1. Listen to weather reports to assess road conditions and pick a safe route. Nightfall and dropping temperatures can freeze roads and diminish traction.

2. Check equipment: windshield wipers, tire treads for traction on slippery roads, spare tire, radio, heater, and cell phone. Keep all windows defogged. A tank full of gas and other rear weight will enhance traction.

3. Allow extra time. Reduce speed and increase following distance for extra maneuverability. Give others advance warning of lane changes and turns. Avoid sudden accelerations. Make slow, wide turns. If you’re weary of the strain, take a rest or stop somewhere safe.

4. Make yourself visible. Use hazard flashers and low-beam headlights, especially in fog, which refracts light.

5. Anticipate and prevent skids. Shift into neutral as you stop to reduce the force of your wheels on the road surface. Turn and break slowly and maintain a firm grip on the wheel.

DON’T BE LEFT OUT IN THE COLD

WHERE DANGERS LURK

Slick Roads reduce your tires’ ability to grip.
with less traction, turns, stops and evasive maneuvers.
require more time & distance.

Heavy Rains not only diminish visibility, they increase the risk of hydroplaning: when a car traveling at high speeds actually lifts and travels on a thin layer of water that forms between the tire and the road.

Light Rains, Fog & Mist
following a long dry spell causes a film of dirt, gas and oil to accumulate on the road, creating slippery conditions. WATCH OUT!

On Ice and Icy Patches –
You can’t STEER. You can’t STOP.
You will have NO TRACTION and NO BRAKES.

ICY PATCHES appear DARK, and occur:
At temperatures near freezing;
Under bridges where the sun hasn’t dried water;
Over bridges exposed to the weather underneath;
On less traveled stretches of road;
At sunset when temperatures drop.

Choose a safe path of travel. Follow the tracks of the vehicle ahead. Keep to high ground, especially in flash flood areas. Stay to the center of the road to avoid deep water and run-off areas, which can pull you off the road.

In a flash flood, pull of to the side of the road and wait until the rain stops and water recedes before resuming travel. Avoid low-lying areas, tunnels, underpasses, the edge of the road or other areas where water runs off and collects.

As high winds buffet your car, maintain a firm grip on the wheel, or signal and pull off to the side of the road with your hazard lights on.

Anticipate and avoid icy patches. Apply, then release brakes and steer away before you reach them. For more control, downshift before you hit the ice.

Steering provides more control on ice than brakes do. You will skid out of control attempting to turn on ice at high speeds. Keep acceleration to a minimum and make slow, wide turns.

If you have time, during a skid, shift your car into neutral and stay off the brake completely. Keep your eyes where you want to go and steer smoothly.

If you find yourself on ice going too fast, lightly pump the brakes and steer between pumps to control the direction of the car while your foot is off the brake. Should your brakes lock, gently release brake pressure and reapply less firmly.
Do not pump antilock brakes.

Blow outs occur when a tire is punctured or worn out, if the vehicle is overloaded, or during a sudden, evasive maneuver. Your car’s reaction will depend on which tire blows, your speed and road conditions. Generally, the car pulls in the direction of the blown tire, or if the rear tire is blown, the car may fishtail from side to side. Keep a firm grip on the wheel and stay in your lane until the car is under control. Sound your horn and hit your hazard lights. Then pull off the road.

http://www.skipbarber.com

If you have time, during a skid, shift your car into neutral and stay off the brake completely. Keep your eyes where you want to go and steer smoothly.

If you find yourself on ice going too fast, lightly pump the brakes and steer between pumps to control the direction of the car while your foot is off the brake. Should your brakes lock, gently release brake pressure and reapply less firmly.
Do not pump antilock brakes.

Blow outs occur when a tire is punctured or worn out, if the vehicle is overloaded, or during a sudden, evasive maneuver. Your car’s reaction will depend on which tire blows, your speed and road conditions. Generally, the car pulls in the direction of the blown tire, or if the rear tire is blown, the car may fishtail from side to side. Keep a firm grip on the wheel and stay in your lane until the car is under control. Sound your horn and hit your hazard lights. Then pull off the road.

By law you must use headlights from:
- ½ hour after sunset to a ½ hour before sunrise.
- when visibility is less than 1,000 feet.
- whenever your windshield wipers are on.
- never use parking lights as a stop-gap between dusk and dark.
- It is easier and safer to use low beams at all times, day and night.

