Protecting Your Family On the Road

Through representing our many clients injured in countless different ways, we have become aware of simple ways to protect our families from similar tragedies. Please consider these things. If you have other safety tips or special hazards you'd like to tell us about, please do so. If one person avoids injury by our sharing safety tips, it would be worth the price of the website.

• Buckle up. It’s hard to believe some people still do not routinely buckle up. An unbuckled occupant of a motor vehicle becomes a projectile during a crash. Study after study after study has shown injury and death rates drastically increase with unbuckled vehicle occupants. If you don't buckle up, please start.
• Is your automobile in good working condition?Many terrible car accidents are caused by poor maintenance. The most simple of all things to address – tire pressure – can cause or contribute to cause the driver of a vehicle to lose control, particularly in rain. Do your part to stay safe on the road by ensuring your car is safe to drive. And be particularly sure the key safety components of your vehicle (tires, brakes, steering, etc) are not in need of repair or replacement.
• Do you avoid distractions while driving? Distracted drivers frequently kill or maim themselves and others. Do you dial your phone while driving? Do you send text messages while driving? Do you apply makeup while driving? These are a few of the more common distractions many people cause for themselves while driving, and they are, of course, entirely avoidable.
• Cell phones and cars. It’s amazing how touchy a subject this has become. There is no legitimate doubt that use of cell phones while driving increases distraction to some degree. On the other hand, most of us use our cell phone while driving fairly routinely, and it looks like the practice is here to stay. So, if you're going to use your phone while driving, consider the following safety tips published by the The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association.
  
  
• • Get to know your wireless phone’s features such as speed dial and redial.
  • When available, use a hands–free device, such as an earpiece or a phone cradle. Position your cell phone within easy reach.
  • Let the person you are speaking with know you are driving. If necessary, suspend the call in heavy traffic or hazardous weather conditions.
  • Do not take notes or look up phone numbers while driving.
  • Dial sensibly and assess the traffic. If possible, place calls when you are not moving or before pulling into traffic.
  • Do not engage in stressful or emotional conversations that may divert your attention from the road.
  • Dial 911 to report serious emergencies only. It is a free call from all cell phones.
  • Keep conversations short and sweet. Develop ways to get free of long–winded friends and associates while on the road. Don't use the cell phone for social visiting while you drive.
  • Hang up in tricky traffic situations–– without warning if necessary. You can explain later–– because you'll still be alive!
    
    
• Do you drive "defensively"?When asked this question, everyone replies, "of course." But do you really? Do you look left and right before entering an intersection even when you have the green light? Do you frequently scan all mirrors? Do you remain attentive at all times while driving, or do you, like many of us, "drift off" and become complacent? Complacency in driving can often lead to disaster for your family – even when you are completely in the right.
• Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Insurance. Do you know whether you have any? Do you know how much? In my opinion, UM or UIM insurance, as it’s called, is a critical component to financial security for every family. UM covers your family for your harms and losses suffered as a result of the fault of another driver when that other driver either has no insurance or has minimum limits which do not pay for all of your harms and losses.