Car Accidents
How to Properly Use a Seat Belt While Pregnant
Every driver and passenger should wear a seat belt when riding in a vehicle, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), including those who are pregnant. The NHTSA provides tips on how best to use your seat belt when you’re pregnant, including the following:
- Always wear your seat belt. Even if your car has air bags, wearing a seat belt is necessary to ensure the air bags do the job they’re designed to do in a crash. Wear the shoulder belt across your chest and away from your shoulders, and tuck the lap belt below your pregnant belly so that it sits snugly across your hips and pelvic bone.
- Move your seat. If you’re riding in the front seat while pregnant, move the seat as far back as possible. If you’re driving, put the seat as far back as you can while still reaching the pedals. Aim to keep at least 10 inches between your chest and the steering wheel or dashboard.
- Don’t turn off your air bags. Air bags and seat belts are designed to work together to provide protection in a crash. Most doctors recommend that pregnant women do not turn off the air bags in their vehicles.
Holiday Safety Tips for Colorado Drivers
Many U.S. residents travel to see friends or family during the holidays, and most of them make their trip by car. All this extra traffic increases the risk of a car accident, resulting in more deaths and injuries on Colorado roads than usual. To protect yourself and your family from harm the holidays, consider the following safety tips:
- Don’t drive if you’ve been drinking alcohol or using other drugs. Even some prescription and over-the-counter medications can make you too sleepy or impaired to drive. Instead, plan ahead so that a sober and alert driver is behind the wheel, or find a different way home.
- Plan your trip well in advance. Leave extra time to get to your destination, and get plenty of rest beforehand so that fatigue doesn’t pose an additional challenge.
Officials Hope Westminster, Colorado Traffic Signal Reduces Accident Rates
A new traffic signal will soon be installed on 112th Street in Westminster in front of the entrances to Front Range Community College. Officials hope that the signal will reduce the number of accidents that take place in the vicinity of the community college each year.
Studies have shown that 17 traffic accidents have taken place in front of the community college in the past three years, a higher rate than average for the Westminster area. All of the accidents involved a driver attempting to turn onto 112th Street from the college’s driveway and getting hit by oncoming traffic. Most of the vehicles that were hit in the accidents were trying to turn left at the time, according to researchers.
Installing the traffic signal is a joint project involving the Westminster City Council, Front Range Community College, and the Colorado Department of Transportation. The signal is being funded through a grant from the Department of Transportation and matching funds from the community college. Officials plan to begin installation in September 2013 and finish by November 2013.
Study Links Video Game Play to Reckless Driving Among Teens
Playing certain types of video games may increase the chances that a teen driver will take careless or reckless chances on the road, according to a recent study.
The study followed 5,000 U.S. teens over four years. The teens were interviewed each year, asking questions about their video game play and their driving habits. The first interview revealed that 50 percent of the teens regularly played “mature”-rated video games. One of the most popularly-played games was Grand Theft Auto III, in which reckless driving wins points.
Texting and Driving May Have Deadly Consequences
Sending or receiving text messages while driving a car may seem simple, but it is an activity that can have deadly consequences for you and for others on the road. A documentary produced by telecommunications giant AT&T showcases the dangers of texting and driving through the stories of four people whose lives were changed forever by a distracted driving accident.
On average, a text message distracts a driver’s attention from the road for just under five seconds, according to a 2009 University of Virginia study. At 55 miles per hour, a vehicle travels the length of a football field in five seconds – plenty of space for an accident to occur, especially when a driver is not watching the road carefully.
To Protect Yourself in a Colorado Rollover, Understand How Rollover Accidents Work
A rollover accident is one in which a vehicle rolls onto its side and/or roof. In high-speed or particularly severe rollover accidents, a vehicle may even turn over several times before coming to rest. Rollover accidents have a higher fatality rate than other types of crashes, but understanding how a rollover works can help you protect yourself and others in the vehicle, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
About 10,000 people are killed in rollover accidents each year, and thousands more are injured. Although nearly any vehicle may roll in the right circumstances, taller and narrower vehicles are more likely to roll over. In addition, a vehicle that is loaded with cargo over or behind its rear axle is more likely to roll over.
Colorado Couple Suffers Injury in Vehicle Accident, Fire
A Colorado couple was injured in a car accident that set their vehicle on fire, but they survived thanks to their seat belts, according to a recent article in the New York Daily News. The pair was commended by the Avon Police Department for their decision to wear seat belts on that fateful day.
The accident occurred as the couple, a 24-year-old and a 26-year-old, was riding in their car near Interstate 70. As they passed under the freeway, a semi truck that had lost control on the road above smashed through the guardrail and fell over the side of the overpass, landing on the couple’s car. The pair was able to pull themselves free of the wreckage and move to safety, although the woman had a severe leg injury that left her temporarily unable to walk. Although both are still processing psychological trauma from the accident, they remain optimistic.