Carnage in California: why can’t we drive in the rain?

This happens about this time every year: Southern California gets its first rain in about eight months, the dirty roads get incredibly slick, and car-capades take effect as people slide around, apparently having forgotten how to drive on wet grounds since it has been so long since the last storm. Monday, Orange County had nearly 500 calls about crashes, compared to less than 150 last Monday when it was dry. Luckily,  no one was killed.

California drivers do deserve some slack when it comes to wet weather driving. First, because it rains so little each rain is like the first rain, and our roads are a lot slicker because a lot more oil has been allowed to accumulate in the road. Second: we often times get a lot of rain fairly quickly and our roads can’t cope with it, which leads to flooding and causes more crashes. Third: because it rains only a handful of times a year many of us don’t bother changing tires for winter, many of us will run on summer tires all year long– maybe not the smartest thing to do, but we do it.

All our excuses can’t forgive the truth of the So Cal roads in December. How I see is that there are two fundamental problem drivers out there: the drivers who drive as if it is dry, and the drivers who drive as if it is icy. When the reckless meet the over cautious you get crashes. Throw into the mix the average driver who has increased caution but not to the point where they are a moving road block and well… the whole thing is a mess.

People need to realize that while rain isn’t the end of the world, they need to adjust their driving for the weather. Whoa your speed down, but also important: leave more space between you and the cars around you and be observant. Traction and visibility are often impaired in the rain. This reduces your chances of seeing danger (adding to reaction time) but you can’t make up that lost time because guess what — your car won’t stop as far or won’t grip to the payment. Que the fender benders and spin outs. Instead of having this outcome, just leave more room! Give yourself a lot more space than you would in dry weather and also be watchful, for the people driving as if it wasn’t raining, the people driving as if the world is ending, and the people who are distracted or aren’t leaving the space they need. If everyone just slowed down a little, rainy roads would be a much better place.

Don’t get me started on So Cal drivers in the snow.

Collage of Car Carnage:

Ferrari spun out:

Driver was seriously injured:

Hey truck, you’re not supposed to be on your roof:

Car was hit by an SUV, causing it to spin into the pole:

Speeding teen kills family of four in Somona, CA

This tragic tale happens far too often. 19 year old Steven Culbertson killed a family of four on Saturday night as he ran a red light in his MINI Cooper at 70-90mph. Speed limit on the road is 55mph. His little car t-boned a Nissan minivan killing the family of four inside as they returned from the airport after a vacation in Hawaii. John and Susan Maloney and their children Aiden (8) and Gracie (5) were killed instantly in the crash, Steven died on Sunday due to his injuries. To add salt to the wounds, two deadbeats decided that since the family was dead they no longer needed their worldly possessions and robbed their house. The couple was arrested yesterday, ironically they were found out when the woman, Amber True, was arrested for driving without a license.

Minivan belonging to the Maloney family after being hit by a speeding teen

Steven had his license suspended for a year when he was 17 due to drunk driving. It is unclear at this point if alcohol was a factor in this crash, but an eye witness says he say him drinking two hours before the fateful crash, which, ironically, happened right down the street from Infineon Raceway, a place where people can go those types of speed legally and safely without having to worry about hitting minivans filled with children.

The MINI driver had aspirations of being a racer, and had taken his car to the track– the only place where one should drive like he was driving on Saturday night. Unfortunately, Steven could not separate track driving from road driving and it lead to his death and the death of four others. He made a big mistake, a mistake that could have implications for your teen.

First off, when ever a crash like this happens, the thing that stands out for everyone is the word teenager. Steven just dropped the credibility of all teen drivers by his mistake. Teens already have really low credibility as drivers due to their inexperience, and their propensity to make bad decisions. Teens do cause more crashes than older drivers, but that doesn’t mean that teens are always at fault for their crashes or that all teens will make the same mistake Steven did.

Secondly, when crashes like this happen the natural reaction of many is “change the laws/road so this doesn’t happen again”. People love blaming the road. The road didn’t do anything, it was just a strip of asphalt that accommodated the perpetrator of the crime. There is always something to blame with the road. There’s a rise in the hill that interferes with visibility, or the speed limit is too high, or there aren’t enough barriers, no matter what the case, the road will be blamed. Then people will look at the laws, and not the driver training laws, they’ll try to restrict teen drivers more. This just puts a band-aid on the problem and doesn’t fix anything.

