July's Safe Driving Skill: Be Predictable

According to Transport Canada, there were about 124,000 collisions causing injury or death on Canadian roads in 2009 (which is the last date of record available at the time of this writing).

124,000 collisions is a huge number and at Boyd Autobody & Glass, we believe it's a number that can easily be reduced through careful driving. So in 2012, we are promoting 12 safe driving skills – one each month – to help Canadian drivers keep our roads safe.

In July, the safe driving skill we're promoting is "Be Predictable". One reason that collisions occur is that one driver doesn't know what another driver is about to do. This can result from a number of things but the biggest factors are…

• Lack of signalling
• Inconsistent driving (erratic speeds, swerving, etc.)
• Lack of control

When two cars are going down the road and one car does something unexpected, the other car is forced to react. It could be simple (such as tapping the brakes to slow down) but sometimes the reaction needs to be more dramatic. And if the unpredictable driver is near several cars (i.e. if there are several cars on the road and all of those cars need to brake and/or swerve), the potential for a collision increases.

When you drive, your goal should be: To be the most predictable driver on the road and to make sure that every other driver around you can read your mind and know exactly what you are going to do, long before you actually do it.

Fortunately, predictable driving is such an easy skill to improve upon. Here are some ways you can improve upon your predictability:

1. Signal before you change lanes or turn. Check your blind spots, too!
2. Focus on the road and turn down the music and put away your cell phone.
3. Keep both of your hands on the wheel.
4. Maintain a consistent speed and direction while driving. An easy way to do this is to decide your speed and keep an eye on it (periodically) while driving. Stay in your lane. Watch your mirrors.

Practice this on an open highway when no one else is around. If you're on a long journey along the highway, this is a great time to work hard at staying in one lane and maintaining a constant speed. (Check periodically to see if you tend to speed up or slow down). However, the place where you will benefit the most from this is when you are on a crowded road, especially in rush hour.

And if you do get into a collision – either because you've been unpredictable or someone else was unpredictable around you – bring your car to Boyd Autobody & Glass. We'll get your car fixed up and back out on the road quickly and safely.

June's Safe Driver Skill: Anticipate

At Boyd Autobody & Glass, we want everyone to be safe when they get behind the wheel. Unfortunately, the numbers don't look good. According to 2009 collision statistics released by Transport Canada, there were 124,000 collisions that caused injury or fatality on Canadian roads that year. As the number of cars increases, and as the number of distracted drivers increases, we believe that huge number is going to only climb.

But something can be done about it. If we all choose to work together to improve our safe driving skills, we can actually make that number go down. So, each month, we're publishing a blog that highlights one safe driving skill and gives you tips and ideas to improve that skill. This month, the skill is anticipating.

Anticipating is a huge safe driving skill but it is under-appreciated. Most of us drive around and react when we see something happen. But instead of reacting, you can act out of confidence because you correctly anticipated something happening, your ability to drive safer increases.

Here's an example: You are driving beside a line of parked cars. You think to yourself: "There are three dangers around these cars – (1) People who might run out from between the cars, (2) people in the cars who might suddenly open their door, and (3), a parked car that might pull out without first checking to see what's on the road.

By anticipating those scenarios you can act to minimize them (perhaps by moving slightly to the left and slowing down a little. Then, if one of those three things DOES happen, you can act further – braking or swerving appropriately.

Learning to anticipate is easy. The hardest part is remembering to do it while you drive.

To learn to anticipate, just keep a running commentary to yourself as you drive – pointing out verbally the various things that COULD happen: "There's a schoolyard; I'd better keep an eye out for kids. There's an intersection; I'd better slow down slightly and watch for cars that don't see their stop sign."

At first, it might seem like you are assuming the worst and being pessimistic. However, the act of anticipating does assume that unexpected things will happen and it allows you to prepare for them so that bad things don't happen! That's a big difference.

