General Driving Safety

Distracted Driving

Anything that causes you to either take your attention away from driving, take your eyes off of the road or take your hands off of the wheel is a distraction.

You will not be able to react as quickly if you are:

• Eating, drinking and smoking. These all create safety problems because they often require you to take your hands off of the wheel and take your eyes off of the road. Drivers who eat or drink while driving have trouble controlling their vehicle, staying in their lane and have to brake more often.
• Adjusting the radio, cassette or CD player.
• Talking, texting or emailing on a cell phone or Blackberry.
• Interacting with other passengers. This is particularly a problem from novice or teenage drivers. If you are a teen driver with other teens as passengers, statistics show you are more likely to have a crash than if you are driving alone or are driving with adult passengers.
• Searching for or moving an object in the vehicle.
• Reading or writing.
• Personal grooming (combing hair, applying makeup).
• Rubbernecking when passing a crash scene or a work zone.
• Looking at people, objects or events happening off of the roadway.

More information on distracted driving is available on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration´s distracted driving website.

NOYS Distracted Driving Team

The National Organization for Youth Safety (NOYS) is accepting applications from youth ages 16 - 21 to serve on the NOYS Coalition Distracted Driving Prevention Leadership Team. NOYS will select 20 youth from the applications.

These youth will be sponsored to travel to participate in the U.S. Department of Transportation Distracted Driving Summit and serve on the Teen Leadership Team that will develop and implement a youth-led community distracted driving prevention program.

Applications are due by Friday, Aug. 6. Download an application from their website. Send questions or request more information at info@NOYS.org.

Drowsy Driving

When you are tired, you react slower, your judgment and your vision are impaired and you have problems understanding and remembering things.

Driving while fatigued has similar effects as driving under the influence of alcohol. Being awake for 18 hours impairs your driving about as much as a blood alcohol level of .05 percent. Being awake for 24 consecutive hours impairs your driving as much as having a blood-alcohol level of .10 percent.

If you are tired enough, you will fall asleep and never even know it. Sleeping behind the wheel for even a few seconds is enough to kill you. Teens who sleep less than eight hours a night are at increased risk for vehicle crashes. The best thing to do if you begin to feel tired while driving is to stop driving.

The National Sleep Foundation offers these tips to combat drowsy driving:

• Get adequate sleep-most adults need 7-9 hours to maintain proper alertness during the day.
• Schedule proper breaks-about every 100 miles or 2 hours during long trips.
• Arrange for a travel companion-someone to talk with and share the driving.
• Avoid alcohol and sedating medications-check your labels or ask your doctor.

Rural Road Safety

Rural roads abound in Pennsylvania offering motorists breathtaking scenery and sites steeped in rich history and tradition. In many areas across the commonwealth, it is not unusual to find yourself sharing the road with farm equipment and horse-drawn vehicles. While familiar fixtures on many roadways, these vehicles may also bring with them unfamiliar hazards. Additionally, many rural roads offer less room to maneuver, loose gravel or grassy berms, and an array of sharp dips and unexpected turns. When combined with the presence of slow-moving vehicles , these hazards offer motorists their share of driving challenges.

Tips for Sharing the Road with Slow-Moving Vehicles:

• Vehicles designed to travel 25 mph or less and horse-drawn vehicles are required by law to display a florescent orange triangle surrounded by red bands. When you see this symbol on the rear of any vehicle, slow down immediately and maintain a safe following distance.
• Do not pass a slow-moving vehicle if:
  • You cannot see clearly in front of you and the vehicle you intend to pass;
  • There are curves or hills in the road ahead;
  • You are in a designated "No Passing Zone" or;
  • You are within 100 feet of any intersection, railroad crossing, bridge, elevated structure or tunnel.
• Do not assume that a vehicle operator who pulls the vehicle to the right side of the road is turning right or letting you pass. The vehicle operator may be swinging wide to execute a left-hand turn.
• Operators of farm vehicles usually are in a better position to see oncoming traffic, they are usually willing to signal drivers when it is safe to pass, provided they know there is a vehicle behind them. Use your vehicle´s horn to let the farmer know you are there.
• When approaching a horse-drawn vehicle, give them plenty of room when following or passing, use your low beams and NEVER use your horn as it may spook the horses.
• Watch closure time (pictured above) while on rural roads. Closure time is the time a driver has to recognize and respond to a slow-moving vehicle. Farm vehicles usually travel less than 25 mph, while horse-drawn vehicles range in speeds between 5 and 8 mph. Be alert and prepared to stop.
• Watch the sides of the road for mail boxes, bridges or road signs, which may cause a farm or horse-drawn vehicle operator to maneuver to the center of the road or cross the center line into the approaching lane of traffic to avoid these obstacles.
• Be especially watchful of farm vehicles in the spring and fall during planting and harvesting times.
• Farm and horse-drawn vehicles have the same right to use public roads as other motor vehicles.