Third: race car drivers or aspiring race car drivers can have their name tarnished. I’m a HUGE advocate of taking your car to the track. You learn so much about yourself as a driver and the abilities of your car when you push it to the limits. It makes you a better driver. It is also the only safe place to drive your car fast. I find that going to the track takes the need for speed away and that I drive calmer on the road for weeks after a good day on a race track. Most of the race car drivers I know drive very responsibly on the road. I don’t want anyone to look down at people who drive on the track, or keep their children from participating in track days, because of this crash. It is worthwhile and driving fast on the track does not mean you will drive fast on the road.
I really hope that one day we no longer have to read stories like this. I hope that one day better training means that drivers are more responsible on the road. Until that day: be safe, and keep it on the track!

In case you needed more proof that the driver’s education program is broken

I just had this conversation with a fifteen-year-old:

Teen: I just finished drivers ed last night D

Me: Congrats, how was the class?

Teen: Well it was online, I listened to music, watched tv and used the book, aka didn’t learn s**t.

Me: That is exactly what is wrong with the system

Teen: It was free and offered through school

Michigan puts activism before safety in drivers training

Michigan is not in good financial state right now. Most states aren’t, but as far as financial woes go, Michigan is at the forefront with many of its bread-winning companies (GM, Chrysler) struggling to survive, corruption in its government and other serious problems. The state is running in the red and has the highest unemployment rate in the nation– 15.1% as of 11/20. Michigan has issues, but one of those issues is not a lack of environmental awareness among new drivers. However, some representatives in Michigan seem to think this problem is pressing enough to pursue when entire towns are being boarded up and abandoned due to the economic crisis.

Driver’s education should be the place where teens learn how to drive. Unfortunately, this is hardly the case in America. Our standards for licensing are incredibly poor and this is reflected in the high number of fatal teen crashes in the nation’s roads. Teens learn more about how to pass the drivers test and how a yield sign works than how to actually drive. They are not taught how to avoid crashes and they are not taught safe driving practices to help ensure they are never in the place where they need to avoid a crash. Michigan also lacks solid graduated drivers license laws. So not only is the state not teaching teens how to drive, its not offering them adequate protection once they get their license. But instead of fixing these problems two legislatures would rather cultivate new tree huggers in an education model that will only cause more crashes and more deaths.

Now, let me get something straight. I’m not anti-environment. I’m not for raping the earth just for our consumption. I don’t go out and hug many trees, but I do my part. I buy local and organic, I use reusable shopping bags, I drive a car that gets pretty good fuel economy, I take public transportation. Oh, and I vote Republican. But I’m a moderate. So I’m not against things like carpool or public transportation, I’m just against using the precious few hours teens spend in drivers education talking about these things instead of talking about, oh, you know– driving.

Michigan lawmakers  Bert Johnson, D-Detroit, and Dan Scripps, D-Leland have put forth a bill that would require drivers education to teach about buying fuel efficient cars and the benefits of carpooling and using public transportation. On its surface this may seem rather benign, but it is far from that.

First off: fuel efficient cars. Ok, whats wrong with that? Well, many fuel efficient cars sacrifice handling, braking and safety for the sake of a few miles per gallon. We’ve had a tug of war battle between safety and fuel economy in this nation since both environmentalism and Nader’s car safety campaign began in the 1970s. The sad fact is that these two agendas conflict with each other.

The Untied State’s CAFE standards kill people every year. CAFE is the US standards on fuel economy that started in the 1970s.  Manufactures are fined for not meeting standards, pushing them to make more fuel efficient cars. But fuel efficiency doesn’t always equal safety. Simply physics is that more weight protects you in a crash. Safety systems such as airbags, ABS brakes, traction control, and crumple zones are all heavy. So are powerful motors, navigation control, and heated motorized leather seats that the consumer demands. Throw all of these things into a car and you have one heavy vehicle… and that weight decreases fuel economy. So to increase fuel economy, manufacturers started to use lighter materials to make cars. The effect: 46,000 fatalities since CAFE was inacted that would have been avoided with better made cars. That’s 7,700 deaths for every mpg gained.