Of course, you'll never be able to anticipate everything, but even anticipating a few things will put you well on your way to becoming a safer driver. If you can get into the habit of anticipating, you can help to avoid many types of collisions.
Next time you get into the car, before you put the car into drive and step on the gas, remind yourself to anticipate on this trip.

The case of the mysterious dent

Nearly every car gets one at some point and car owners are helpless to stop it. I'm talking about that mystery dent. Maybe it's a ding on your door. Maybe it's a newly formed bowl on your bumper. Maybe it's a half-moon-shaped dent on your quarter panel. The shape and location may be different but there is one common trait among all of these occurrences: The origins of this mystery are shrouded in the mists of the unknown.

As with any good mystery, we are forced to answer questions based on the evidence.

Question 1: How did it get there?

It's anyone's guess, really. Maybe it happened at the grocery store parking lot (where chaos reigns supreme). Maybe it happened in the church parking lot (aren't there supposed to be angels there?). Maybe it happened when you slipped into your local Big Box Store to buy toilet paper because it was on sale. Maybe it was a mysterious gravitational anomaly that occurred inside your car, pulling part of your car into itself. All we can be sure of is that we don't think it was there eight weeks ago when we last washed the car. But eight weeks is a long, long time.

Question 2: Who did it?

If you can't answer the first question, it's not so easy to answer this question. But we WANT to answer this question. We want to find the culprit! So we ask our spouse and our teenage children if they know what happened and then maybe we blame our teenage children's friends because, well, they are teenagers after all. We glare around every parking lot we park in. We look at the garden gnome out of the side of our eyes to see if it has moved at all.

Question 3: What can I do about it now?

Whether or not you find the actual culprit doesn't matter. (It is a mystery dent and maybe there is a little allure to not knowing who did it… do you think James Bond knows how every dent appeared on his Aston Martin? Not likely). You really have two options.

The first option is to do nothing. That's easier, isn't it? You've got enough to do between work and home and driving your aged mother to bingo every week. But there's a wee little problem with that. I call that problem: "The attack of Mr. Rusty." You see, the paint on your car isn't there just to make your car look pretty. It's also there to form a magical protective barrier around the steel that your car is made of. (Sort of the same principal as why the library laminates your library card). But when a mysterious dent appears, the paint is imperceptibly cracked. When that happens, air and moisture attacks the steel in a way that I never really paid attention to during science class… but the result is rust. Bad, ugly, stinky, dirty rust that slowly eats away at your car until it is just a dusty heap.

The other option, of course, is to get your car fixed right away at Boyd Autobody & Glass. It can feel a little annoying to fix your car since you haven't found anyone to blame, but getting your car fixed makes sense: It keeps the rust away. It helps to preserve the value of your car and the safety of its occupants. And more importantly, it shows your kids' teenage friends (and maybe your garden gnome) that you won't be intimidated by some mysterious little dent.

X Things You Shouldn't Ignore

Driving seems like an activity where you are in complete control of the car. But that is not the case. You work together with the car to get where you need to go, quickly and safely. You are in constant communication with your car and everything from road noise to alarm bells to rain on the windshield should help you to adjust your driving to the conditions.

If you are driving, here are X signs that you shouldn't ignore:

1. The gas gauge. Life gets busy. We understand that. But if you don't have time to fill your gas tank, you'll end up costing yourself a lot of stress as you search desperately for one (or you'll end up costing yourself a lot of time if you run out of gas and have to walk).

2. The temperature gauge. We don't really pay attention to this little gauge very much but it is an important gauge. The engine heats up when it has to work extra hard. So take note of where your temperature gauge is when driving under normal conditions. Consider that to be the baseline of standard operation. If the temperature is lower than that, it's usually not a problem. But if the temperature climbs higher than that, it's a definite warning sign.

