as it relates to women and drinking.

Women, be careful with whom you drink. We have all heard of date rape drugs, but not many people realize how easy it is for them to be given to a woman. All it takes  is for you to turn your head and look at the far end of the bar for a few seconds, and a jerk can slip a date rape drug into your drink. And don’t think it doesn’t happen Sadly, it happens far more than is reported, because so often women who are victims of this kind of crime assume that they just drank too much. So be careful, especially on dates. Do not have more than one or two drinks, and make sure they are with dinner, either before or during. And I would avoid drinks altogether If it’s a first date or meeting. If you are going to be out, and you want alcohol, get a beer, especially a long neck. A bottle like that is going to be much harder to get a pill into, which makes you safer. Also, keep your drinks close to you. A lot of times people aren’t too cognizant about where they place things, and drinks end up in the middle of the table. If you don’t know the person you’re with too well, it would be easy for him to slip something in to the drink while you aren’t paying attention, so keep the drink close to you.

Ladies, you also need to keep your wits about you, and obey your red flags. If you get a vibe that someone is out to harm you, obey it and don’t give them the chance. There are a lot of men whose idea of a good time is to ask a woman to drinks, then get her as drunk as possible so they can get her unconscious enough to have their way with them. This goes on all the time, as there are many men whose skill with women is so weak that is the only way they have to get a girl. Don’t be the next victim. Don’t assume that everyone is good or that everyone wants the best for you. Many don’t. This is getting a bit away from my original topic, but it’s important enough to merit this aside.

And another myth is the myth of distance. The myth that whispers in your ear like those old movies where a devil appears on one shoulder whispering in your ear while an angel is on the other shoulder. The devil whispers that your home is only a block (or a mile, or two miles, or ten miles) away, and that it’s a short drive, you can make it, you do every day. The devil that tells you everything is OK, and that you are a good enough driver to take this driving drunk crap. I have news for you, don’t listen. I don’t care how good a driver you are. I don’t care if you’ve won awards or if you have gotten safe driver bonus checks from you insurance company so many times they made a stamp up for your name so they wouldn’t have to write it anymore You aren’t that good, and it’s not because you lack skill, it’s because you’re human.

What most people don’t know about drunk driving is that it really isn’t drunk driving-its tired driving. Most people exhibit behavior that is more closely related to passing out tired than anything else. That is why driving drunk is so dangerous. You literally lose consciousness and become a passenger in a car you should be an operator in. Sure, there is lack of motor skills (your skill to react to things in a timely manner and operate the controls properly) but what really is dangerous is passing out. And this is what accounts for the low level of fatalities for the drunk driver in accidents. He or she is literally in a relaxed, sleep like state when they lose control. They don’t tense up, they don’t have any, "oh crap I’m going to die" moments. In fact, they have no idea, so they are relaxed, and ride out the accident in fine form, appearing from the wrecked car with a look of where am I and how did I get here?

And if you need any more inspiration to not drive drunk, I leave you with this lovely thought. Imagine that you were responsible for killing the love of someone’s live. The baby they had been waiting to have for years. The son that had been accepted to the Naval Academy and had shown such promise. The wife that someone had just married and had struggled long to find. That husband or boyfriend that finally was good to someone. That mom or dad whose protection and wisdom had been making all the difference as someone went through a tough transition. One night driving drunk takes all of this away. Think how you’d feel waking up in jail, knowing that you, because of one stupid act, had destroyed someone’s life. Imagine looking in the mirror every day and seeing that. Imagine going through life knowing that you ripped someone’s life apart. How would that feel? Not good, right? So keep that in mind the next time you are tempted to drink and drive. Until next time...

Anatomy of a Disaster

This week, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the anatomy of a disaster: in this case, what happens during an accident. We have heard the very good and useful information about how seatbelts save lives and how airbags make accidents something to walk away from, but what really goes on in an accident?

Well, you actually have a lot of things working at the same time. First off are the forces of physics working on both cars (or one car and whatever object it hits) but also there are the driver’s reactions to take into account. Does he or she freeze? Does he or she overcompensate and make what might have been a fender bender into a 8 time flip down the road? And what happens to the driver’s body? Is it really that bad? Are we really that fragile?

First off, physics. Remember Newton’s Second Law, the one that is formalized into F = MA (The force, F, working on something is equal to that thing’s Mass, M, multiplied by its acceleration, A) So basically (and physics teacher forgive me for simplifying this and glossing over the many parameters of this law), this says that the force acting on something is equal to its mass (how much of whatever it is, is) multiplied by how fast it’s going. So a four thousand pound car, going at 60 MPH will generate a lot of force. (Sorry, I’m an English teacher, I’ll leave the math to the experts). And of course, since gravity works on all things equally, that force will be transferred to anyone, or anything, inside the car.

I know you hear these numbers and these amounts, and for  the most part it doesn’t compute, but for a second, think about most of the accidents you’ve seen, heard of, or have been in. Think of the damage to the car. Think of the fact that you, hitting the car with your hand, could barely dent it no matter how strong you are. When you keep that in mind, and see a car’s body literally mangled into an unrecognizable shape by the impact of an accident, you can get a glimpse of just how much force is being applied to the car, and how badly it would be if that force was applied to you as a human being.

Us humans are very fragile things. We can fall over and snap our wrists by just putting them out to stop our falls We can not pay attention to where we are walking, step on some uneven pavement or a tree root, and twist our ankle so bad we rupture all of tendons that attach to it. We can lose our balance, fall,  and literally crack our skull open as our head hits the ground. Yes, this is all morbid stuff, but as I said, we are very fragile creatures. Yes, we have conquered space (at least the space around our little planet), yes we have conquered the sea (at least the sea we have cared to explore) but with all of those conquests have come many deaths, and many examples of just how fragile we are, and how much protection from the outside world we truly need. We are not as tough as we’d like to believe, and nothing bears that out more than a vehicle accident. I mentioned before that gravity is an equal opportunity force. So if an impact force is applied to the outside of a car, it will also be applied to the inside. And if you recall how hard it is for the force of your muscles to dent a car, and see just how easily an accident destroys a car, you can see how, If there is something alive in there, something fragile and prone to breaking like we are, that object will basically be a pinball due to being thrown by the first force, hitting the inside of the car, being thrown the other direction, hitting another part of the car, and so on. Or, as what often happens, there is simply one impact, and the person is literally thrown from the car through the windshield or a side window. Think of the force we just talked about that a 4000 lb. car going 60 MPH would make on anything it impacted. Now think of that force being imparted to a person. It would be like The Incredible Hulk punching a squirrel. I don’t envy the squirrel there!