YOU WILL CRASH.

1. Communicate
FLASH your beamers if an oncoming car has not dimmed his and return the courtesy likewise. A FLASH can also remind you to turn on your lights, turn off your high beams or warn you of a HAZARD AHEAD. DIM your headlights to low beam when you’re 500’ from an approaching vehicle or 200’ behind another vehicle. DIM your high beams for oncoming pedestrians and cyclists. BE ALERT. Expect nocturnal animals to cross the road at dusk and dawn.

2. Drive
Within your range of vision. Headlights illuminate the area 350’ ahead of your car, so drive at a speed that allows you to react and stop within that distance. Increase your following distance to 4 or 5 seconds.

3. Clean
Glass and mirrors. DIRT blocks light. CLEAN headlights, rear lights, windshield and rear & side windows.

4. Don’t
Wear sunglasses at dusk. There’s no sun.

NIGHT VISION TECHNOLOGY was developed by the U.S. MILITARY as an early warning system to enable TROOPS to see during NIGHT COMBAT MISSIONS. NIGHT VISION produces a negative photographic image based on the amount of HEAT an object transmits and is now available in limited new vehicles. It enables drivers to see 3 – 5 X farther than with low beam headlights and beyond the glare of on oncoming headlights.

Lifestyle Habits. Eat light. Exercise regularly. Get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Every time you miss sleep, catch up immediately.

Plan Journeys. Before a trip, get a good night’s sleep. Leave early in the morning and stop driving around sunset, or as early as possible, to reduce night-time driving. Drive with a passenger who can alert you to fatigue, talk to you, and share the driving. Schedule stops every 100 miles or two hours. Hunger can make you angry and turn you into an aggressive driver. Don’t eat junk or high-fat foods. Keep caffeinated and sugar-laden snacks in the car for short-term energy. Chocolate covered espresso beans can help you make it to the next rest area.

Direct Intervention. Recognize and don’t ignore symptoms of drowsiness. Pull over to a safe rest area; stop for a break, a 20-minute nap, or for the night. Two cups of coffee take 30 minutes to enter your bloodstream, then provide short-term alertness.

Don’t drink alcohol or take medications.

Sleepiness results from physical labor or working long hours; a progressive withdrawal of attention; interruptions of sleep; and untreated or unrecognized sleep disorders.

Sleepiness is induced by repetitive actions of long distance drivers, driving without a break and by the stress of tough road conditions and bad weather. Heavy food, alcohol, sedatives, antidepressants and antihistamines induce sleep.

Open windows and loud music do not reduce fatigue.

WARNING SIGNS of a DROWSY DRIVER:

Can’t remember the last few miles.
Experience wandering or disconnected thoughts.
Difficulty focusing or keeping eyes open. Head snaps.
Drifts from lane or hits rumble strips. Yawns.
Tailgates. Misses traffic signs.

CHARACTERISTICS of a DROWSY DRIVER:

Slower reaction time.
Reduced ability to respond.
Information processing deficit.
Decrease in short-term memory.
Poor performance.

YOUNG PEOPLE: Men 16-29 account for 2/3 of all drowsy-driving crashes. SHIFT WORKERS: They work long or irregular hours, at night, or in conflict with cycles of daylight and wakefulness.
PEOPLE with untreated sleep disorders, such as SLEEP APNEA SYNDROME (SAS) and NARCOLEPSY. In SAS, brief interruptions of airflow and loss of oxygen disrupt and fragment sleep. Sufferers often are unaware of their poor sleep and feel tired during the day. Narcolepsy is a disorder of the sleep-awake mechanism, in which 20-minute naps can occur at regular intervals during the day.
COMMERCIAL DRIVERS: They have a high prevalence of sleep apnea; drive the highest number of vehicle miles per year; are exposed to the most tedious long-distance driving conditions and often drive during the night, when the body is sleepiest. Fatigue causes 1/3 of all commercial driver fatalities and 60% of all single-truck crashes.

http://www.sleepfoundation.org

The colors and shapes of Signals, Signs & Markings are mapping devices for a 3D road language.
The United States complies with the international system of traffic control using the visual language of symbols.

You are legally responsible to understand and abide by the codes of the road. Quiz yourself.
For comprehensive regulatory coverage, download or order FHWA or state DMV manuals.