Prius are heavy and narrow, they handle and stop poorly which can lead to crashes

I’m not advocating that everyone drives Excurions guzzling gallons of gas a minute, but I also don’t think that the Prius and other fuel efficient cars are good choices for most people. Michigan has pretty bad weather, by focusing on fuel efficiency you may put kids who should be driving higher clearance AWD cars for the conditions in FWD cars that can’t handle snow as well, increasing crashes. What if you play sports? A little hatch back may not be the best option to haul around your gear. By emphasizing fuel efficiency only you are ignoring the different needs of different drivers. You are also ignoring other points of consideration for new cars such as safety, price and maintenance needs. This is before you even consider the fact that the average 16 year old isn’t the one going out and buying their first car, it is usually mom or dad.

Second problem: carpooling. There is a very good reason why the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends that teens not be allowed to carry passengers until they’ve had their license for a year. Teen drivers with ONE passenger in the car are twice as likely to be involved in a fatal crash than a teen driver driving along. Twice as likely. They are distracting and the lead to peer pressure. Teens are more likely to show off when they have other teens in the car in order to look cool for their friends– a trait that has lead to many crashes. Michigan does not include passenger restrictions in their graduated drivers laws. Instead of asking why not, these two legislature are taking advantage in the flaws in the system to further their agendas. By encouraging carpooling they will kill kids.

Yes, carpooling saves gas, it keeps miles of the car, it makes Mother Nature sing a loving song right out of a Disney movie, but it is also dangerous. Ask any parent what is more important to them: saving a few bucks a month on fuel economy or having their child reach 17. I think we all know how that one is going to end.

Well what about public transportation? I think public transportation is great. I use the train myself quite a bit instead of driving. I don’t have any objection to teaching teens about public transportation… in another venue. Why teach drivers about not driving? Isn’t that like teaching math in history class? It doesn’t make sense to be in driver’s education at all. There is also probably a safety aspect here to teenage girls taking public transportation late at night too that I’m sure many parents would have issue with.

Our teens get precious little education when it comes to driving. It is a big problem that should be addressed. It has been said that if teen driving was a disease that killed 5,000 teens each year the nation would be in an uproar. Everyone would be trying to find a cure, there would be walks, donation drives, etc, but the fatal teen driving epidemic cannot be cured by a pill, it can only be cured by more and higher quality education. I feel there is a huge flaw in our system of government when it comes to setting laws. We entrust people without actual knowledge in issues to create laws for them. If either Bert Johnson or Dan Scripps of Michigan had any worthwhile drivers education and experience, or if either of them had just bothered to look at the NHTSA teen driving page, they would realize their law was a bad idea.

Stop taking driving out of drivers training! We need more in car education not less. Take your environmental agenda to a place that is more approrpaite and leave drivers training for drivers training!

Holidays and broken laws

I have a bad relationship with a certain stop sign on holidays. This stop sign is about half a mile from my parents house. Because I’m a loving daughter who spends time with her family, I tend to encounter this stop sign on holidays. On July 4th at this certain stop sign I almost got T-boned by another car that completely forgot to stop. Luckily, because I’m a cautious and aware driver, I was paying attention and was able to slam on my brakes as he sailed through the intersection at about 40 mph. He miss my car by about a foot. (If that isn’t an argument for defensive driving I don’t know what is).

On Thanksgiving I encountered another oblivious driver at this now infamous stop sign. I went to the grocery store on Thanksgiving to pick up some odds and ends that were forgotten, like cranberries and eggs for my dad’s wonderful homemade pecan pie. I approach the stop sign to turn left. I do my due diligence of scanning before moving forward, then I do what I always do: I look in my rear view mirror. This important defensive driving tool is so often forgotten now days. It’s a great way of seeing what disaster approaches so you can avoid it. On Thursday it revealed a Honda Odyssey. The minivan was a lane over, I wasn’t in danger from it, but there was another car waiting to turn left in front of the 4,500 lb juggernaut about to blatantly blow the stop sign as if it never existed. I started to enter the intersection then it became very obvious: she was not going to stop.