Not only do you have those impacts going on, but take a second to think inside your body. We think of our organs as stationary things that serve us by either helping us breathe, take in nutrients, remove waste, and think. But none of those organs are stationary. They are all held in our body by either liquid or other means. If you apply a force to them they will move, and they can rupture. There has been a lot of talk in sports circles recently about concussions. And what is a concussion but a movement of the brain inside the skull? It happens in contact sports, and it happens in car crashes. If a force is applied to your head, it  will also be applied to your skull, and your brain can pinball around inside your skull just like you can inside of a car. Not only that, but your organs can be displaced as well if the accident is large enough. As you might have guess, a massive concussion and displaced organs are not usually liveable situations.

So we know that gravity will impart any force on the outside of the car to the inside of the car. This is why seatbelts are so, so, important. If you have your seatbelt on, the belt holds you in place. You can’t pinball inside the car. You can’t be thrown out of the car. You stay safely inside the steel cage that is your automobile. When you add in airbags to stop your head from impacting the steering wheel, windshield, or side window, you have even more protection. This is why I can’t stress enough that you must ALWAYS wear your seatbelt, even if you are just driving an eighth of a mile down the road. You can never tell what is coming around the corner, and having that belt on can make all the difference.

Of course, even seatbelts and airbags can be dangerous. If a seatbelt is on someone’s stomach, instead of lap, there could be some stomach damage due to where the force of the belt was applied to the body. If the seat of the person was adjusted too close to the airbag, there could be nitrogen burns on the skin due to the substance being used in airbags. So there might be no escaping injury. But a bruise in the shape of a seatbelt on your torso is going to be something that goes away. Death doesn’t. So I’ll say it again, wear your seatbelt.

Lastly, I mentioned the actions of a driver in an accident. Have you ever wondered, as I have, why when you see reports of drunk drivers, you will hear of all sorts of carnage to the cars and the people the drunk driver either hit or cause to lose control because of their actions, but you rarely hear of the drunk driver being killed?  Why is this? Actually it’s really simple. Drunk driving is really tired driving when you get down to it. Most drunk drivers are pretty close to asleep when they get in these accidents. How stressed are you when you are asleep? How often do you grip your pillow with white knuckles or clinch your muscles together in terror because of an approaching impact? I’m hoping never (if you said anything else, you need another bed, or another bedroom!). Drunk drivers survive as often as they do because they are so relaxed. They get the same impact that other drivers do, but they don’t tense up, so their bodies go with the force. Think of a porcelain doll, and a teddy bear. If you put them both in the dryer, which would come out intact? That’s right, the teddy bear, and that is because the teddy bear isn’t rigid. He will simply conform and roll with whatever forces are pressed on him. Whereas the porcelain doll cannot roll and conform because its body cannot move, so it breaks, while the teddy bear just changes shape to match the turns of the dryer. It is the same with drunk drivers. They don’t stress out or even actually react at all when they get into the accident because they are already asleep for the most part, so it’s just like that teddy bear in the dryer, they mold to the forces acting on them because their body isn’t worried about anything. But those people the drunk driver hits will be panicking, trying to steer clear and tensing their muscles to try and avoid the drunk driver. This tension will cause their bodies to handle the accident in a much worse fashion.

Now, having said that, the sober drivers I described above have not done anything wrong. It is a natural fight or flight reaction. You may as well bark at someone for how they breathe if you are going to try and say that they should relax or calm down. It is pretty much an autonomic reaction, like your breathing or digestion. Unless you are a Buddhist monk, you will stress at an accident, and it is no one’s fault.

Ok, there is a bit of an examination of the nuts and bolts of a disaster that happens all too common: the automobile accident. Hopefully, this gave you a bit of an insight into what happens in an accident, and gave you more appreciation for seat belts and airbags, both of which can save your life if you let them. Until next time….

Driving to Hiking Trails

There is really nothing like a hike. All in one package you get exercise, you get to explore places you've likely never been to, and you get to be out in nature, with all the health and spiritual benefits that it can offer a person.

But unless you live out in the middle of nowhere, you have to drive to that hiking trail. And the roads you will face will look something like the picture above. What we are going to talk about today is driving on  dirt roads  in such a way so that you get to your hike, you can enjoy it, and you can make it home safely.

In case you weren't aware of it, the roads you will have to drive on to get to most hiking trails will be dirt. The one above is actually a pretty good road. There are no visible deep ruts on the main road, no visible rocks, and the washboarding is kept to a minimum. On the other hand, there are dirt roads like this that you might have to drive on:

A road like this can spell disaster for anything smaller than a lifted four by four truck, and here is where we will begin our discussion on these kinds of hiking roads. The first thing you need to do is to go online or consult a guide about the route you are going to go on, and the kind of road you will have to deal with. There are a lot of great hiking websites, like Trails.com that will give you good information, as well as road information. Most states have dedicated websites as well, such as hikearizona.com, which is an Arizona-only hiking website. These sites (and many more are available with a quick Google search) can tell you where you are going, and what kind of vehicle is needed.

One thing that you are going to find if you look at these sites or books is that they will say that only a four wheel drive vehicle is recommended. If that is what they say, it would be a good idea to listen. Very commonly, those hiking recommendations are made once, then not made again for  five years or more. If the road that the reviewer looked like five years ago looked like the pic above, which could be crossed by most cars, it is very likely that five years later the rain and the elements have made it even harder to cross. So listen to the recommendations of those sites and books.

OK, so you have found your place, and they tell you that you have to only use a four wheel drive vehicle to get to the site. What do you do if all you have is a car and you still want to hike there? Actually, all is not lost. All you have to do is drive until you cannot safely go any further without risk of getting stuck or damaging your car (and listen to that little voice in your head as you are driving down the road. If it says you can't make it in your car, you can't make it. Park and save your car!). Once you see that you are at that point, find a place to park your car, get your gear out, lock the doors, and hike the rest of the way. Sure, it's more work, but it will be better than having to walk back home!

But lets assume that all is good. The road is usable by all vehicles, and you have decided to use those dirt roads to get to your hiking spot. How do you drive on that road? First off, lower your speed. You might be tempted to drive as you would on the freeway at home, but that is inviting disaster. There are few road signs on dirt roads, and even fewer road repairs. I have seen it happen many times where the road was straight, level, and relatively smooth, and then a corner is turned, and right in the middle of the road is a foot-deep culvert carved by the runoff from the last rainfall. If a street car hits that culvert at any high rate of speed, not only is a driver looking at massive damage to the car, but the driver could also be looking at massive damage to him or herself as the result of the accident due to losing control of the car after hitting the culvert. And if it's not culverts, it's rocks in the middle of the road, livestock (I have driven side by side with cows or horses on dirt roads more than once) and parked cars. If you drive slowly, you'll miss all of this and get to where you're going safely.

