Safe driving is EVERYONE's responsibility

All safe drivers know that the safest drivers are the ones who are completely focused on the road – they use a hands-free device on the phone (or better yet, they don't talk on the phone at all). But a recent study by the University of Maryland Medical Center have found that pedestrians are possibly at higher risk if they're walking down the street while wearing headphones.

Of course it's not that headphone use itself is dangerous. Rather, the study highlights a concern that pedestrians are no longer actively focused on their surroundings. Therefore, the risks are higher that they might hear a car horn or the screech of tires. We would suggest that the problem is even greater than that: Pedestrians might simply be too engaged in their iPod to realize that they are walking across a busy street. You can read a brief synopsis of the study here or a more detailed synopsis of the study here. (To be fair, the study has drawn some criticism for the way it gathered information and the way the media has handled the details of the report.)

We don't want to add to the potential scaremongering that this article accuses the media of doing. However, we do want to highlight one important thing that this study does remind us of: Safety on the road is everyone's responsibility:

• Drivers control heavy steel machines that hurtle down the road at great speeds. Drivers have the responsibility to control their vehicles in a responsible way – focused and in full control. They must also remember that they share the road with others – other cars and other people.
• Passengers have two responsibilities: They need to help drivers keep watch for unseen threats, and they need to make sure that they don't distract the driver from focusing on the road.
• Cyclists have a legal right to the road and are expected to do so safely and carefully. However, bicycles can steer tighter and stop shorter and are sometimes harder to see than cars; therefore, cyclists should use the road confidently but remember that cars need lots of warning.
• Pedestrians should cross the road in well-marked crossing zones. They should signal their intention and move across quickly. Like any other road-user, pedestrians should be focused and pay attention to the environment around them.
• Parents and teachers have a responsibility, too: Ensure that our kids are constantly reminded to be safe and cautious around roadways. Kids can so easily dart in and out of traffic, running unseen from a playground and in a split second they can be in traffic.

Safe driving is ultimately the responsibility of the person behind the wheel of the car. However, everyone plays a part in safety on the roads regardless of whether they are a seasoned driver or a toddler on a tricycle.

Google Maps as a safe driving tool

Have you ever driven through a neighborhood you weren't familiar with as you looked for a house or business address? We all have at one point or another. It's not easy – you're driving slowly, avoiding parked cars, searching for the house number and street names. Your focus isn't 100% on the road, where it should be.

Compare that experience to driving in a neighbourhood that you are familiar with. It's dramatically different! You can confidently navigate the area and your focus is more safely on the road.

Google Maps can help you be a safer driver by turning even the most unfamiliar neighbourhoods into familiar ones.

Google Maps is more than just a 2-dimensional map – like what drivers used to use to plot a course whenever they wanted to go somewhere. Google Maps offers an even better way to plan ahead! That's because Google Maps gives you an interactive 3-dimensial view of your journey and destination! It allows you to plot our course and see what the surroundings are like before you actually go there!

Here's how it can help: If you are traveling somewhere you've never been before, use Google Maps to view the area first. See what your destination address looks like (so you don't have to take your eyes of the road to squint at house numbers). Watch for one-way streets, left turns across busy roads, unusual street configurations that will make it challenging to get around, and even look for parking before you leave your house!

Here's how to do it, step-by-step:
Go to Google Maps (http://maps.google.com) and type in your destination. Google will reveal the 2-dimensional map of where your destination address is.

Next, get Google Maps Street View. (See the vertical line on the left of the map that you can use to zoom in and out? At the top of that vertical line is a little orange "man". Click that orange human figure and drag it with your mouse to the point that Google indicates on the map as your destination. If Google has taken 3-D pictures of the area, the 2-D map will be replaced with a 3-D version of the address… as if you were standing on the street and looking around.

You can turn 360 degrees, you can move up and down the street, you can see street names and number and house addresses and watch for landmarks. And all of this is a way to drive more safely, especially in neighborhoods you're not familiar with.
Of course, Google Maps won't reveal changes that have occurred since the pictures were taken – such as road construction or if the house changed colour. But for the most part, you'll recognize the area and drive more safely because of it.

8 things to do before you take a trip

When you need to go to the corner store, you just quickly run out wearing whatever you happen to be wearing, and pick up the milk. But when you go on a long trip, you don't just go in whatever you happen to be wearing. Instead, you think about what you might need and you pack a suitcase.

When it comes to driving, we don't always take the same approach (but maybe we should). When you go to the corner store, you just jump in the car and go. No problem. But all too often, that's the same approach we take before embarking on a long trip.

However, on a long trip, we don't have the luxury of walking home if something happens to the car. On a long trip (especially on the Canadian prairies) it can be a loooooong walk to get somewhere if something happens to the car. So, if you want to enjoy a safe and happy long trip, think about doing the following things before you leave:

1. Check your oil, coolant, and washer fluid. In the prairies, it can be a long distance between towns and if your car runs out of these fluids, you may have a long way to go before you can get some more. Add bottles of extra oil, coolant, and washer fluid in the trunk.
2. Check your tire pressure. Tire pressure has a surprisingly large impact on driving – it can damage tires, keep the car from driving predictably, and can even increase fuel consumption. Check your tire pressure and bring them all up to manufacturer's specifications.
3. Make sure you have a spare tire and that it is ready to go (it has air and adequate pressure) and that you have a jack and lug wrench.
4. Put a gas can in your car in case you run out of gas.
5. Make sure your cell phone is charged up (but don't use your cell phone while driving, of course!)
6. Check your glove compartment for insurance, registration, and the owner's manual.
7. Plan your trip. (Check road conditions, weather, and the time you'll be driving).
8. Make sure you have the right kind of gear for the weather you'll be driving through. (Rain coat or winter clothes, for example). Don't forget a survival kit/emergency kit.

