Avoiding Auto Accidents
Copyright 2009 by Joseph Kashi
Serious auto accident happen far to often and can be life-altering or sadly life-ending. Here are some basic precautions that can minimize both the risk of an accident and later hassle if one occurs.
Always carry your driver’s license, registration and current insurance card for the automobile you are driving and be sure that they are all current. Also, carry emergency contact numbers for at least one family member not in the household and a friend. These should be placed where they can be found by emergency responders.
Tires really are “where the rubber meets the road” and are one of the most critical items for avoiding an accident in any season. Be sure that you have good tires that are appropriate for the season.
“All-season” tires usually do poorly on winter roads. Studded tires actually have about 20% lower traction than regular tires on the dry pavement that we find throughout most of the winter. At this point, the best winter tires appear to be newer soft rubber “micro-siped” tires with added traction compounds that really do grip slick surfaces better than studded tires. Used with anti-lock brakes, they provide better control and braking.
Remember anti-lock brakes are not the end-all in collision avoidance. They allow a reduced steering response over a non-braking wheel and your response to steering input will not be that of a free rolling wheel. Control Responses will be delayed and not as rapid as you may expect. If you engage the anti-lock braking feature of you vehicle (which will be felt as a vibration or chattering in the brake pedal, “DO” not pump your brakes. In some systems this will cause the anti-lock brakes to disengage and you will begin skidding. The only way to correct this is to turn the vehicle’s ignition off and reset the anti-lock controller. Once engaged the anti-lock brakes will cycle at a high rate that the driver cannot possibly duplicate. Another misconception is that anti-lock brakes will decrease you stopping distance. It in some cases they will increase your stopping distance. For example if you are driving in virgin snow the anti-lock braking will increase your stopping distance unless ice is involved under the snow. With locked wheels the snow will build up in front of the locked wheels and further retard the movement of the vehicle. With anti-lock brakes, it allows the wheel to roll over that build-up that would aid in stopping.
Be sure that your vehicle is in good repair, especially the brakes, front end, and steering. In the event of a serious accident, this is one of the first items that will be checked by the investigating police officers. If you wander into the oncoming traffic lane, for whatever reason, mechanical or otherwise, you’ll be the party legally responsible for the collision. If you steer into the opposing lane, you will in most cases be completely liable.
Your best chance for survival will be to slow as much as possible before the collision. Here’s a simple example: “If it takes you 20 feet to stop at 20 MPH on a given surface then how far will you travel at 40 MPH on the same surface”? The most frequent answer is 40 feet, but it actually takes 80 feet to stop. That does not include the perception and reaction time. It is just the braking distance.
Be sure that all of your lights work and are clean. We’ve seen a number of serious and fatal accidents where dirty lights and windshields may have been a factor in failing to see danger ahead, particularly pedestrians walking along the side of the road.
Do not just think about the outside of the windshield – the interior of the windshield is just as important, and with the defroster going, the initial condensation will also build up a film that reduces you visibility as much as a dirty exterior. In the same vein, don’t overdrive your headlights at night. A film or dirt on you headlight lens will reduce you visibility by as much as 70 percent.
Be sure that your night visibility is greater than your braking and stopping distance at your nighttime driving speed. Most people feel that they can see the roadway and hazards at night in enough time to avoid them.
You’ll need to look down the road quite a distance to anticipate and avoid dangerous situations. Repeated studies have shown that most drivers take between 2 and 2.5 seconds to recognize and correctly react to a dangerous situation before starting to take appropriate action like hard braking or steering around a problem. At 60 miles per hour, that’s between 176 and 220 feet just to react and start to respond. You’ll need even more time for braking or other evasive action. At 60 MPH at night, you’ve already overdriven you headlights before you can even begin to react. Most head-on collisions show that the drivers did not break before the collision, simply because they were not looking beyond the vehicle directly ahead of them and did not have time to react to a dangerous situation developing farther down the road.
It’s obvious from the above why we shouldn’t tail-gate. You simply don’t have enough time to react if you are less than four to six seconds from the car in front of you at highway speed.
Give yourself a lot more stopping room when it’s slippery and start slowing down a lot sooner for stop signs and intersections. Every Alaskan knows this, but there’s a really big increase in rear-end accidents at stop signs for a few weeks after the first snowfalls that stick. Many, but not all, of those accidents are caused by drivers new to Alaskan winter driving conditions.
Fully defrost your windshield and windows before starting out. Frosty windows cut your visibility, especially when facing into the sun. We’ve seen a number of serious or fatal accidents where this was a major factor.