Another issue are washboard roads. These are called washboards because they resemble the old rippled washboards that people used to use to wash their clothes about a hundred or so years ago. They look like this:

According to The University of Nevada at Reno, washboarding occurs because of three reasons: lack of moisture, driving habits (hard acceleration and braking primarily), and poor quality gravel being used in the construction of the road. As a driver, there is literally nothing you can do about washboard roads except take them slow. If you have never understood  the joke about someone being rattled so much their fillings (their teeth) are coming out, you will understand once you try and drive on a washboard road. Even going as slow as ten miles per hour, the washboarding will cause such a bad vibration in some cases that the driver has no choice but to slow way down. Other possible cures are to look for smoother areas in the road to drive on, but those tend to be hard to find. And for those who think that driving faster on the washboards will take care of the rumbling, take a lesson from me: I was working on a ranch in Central California back in the 1990s. Being as it was a ranch, all the roads were dirt, and the longest one had a pretty rough stretch of washboard. My job that morning was to get to work by 4AM, and drive some animals to a customer who was expecting delivery by 6 AM. I was running late, and seeing that the clock in my car said 4: 15, I drove on that dirt road as fast as I could. I think I even hit 50 MPH before it happened. All of a sudden the steering got really light, as if I didn't have any control over the car (which I didn't), and before I knew it, I had done a complete 360 in the middle of the road. Luckily, I scrubbed off enough speed to regain control of the car, and the high, sloping, banks of the road kept me from going off in to the fields during my spin. Going faster over a washboard only ends up in a loss of control of the car, and a driver looking for a new car. Go slowly over them. If you are going hiking, you are doing something to get away from society and the constrictions of urban life. Leave the clock behind, and don't worry about how long it takes to get there. Enjoy the drive, and get there safely.

Another tip I have for you is to not always drive on your side of the road, especially if the road is very rough. Now before anyone gets the fool idea to just drive all over the road all of the time not worrying about traffic, let me be clear and say that this idea is only for when you know the road is clear behind you, and in front of you, and when there is a section of road on your side that would be better to be driven around. Never follow this idea if you can't see (i.e. it's foggy, it's dark, you are close to the  beginning or end of a corner, or an intersection of any kind.). Now that that's been said, let me tell you what I mean. If I am on a dirt road, and I am on a long stretch where I can see anyone coming in front of me or behind me for a good long distance, I will sometimes drive on the left side of the road if it's smoother or if there are obstacles, like culverts or rocks on the right side of the road. Once the roughness or the obstacle is gone though, I go right back to my side of the road, and I never stay on the other side for very long. This works because most dirt roads are not as widely used as regular roads. But even saying that, remember that there are many people who use dirt roads, so only go to the other side if you absolutely have to, and get back over as soon as you can. Of course, if you are on your side of the road, and you see a rock or a large culvert, along with a vehicle coming the other direction, you have to stop, let the other car or cars go by, and then drive around the culvert. Be clear though that you do not have the right to drive on the other side of the road just because it's a not widely used dirt road. Safely is always your responsibility.

Dust is another fun fact of dirt roads. If your car entered the dirt road clean and shiny, it will exit it dusty and dingy. It's just part of driving on a dirt road. Another tip, keep your windows up around any other vehicle that passes you or drives near you. If your window is down when a truck goes past in the other direction, you will get a huge helping of dust and dirt from the truck free of charge. And that dust will get everywhere, as well as mess with your breathing. You can keep you windows down the rest of the time, but any time you see a car or truck, roll them up.

Trucks and other drivers are another thing to focus on. Truck drivers, especially away from the city, seem to think they grow a cape when their truck tastes dirt, and that they can drive in any way they want, at any speed they want. They will go 30 MPH faster than you on the roughest road, and they won't worry too much about following distance or tailgating. This is something you have to keep in mind. Of course it isn't all truck drivers (and by trucks here I mean pickup trucks) but I have seen enough truck drivers go past cars in the rain and intentionally splash other cars, or pass cars on dirt roads and drive aggressively near the car to kick up as much dust, as well as get really close when coming up from behind to intimidate drivers. Again, not all truck drivers do this, but enough do it to merit the warnings. The best thing to do regarding truck drivers is let them go. Don't race them, don't try and get mad, just let them go. It is truly not worth it.

If you take to the dirt roads that your favorite hiking spots are on in a spirit of caution and respect, driving on those roads will be safe for you and your car. Remember to keep your speed down, be extra careful to spot road hazards, and keep a sharp lookout for other cars, especially trucks, so you don't get in trouble. Doing these things will mean your hike is extra special, and will mean that your car, and a relaxing ride home, await you at the end of the hike. Until next time...

How I Begin

What I am going to write about today concerns a long-discussed debate among drivers, especially older drivers: should you warm your car up before you drive it, or should you simply get in the car, start it up, and drive away? Let's look at that now.

The standard wisdom states that whenever you start your car up, especially in colder climates, you let the car "warm-up" or idle in your driveway or parking spot for a few minutes to get the engine up to operating temperature. Once the car has warmed up for about ten minutes, the driver can just get in the car, and drive away without worrying about the condition of the car, because the warm up has gotten all the fluids up to normal operating temperature, and the car is ready to be driving as if it were any regular day. The logic behind this action is that the car and the car's fluids need that extra time at idle to warm up the fluids and make sure the car is not being driven on fluid that is so viscous (resistant to flowing) that potential engine damage results. That is the logic behind warming up the car.

The other camp is the camp that claims that cars don't need to be warmed up. The people in this camp state that the best way to warm the car up is to start the car, and then slowly, and carefully drive it away, being careful not to put too much strain on the engine. The logic here is that the car will warm up better by being driven, and also that driving the car will warm up the suspension and the tires too, whereas warming the car up while parked just warms up the engine. Who's right? Let's go to the video:

As you've just seen in the video. the clear winner is the side that warms the car up by slowing driving it away, rather than letting the car idle while parked. There are other things to be concerned about when warming a car up that isn't moving. One is that most people who warm up their car are essentially leaving the car running, with the keys in it. I don't think I need to tell you how tempting a target that could be to a car thief. Most police departments claim that car thieves will go for the easiest target, and while the odds are against the fact that a car thief is going to be walking around your neighborhood early in the morning at the exact time you are warming your car up, it could happen. What could also happen is that your car might not get stolen, but you might have things stolen from it. Of course if you had multiple sets of keys or fobs for your car, you could let the car idle and then lock it up, but then you have to deal with the fact that maybe the second set of keys is with a spouse or family member, or maybe you thought they were on the key rack in your front hall, but they have been missing for a couple of weeks, and you only noticed it now when you needed them. So the best thing to do is to not let the car warm up while you let it sit.

