A Highly Preventable Tragedy

Periodically in the news we hear the unimaginable tragedy of another infant being found dead in the back seat of a car, simply because either parent thought the other had dropped their child off at day care, or grandma for the day. Usually it is at the end of the day that the parents, each thinking that the other had picked up the baby from day care that they realize their miscommunication. By the time they discover their child still strapped in their infant seat in the back, it's too late.

The searing heartbreak that follows is accompanied by the inevitable questioning by the  authorities, media,  friends and family, and by the parents themselves, with one overriding question being asked repeatedly, "How could any parent forget their child?"

Good question. And one that is not all that easy to answer. The overall circumstances of children left in hot cars varied, with 51% being forgotten in the car by the caregiver.

In 2009, 33 children died of hyperthermia (extreme high body temperature) as a result of being left in hot cars. So far in 2010, three have died. 

These are but two examples of many statistics that were compiled by Jan Null, CCM, who is an Adjunct Professor of Meteorology at San Francisco State University.  Dr. Null has created a very interesting and important fact sheet giving a wealth of information on Hyperthermia Deaths of Children in Vehicles. We urge you to read it as it gives a comprehensive look at the statistics, and gives numerous resources and links for more information about this preventable tragedy.

But the best pieces of advice on preventing hyperthermia in a hot vehicle, and we quote Dr. Null's Fact Sheet, are:

NEVER LEAVE A CHILD UNATTENDED IN A VEHICLE. NOT EVEN FOR A MINUTE!

And

IF YOU SEE A CHILD UNATTENDED IN A VEHICLE, CALL 9-1-1 

Finally

BE SURE THAT ALL OCCUPANTS LEAVE THE VEHICLE WHEN UNLOADING. DON'T  OVERLOOK SLEEPING BABIES!!




For more information on Alliance Defensive Driving School, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/index.html

For information about our teen program, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/teens.html

For more information about our online drivers ed. program and prices, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/online_driversed.html

Taming the TWD (Texting While Driving)

At not a moment too soon, it looks like some tech companies are rolling out some cell phone apps designed to block phone communications while a vehicle is in motion. A very good article in the New York Times by tech writer David Pogue explains the different apps available.

Your Phone Is Locked. Just Drive.

Pogue briefly quotes some of the numerous statistics comparing the effects of driving under the influence versus texting and driving. Hopefully, with the uptick in media interest, people are starting to realize what a supremely bad idea it is to take your eyes off the road for even a split second.

I hope driving instructors and driving schools across the country are teaching this extremely important concept of distracted driving. The Driver Guy sure is!


To learn more about Alliance Defensive Driving School, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/index.html

To learn about our teen program, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/teens.html

To learn about our online Drivers Ed. program and our prices, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/online_driversed.html

And please don't forget to visit our sister blogs: http://wwwthedriveguy.blogspot.com/ and http://wwwaddsinfohiwaycom.blogspot.com/

From The Inspiring To the Bizarre: A Tale of Two Incidents

Colorado has a pint sized hero today, after he grabbed the wheel of his grandmother's pickup truck and steered it straight until it came to a stop.

Boy, 8, Grabs Wheel After Grandma Suffers Seizure

Congratulations to Dillon Earl! A lot of people of driving age should follow your example in how to keep calm in an emergency!

One man who could have used your example is an 18 year old in Winona, MN who lost control of his car and ended up crashing it into a utility pole...because his dog was vomiting on him.

Police: Vomiting Dog Causes Man To Crash Into Pole

Obviously, the guy needs some pointers on keeping calm from Dillon and Alliance Defensive Driving School.

Hmmmm....could we have a possible future driving instructor in Dillon? Sounds good to us!



For more information on our teen program, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/teens.html

For more information about our online drivers ed. program and prices, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/online_driversed.html

Don't forget to look at our other blogs: http://wwwthedriveguy.blogspot.com/ and http://wwwaddsinfohiwaycom.blogspot.com/

Another Successful Graduate!

Meet Marina, The Driver Guy's latest graduate. And, of course, another expert parallel parker! Hmmmm....seems like The Driver Guy's rapidly bursting this myth about the impossibility of easy parallel parking!

Congratulations Marina! Keep in touch! We'd love to hear about your new adventures in driving!


For more information about Alliance Defensive Driving School, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/index.html

For more information about our teen program, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/teens.html

For more information about our online Drivers Ed. program and prices, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/online_driversed.html

Please be sure to read our other blogs for more helpful tips on the world of driving: http://wwwthedriveguy.blogspot.com/ and http://wwwaddsinfohiwaycom.blogspot.com/

DWE: Driving While Exhausted

A short while ago The Driver Guy called up a friend at a not unreasonable hour in the morning, fully assuming that she'd be awake.  She answered the phone, sounding as fine at first. But as the conversation evolved, it was clear something was wrong. She was slurring some of her words, and her sentences came out in an awkward fashion.

"Are you all right?You sound like you've been drinking!" The Driver Guy asked half jokingly, knowing full well she didn't drink, and, in fact, had a very strong hatred of alcohol of any sort due to alcohol related deaths in her family.

It turns out that when he had called he had woken her up out of a sound sleep of only two hours. She had been pulling all nighters on a large project she had been working on, and getting very little sleep in between. Fortunately she did not have to commute as she worked from home.