Traffic Regulations + Ignorance = Crash

Traffic Signals
Keep traffic moving smoothly. When approaching a traffic light, glance in rear-view mirror to ascertain the position of the car behind. On roads with sequenced lights, stay one block behind the changing light - to maintain a constant speed, and to avoid collision with cars from the cross streets.

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov

Pavement Markings tell drivers where the road is and where they should go. Almost every paved roadway communicates with yellow and white lines. Some markings are raised and reflectorized. Some have raised delineators, or reflectors, which reflect your headlights and rumble under your tires, should you cross the line.

Yellow lines separate traffic traveling in opposite directions, and mark the left edge of divided highways and ramps.

Always look for white on your right and yellow on your left.

Solid white lines are also visual barriers to discourage lane changes at critical points in the road – sharp turns, intersections and where cars enter and exit the highway.

Double solid yellow centerlines mean no passing in either direction.

A single broken dashed yellow line means you may pass a car if the road is clear and it is safe to do so.

A combination of solid and dashed yellow centerlines means that;

1. If the dashed line is on your side, you may pass with caution.

2. If the solid line is on your side, you may not pass a car, or cross the line unless entering a driveway.

Solid edges delineate the edge of the road. When slanting inward, they indicate that the road narrows ahead.

Special markers indicate approach to school zones, work zones and railroad crossings: slow down, use caution and watch for warning signs.

http://www.artba.org

At intersections yield to traffic:

Already in the intersection;
With the green light;
Without the stop sign;
At four-way stops, the vehicle on the right,
or the one which arrives first;
When turning left, yield to oncoming traffic until space permits your turn.

Road rules from state to state are regulated by the Uniform Vehicle Code.

You must yield the right of way to:

Any emergency vehicle that has its siren and lights flashing, such as a police car, fire truck or ambulance.
If you are traveling in the same direction as the emergency vehicle, pull over to the side of the road to permit its passage.
Any blind person carrying a white cane or accompanied by a seeing-eye dog.
Pedestrians in crosswalks.

YOUR RIGHT OF WAY DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU DIE HOLDING ON TO IT.

Cars have blind zones too. You can’t trust your mirrors. You must glance quickly around and over your shoulder for upcoming traffic to ensure an unobstructed path before turning. Make all turns with caution and reduce speed. Use directionals 100 feet before turning, to alert other drivers. When slowing to make a left turn across oncoming traffic, glance in your mirrors and keep front wheels pointed straight ahead, so you cannot be rammed into oncoming traffic if struck from behind.

For quick stops, squeeze the brake firmly until the ABS engages and shudders or until brakes nearly lock. Just before you hit the brakes, send out a warning. Check your rearview mirror and tap your brakes lightly at first to alert the cars behind you of your intention. If you see rear brake lights flashing on the cars ahead, look up the road for the cause and be prepared to stop.

In work zones, expect the unexpected. Normal speed limits are reduced, traffic lanes may be changed, lane width can be reduced and people and equipment may be working on or near the road.

Things may appear normal, however, circumstances in a work zone differ from normal conditions. Watch for orange, diamond-shaped warning signs posted in advance of construction, or a highway flag worker. Watch also for white regulatory signs posting reduced speed, and REDUCE YOUR SPEED!

Pedestrian fatalities mostly involve children at play and the elderly. Older people have slower reaction times and get caught in intersections when the lights change. About half the pedestrian fatalities occur during darkness, due largely to poor visibility, low light, dark clothes and poor distance judgment.

Be ready to avoid unexpected actions by pedestrians. At intersections, pedestrians tend to look right and left only, so they miss you if you’re rounding a corner from behind. Often, pedestrians are injured as they step down from the curb by cars traveling close to the curb.

Slow down when you see children playing in the street, or a ball bouncing into the road, as a child is likely to follow. When children are around, before starting the car or backing out of the driveway, get out and make sure no one is playing, or has left toys behind the car.

Cross on the crosswalk. Watch for traffic carefully. Look left, right & behind, and make sure cars have stopped before leaving the curb.

Use sidewalks when available. Otherwise walk on the side of the road facing oncoming traffic, as far as to the left as possible, or on the grass.

At night, wear retro-reflective clothing. Like the eyes of a cat, it returns any light that strikes back to its source.

Carry a flashlight at night, and cross the street only where lights are bright. DON’T J – WALK! Obey traffic and pedestrian signals.

Never stand in the road to talk to passing motorists and NEVER HITCHHIKE!