 This is what I do in the morning:

I go out to my car, and I will look over the car. I check the tires to see if they look properly inflated. I check the parking spot itself for any tell-tale signs of fluid leakage. I check windows for chips or cracks, or frost that has to be scraped off. If there is anything that needs to be done:  tires inflated, frost scraped, or anything else, I do it BEFORE I start my car. I know the video discussed letting the car idle just long enough for you to scrape the windshield, but I have never been too comfortable with letting my car idle without me in it. I'd rather brave the few minutes of cold I'd have to brave to either inflate the tires or scrape down the windshield than let the car run without me in it. For me, it's a safety factor, and one I think pays dividends simply in the fact that any potential situations, such as a car running off are made pretty much impossible by me not starting it and then walking away from it. It may sound a bit paranoid, but it has worked for me so far.

Ok, so now I know the tires are good, and the windshield and side windows are free of any obstructions. I now start the car. I do not rev the engine up at all, nor am I rough with movements of the steering wheel or the gearshift. The car's engine at start up is essentially a bunch of cold metal only being lubricated by a small film of cold oil. It would not take much in the way of a hard acceleration to make the thin film of oil potentially thin out or be pushed out by fast movement of the pistons due to hard acceleration. This would lead to metal-to-metal contact, and major engine damage. The moral of this story is smooth is money, as in money in the bank saved by not having to take your car in to the mechanics for costly repairs.

After I have started the car, I either back out of my parking spot, or pull forward, depending on how I parked the night before. At no time am I pushing the throttle pedal to the floor, and at no time am I mashing the brake pedal to stop the car. I essentially treat a cold car on a cold morning as if it were an icicle waiting to shatter. All my movements are smooth and designed to stress the car out as little as possible. I will drive like this for a couple of miles, or until I see the temperature needle start to move.

One other thing I do which a lot of people won't like is that I do not run the heater during these first couple of miles as well. It's the same during the summer. I don't run the air conditioning for the first couple of miles after starting the car. I do this because not putting accessories on before the car is warmed up will lessen the stress and strain on the engine. So yes, I will drive with frozen finger for a couple of miles, or a sweaty forehead for a couple of miles, but the pay off is in a car that lasts much longer and is in better shape because of actions like that.

So in the end, do not warm up your car by idling it while it is parked for a few minutes. As the video shows, it doesn't really impart that much heat in to the engine, and it's not as reliable, and economical, as just driving slowly and carefully the first few miles after startup. Besides, not idling or warming up means that your car isn't running, with the keys in the ignition, and you not watching it. I think that is one of the best arguments against the whole notion of warming a car up. Until next time...

That's Hot!

I'm sure most people remember the story of poor Stella Liebeck, that victim of cruel fate who had the misfortune of spilling a cup of McDonald's coffee on her in 1992, sued, and won almost 3 million dollars because she didn't realize that hot coffee was hot. (If you noticed a bit of sarcasm there, I'll admit it, it was there....). If you ever wondered where this rash of mindless warning labels came from, like, careful, knife is sharp, or careful, you could fall off this balcony if you lean over too far, now you know. Companies felt the need to rush out warning label after warning label to protect us all from the Stella Liebeck that resides in each of us.

But that does raise a legitimate question. What do you do if you spill hot coffee (or your jelly doughnut, or your hamburger or your soda) all over you while you're driving? That's what we are going to delve into right now.

First off, this happens all the time. It seems that more and more, we are doing more and more things while we are supposed to be driving. We are talking on the phone, checking how our hair looks in the mirror, drinking coffee, and thinking about how work is going to go or how the kids are doing in school. With all that going on, it's easy to lose focus and spill something on yourself. Sometimes these are just annoyances, like a jelly or ketchup stain on your shirt. Other times, it can be more serious, such as a hot beverage spilled near your groin.

Regardless of what happens, the first thing to remember is that you must maintain control of the car. A spill, whether it's on your 700 dollar pair of ripped jeans, or on the seat next to you, is no reason to take your focus from driving. You must maintain control of the car no matter what. Do not, and I repeat, do not take your eyes off the road, see how bad the stain is, and try to clean it by spitting on a napkin and trying to rub it out while you drive. If you've learned anything from these articles, hopefully it is that where your focus goes, the car does too, and if you are trying to get a stain out by focusing on the right side of your body, the car will start to go right as well. Whether you stained your jeans, ripped the seat, or spilled that 12 dollar cup of coffee that you were craving all morning, none of them are worth your life, so don't let them be. Stay focused and keep control of the car. If you must clean it up immediately, pull over when it's safe, and only then, take care of it.

But what if we have a serious issue, like a coffee burn (and I have heard of coffee causing third degree burns, as a matter of fact, my sister received third degree burns when she accidentally spilled water meant for tea over her when she was two, so it can, and does, happen). The steps are very similar. First, stay in control of the car. No matter how painful the injury, a crash will hurt much worse, so keep control of the car. If the situation is serious, pull over when it's safe to do so, and check yourself out. Notice I said when safe to do so, that doesn't mean you make a beeline from the left lane all the way to the shoulder of the road, cutting off everyone else. Your pain doesn't give you that right. You proceed safely, respecting everyone else. When you get to a safe place to pull over, check the injury. If it is very painful, and you get the feeling it's serious (it's amazing, but our bodies seem to know just how serious an injury is if we only decide to listen to them), get help. Don't hesitate to call 911 if you think you can't drive or if the pain is that bad. There is no rule saying that 911 is only for serious injuries. If you think you are compromised because of what happened, and cannot drive safely, call 911 and let someone help you. Follow what they have to say, and get the help you need.

One tip I can give you that can help you avoid burns in dangerous places is to not place a hot drink between your legs on the seat. It is very common for people to use their legs as drink holders, especially if we are talking about a car that does not have drink holders. There are a few reasons you should not do this. First off, is the danger issue with hot beverages, but the other important issue is distraction. I have seen this with myself, and other people where the driver has a drink between his or her legs, usually a soda. They have to stop fast, and as a result, the drink goes flying forward, spilling all over the brake and gas pedals and the driver's shoes. What is dangerous is not the spilling, but the inevitable attempt to stop the spill. Just like when we are sitting down, if we see a drink about to fall, we will put our hands out to stop it. When someone has their drink between their legs, and has to stop suddenly, let's say for a car that cut them off or a kid who ran in to the street, as soon as the driver feels that drink going forward, they will instinctively try to keep the drink from falling, thereby taking a part of their focus off of the road. This focus could be taken away just when the driver needs to begin braking or needs to swerve to avoid hitting someone or something. If there is no drink between the driver's legs, he or she have nothing to distract them, and they can drive much safer.