Always wear your seat and shoulder belts. It’s the law and it makes a lot of sense. You are far more likely to be injured if you are not properly belted in. Seatbelts not only prevent you from going through the windshield but more importantly keep you from being ejected from a vehicle in a collision. Your chance of death of serious injury is far higher if you are ejected. Often, your vehicle will roll on top of you. Better to be inside the steel rather than under it.
Do not assume that because you have air-bags that you are protected. Studies show that for the driver the three point restraint is 49 percent effective and the air-bag is nearly as effective. That would lead you to believe that with the combination of the two you are going to be nearly 100 percent effective. That is not the case. A combination of the two is only about 52 percent effective in preventing death or serious injury.
Do not disarm airbags unless you have a child under 14 in the front seat. Statistically, air bags really do save lives and substantially reduce serious injuries in head-on collisions. Canadian research indicates that children under 14 can be injured by air bags and should be in the back seat if at all possible. Younger children are legally required to be in approved child seats, which really do protect children if in good condition and used properly.
Common Causes of Accidents:
Be aware of traffic laws and defensive driving skills. DMV provides a useful free booklet. As an example, one of the most common violations that we see, and one of the most likely to lead to accidents and injuries, are people failing to understand who has the right of way at four way stop signs, traffic lights, and other types of intersections and traffic control devices.
Alaska law provides for a logical approach in which the first person at the four-way stop sign has the right of way and then the person to the right and so forth. Unfortunately, most people, particularly younger drivers don’t seem to know the law’s requirements in this regard.
Similarly, on-coming traffic always has the right of way against vehicles turning left across on-coming traffic, even at a traffic signal, unless there is a protected left turn green arrow. The two lane Sterling and Seward Highways frequently experience traffic slowdowns due to vehicles waiting for oncoming traffic to pass before making a legal left hand turn. Don’t even consider passing one or more vehicles stopped on the highway because of a left turn – there’s a high probability that you will either hit the car turning left or hit the oncoming vehicle for which the left-turning car had stopped. This is a surprisingly common accident scenario.
Be conservative about your requirements for safe passing. Many passing zones marked by highway crews aren’t really that safe, particularly on busy highways that contain a number of blind curves and hills. Similarly, even if the pavement is striped to allow passing, it’s still illegal to make a pass with 100 feet of the intersection between the highway and a side road, regardless of the striping for the reasons in the preceding paragraph.
Be aware of traffic around you. Many drivers are not really paying attention and may not really be aware of your presence. As you approach or mingle with other vehicles, try to notice where those drivers are looking and what they seem to be noticing or ignoring. People really do seem to get frustrated and try to pass in obviously dangerous places or cut a too tight corner on blind curves.
As another example, one of the most common dangerous driving behaviors seems to be drivers who spend most of their time looking right toward oncoming traffic, even when they are simply making a right turn and staying on the same side of the road, and then pulling out in front of traffic approaching them from the left, in their own lane. As you approach people on your side of the road, look at the drivers who may pull out in front of you to pass and be sure that you know that they have seen you. If you’re not sure about the people or situations around you, then temporarily slow down or take other avoidant action to help the other drivers have enough time and distance to avoid a serious accident.
Use your headlights at all times. This helps other vehicles see and avoid you, even in daylight. Just because you can see what’s on the road ahead of you does not mean that other drivers can see you in time. Similarly, aircraft on final approach to any busy airport typically use their landing lights to be seen by other traffic and the controllers.
Avoid distractions like eating or arguing while driving. We recently had a case in which a vehicle stopped at a Sterling Highway red light had a very serious rear-end collision because the driver following him was looking at a vehicle for sale along the side of the highway rather than looking at the traffic situation in front of him. He didn’t bother to notice that the light turned red and that the vehicles in front of him had stopped. As a result, he sailed into them at highway speed, causing very serious injuries.
Avoid using a cell phone while driving in demanding situations. Repeated research shows that driving while using a cell phone is as dangerous as driving while intoxicated. Hands free cell phones are not safer because the basic danger is the mental distraction of the phone call itself rather than dialing and holding the phone.
Texting and watching videos as the driver of a moving vehicle are illegal in Alaska and really dangerous in any event.
Don’t drive while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. That’s obvious but still much too common. Most people’s ability to drive is diminished by the time that their blood alcohol level reaches .06, which is less than the legal DUI limit but still high enough to impair driving. For many people, a .06 blood alcohol level can be as little as two beers or glasses of wine consumed within one hour. Most people will metabolize about one glass of wine or one beer for each hour that they do not consume more.
Be aware of current weather. You can all 511 for current and forecasted weather and road conditions for major highways.
Carry a charged compact digital camera, just in case. Besides, Alaska is a beautiful place and you’ll want those family and scenic photos.