Please wear your seatbelts and slow down....

[Chiffed]

It's been a bad week for MVI's (motor vehicle incidents) here on Pender. It helps to be able to help, through the fire department and ambulance service, but seeing lives so abruptly changed is tough, especially after being through it myself last year.

Here's how to have a more survivable accident:

1. Wear your seatbelt properly, every time.

2. Slow down.

3. Secure all that loose crap in the car (imagine getting beaned by a full can of pop thrown my a major-league pitcher).

4. Nobody rides in the back of a pickup truck. Ever.

I've developed a bit of a fondness for the folks on this board, so please forgive this bit of mothering.

Bryce

[Denny]

3.

so ya think that the T-post pounder shouldn't be in the back seat of my pickup, eh? You might have a good point there!

[Lambchop]

4. Nobody rides in the back of a pickup truck. Ever.

That goes for dawgs, too.

[hyldemoer]

5. Do not attempt to use a cell phone, light a cigarette, eat lunch, put on makeup, shave, or read a book while driving.

6. If someone phones, pull over and stop to answer it (unless you have a handless unit).
If you can't pull over let your service answer it.

7. Watch your blood sugar! Don't let yourself do something real stupid just because you got too busy to eat a meal.

[gonzo914]

8. Don't race trains. In a car-train crash, the only thing the seatbelt does is make it easier to identify the body.

[hyldemoer]

8. Don't race trains. In a car-train crash, the only thing the seatbelt does is make it easier to identify the body.

I used to commute to and from work on the metra-train. Once when we were pulling out of a station the train barely got out of the station when it came to a stop again.

It wasn't impressive enough a stop for the people around me to stop reading their newspaper or book and look out the window but I did.

What I saw was an automobile still spinning around and around from the train hitting it. The driver must have thought they had enough time to cross the tracks before the train built up speed coming out of the station.
Both occupants of the car were killed.

[SteveShaw]

5. Do not attempt to use a cell phone, light a cigarette, eat lunch, put on makeup, shave, or read a book while driving.

Or play a harmonica. You'd be amazed at how, on some harmonica forums, they can blah on about how practising the harp is such a good use of driving time.

[peeplj]

Excellent post--just one minor point, brought to mind by my drive back home today:

"Slow down" isn't always good driving advice, particularly on highways. Driving too slow and impeding traffic makes you more likely to have a wreck in the first place.

Move with the flow of traffic, and always let faster traffic move past you unimpeded.

If you are unable to safely drive at highway speeds, please plan another route that doesn't involve driving on the highway.

Safer driving to us all,

--James

[cowtime]

9. Always assume the other driver is "impaired" or an idot driver. Around here, this is very often the case. I drive for a living and expecting anything has saved me more than a few times. I must always be ready to run off the road to avoid these types.

[emmline]

9. Always assume the other driver is "impaired" or an idot driver. Around here, this is very often the case. I drive for a living and expecting anything has saved me more than a few times. I must always be ready to run off the road to avoid these types.

Good advice in general. My constant thought is "what dumb thing might someone do?"

[lenf]

My constant thought is "what dumb thing might someone do?"

That seems a little harsh, don't you think? After all, I'm typing this on my blackberry while driving, and I only have to take both hands off the wheel when the cell phone rings and I have to put down the blackberry, deal with the cell, refold the map, take another bite of a sandwich, and grab another six pack from the back seat...

[rebl_rn]

10. Don't tailgate. Keep a proper distance away from the car in front of you, so when they come to a sudden stop (remember, they're an idiot and will do that), you have time to slow down before smashing into them. And keep extra distance when the streets are wet/snowy/icy.

11. Kids in the backseat, and properly restrained in their carseat/booster seats. Kids up to 80 pounds need to be in a booster. Yeah, I rode seatbeltless in the front seat when I was a kid too, and survived, but that was dumb luck. Don't take that chance with your children or grandchildren.

[hyldemoer]

5. Do not attempt to use a cell phone, light a cigarette, eat lunch, put on makeup, shave, or read a book while driving.

Or play a harmonica. You'd be amazed at how, on some harmonica forums, they can blah on about how practising the harp is such a good use of driving time.

We could rephrase it to say 5. Do not attempt to do anything that might inspire you to manuver the steering wheel with your knees.

Lenf, are you listening?

[lenf]

We could rephrase it to say 5. Do not attempt to do anything that might inspire you to manuver the steering wheel with your knees. Lenf, are you listening?

Oh, I'd never use my knees to steer. They are more valuable for keeping books open to the right page and keeping a cold beer from falling over. Elbows are for steering, after all.

[Charlene]

I did see a young man last summer on the busiest street in town reading a comic at the stop light. The bad thing was, when the light turned green he turned the page, obviously still reading, and drove off.

Yesterday coming home from work I was beside a woman who had the cell phone up to her ear held up with her shoulder while she ate a burger while driving.

I'm not perfect though. I have talked on the cell phone while driving, and I have eaten while driving - but not a messy burger!