Spilling coffee or anything else on you while driving can be either an annoyance, or a dangerous situation. Whatever it is, remember these things: No matter what, don't lose control of the car. Don't take your focus off the road to clean up, only do that after you're safely pulled over. And above all, remember that hot drinks can cause serious burns, so if you think that has happened to you, don't hesitate to call 911, that's what they're there for. Until next time...

Car-B-Que

This article is going to be about car fires, or as I've heard them called, Car-B-Ques, by a reporter in Phoenix. This might truly be one of those things that you think could never happen to you, as it's likely you have never experienced one, and it's just as likely that you don't know anyone who has gone through one. That being said though, they are very dangerous, and a lot more common than you'd think. The website Business Insider reports findings of the National Fire Protection Agency that on average, 17 cars are burning every hour here in the United States. And these fires cost the lives of 209 people a year. Having said that, 209 deaths is a drop in the ocean compared to the vast number of people who die in collision crashes every year. But forewarned is forearmed, so let's see how to fight this particular kind of fire.

First off, what causes them? Well, when you think of it, it's a miracle that more cars don't go up in smoke every day. Your car's engine runs on very highly flammable gasoline. The engine in that car actually ignites that gasoline on purpose in the cylinders to make the car run, and your car has a specially built tank to house gallons of the flammable stuff so you can take it with you wherever you go. Add that to the very hot environment that a car's engine bay endures, and it's miraculous that car's don't catch fire more than they do.

So now we have two possible culprits: heat, and fuel. But there could be others. I have heard of car fires being caused by bunches of wires, called harnesses, which have made it so that they actually lay on the engine or exhaust manifold. The wires melt, then either the melting plastic causes a flare up, or the wires themselves spark, and cause fires.

What can you do to prevent car fires? Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance. When you are underneath the hood, checking your fluids once a week, (you are checking your fluids once a week...right?), take a look at the whole engine. Don't just check the fluids, make sure they are all OK, then slam the hood down and go. Take a look at your whole engine. Does anything look amiss? Are there wires where there should not be, like laying on an engine or possibly getting snagged by the hood's hinges? Are there scorch marks or melted plastic from wires or other parts touching a hot engine? Can you smell gasoline when you are checking fluids under the hood? Being mindful of maintenance and making sure you check the whole car out is the first, best, step in preventing a car fire.

Now for the fun part. You're driving. It's a beautiful day and you're out having a blast driving on a gorgeous, twisty road. Or you are stuck in traffic knowing you have still an hour to go until you get home. All of a sudden you smell smoke, and even see smoke coming from your car. Then you notice how hot the cabin is getting, and you start to get a bit concerned. What do you do?

Well first off, pull over as far as you can out of traffic. If there is any smoke in the car, GET OUT! If there is any visible flame at all anywhere in or outside of the car, GET OUT! Whatever you do, don't open the hood if you see smoke or flame pouring out of it. Opening the hood will literally mean adding fuel to the fire because you will be doing just that in the form of oxygen. Remember the the legs of the fire pyramid?

Those three legs are represented here as the three sides of this triangle. A fire needs all three of these in abundance to sustain itself. If you take any one of these away, the fire will die. On the flip side, if you add any of these three to an already existing fire, let's just say the fire will take off...literally! Opening the hood of an engine bay which is on fire or is smoking will allow massive amounts of air to get in there, air has oxygen as you know, and this can cause a car to literally explode, especially if the hood was opened quickly.

So you pull over, and do not open the hood. Turn the car off, get away from it, and call 911. This is truly a situation where do it yourself isn't usually the best thing. The only thing that you could do to help the situation is if the car is not burning yet, and the smoke is not that bad. In that case, pull over and pop the hood. Notice I said pop it, don't open it. Popping the hood is what happens when you pull or push on that release in the cab. It literally pops the hood up a couple of inches so you can get your hands in there to open the hood. If it's safe to do so, pop the hood. Then go get your fire extinguisher (you do have one of those in your car, right? right?), and using only the gap that was created when you popped the hood, spray the extinguisher inside. Of course, if the car is already burning or if the car is engulfed in smoke, it's a lost cause. Do not get the extinguisher, even if you have one. Only try and spray the extinguisher as I just described if there is no visible flame and you have not opened the hood apart from popping it.  This is what a popped hood looks like:

If, and only if it's safe to do so, you could try and spray the extinguisher into that opening that was made when the hood was popped. If it's not safe, run away, and let the car burn. Better the car burn, than you.

If the car is on fire anywhere else  but the engine bay, that is an even greater reason to get out. Your fuel tank is behind you (on trucks, it can be literally inches from the back of your seat, in most cars, it's behind the rear axle), and if the fire is anywhere near there, run, don't walk, away. Fire is nothing to mess with. It will win if you try and fight it, so leave it to the professionals.

Get as far as you can, call for help, and wait. That is the smartest thing to do in case of a car fire. So to review, the primary causes of car fires and heat and fuel. Making sure you are taking extra time to look over your engine can make it so that a car fire is much less likely to happen because you are making sure that nothing in the engine bay could cause one. If one happens, you should only try and fight the fire if there is no visible flame and you have a fire extinguisher. Remember, never open the hood because that will make the fire worse, and no matter what you do, don't be a hero. Leave the firefighting to the men and women who get paid to do that for a living. The best thing to do in the end is to just get away. You are much more valuable than your car. Until next time...

Before I go, a quick shout out to firefighters everywhere, heroes all...

Don't Follow the Lights

If you're a fan of the Lord of the Rings series, or even just seen one of the movies, you are familiar with Gollum, the perverted, desecrated, hobbit-like creature whose single-minded fixation on the one ring largely drives the story of The Lord of the Rings. On the surface, there might not seem to be any parallels between those movies and driving, but there is at least one, and it occurs in the scene above, where Gollum leads Frodo and Sam through The Dead Marshes on the way to The Black Gate, which is the entrance to the evil land of Mordor, where Frodo and Sam have to venture to destroy the one ring to save all of Middle Earth. While in the Dead Marshes, Gollum warns Sam and Frodo to not follow the lights, as those lights are made from those who died in those marshes thousands of years ago in a great battle.