I stopped and watched both the person waiting to turn left and her. I honked once: the person turning left stopped. Then I honked a second time and she sailed through the intersection. No brake lights, no reaction, nothing. What was more surprising was that she wasn’t distracted. There was no phone, no map, no yelling baby in the back seat. This woman looked like she was hypnotized. Her hands were at 10 and two and she was looking straight ahead… she was so focused and yet, not paying attention to anything. After she carried on her merry, dangerous way the person waiting to turn left turned safely and I continued on my way to my parents, thinking about the moron in the Corolla who almost ruined my 4th of July at the same intersection.

Is it a coincidence that I witnessed two people fly through this stop sign at two separate holidays? Perhaps. I’d like to think that the answer is that both times it was people who were unfamiliar with the area and in the process of watching street signs and trying to find out where they were going for the holiday that they missed the stop sign. I doubt alcohol was a factor in either case, the near miss in July was at 11am, and thursday the Odyssey failed to stop at about 2 in the afternoon. But in both cases the drivers weren’t on the phone, they didn’t have maps in their hands or any obvious distractions. In any case, I’m curious to see what happens on Christmas when I come to this stop sign once again… what law-breaker will I encounter that time?

Parents’ driving effect how teens drive

What bad habits are you teaching your children?

Are you a good driver? Do you use your turn blinker, follow at a safe distance, obey speed limits… do you use your phone while you drive, do you yell at other drivers, do you drive without your seat belt? If you have children, you should probably review how you drive, not just for the safety of your children today, but for the sake of their driving future.

While we may think that teenagers strive to be nothing like their parents, when it comes to driving, teens look up to their parents more than anyone else. “If children grow up watching their Mum or Dad talk, text and email on their mobiles while driving, they’re going to think it’s okay to do the same thing.” says Peter Rodger chief examiner of the Institute of Advanced Motorists in the UK.

Rodger says that children start to take note of their parents driving style from a young age. Even if you enforce seat belt use for your children, if you don’t wear one, your child will likely not buckle up when they start driving.

A US based study done by Liberty Mutual and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) found that 60% of high school students said their parents are the biggest influence on their driving. Younger children report even higher numbers, showing they are watching you long before they are able to drive themselves.

So 60% of teens look up to their parents as the number one influence on their driving, yet:

• 62% say their parents talk on the phone while driving
• 48% say their parents speed
• 31% say their parents don’t wear seat belts

So perhaps it’s not surprising to learn that:

• 62% of teens talk on the phone while driving (half of those who don’t yet drive think they will too)
• 67% speed (65% of non drivers think they will)
• 33% don’t wear seat belts (28% of non drivers say they won’t)

The numbers are too close to be coincidence. This is why our driving program involves parents. Many of the safe driving tips we teach were not taught to parents, or have been forgotten. When parents are involved the crash risk drops substantially among teen drivers. If parents put forth a good example for their teens, crash rates drop even more. Before you do something unsafe on the road look in the back seat: will your decision effect more than just you?

Worst driving invention ever?

Worst idea ever?

Have you ever been driving in your car and think, “wow, this trip would be so much better if I had a desk where I could read or write while I drive?” Apparently some guy with half a brain and enough money to make this a reality did. The result is the laptop steering wheel desk, quite possibly the worst driving aid ever invented.

Is it just some elaborate joke? No, it’s not. First it takes money to put something on Amazon, secondly, the makers, Mobile Gear, have an actual Web site where you can buy it as well.

I’m going to take this out of the hoax category and firmly in the bad-ideas-that-actually-exist category right next to the Snuggie and the the Big Top Cupcake Maker (easily worst problem-solution commerical on TV right now). The big difference is that you don’t risk your life by wearing an over sized backwards robe or by making ridiculously big cupcakes. Unless, of course, you trip on the robe or get heart disease from the cholesterol in the cupcakes, but you would be risking your life every time you used the laptop steering wheel desk.

I cannot imagine why anyone would think this was a good idea. Distracted driving killed about 6,000 people in 2008. This is more than all of the teen driving deaths in the United States that same year. Distracted driving, or inattention, is one of the major causes of crashes in the United States.

So lets put a desk on people’s steering wheel that allows them to multitask while they drive… brilliant!