On a related note, make sure you get some rest before you drive and take plenty of breaks while on the road. That will help you to stay focused.

The above 8 tips are steps to take before you go on a long trip and they will help you to get to your destination safely and on time.

If you get into a collision while traveling, you'll find many Boyd Autobody locations throughout Western Canada and we'll be happy to repair your car and get you on your way.

Multitasking: No longer the time-saver we thought it was

Recently, I was in an elevator reading an article about multitasking. I almost forgot to push the button for my floor and then when the door opened, I forgot to get off the elevator. Sadly, that is not a joke. It really happened.

Multitasking was a big buzzword in the 1990's. Time management experts told us that we could accomplish twice as much in the same amount of time by doing two things at once. (Naturally, because our lives are so busy, many assumed that if they could do twice as much doing two things at once, they must be able to accomplish three times as much doing three things at once.)

Businesses jumped on this as a way to squeeze more productivity out of people and drivers adopted this mentality to spend their commuting time putting on their make-up, catching up on their reading, or gobbling down lunch.

But today's time management experts are revealing that the benefit of multitasking does not actually exist. Rather than doing one thing well, people who multitask do two things poorly. It's not just a matter of doing half the job, the combined effect is actually much worse! It has something to do with not being able to two things at once.

Therefore, when we drive and focus only on driving, 100% of our focus is on driving. But when we drive and split our focus between driving and some other act (eating, reading, disciplining children, talking on our phones, texting, etc.) we end up doing each of those activities far less than at 50% effectiveness.
Today's time management experts have a new buzzword that they are adopting and we think it perfectly applies to safe driving. It's called "singletasking" and it means doing one thing. (Yeah, we're not sure why there needs to be a word for it).

When you singletask, you do one thing at a time. So when you're behind the wheel, you aren't eating or texting or phoning or have one hand over the back seat trying to keep your kids from fighting with each other. When you singletask, your entire focus is directed toward one activity (driving) and you're able to achieve far more safer driving by singletasking compared to multitasking. You'll remember to check your blindspots and signal before turning and watch the road signs and stop when the car in front of you stops.

By singletasking, you drive better, you're more likely to get to your destination faster, you'll keep yourself and your family safer, and you'll reduce the expense and burden of a collision.

If you do get into a collision, the collision repair experts at Boyd Autobody & Glass are ready to fix your car quickly, restoring its safety and look to its pre-collision condition.

10 Ways that Safe Driving Saves You Money

Safe Driving reduces collisions, it reduces our stress levels, and it keeps our families safe and happy and alive. Those are great benefits and the best reasons to become a safer driver. But there are financial benefits to safer driving as well. In this article, we'll outline some of the ways that safer driving can help to save you money.

1. As a driver who obeys the speed limits, you get to your destination with only a few minutes extra (compared to speeding) plus you reduce the likelihood of a collision.
2. The more aggressively you drive, the harder you are on your vehicle, cost much more in fuel and in wear-and-tear on tires, brakes, and other systems.
3. In a collision, you might be responsible for your deductible. By driving safely, you save that payment.
4. There are thousands of collisions each year (124,000 injury- or fatality-causing collisions in 2009). Insurance companies pay to repair vehicles, they pay to provide injury rehab, they pay death benefits, they pay disability replacement-income. Collisions are increasing and the amount that insurance companies pay out is increasing. So those insurance companies raise rates regularly to cover their increasing costs. You pay increasingly higher insurance premiums even if you haven't been in a collision because of the cumulative cost of insurance among all policyholders. If we all drive safely, insurance rates won't rise as quickly.
5. In a collision, tax dollars are spent on emergency response, hospital services, and collision clean-up. Those tax dollars come out of your pocket. As collisions increase and costs increase, your tax dollars are impacted. If we all drive safely, tax spending won't rise as quickly.
6. Collisions might result in missed work and lost wages. By driving safely, you show up to work and get paid.
7. Along with damaging your car (replaced through insurance), collisions might damage items in your car (not all of which might be covered by insurance). By driving safely, you don't have to spend money to replace things you already own.
8. Collision repair might require you to rent a vehicle (and pay for rental car insurance). By driving safely, you don't have to rent a car or buy car rental insurance.
9. When you plan your route with the safe-driving skill of trip-planning, you'll reduce your fuel consumption and get to your destination faster. (Gas is expensive!)
10. Safer driving reduces stress and reduced stress leads to a healthier life… and a healthier life costs less to live – you eat less, you are more productive, you have fewer health costly troubles.

We've listed 10 ways that safe driving can save you money. Some of the money saved will be immediately noticed (such as less spent on fuel and less spent on speeding tickets) and some of the money saved will be spread over your lifetime. However it comes to you, money saved is always a good thing! It pays to be a safer driver.