These dead, like the gentleman above, lure unsuspecting travelers into the marsh so they can kill them and keep them in the marsh for eternity. That is why Gollum warns Sam and Frodo to not follow the lights, as following, and therefore, trusting the lights will ultimately lead to their deaths.  Me being the driving education focused guy that I am, this scene reminded me of yellow lights. Why yellow lights you might ask? It is because, like our lovely undead/dead friend above, they tempt you to follow them with promises of it won't turn red before I'm through, or I have time to make it, or everyone in the intersection will stop for me if I go? Of course we know that those temptations turn out to be more untrue than true many times. Here's why.

Here is your average yellow light:

Nothing too special, nothing noteworthy. But the real issue isn't the light, it's what it represents, and that is uncertainty. The purpose of a yellow light is to warn you that a red light is coming, but apart from that, you are given nothing but questions. How long will that light stay yellow? Do you have five seconds between the beginning of yellow and the beginning of red? Do you have just one second between the beginning of yellow and the beginning of red? Can you make it at the speed you're going? Should you speed up, hit your brakes, slow down? I've seen  every scenario you can imagine regarding yellow lights on city streets. I've literally seen a streetlight in Glendale, Arizona go green, yellow, red, just as quickly as it took you to read this sentence. I've seen others that literally took ten to fifteen seconds between the yellow light coming on and the red light coming on. The bottom line is that there is no way to tell how long a yellow is going to stay yellow, so the bottom line is do not trust them. I'm sure you've heard the old saying that green is for go, red is for stop, yellow is for going really fast, but be careful around yellow lights. They are great warnings of a red light approaching, but they can lure you in to a false sense of security.  The next article will go in to more detail about how you can tell when it's safe to go or when you should brake and assume the light is going to turn red the next instant. But bottom line, you should treat all yellow lights as the uncertain things they are, and with all uncertain things, they should be afforded as little trust as possible, because more often than not, trusting in a yellow light to stay yellow for as long as you think it might is a recipe for disaster. Until next time...

Being a Pedestrian

We all love our cars, but there always comes a time where we have to leave those cars, and walk. Sometimes we have to do this because our cars break down, sometimes it's because we just  feel like walking. Whatever the reason, being a pedestrian can be even more dangerous than being in a car. Here is how to walk safely

First off, do not fall in to the trap I see so many pedestrians fall into, and that is thinking that they are safe on the sidewalk or the crosswalk. The next time you are walking, notice how close the cars are to you, and how fast they are going. Also notice that there is usually no wall between you and the cars, and that the only protection you usually have is that six inch curb that separates the street from the crosswalk. So first off, do yourself a favor and don't think you're safe out there walking on the sidewalk, or the crosswalk, because, unfortunately, you're not. The damage a car does to the human body is so serious it's almost not worth writing about. I have seen videos of people on foot or on bikes being hit by cars and being tossed in the air like rag dolls, going fifty or sixty feet before landing. And very often, when a person is hit by a car, they are rarely the same. Cars pack a heavy wallop, and normally cause damage to people after hitting them that is never healed. So the first piece of advice I have is to respect the cars around you and what they can do to you if they hit you. Bottom line, as I said before, you really are not safe on the sidewalk, so I encourage you to keep that in mind as you walk.

Having said that, I do have to say that for the most part, the reason pedestrians aren't safe is not because of the cars that are so close to them, but because of themselves. How many times have you seen someone walking on the sidewalk, or crossing a crosswalk completely oblivious to what's going on around them? It happens a lot. Normally people have their noses in their phones as they are walking, or they are listening to music as they walk. The picture below shows one person who unfortunately had this happen.  This woman was texting and walking, and walked right over a grate, stepping through it and getting her leg caught. Luckily she was able to get her leg out without any major injury, but just think what would have happened had she walked into the street or walked through an intersection on a red light? She was very lucky

The website Digital Trends also talks about other texting and walking accidents. One woman walked off a pier on a lake in Michigan while texting. And in a much more serious case, a man who was texting and walking fell off a 60 foot cliff because he was texting and not watching where he was going. (http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/texting-while-walking-strikes-again-girl-gets-leg-stuck-in-storm-drain/). The last two examples of course are not related to anything having to do with cars, but they do illustrate the ease that we can lose focus while texting. 

Another way people are oblivious to the dangers of being a pedestrian is in regards to their music. It is very common to see pedestrians walking or jogging next to traffic with earbuds or earphones on, effectively separating themselves from the real world so that they can stay in the virtual world their music provides them. Being that music is a major part of my life, I can appreciate that desire, but I suggest that people explore that in a much safer place, say their homes, rather than out near cars. I have seen people listening to music do the same silly things that people texting have done: walking in to traffic, crossing streets when they shouldn't, and running into things. This is as dangerous as the distraction that cell phones cause. This point was brought home recently in a study by The University of Maryland Hospital for Children. In this study, Dr. Richard Lichtenstein made the following claim:

"Sensory deprivation that results from using headphones with electronic devices 

may be a unique problem in pedestrian incidents, where auditory cues

can be more important than visual cues."

Dr. Lichtenstein here hits on what I think is the biggest danger that comes from wearing headphones around cars, and that is the removal of the person's hearing. When a person is listening to music, the sounds of the outside world are replaced by the music that person has chosen. That's important because, as the study found, auditory cues can be more important than visual ones. This is true if you think of the fact that as a pedestrian, you are more likely to hear an accident happen than see one. I know this was true for me when I was 18 years old and jogging with my dog. I did not have headphones on as I jogged, and my focus was making it to the next spot, pushing myself as hard as possible to get the best workout possible. That's when I heard the tires squeal loudly behind me. Not knowing how close the accident was, I literally grabbed the leash of my dog, and jumped over a nearby low wall, hoping that it would keep me safe. In the end, the accident was nothing more than a driver losing control of his car after another driver cut him off. In fact, neither driver even hit anything, but the sound was so loud that I took action immediately to save myself, because I thought it very likely that those cars were coming in my direction. Now just imagine the same incident, but let's say that the car is out of control, and heading straight for the jogger and his dog. But this time, the jogger has his earbuds in, and his music loud. He will never hear the car, and if the car hits him, that will be his first inkling that anything out of place is going on. 

Bottom line, being a pedestrian shouldn't be a big deal. Millions of people do it everyday. The danger comes when pedestrians try and drown out the real world by using their cell phones or music, and then walk obliviously next to cars and other things that can hurt them. If you focus on the walking and your surroundings rather than your phone or your music while you are a pedestrian, you can be assured of having the safest pedestrian experience possible. Until next time..

No More Mr. Nice Guy (or Gal)

Today's article was inspired by what I see numerous times a week at many stop signs, or sometimes even on the road away from a stop sign: people being nice to other drivers and letting them go first. I can hear you saying, but why would that be wrong? Shouldn't drivers be nice to other drivers whenever they can? That's an interesting question, and one I intend to examine here.