Luckily, many of the people who found the Laptop Steering Wheel Desk on Amazon realized it was a bad idea. They blanketed the site with false reviews and photos that pointed out the inherent danger of the device. Here are some of my favorites:

"Even works in super luxury GT cars. Desk floats to keep your expensive electronics dry."

"I gave these out as gifts to people in the office. The best part was we could all browse the web while waiting for the emergency crews to arrive."

"Makes driving and working a breeze"

"Enhances social networking"

“Wow is this thing great! I use it as a “mini-bar” when the friends and I go out to the bars. I can quickly fix multiple shots of tequila for myself and the friends as we drive from one bar to the next.!”

“One cautionary note be careful of those jerks that stop at yellow lights, my poor mother rear ended one and the airbag drove the desk back into her stomach which ruptured her spleen, well after a short down time I’m glad to say she is back on the road and cranking out those NY Times crosswords once again. Thanks Laptop Steering Wheel Desk you have made my mothers life more complete.”

“This product is so awesome for freeway driving and makes reloading your handgun while changing lanes a breeze. The only thing missing is a cupholder for my tequila. I attached a pen on a string to mine to mark my hits and misses.”

If you would like to tell the manufacturer of this product that they are complete morons, please call:

Mobile Gear

1-866-856-7000

Car crashes: the next global pandemic

Ethiopians are 134 times more likely to be killed in a car crash than Englishmen. Even though the country has only 1.5 cars per 1,000 people there is a fatal crash for every 60 cars on the road, compared to one for every 8,000 cars in the Western world. If everyone in Ethiopia had a car, and the life expectancy was 60 years, everyone would be death before they were 60.

That’s a scary thought.

Ethiopia is part of a growing trend of auto fatalities as more and more developing nations are becoming affluent enough to afford cars, but not affluent enough to have good roads, laws, education or well-maintained vehicles. The result is a massacre. Africa’s share of automobile fatalities is three times higher than its share of automobiles, a trend similar across most of the developing world. If nothing is done about the problem, car crashes will be a top three killer worldwide in a decade.

Someone is stepping up to do something about it. The UN’s Road Safety Collaboration is holding its first global conference on traffic safety today and tomorrow. The conference’s goals are:

• Draw attention to the need for action to address the large and growing global impact of road traffic crashes, in particular in low and middle income countries
• Review progress on implementation of the World report on road traffic injury prevention and the UN General Assembly resolutions
• Provide a high-level global multisectoral policy platform to share information and good practices on road safety
• Propose a number of actions for the future, including a discussion of the resources needed to fulfill these actions

PRI’s The World did a segment today on the conference and the epidemic of fatal car crashes the developing world. It really is tragic. Doctors are constantly trying to save lives in very avoidable crashes. These crashes wouldn’t happen with better roads, more driver’s education and better enforcement of laws. Many crashes happen at the hands of drunk drivers in the developing world as well.

This is a problem that needs to be addressed now. It will only get worse as more people can afford cars in the developing world.

Here is an example of what driving is like in a place without driver’s ed or enforced laws:

For more information please check out My E-shoe Box’s blog post on the problem: http://abesheet.wordpress.com/2008/11/03/an-ethiopian-hollocaust/

Recap of the teen driving panel at Vistamar high school

 

Judy speaking to 150 parents and teens

Driving Concepts Foundation had the honor of being invited to be part of a panel discussion on teen driving at Vistamar High School in El Segundo California. Our founder, Judy Ray, a member of Students Against destructive Decisions (SADD), an insurance agent and two police officers made up the panel. After introductions and a few questions the attention was turned to questions from the audience.

 

Some questions that were asked:

Q: Is it against the law to text while you sit at a light?

A: Yes. If someone isn’t paying attention and doesn’t stop you won’t be able to avoid the crash if you are looking at your phone.

 

Q: How much driver’s training is necessary?

A: A lot more than is required! Teens need as much experience as they can get before they are allowed on the road alone.

 

Q: How can you make sure your teen driver does what you want them to do?

A: There is technology out there to monitor them, but at the end of the day it comes down to your parenting and your enforcement of rules that you set.

 

Q: (from teen) I want a motorcycle, is that a good idea?

