How to win a marathon in three easy steps... and how it can make you a safer driver

Want to know the secret to winning a marathon? Simply follow these 3 steps and you're guaranteed to be successful. My advice has nothing to do with the shoes you wear or the food you eat before hand or the amount that you train. If you want to win a marathon, here's what to do:

1. Put your left foot in front of your right foot.
2. Put your right foot in front of your left foot.
3. Repeat, faster than everyone else in the race.

Before you click away from this article out of anger at my smart alecky advice, consider this: With that kind of advice, anyone could win any marathon they entered, but it's all theoretical until you actually put it into a practice. And only the people who put it into practice will win. Many runners will try to find other tricks and gimmicks to get around it but ultimately a marathon is won by doing exactly that!

The same goes for safe driving. Automakers can create high-tech vehicles that are extremely safe and easy to operate. And lawmakers can make and enforce laws that keep people from speeding or messaging on their cell phones. But ultimately, safe driving boils down to just a few fundamentals:

1. You have to WANT to be a safe driver.
2. You need to slow down and focus on the road.
3. Safe driving is a series of decisions and skills that get better when you make the conscious decision to improve them.
4. The first three steps must be repeated every single time you get behind the wheel.

Our safer cars are good. Our safe driving laws are good. But they are only as good as the people who follow them and understand their purpose.

Safe driving comes down to YOU and your own decision. It's a simple decision not to let other things in life keep us from getting to our destination in one piece. It's also a selfless decision because it sometimes means letting another driver in in-front of you.

These are hard to do until we remember this important fact: Our families are the most important things in our lives and we must drive safer to keep them safe and to ensure that we are there for them when they need us.
(And there's a second fact to remember, too: Everyone else on the road also has a family who loves them and relies on them. Our safe driving keeps other people safe and other families happy).

Safe Driving Wrap-up

Want to win a marathon? There are no tricks or gimmicks, just simple advice. Want to drive safer? There are no tricks or gimmicks, just simple advice. If you want to driver safer, just follow it.

Avoiding collisions by playing the numbers

Collisions are costly – even deadly – and they can be easily avoided. One of the best ways to avoid a collision is to know what the most common reasons for a collision are and then drive in a way to eliminate or minimize those risks.

So, what are the top causes of car collisions in Canada? I went hunting but actually had a hard time finding well-written, quantifiable numbers. I did find a US-based article and although this article doesn't have quantifiable numbers, it is well written and lists the top 25 causes of collisions in the US. When we read it, we can take most of what it says as being applicable to Canada (although we need to factor in winter conditions as a top factor as well). Here's the article: http://seriousaccidents.com/legal-advice/top-causes-of-car-accidents/

So, if you want to drive safer and avoid more collisions, read this list and adjust your driving to reduce the risks around each of these accidents. Let's take the top 5 reasons and think about how your driving can change because of it:

1. Distracted driving. This one is easy. Put the coffee down. Put the iPhone down. Put the makeup kit down. Put the banana muffin down. Put both hands on the wheel and look straight ahead (while also keeping an eye on your blindspots, of course). We all have different things that pull our focus off the roads – it could be our desire to check a Facebook status or it could be the kids in the back seat or the roast beef sandwich that is perched on the dashboard. Know what can pull your attention off the road and (as much as possible) avoid being distracted by those things.
2. Speeding. Uhhh. Slow down. Do we need to write anything else about this? I hope not. The same goes for…
3. Drunk driving. The fact that we still live in an age when this is an issue is appalling.
4. Reckless driving. Again. This one should be an easy one. Avoid reckless driving. If another driver is driving recklessly, steer clear. Take a different route if necessary.
5. Rain. I'll also add snow, sleet, hail, blizzards, etc. Drive according to the conditions of the road. Unless the road is dry and the day is perfectly sunny, give yourself a few extra minutes and keep our eyes farther up the road to see what's happening ahead.

Now that I've done that for the first 5 top causes of automobile collisions, read through the other 20 in the article and think about how you can adjust your driving to reduce the risks.

Driving safer means driving smarter and acting on this information can help you dramatically reduce your risk of collision.

If you do get into a collision, Boyd Autobody & Glass can help to restore the safety of your car so you and your family can get back out on the road as quickly as possible.

April's Safe Driving Skill: Plan ahead

According to Transport Canada, there were a shocking 124,000 collisions on Canadian roads in 2009 that caused injury or death.

At Boyd, we believe that safe driving is the most effective way to reduce the number of collisions on Canadian roads and save lives. So in 2012, we're going back to basics and writing about 12 safe driving skills (one skill each month) for people to work on during the month to become safer drivers.

In the month of April, the safe driving skill we're focusing on is Planning Ahead. Safe driving doesn't just happen by accident. It is a decision, and part of that decision to be a safe driver is knowing what you are going to face when you get out onto the road.

Before any trip, plan ahead.

Start by looking at the weather and determining what the weather will be like between now and when you reach your destination. (There won't be any weather change in a 5 minute trip but a 5 hour trip could see some significant weather change).

First, consider the following weather or environmental elements and their impact on your driving:

• Temperatures: Air temperature and road-surface temperature
• Precipitation (rain, snow, and even fog will all play a factor in your driving, but will also be impacted by temperatures)
• Lighting conditions (Full sun? Dusk or Dawn? Cloudy? Are you driving into the sun or away from it?)

Second, note the route you plan to take. What will you face on that route? Is there construction? Do people park along the road? Are there a lot of pedestrians? In the winter, is it a route that is plowed? What is an alternate route if that route is closed for some reason?

Third, consider the time of day. Note if you are going to be driving in rush hour, or when school lets out or during night when difficult-to-see animals can become hypnotized by your headlights.

Fourth, consider how your car will handle given all of this information. Are your windows clean so you can easily spot hazards or are not blinded by the rising sun reflecting off of your bug-splattered windshield? Are your headlights and signal lights working? Do you have the right tires for road conditions? Do you have safety equipment and a shovel (especially on longer trips)? Do you have enough fuel to get where you need to go?

Safe drivers never get into the car unprepared. When they do get into the car, they know exactly where they want to go, how they'll get there, and they have spent a few minutes anticipating what hazards, obstacles, and dangers lie ahead. Obviously you can never prepare for everything but a little preparation will help to reduce many of the collision risks you face.