Follow These Safety Reminders To Make Our Roads Safer

REMEMBER - Driving is a PRIVILEGE, not a RIGHT.

Eliminate distractions. Distracted driving does cause collisions. Try to eliminate as many distractions as possible while driving. A distraction is any activity that diverts your attention from the task of driving—talking or texting on your phone, fiddling with the radio, putting on makeup, dealing with your child’s behavior, etc.

Driving deserves your full attention for the SAFETY of EVERYONE.

Always buckle up and make sure your infant seats are properly SECURED. If you do not know how to properly secure an infant seat, most local fire departments have a course at no charge.

Keep your eyes active and be aware of your surroundings. Check your mirrors frequently. Scan conditions 20 to 30 seconds ahead of you. Always keep a lookout for EMERGENCY VEHICLES by keeping your EYES active.

Don’t drive drowsy. By now, you know that impaired driving is an absolute no-no. But you may not know that fatigue is a form of impairment and is a significant factor in vehicle collisions in Canada.

Studies show that young adults who’ve been awake for 18.5 hours make driving errors that are similar to someone with a .05 blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Being awake for 21 hours produces errors similar to .08 BAC.

Like drunk drivers, SLEEP DEPRIVED DRIVERS make erratic speed and lane changes, have slowed reaction times, and have an increased tendency to drive off the road.

Make yourself visible. Many collisions occur because drivers don't see the other car. Here’s how to make your vehicle more visible and let other drivers anticipate your actions:

  • Make sure your signal lights are working. Use your turn signals to let other drivers anticipate your actions and slow down safely.
  • Keep your headlights and tail lights on, especially at dusk or if the weather is poor. DAYTIME running lights are not the same as your headlights. MAKE SURE HEADLIGHTS are ON at NIGHT.
  • Ensure your brake lights are operational. They warn cars behind you that you're slowing down, signaling them to reduce their speed, too.
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  • Don't drive in areas where the driver in front of you can't see you—their blind spot. Either safely speed up or slow down to avoid this scenario, a common cause of collisions.

  • Your Back Up Camera is not your MIRRORS, it is there to make sure there is no obstructions behind you before reversing. You still need to use your MIRRORS.

Maintain a safe distance. A safe following distance depends on how fast you’re travelling. The faster you’re going, the more space you need to leave between you and the vehicle in front of you.

If driving conditions are poor, increase your following distance. Use the three-second rule to maintain adequate spacing with the car in front of you.

Routine visual checks should be performed regularly. Tire condition and pressure should be routinely checked, remember the ONLY thing between you and the road is the TIRE.

Windshield wiper blades and washer fluid are a must to maintain. We all know how DANGEROUS it is not having good wiper blades or washer fluid when NEEDED. Keep your area of VIEW always clear Clutter on the dash and items hanging from rear view mirror can cause BLIND SPOTS and REFLECTIONS.

Anticipate the worst-case scenario and plan an escape route. Be considerate of others but look out for yourself. Don’t rely on other drivers to drive safely.

For example, don’t assume another driver is going to move out of the way or let you merge. Assume that drivers will run through red lights or stop signs and be prepared to react. Plan your movements anticipating the worst-case scenario. Be thinking of an alternate path of travel.

In other words, leave yourself an out—where will you go if your immediate travel path is suddenly blocked?

REMEMBER- Driving is a PRIVILEGE not a RIGHT

If all DRIVERS are more CAUTIOUS while driving and following BASIC SAFETY rules, we can save lives. We cannot take driving for GRANTED.

Imagine if you and 100 others were going to board a bus for a road trip and the driver informs you that only 1 headlight works, slow leak in a tire, windshield wipers are not the best, I like to use my phone while driving, and you notice a dirty windshield with poor visibility ,guaranteed 65% of the passengers would not board fearing for their safety. There is ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE if you operate a vehicle in that same poor condition of the bus that you would not board. Let’s not jeopardize safety of you and all the other motorists and their passengers.