A: No. They take a lot more attention and concentration to drive and being a new driver, you have enough to focus on to not have to throw that into the mix. Also, if something does go wrong you won’t have anything to protect you. As said by one of the police officers, “Wait until you are 40″.

 

Q: I heard if you took the keys out of the ignition and put them on the floor you can’t be cited for drunk driving, is that true?

A: Not at all. “That is horrible advice” said one officer. You will get a DUI if you try this or anything like this.

 

Q: What will happen to insurance if a teen is caught with a DUI/will damages in a DUI/distracted driving crash be covered by insurance?

A: The teen will likely be dropped from insurance if they get a DUI. Insurance will cover damages as that is part of liability coverage.

 

Q: What are the rules of a provisional license in California?

A: For the first year: no passengers unless accompanied by a driver 20 or over and no driving between 11 p.m.-5a.m. There are provisions for family members, school events, work, etc. Also, alcohol and call phones are completely off limit. 0.01 is a DUI and bluetooth is a cell phone violation. Violations of provisional licence can lead to the loss of a license for a year or until the age of 18. (More info)

 

Audience at the panel discussion

It was a great panel and Judy’s knowledge and experience really shined. The parents and the students both loved what she added as a professional race car driver AND a teen driving instructor. We handed out a number of brochures and many parents told us that they would be signing their students up. That was great, I’m glad we were able to get through to people. Before the panel discussion parents who came by the booth focused on cost and location, afterward parents wanted to know how to sign their children up. It’s amazing how a little bit of information can change their mindset.

 

Our program pays for itself a number of times over if it means your child avoids one car crash. If that crash they avoid happens to be a fatal one the pay off is priceless. You can’t put a price on the life of your child.

How can parents find safe driving schools?

An investigative report at WKYC in Ohio has unveiled some frightening facts at driving schools in and around Cleveland. Since 2006 45 schools have received violations that range from cars with frozen brake pedals to not enough books and instructors in the classroom. One mother, Susan Sigman, thought she put her 16-year-old daughter Lauren in good hands with the school she selected. Then, during an in-car driving lesson the brakes failed at 55 mph. The car was able to coast to a stop without hitting anything, but the situation could have been tragic.

Parents are often advised to take the time to investigate the driving school they chose. However, when the undercover reporter asked three of the schools with violations if they had any violations they all told him no. When he spoke to an owner of two of the schools he said, “Those are just words on paper”.  While the schools all fixed their violations, or were closed down, it is still disturbing that so many schools would have cars unfit to be on a road, or classrooms unsuitable for learning. One school was even caught giving diplomas to students for accomplishing only a fraction of the in-car requirement.

Parents are also advised to look at the cars and make sure they are well maintained. In a perfect world everyone would be able to look at a car and be able to tell if the brakes were in good shape, if the tires were worn, if the shocks were good, and if the belts under the hood needed replacing. But from my experience working with parents, many can’t do this. Parents need to learn because your child needs to learn how to do these things, but when investigating a driving school I suggest you bring someone with you who does know about these things. Try not to pay your mechanic to go with you, but if you have that friend that does some work on his car, ask him to tag along.

Parents are also told to research the company. The BBB is a good place to start, but not all problems are reported. One of the schools with violations has a B+ on BBB, and the BBB doesn’t report violations only complaints.When I googled the same school I could not find any indication that they had violations.

As for going to your state’s or county’s Web site to try and find violations, I have found that it is incredibly difficult to find this information online. If you google “Orange County driving school violations” all the results are for court ordered driving school to remove violations from your driving record. I also could not find the information on the State’s public safety page or the DMV page.

In Los Angeles, restaurants need to clearly display their health code rating on the front window of the establishment,

Restaurateur with clearly visible health code rating

so everyone going in knows if they have an A or a B or heavens forbid a C. There is a Web site where you can search your favorite restaurant and see how it does, and even what the infractions are. My favorite Vietnamese place has the habit of thawing meat in water that’s not running. But I still eat there, because I don’ t leave the water running when I thaw meat either. Restaurants are also checked far more frequently. In Ohio driving schools are inspected ever year with a full inspection that looks at cars every other year.

A lot more people die on the road every year than die of food poisoning, and yet when it comes to driving schools, establishments that have teenagers lives in their hands, it is near impossible to see how they rank.