Safe Driving - Best Practices

Safer Driving
Driving is such a common part of our everyday lives that it's easy to forget how inherently dangerous it can be. Every vehicle on the road – including yours – weighs several tons. That is a massive amount of energy to be transferred in an accident. Here are a few simple ways to enhance driving safety.

Back Away from the Phone
Let’s start with mobile phones. Before your eyes glaze over, think about this: 25% of all road accidents are caused by mobile phone use. If someone waved a magic wand and mobile phones had never been invented, one in four of all accidents would never happen. That is a lot of property damage, injuries, and death that would be avoided.

When you are driving, don’t make calls, don’t take calls, don’t text, and don’t do social media. Texting alone is worse than driving drunk. Even hands-free calls are distracting. While you’re at it, be extremely cautious when using onboard electronics like trip computers, entertainment systems, and navigation systems.

Secure Children and Pets
Other accident-causing distractions include children and pets. Secure them before driving off using approved car seats, seatbelts, and pet restraints. This keeps your hands free from restraining the kids and “Mr. Fuzzy Face”. Just ignore those fights, spills, and vomit until you get a chance to pull over.

Don’t Drive When Drowsy
Another time to pull over is when you are drowsy. Driving drowsy is a lot like driving drunk. When you can safely pull over, do so and get rested so that you will be alert and can drive mindfully. If you are too tired to get in the car for an errand, just put it off and take a rest before you turn the key.

NAPA Can Get You There and Back
At NAPA AutoCare we work hard to make sure that your vehicle is as safe as possible to operate. Your job is to operate the vehicle as safely as possible. Working together, we can get you there and back.

Posted January 26th, 2017