In situ wreck

In the wild, these two creatures -- called "SUVs" -- fight for the affections of the female by sparring with each other to demonstrate their dominance.






[Photo credit: w.marsh]

At least his car is cleaner

Before and after wreck

It's rare when we get before and after pictures. It's also very sad.







[Photo credit: Kevin Hutchinson]

Not a car wreck

... but about as close as you can possibly get. This one is a well-known video.

Boyd Autobody and Glass: Your Edmonton auto body shop

Boyd Autobody & Glass is YOUR Edmonton auto body shop. We have several locations in and around Edmonton.

Here's one of them:

Boyd Autobody & Glass 76th Avenue Edmonton auto body shop
4903-76th Avenue
Edmonton, AB T6B 2S7

468-4944



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Safe Driving Tip: Don't forget the 3 factors of passing

There are three factors you need to judge when passing a car:

Speed, distance, and time. Sounds like math class, doesn't it?!

Speed
What is the speed you are traveling?
What is the speed that the car you are about to pass is traveling?
What speed are the approaching cars traveling? (that's tough to judge but you can make some safe assumptions)

Distance
What is the maximum distance you need in order to pass?
What is the distance you have between you and the approaching car?

Time
How long will it take you to get up to speed to pass?
How long will it take you to pass?
How long will it take the approaching car to reach you?


These are a lot of things to think about... but you need to know the answers to them BEFORE you pass another car.

What's a race without a wreck?

The reasons that people love NASCAR: The beer, the hot dogs, the fans, the noise, the smell of gasoline... and, of course, the wrecks.




[Photo credit: fdtate]

Express bus to crashville

The buses from 0:00 to 0:55 are crazy enough. Then the bus at 0:56 appears and puts the rest to shame.

Safe Driving Tip: Your car is a rectangle

Your car is a rectangle. When you're driving forward, it's easy to imagine the where all four corners are, even when you're turning. This is because your steering tires are in the front. Basically, the back corners and front corners of your car-rectangle are going to go in the same direction.

BUT, when you are reversing, it's totally different. Your steering tires are in the front but the "rectangle" is going backwards. That means that the front corners of the car aren't necessarily doing the same thing as the back corners.

A lot of accidents that occur while cars are going in reverse happen because people forget about the front of the car!!! They forget that their front corners aren't doing the exact same thing as the back corners.

When you are reversing, keep a close eye on those front corners. Remember that every time you steer, the front corners of your car's rectangle are going to move... make sure they don't move into the same space as another car!

Tow away zone

With a car in this kind of shape, I'm sure the owner is *hoping* that they parked in the towaway zone!




[Photo credit: Horia Varian]

Six months from now

Sometimes people complain about drivers or road conditions in the summer. All Canadians need to do is watch this video to be glad that it is summer. (And everyone from Saskatchewan is laughing right now because this could never happen there).

Safe Driving Tip: Watch for parked cars

Imagine you are driving down a city street and there are a line of parked cars to your left. Suddenly, without signaling, one driver zooms out of his or her parking spot and cuts you off.

Can this be avoided? If they didn't signal, it's difficult to avoid it, but it's not impossible. Here's how: If there are parked cars on the side of the road, watch for the shape of a driver's head above the driver's seat. If you see someone's head, there's someone in that car. It doesn't necessarily mean they are going to zip out in front of you, but at least you know there's someone IN that car and they could be thinking about leaving their parking spot.

Slow down slightly and, if there's room, move closer to the center line to give yourself a little more space to maneuver if someone does pull out in front of you.