Driving with Technology: What You Need to Know to Stay Safe Behind the Wheel

There’s a lot that can go wrong when you’re driving a vehicle.

From missing a road hazard sign to choosing the wrong action when needing to drive defensively, there are plenty of errors a driver can make. Of course, the biggest mistakes are rarely accidents. Instead, they’re choices drivers make, including driving distracted or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Choosing to drive tired is also a common driver error, one that can have disastrous and sometimes fatal results.

According to reports, thousands of people die each year in the United States because of crashes caused by distracted driving. And, while many people believe that hands-free devices, as well as dashboard entertainment, are the answer, the truth is that this kind of technology doesn’t eliminate the problem, which is being distracted from driving.

Unfortunately, that’s only the beginning of the problem. With more than one in eight drivers in the United States admitting to getting behind the wheel when they were over the legal blood-alcohol limit and half of all adult drivers admitting to regularly operating a vehicle when they feel tired or drowsy, the addition of technology only adds to the crisis. Most adults underestimate how influenced they are by fatigue or substances, choosing to drive even though their instincts tell them it’s not a good idea. Remember, adults need at least seven hours of sleep each day to function properly. (Even losing two hours of sleep can have the same effect as driving after drinking three beers.)

And, when teens get involved, the statistics become even worse, with half of all teenagers being involved in an auto accident before they even graduate from high school.

There is, however, some help when it comes to reducing accidents on the road – and it comes from an unlikely source: technology.

Yes, technology is a big part of the problem, but it’s also working to become part of the solution. While there’s no replacement for drivers being focused, the hundreds of millions of cars on the roads today with advanced safety technologies are helping to reduce the risk of car crashes and auto fatalities.

The website MyCarDoesWhat.org is a great resource for drivers wanting to learn more about how their car’s safety features actually work. Offering videos and graphics, the website is informative for everyone who drives. Whether you’re looking to learn about what a specific icon means or which features are helping to reduce the risk of crashes, MyCarDoesWhat.org is likely to have the answers.

On the website, you’ll learn more about:

• Adaptive Cruise Control

• Adaptive Headlights

• Anti-Lock Braking System

• Automatic Emergency Braking

• Automatic Parallel Parking

• Automatic Reverse Braking

• Back-Up Cameras

• Back-Up Warnings

• Bicycle Detection

• Blind Spot Warnings

• Brake Assist

• Curve Speed Warning

• Drowsiness Alert

• Electronic Stability Control

• Forward Collision Warning

• High-Speed Alert

• Hill Descent Assist

• Hill Start Assist

• Lane Departure Warning

• Lane Keeping Assist

• Left Turn Crash Avoidance

• Obstacle Detection

• Parking Sensors

• Pedestrian Detection

• Push Button Start

• Rear Cross-Traffic Alerts

• Sideview Cameras

• Temperature Warning

• Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems

• Traction Control

How to Properly Install a Carseat to Prevent Injury

As you buckle in your most precious possessions, your children, you want to be sure of one thing—that they are safe and sound. 

It is a parent or caregivers worst nightmare to be driving along and happen upon an unforeseen circumstance that causes them to get into an accident. What is even worse is when that accident causes harm to the little one they love, especially if that harm is because the car seat was not installed properly. It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure that all child-passengers are properly restrained.

Face the Car Seat in the Right Direction

If you are a first time parent or caregiver who is installing a car seat for the first time, or if you have gotten a new car seat recently, it would be beneficial for you to become acquainted with how to install it properly.

One of the first things that you need to check for when you install a car seat is that it is facing the right direction. Most pediatricians recommend, and some laws require a child to be rear-facing in a car seat until they are two years of age. However, before installing the car seat, it is best to check with your state laws as well as the height and weight recommendations on the seat instructions. Ignoring the seat height and weight requirements for which direction it should be facing could increase the risk of injury to your child in the case of an accident.

Make Sure the Car Seat is Level

To help prevent serious neck and head injuries in your infant or child, it is important to make sure that the car seat is level. On most car seats, the bottom of the seat has a leveling mechanism and display to help ensure that the seat is properly installed. Many seats also have recommendations of which level to recline the seat to keep your child safe.

Secure the Seat Properly

Once your car seat is installed facing the right direction and it is level, you need to make sure that it is properly and safely secured. Some vehicles come with lower anchors in the back seat, which you can use to help make the seat more stable. If you are using a base, there will be a place where you can put the seatbelt through and be able to tighten it. Additionally, your seatbelt may have a locking mechanism that you can use to limit the movement of the seatbelt.

When you are finished installing your car seat, it should be able to pass a “wiggle test.” This means that if you wiggle the car seat, it should not be able to move more than one inch in any direction.

If installing a car seat seems overwhelming to you, don’t worry. There are many locations where you can get your seat checked to make sure that it is installed properly. Additionally, many local fire departments, police stations, or hospitals hold annual or semi-annual events where you can take your car seat to get checked free of charge. Taking advantage of these services is a great choice because there is nothing more important than the safety of your child.

Booster Seats

Research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found that booster seats reduce a child’s risk of serious injury or death during a car crash by 45 percent.

New guidelines suggest children under 4 feet 9 inches who have outgrown the child harness car seat should sit in a booster seat. 

• Shorter than 4’9 needs a booster due to the placement of the seatbelt across the chest.

• Under 13, continue to sit in the back seat even if no booster needed due to development of the spine.

Be sure to check YOUR state’s requirements along with the laws in the states you visit.  

PROPERLY INSTALLED CAR SEATS PREVENT INJURY

ACCORDING TO CDC CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY, MOTOR VEHICLE INJURIES ARE A LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH AMONG CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES. BUT MANY OF THESE DEATHS CAN BE PREVENTED.

• In the United States, 663 children ages 12 years and younger died as occupants in motor vehicle crashes during 2015,4 and more than 121,350 were injured in 2014.

• One CDC study found that, in one year, more than 618,000 children ages 0-12 rode in vehicles without the use of a child safety seat or booster seat or a seat belt at least some of the time.5

• Of the children ages 12 years and younger who died in a crash in 2015 (for which restraint use was known), 35% were not buckled up.

• If the insurance company has “trouble remembering” that they’re supposed to cover the replacement of the car seats, show them the instruction manual to your child’s car seat where it states that the seat should not be re-used after a crash. If you don’t have the instruction manual, you can usually download one online or call the manufacturer.

• It should be noted that most car seat manufactures require child car seats to be replaced after ANY accident, even if the car seat was unoccupied. The pressure on the shell from the latch strap/vehicle seatbelt and the strain on the harness if a child was in the seat can make the seat unable to properly restrain a child in the future.

You can find some  great tips by following this link on how to properly install a car seat.