Before I start, I want to say of course it's good to be helpful to others when they need it. If someone has broken down, it's great to help them pull the car off the road or give someone a jump when their battery has died. But that's not the helpfulness I'm talking about here. The helpfulness I'm talking about is a kind of helpfulness that on the surface looks good, but in reality it hampers other drivers. Let's look at this a bit more closely.

Imagine yourself at a stop sign. You pull up to a stop sign. There's no one at the intersection except you, and the driver to the right of you. You both arrive at the stop line at the same time, so you, remembering the rules of the road, wait and allow the driver on the right to go first. And you wait...and you wait. Eventually you see the driver on the right waive you by. You waive him by, knowing that he has the right of way. The two of you wait, each looking for the other to make a move, and then it happens, the same all the time: you both go at the same time, and you both slam on your brakes at the same time, (hopefully) avoiding colliding with each other. At this time you are getting a bit angry because you know the other driver had the right of way, so you wait again for him to go, and he does the same thing...waits. So in round two, you guys both take off at the same time again, and again slam on your brakes to avoid hitting each other. This continues until one of you gets annoyed enough to just force the issue and cross the intersection.

I have seen the above happen many times. Sometimes the going at the same time only happens once, and someone asserts themselves and crosses the intersection. At other times I've seen situations where there have been two uber-nice folks at the intersection, and that game of going at the same time, slamming on the brakes, waiting, rinse, wash, repeat goes on ad naseum.

The reason this is so dangerous is because of the anger it generates. Inevitably, one of the two parties gets annoyed, and this can lead to assertive driving or speeding through the intersection. This is also dangerous because there might be pedestrians waiting to cross the intersection, or cars that have to enter traffic from close to the intersection. All of those groups are waiting for the two people at the stop sign to figure out who goes first. I hope you can see why this is so dangerous. Being nice is great, but when niceness leads to someone not knowing what someone else is doing, the chances of a crash are much higher. There are reasons that the traffic laws dictate who goes first at a stop sign. If they are followed without exception, things will go much smoother, and safer, at stop signs.

Another dangerous situation involving kindness appears when someone is trying to enter the road from a parking lot or house. I have seen many people slam on their brakes and stop traffic so that they can let someone in who was waiting to enter traffic. Again, their motives are noble, but I don't think people who do this think about the consequences.  What happens if the car behind the car slamming on the brakes has a driver who is in the middle of texting, and isn't paying attention because the last thing they expect is for someone to slam on their brakes in the middle of the street.? What happens if the car behind the car slamming on it's brakes is going much faster then the car that slammed on it's brakes was when it started to brake? Situations like this can lead to bad accidents.

My suggestion is to never slow down or stop to allow cars to enter the road unless the traffic around you is stopped or just moving. If you are in line with a bunch of cars waiting for a stoplight to turn green, there's nothing wrong with you allowing a car to enter traffic in front of you, because the cars behind you already know you're stopped, and you won't surprise them. That, and slow moving traffic, would be the only times I'd suggest allowing cars to enter the road.

Now having said that, it isn't always a bad idea to allow cars to go through a stop sign before you, even if you have the right of way. If you are driving a large vehicle with a large load that you know will accelerate slowly through the intersection, or a car that is going slowly for whatever reason, it's great to allow traffic to go in front of you so you don't hold others up. If someone gets to an intersection at the same time, and they see that you are in a large, slow moving vehicle, and you wave them through ahead of you, most drivers will understand that you are letting them go first because your car is so much slower than theirs is, an they will appreciate it. But that is the only time I'd suggest waving a car to go through a stop sign before you if you have the right of way.

In conclusion, it's great to be kind and look to help others, but be careful how you're doing it if you're doing it on the road. If you have the right of way in a regular car (a car that isn't heavily laden or going slowly), and you wave someone through when you should go first, you will confuse the other driver, and possibly make them angry. If you slam on your brakes to allow a driver to enter traffic from a driveway, you will just endanger others because you risk a rear end collision with traffic behind you. Niceness is a great thing, but make sure you practice it in a way that is safe and is truly looking out for others. Until next time....

Why Driving After Midnight is So Dangerous

A recent story shown on one of the local news stations reminded me of just how many accidents seem to occur late at night. Even though you might think that it would be safer to drive late at night, due to there being less cars on the road, the opposite is actually true. According to some statistics, most fatalities that occur in car accidents occur after midnight. Here is how to make sure you don't become part of those statistics.

So why is the time period from midnight to dawn such a dangerous time to be on the road? There are a few reasons. The first one is that many more drunk drivers are on the road at this time because in states which place limits on alcohol sales, most of those limits occur after midnight (In my home state of Arizona, alcohol sales must stop after 2 AM). And even if you live in a state which does not place time limits on alcohol sales, most people leave bars and clubs sometime between midnight and dawn, so they  are all on the road, in various levels of ability when it comes to driving a car, at this time of night. So you can imagine that if you are driving after midnight, the chances that you'll be driving around drunks are much higher. And if you've ever been around someone who's drunk, you know they can pass out at any time. Similar things happen behind the wheel, which makes them so dangerous.

This notion of passing out is another reason why driving after midnight is so dangerous. If you normally go to bed at 11 PM let's say, and you are still up, driving at 3 AM, how tired do you think you'll be if you haven't slept yet? Chances are you'll be very tired. And this is one of the other dangers of driving around this time. Many people are out there driving tired, not paying attention, running over things or hitting things, and generally being oblivious to what's going on around them. Most people don't know this, but driving tired is a greater danger than driving drunk because more people do it, and it is caught much less often. So if you stay off the roads after midnight, you stay away from not only drunk drivers, but tired ones as well.

So how does a driver protect him or herself from this situation? Well, my first point is going to be the most obvious, and that is the best way to keep yourself from becoming one of the after midnight casualties is to not be on the road after midnight. Now I get it: some people work late shifts and there are times where you just can't help being on the road after midnight. Life happens. But as much as possible, make sure you do your best to not be on the road between midnight and dawn.

But let's say that you have to be on the road at this time, what should you do? Well I would suggest sticking to freeways or highways as much as possible, as many of the accidents I've heard of seem to occur on city streets, and more specifically, the intersections of those city streets. Another thing you can do is make sure that you are paying attention, even more than usual, to your fellow drivers. Even though it's late, and you might think that less cars on the road means that you can lower your attention and cruise awhile, the opposite is true: less cars mean that the chances of an impaired driver being around you is much higher, so the chances of you getting into an accident during these times is much higher as well. Another reason to keep your attention high is that police officers have fewer cars to choose from when it comes to pulling people over, so if you are speeding or you have a brake light out or anything else, the chances of you getting pulled over are much higher because you are more visible due to the lower number of cars on the road.