3. Your tachometer. Not all cars are equipped with a tachometer, which measures RPMs. If your car is equipped with a tachometer, keep an eye on it. It should increase steadily as you accelerate and it should change when your car switches gears. If your tachometer starts jumping around, that is not a good sign. Alternatively, if you don’t have a tachometer, you'll have to rely on your ears to tell you if the engine is running steadily or if it is revving.

4. Your brakes. Brakes aren't just devices that slow you down; they're whole systems designed to work effectively and to warn you when things aren't working right. Brakes come with a built-in warning system that screeches a little when you apply the brakes. If you hear screeching when you apply the brakes, your car is telling you to check (and probably replace) the brakes.

5.    Buzzing, rattling, and clunking. Vehicles take a lot of abuse on the road and when they are in peak condition, they'll perform the way they are supposed to. But buzzing and rattling warn us that something is loose. It might not be a big deal now but if things aren't tightened up, things could get worse.

6. Grinding. Very similar to above, your car should not make a metal-on-metal grinding sound. That's the sign that a once lubricated part is now no-longer lubricated. Pay attention to where and when the grinding noise occurs and tell your mechanic at once.

On their own, these are warning signs of minor issues that can be fixed with a full tank of gas or by a mechanic. If you catch them right away, they will probably cost you very little. However, if you ignore any of these warning signs or leave them for too long before doing something about them, it could cost you. It might just be a cost of inconvenience, as is the case of an empty tank of gas. But it could be much worse – your brakes could give out, your engine might fail, your ability to control the car could disappear. When that happens, collisions occur and those are much more expensive.

If you get into a collision, bring your car to Boyd Autobody & Glass for fast, affordable collision repair that can get you back on the road safely in no time.

Stuff You Should Carry In Your Car

As Canadians, we live in a pretty harsh climate. The summer can be scorchingly hot; the winters can be shockingly cold; if you live in a place that has one of the other two seasons, they're usually wet. The temperature difference in some parts of Canada can be as much as 80 degrees between summer and winter.
(Count yourself lucky if it's less than that where you live).

So, since we live in what can only be described as an "extreme" environment, what should Canadians carry in their car? Here is comprehensive list:

• Emergency roadside kit: You never know what could happen – you might come upon an accident or you might suddenly run out of fuel. It's better to be prepared for everything. Include candles, blankets, and emergency pylons in your roadside kit.
• First aid kit: From tiny boo-boos to more significant "owies". Include disinfectant and bandages. Most emergency kits come with this but double check and stock up.
• Jumper cables: In case you leave your lights on, or to be a friendly Canadian to someone in distress. Spend extra to get longer ones because some day you'll face a situation where the shorter ones just won't reach.
• Spare tire, jack, and wrench: Seems obvious and a lot of cars come with them. Just make sure that they are usable. If necessary, invest in a better jack and wrench if your auto manufacturer was a little cheap. Jack stands also provide a little extra stability and assurance.
• Salt, sand, kitty litter, extraction devices, and snow shovel: During winter, roads get a little snowy (or sometimes a lot snowy) and every good Canadian has found themselves in a ditch from time to time. A combination of some of these tools can help you deal with those times.
• Ice scraper and snow brush: Avoid using your credit card or thumbnail to remove ice.
• Umbrella, raincoat, winter coat, extra mittens, rubber boots, winter boots: If everything worked the way it was supposed to, we'd always get where we need to go. But cars break down and, as luck would have it, they always seem to break down in the wettest, coldest weather. Be prepared with the right gear.
• Car manual, insurance card, accident report form: Keep these in your glove compartment so you can get at them when you need them. (You can download a free accident report form from here).
• Oil and season-appropriate washer fluid: You might not need to carry oil with you all the time if you mainly drive around the city but you should always carry season-appropriate washer fluid.

Obviously it doesn't make sense to carry all of these things all of the time. But keep these things near your car and when the season calls for it, put it in your car. You'll be glad you had it.

Something else you should carry with you is the phone number to a local Boyd Autobody & Glass shop. If you get into a collision, call your insurance company and call us right away.