Smart Motorist

Ensure that your windshield washer reservoir is filled with no-freeze windshield solvent. Don't fill with plain water, as it will freeze and render your windshield washers useless.

Do not leave the car to search for assistance unless help is visible within 100 yards. You may become disoriented and lost in blowing and drifting snow.

While sport utility vehicles perform well in many difficult driving conditions, drivers of these popular vehicles still need to exercise caution to help ensure safe winter driving, according to AAA.

Smart Motorist is dedicated to raising driving standards by increasing the skill and competence of all drivers. Driving safely on today's roads demands more skill and better judgment than ever before, especially under hostile weather conditions.

Hydroplaning (called aquaplaning in Europe and Asia) occurs when water on the roadway accumulates in front of your vehicle's tires faster that the weight of your vehicle can push it out of the way. The water pressure can cause your car to rise up and slide on top of a thin layer of water between your tires and the road.

Thanks to rapidly evolving car-navigation technology, the automobile is turning into a high-tech information terminal on wheels. You can not only map out your route electronically and get traffic updates but also make restaurant reservations and, soon, access the Internet from your car.

The introduction of new technology continues to broaden opportunities for people with disabilities to drive vehicles with adaptive devices. Taking advantage of these opportunities, however, can be time consuming and, sometimes, frustrating. 

Bicycling is one of the most popular recreational activities in the United States, indeed, in the world. There are over 90,000,000 cyclists in the U. S. and over 30,000,000 adult cyclists. In any given year we can expect 800 - 1000 cyclists to die on our roadways while some 500,000 will be treated for injuries. In fact, the first automobile accident in the United States occurred when a motor vehicle crashed into a pedalcycle rider in New York City in 1896!

Don't cut in front of trucks approaching traffic lights or out on the highway. Allow safe road space for the trucks' size. A loaded B-Double can weigh 40 to 50 times that of the average sedan; don't risk being hit. Simple physics means trucks take more distance to stop. As a pedestrian you wouldn't step out in front of a bus, so don’t do it in your car, with a truck. 

Do not tailgate. Cars – you are seen as pushy cowboys, particularly where there is no safe place to pass for some time. It’s one of our two biggest public issues. Trucks – help one another, use CB and or flash highbeam when overtaking. Be, and be seen to be, working together as those who spend their life on the road. 

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