REDUCING RISKS OF ACCIDENTS: FOLLOWING SAFETY ADVICES

Drive yourself sober

If you’re thinking of driving after drinking, think first of this sobering fact: More than 40 percent of fatal crashes involve a driver or pedestrian who had been drinking. «It doesn’t make any sense to gamble and hope that you’re not the one affected. Don’t be so cocky to ignore the risks,» says Kennedy. You’re also forcing everyone who crosses your path to take the same risk. Nearly half of the people killed in crashes are innocent victims killed by drivers who had a few – or less than a few.

So try heeding the following advice from safety experts to help reduce your risk of being involved in an alcohol-related accident.

Use common sense. Some people stick to the guideline of having one drink an hour, followed by a nonalcoholic drink in the second hour, to monitor their blood alcohol level, says James Fell, chief of research and evaluation at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in Washington, D.C. «But we really can’t say what a safe ÂÀÑ is because everyone is affected differently, considering their age, weight, fat, food intake, and experience. The motto, plain and simple,» Fell adds, «is that if you have to drive, don’t drink. If you have to drink, don’t drive.»

Act like it’s New Year’s Eve. People have a heightened awareness of how dangerous the roads and highways are when everyone’s out ringing in the New Year, says Kennedy. «Well, any time you’re on the road late at night, especially on the weekends, you are driving among a lot of people who have been drinking,» he says.

Be aware of your surroundings. Keep yourself safe by leaving plenty of room between you and the cars around you. And by all means, don’t challenge anyone’s reaction time by making a quick turn in front of another car or cutting into traffic, Kennedy says. «Just being mindfully aware of the potential danger can keep you safer,» he advises.

A Need to Heed Speed

When engineers make roads, they take a lot of factors into consideration before telling you how fast you can go, Kennedy says. «Those numbers you see indicating the speed limit aren’t arbitrary. Road engineers consider the population of the neighborhood, the angle of the curves, the volume of traffic, and numerous other factors to figure the maximum speed you can safely travel,» he says.

The problem is that lots of folks choose to ignore the limits. Going faster than the posted speed limit contributes to more than 68 percent of fatal car crashes, according to the National Safety Council.

You don’t have to have your foot through the floorboards to get killed in a speed-related crash either. Only about 13 percent of speeding-related deaths occur on high-speed interstate highways. The rest happen as folks are flying around their familiar stomping grounds, generally after they’ve been drinking.

The take-home message here is to slow the heck down. You risk killing not just yourself but also some innocent mom, dad, or child who crosses your path, says Kennedy.

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