Later that day, when The Driver Guy called her again, she said to him, "You know, in a way you were right. I was drunk when you called. But drunk from a lack of sleep--not from alcohol. I was barely able to keep a coherent thought in my head, I was so sleepy."

Driving while exhausted-- drowsy-- sleepy-- however one wants to term it, is just as serious as driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, yet the topic is very often given little notice. It almost seems like the only time it is ever brought up is when there is a news story involving fatalities, such as this one.

An Australian study recently found that being awake for 18 hours produced impairment equal to a blood alcohol concentration of .05; double that after 24 hours without sleep.

Conservative estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration point to at least 100,000 crashes due to driver exhaustion each year.

The most vulnerable to drowsy driving are, long distance truck drivers, teens, adults with young children, and shift workers.

In 2003, New Jersey made it a crime to drive while drowsy. In California, manslaughter charges are brought up against the driver who falls asleep at the wheel and causes fatalities.

Unfortunately, our fast paced culture thinks of sleep as more of a nuisance than a necessity. Afternoon naps are considered only for young children, certainly not for adults. But several studies have proven that taking a short nap in the afternoon is not only beneficial for overall health, it actually improves productivity. This makes sense: when the mind and body are well rested, things are done faster and more efficiently. In some countries, taking a mid afternoon nap after lunch is considered de rigueur and would probably look at us askance if we told them that naps are only for the young and the very old!

The National Sleep Foundation has developed a website written specifically about the issue of drowsy driving: www.drowsydriving.org. Please visit the site, as it offers some very good information about this underreported problem.

There are numerous suggestions when it comes to driving while sleepy, most of which can be found at the Drowsy Driving site. But the over all best advice that Team Alliance can give you is: if you feel tired, overwhelmed, and have been driving for long periods of time, please pull over, if possible, and take a rest. Better yet, before setting out, make plans to stop periodically for rest and sleep breaks. It isn't worth risking your life or the lives of others, thinking that you are going to save time getting to your destination if you just kept going. It ultimately will not work, as you will probably find out all too tragically!


For more information about Alliance Defensive Driving School, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/index.html

For information about our teen program, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/teens.html

For more information about our online Drivers Ed program and prices, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/online_driversed.html

It's Never Too Late To Learn!

Congratulations to Dorris for passing her DMV Behind the Wheel test! Dorris took our Mature Drivers Program, and obviously had no trouble passing, thanks to The Driver Guy's skilled teaching!

 See? It's not only teens that go to Alliance Defensive Driving School, but all age groups. You are never too old to learn how to drive defensively and safely. And it's even easier when you've got The Driver Guy teaching you!


For more information about Alliance Defensive Driving School, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/index.html

For more information about our Mature Drivers Program, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/services.html

No "Grandmother of the Year" For This Granny!

There are no words to describe this report out of Memphis, Tennessee about a 45 year old grandmother who crashed her car in a drunken stupor with her three toddler age grandchildren in the back seat--unbuckled.

Team Alliance has a strong feeling that contrary to Kimbrough's son's explanation that this is a single aberrant episode, it is merely one among a string of instances of his mother driving drunk...the only difference being is that she got caught this time. Thankfully, there were no tragedies involved.

And...uh...yes, she was indeed drinking and driving, contrary to her son's statement that she wasn't. Having an open bottle of alcohol in the car qualifies as drinking and driving--even if the bottle or cup wasn't touching her lips at the time of impact. And it goes without saying that it is highly against the law to have an open alcoholic container in the car while driving.

Friends, please keep your thoughts and prayers with the Kimbrough grandchildren. With a family so out of touch with the concept of responsibility for themselves and others, they are obviously going to need all the spiritual and intellectual help they can get.



Be sure to visit our other blogs: The Driver Guy  and The Highway for more interesting articles on the world of driving.



For more information about Alliance Defensive Driving School, please go tohttp://www.thedriverguy.com/index.html

For information about our Teen program, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/teens.html

For information about our Online Drivers Ed. program and our prices, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/online_driversed.html

A Timely Reminder: When it Rains, Slow Down!

It looks like the rain is not over for California. To paraphrase someone quoted in a recent newspaper article, winter does not want to let go!

This article is a reminder to change our driving habits during wet weather. Further compounding the tragedy of this latest round of rainstorms, a crash on I-5 near Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles, resulted in 5 children being killed or severely injured in a four car pileup that happened at approximately 12:15 am.

While the article does not say what caused the crash, it's a safe bet to say that probably excessive speed was involved.

For further tips on driving in the rain, please see The Driver Guy's Blog for more helpful information.

Added to physical and psychological injuries of an accident, there is also the financial fall out in the form of medical bills and future higher insurance premiums. Plus, if the accident is deemed to be primarily your fault by the DMV, points will be added to your driving record and possible license suspension if the agency considers your actions serious enough.

So, please folks, adjust your driving habits accordingly during this latest round of wet weather and help prevent even more tragedies. Your driving skills affect not only you, but your passengers and your fellow motorists.

 Who knows, you could even be the hero and end up teaching other drivers how to drive by your fine example!


For further information about Alliance Defensive Driving School, please go to our home page at: http://www.thedriverguy.com/index.html

For information about our teen course, please go to: http://www.thedriverguy.com/teens.html

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