Another suggestion I'd make is to get your driving done as quickly as possible. Don't speed or be on the verge of losing control, but don't take the scenic route either. If you need to run up to Wal Mart at three in the morning to get baby formula, get up there and get back by the most direct route possible. If you are driving at 2 AM because your shift ends at that time, get home as quickly as possible. If you aren't on the road at this time, you can't be part of an accident, which, as you can see from the photo below, can get pretty bad during this time. So to recap, stay off the roads after midnight, but if you must be on them, stick to highways and freeways as much as possible, and get your trips over with as quickly as you can. Stay safe. Until next time...

Wrong-Way Drivers

This is actually going to be one of the tougher articles to write for me, and that is because there is no for sure, straight-up answer that will work every time this is encountered. And it’s encountered a lot. Just in the metro Phoenix area, there have been 245 incidents of wrong way drivers since 2014 according to the local Fox affiliate. And if you take a quick look at your calendar, that is 245 incidents of people driving the wrong way on a road in about a year. It is absolutely ridiculous that so many people can make such a boneheaded mistake. Let’s see what we can do about it to keep you safe.

The first thing I’m going to recommend is what I always recommend, and that is to make sure you are driving in a way that is focused and concentrated.  And remember, focus and concentration on the road isn’t just seeing the road, but being able to anticipate what can happen on the road. A driver with focus can potentially spot a wrong way driver before they are a menace. So first thing, make sure you are looking far ahead on the road you are on, that you are spotting changes in the flow of traffic and you can tell what they mean for you, and that you aren’t distracted while driving by people, music, phones or billboards as much as humanly possible. Having said that, I know that being 100% focused is pretty much impossible, but do your best to make sure that what you are concentrating on is the road and what is going on there, not anything else.

What’s next? Well this is where it gets tricky. If you remember your high school physics, two objects going towards each other at speed reach the same point pretty quickly, and this is even more true when we are talking highway or freeway speeds (speeds of 55 miles per hour or more).  The reason it gets tricky here is that it is very likely that you won’t spot the wrong way driver until it’s too late to do something about it. Your brain is not going to register headlights coming in your direction on your side of the road as a wrong way driver until it processes all other possibilities, and this is going to depend in large part on your driving experience. What I believe happens to most people in these situations is that they possibly recognize that there is a wrong way driver, but by the time they take action, it’s too late to avoid a collision or they happen to try and get to the same side of the road as the wrong way driver. You have seen this multiple times. How many times have you bumped into someone (physically, not with our car), and then you try to go around them, but both of you chose the same side, then you try again, and both of you choose the opposite side? I know it’s happened to me more times than I can count. The same thing can happen while driving, but there, the consequences of bumping into someone are much more severe.

One possible solution is to pull to your right and get off the road if you see a wrong way driver.  I say this because it will be the opposite instinctive reaction of the wrong way driver. That driver, if he or she comes to their senses and tries to get off the road they are going the wrong way on, will pull to their right to get off, because that is what everyone is told to do if they have an issue with their car. For you though, that wrong way driver’s right is your left, so avoid the left lanes, and get as far right as possible. Drivers are almost branded into believing that the left lanes are sacrosanct avenues for speed and passing, and are not to be touched upon pain of death unless you are going really fast. Most drivers don’t drive in the left lanes, and it’s likely a wrong way driver won’t as well, so that could give you an advantage. So solution number one: pull off to your right as far as possible if you notice a wrong way driver. Once you do that, call the police and report the wrong way driver so no one gets hurt by them. It’s not a foolproof solution, because we all know that people do still drive in the left lanes, even if traffic laws tell them not to, but it is the best solution if solutions are limited.

There is one even better solution, and that is to limit the time you are on the road during the night. I cannot think of a single wrong way driver incident that I’ve ever heard of that took place during the daytime. Normally, they all seem to happen sometime between midnight and dawn. If you aren’t on the roads during this time, you can’t get into an accident. It’s as simple as that. Having said that, I know that there are times where you run out of baby formula and have to go to the store at 2 A.M. or you work a second shift job that lets out at 1230 in the morning.  You have no choice but to drive during the night. If that’s the case with you, be extra vigilant with your driving. Try to avoid running errands when you get off work. Get home as soon as possible, don’t take the long way home, get off the roads as soon as possible so you can’t be another victim of a wrong way driver.

Now let’s put the shoe on the other foot. What do you do if YOU are the wrong way driver? How would you know? Well first off, pay attention to the road signs. If you are driving at night, you should see signs that are very bright because road signs are made to reflect headlights. This is especially true of freeways, where most wrong-way driver incidents seem to occur. If the signs you see all look like they have been turned backwards towards you, that’s a good sign that you are on the wrong side of the road. Pull over to your right immediately and call the police. Another good indicator are the reflectors on the road. Reflectors on freeways are designed to reflect red if a driver approaches them going the wrong way. If you see nothing but bright red reflectors shining back at you as you drive, you are going the wrong way. The picture above this paragraph shows what the wrong way reflectors look like if you were to drive the wrong way. Notice how they look like a car's stop lights. That should give you a good indication that you something is wrong and that you need to stop.  Pull over to your right, and call the police. Other things that can clue you in to being on the wrong side of the road are off ramps, rest stops, and road signs. On the vast majority of roads, these things are on the right side of the road. Some road signs and off ramps are on the left side of the road, but the majority are found on the right. If you notice that the bulk of these things are on the left side as you drive down, you’re on the wrong side of the road. Pull over and call the police.

Now, why do I suggest you call the police if you notice that you’re on the wrong side of the road and pull over? It’s because you will need some help going in the right direction. You should NOT just make a quick U-turn in the middle of the freeway to get yourself in the right direction- It could be catastrophic because you could be broadsided by multiple cars. Remember, if you were driving the wrong way and pulled over to your right, you are on the left side of the road facing the direction of traffic. A U-turn would have to be done turning into traffic, and that would not be expected of regular drivers, and could be as bad as driving the wrong way. A police officer can stop or slow traffic so that you can make a safe U-turn and get headed back in the right direction.

Wrong way drivers are a very tough problem to solve. They are incredibly dangerous, and incredibly hard to spot, which makes being focused while driving even more important. Remember, if you spot one, get as far off to the right as possible, and call the police. An even better solution though is to not be on the road in the early morning hours when a lot of wrong-way incidents seem to happen. While these suggestions aren’t foolproof, they can help you survive if you spot a wrong way driver. Until next time…