By Gregory Colvin

Spring break is here and soon summer vacations will start and many of us will be on the roads visiting friends, relatives and loved ones.  I wanted to give you a few tips that may help make these road trips safer. Every day I observe drivers that fail to pay attention to what is happening around them. Drivers that are aggressive. Drivers that are distracted.  Whatever the reason, their actions put you and your passengers at risk.  I hope that you are not guilty of any of these actions, but if you are, hopefully this article will strike a chord and you will change your driving habits.

The first action responsible for a large percentage of accidents is:

Complacency  You know how to drive, right, you do it almost every day.  You could drive with your eyes closed.  WRONG.  Driving when done safety and correctly demands all you attention.  Hazards will appear out of nowhere.  The person in front of you is about to miss their exit and they cut across  two lanes of traffic to make the exit and your car is in the path.

The kids in the car next to you are fighting and mom is too busy attempting to stop the fight to pay attention when she serves lanes into the side of your car.

For these reasons and many more that I am going to cover in this article, is important that you pay close attention while operating your vehicle so you can arrive at your designation safely.

Texting, Checking emails and Talking on the Cell Phone- While driving I have a habit, it is hard to break, to watch for drivers driving under the influence.  There appear to be more on the road these days.  These drivers are under the influence or texting, emailing, and talking on the cell phone.  But if your quiz these people about their cell phone use and driving, they will tell you that they drive fine while using their cell phones, even went they are bouncing off the curbs. Of course, the most dangerous aspect of these drivers lack of concentration is when their car drifts left of center.  I am seeing that more and more frequently.  Another is the driver who is busy talking on the phone that when they are sitting at a light to go straight ahead and the left turn arrow turns green they drive into vehicles turning left.  Please if you are going to drive, park the cell phone and if you are going to be talking on the phone park the car.

You are about to take the wrong exit-  Everyone has done this at least once.  You are driving along and think this is my exit, only to determine a the last few seconds that oops wrong exit.  I observed this just this weekend.  Of course, this is Florida and tourist do this all the time.  If this happens to you resist the urge to serve back onto the highway.  The driver behind you has assumed that you are no longer in his or her path and will probably accelerate.  A car returning to the highway is not something that have programmed into their thought process at that time and they may not see you.  If the driver in the next lane does see that you are coming back into their lane and they brake to avoid hitting you, the car behind them may not slow down.  The result is sideswipes and rear-end collisions.   Fortunately, there was no accident, just angry drivers.

Anytime you find yourself in this situation, exit, find a safe place to turn around and then get  back on the highway. Trust me, it will be faster, no matter how long it takes you backtrack, than having your vehicle towed for repairs or spending time in the hospital.
Rapid change of lane.- This happened today, a BMW, changed lanes in front of me without even using his turn signals.  I guess he thought that he was on the race track and I would anticipate him crowding my lane.  If someone is allowing space between himself and the car in front of him or her, it is not an invitation to occupy that space.  If I were texting or engrossed in talking on the cell phone, or just looking, he would have been a Beemer sandwich.  The reason that some of us maintain a space in front of our vehicles is if the car in front of has to stop suddenly, then we have room to stop.  Signaling is polite, I know, I know an old fashion idea., but it will usually work.  Though in Florida anymore it is a signal quickly close the gap between your car and car in front of you.

A word to those that see a fellow driver signaling their desire to change lane.  One day you will want to change lanes.  Just let the driver over.  You are not going to get to your destination any quicker when don’t let them move than if did.  It builds goodwill and you never know who is in the other car.  There are a lot of angry and armed people out there.

Tailgating-  This one of the more dangerous activities that you can engage in while driving.  Do really think that the car in front of you will speed up because you are inches from its bumper.  You should allow sufficient room between the car in front of you.  The best way to gauge the proper distance is to find a stationary object on the side of the road.  As the vehicle in front of your passes the object begin counting the seconds.  You should maintain at least three seconds of lapse time from the moment that the car in front of you passes the object until your front bumper reaches that object.  In case the vehicle in front of you has to make a sudden stop, it will take that long for your foot to leave the accelerator and put pressure on the brake.

Changing lanes rapidly and racing- The amount of deaths that have been attributed to drag racing on public streets is staggering.  You want to race?  Go to a race track and rent time.

Seatbelts- This one of the best things that you can do to survive an auto accident.  Everyone on an airline flight will fasten their seats, but if the plane does down, do ready think that that belt will save you?  But you see race car drivers walk away from accidents that you think they couldn’t.  Makes you think.

Remember: Your Safety Is Up To You!