Living Room on Wheels

“When a man opens a car door for his wife, it's either a new car or a new wife.”

In this modern world multi-tasking is a badge of honor and time wasting is a sin. So it comes as no surprise that people can be found eating, shaving, texting, calling, typing, and having sex while driving. (Hopefully not all at the same time.) We think nothing of it but this distracted driving carries a high price.

AAA reports that Distracted Driving - including the use of cell phones - is a major contributor to automobile crashes with 4,000-8,000 distraction related crashes each day in America; one-half of the 6 million U.S. crashes reported annually. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) blames driver inattention for 68% of rear-end crashes. Using a cell phone while driving increases your chance of getting into a crash by 4 times. A recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute shows that driving while texting increases crash or near-crash risk by 23 times.

Think of driving as a full contact sport. It requires our full attention to notice little details like a child running onto the street. I listen to books on CDs and have found that either I remember very little of the CD or very little of the drive. The book “Why We Make Mistakes” tells the story of a DC tour bus driver who was angry and venting to his sister on a cell phone while driving a 12’ tall bus. He did not notice the road signs warning of a 10’ tall bridge ahead and did not notice the bridge until he crashed into it at full highway speed tearing off the top of the bus.

Bottom Line

Hands-free phones make dialing safer but the real danger is being distracted by the conversation.

Resources
Currently, 18 states and the District of Columbia ban text messaging for all drivers. For an up-to-date list of Distracted Driving laws, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) maintains a state-by-state guide.

The National Safety Council also has a nice website showing state laws.

See Cyber Drive Illinois for more facts about distracted driving.

Rest Stops

“Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?” - George Carlin

In an effort to save money, the WSJ reports that states are closing some roadside rest stops (i.e. Virginia, Louisiana, Maine, Vermont, and Colorado. Others like Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Arizona are considering it.) This is bad for motorists. According to a German study from 2007, “driver fatigue (sleepiness, tiredness) is the largest identifiable and preventable cause of road accidents worldwide, accounting for approximately 15-20 percent of all accidents.”

Fatigue can occur at any time of day. I’m sometimes sleepy behind the wheel during my morning commutes as I’m still waking up. During a vacation back in college I was so exhausted after midnight while trying to reach my reserved motel room that I had to take a roadside nap so I could continue driving. If you need a sudden nap, do NOT pull off onto the highway shoulder or the top of an off-exit ramp. You may get rear-ended at high speed by a drunk diver who is lane weaving.

Besides night driving, the AAA identifies 2-4pm as a danger time for fatigue. Lunch digestion kicks in and the body gets sleepy. The siesta cultures are on to something here.

States maintain 2,500 rest areas along the interstates. There are no federal rules for their spacing, but the recommended distance is no more than one hour's drive apart. If there is no rest area or it’s closed, look for an exit if you’re feeling tired or need a break. A national directory lists nearly 2,500 privately owned truck stops located at interstate extis. Wal-Mart permits overnight stays by recreational vehicles at most of its 4,000 locations.

Bottom Line

Consumer Reports has these suggestions to avoid fatigue:

• Get adequate sleep before you drive
• Take breaks. If feeling tired, pull off the road and nap for 15-20 minutes.
• Arrange for a travel companion to swap driving duties
• Avoid alcohol and/or medications that can cause drowsiness
• Caffeine may help, but it takes times to activate and when it wears off it can leave you even more tired.
• Drinking water helps as it prevents dehydration that can cause drowsiness. It also requires you to pull over regularly for a bathroom break.

Cell Phone Numbers for the New Year

A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other ~Author Unknown

If you are considering resolutions to make for the New Year, permit me to add one to your list - add the following list of phone numbers to your cell phone address book.

1. Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222. Of course call 9-1-1 for serious poisoning but suppose you just want to ask a question, "Johnny ate some fire ants, will he get sick?"
   [Urban Myth? A parent calls poison control about his child eating ants. Will he get sick? The answer is no. That's great news, says the parent, but just to be sure I fed my child some ant poison to kill the ants. Poison Control, responds, NOW we have an emergency...]
2. ICE (In Case of Emergency) - first responders are now asked to check a cell phone for an entry called "ICE". It represents the person you want called in case you are incapacitated (or dead).
3. Your Car Insurance Company - if you have an auto accident, call your insurer to find out what information you must collect and what actions you must take.
4. Police Dept - for a simple accident with no need for an ambulance, call the police directly instead of using 9-1-1.
5. Tow Truck Company or AAA - who you gonna call if your car breaks down? (NOT 9-1-1)
6. Local Taxi Company - when the tow truck drives off with your broken down car, how will you get home?
7. Your Boss - (continuing the auto accident theme) you'll want to call the office and let them know you'll be late.
8. Your Next Door Neighbor - due to an accident or bad weather, perhaps you won't make it home tonight. Will your neighbor feed your cat?
9. Your personal Doctor - your neck is sore after that car accident, better schedule an appointment.
10. Power Company - you don't want to look up their number in the dark when you lose power do you?
11. Favorite Take Out or Delivery Food - there are times I'm driving home and think, if only I knew the number of my favorite pizza place. I could order now and pick it up on the way home.

Bottom Line

Dial 9-1-1 when there is a medical, fire or police emergency, such as
• Life or lives are in danger
• A fire
• Serious injury
• Serious medical condition
• A serious crime in progress

9-1-1 is so convenient that Americans now call it for everything - directions when lost, to ask questions, etc. But this is WRONG. 9-1-1 is for serious emergencies only:
• Life or lives are in danger
• A fire
• Serious injury
• Serious medical condition
• A serious crime in progress

For all other situations use the phone numbers listed above and now stored in your cell phone!

When should you spend to save?

"Are warehouse store memberships a good deal? How about extended warranties? It all depends on the products -- and on you, the shopper." - Liz Pulliam Weston

Sometimes you need to spend money to save money when accidents happen. A classic instance of this is insurance, be it life, home, medical, travel, or extended warranties. Often the benefits of insurance are obvious: you might pay a thousand to replace your home worth hundreds of thousands; or perhaps ten thousand yearly to protect your family from millions with serious medical injury.

With extended warranties the payback is less certain. Is it worth $20 to cover a $200 appliance for only one year? For me the answer is usually no. However an excellent article at MSN MoneyCentral suggest some cases where an extended warranty can be a good investment: laptops and equipment rental.

The MSN MoneyCentral article also looks at the cost of joining warehouse clubs, roadside assistance (like AAA), theme parks, coupon books and money saving appliances.

Bottom Line
Deciding whether to buy a money savings plan is really quite simple with a little mathematics. To calculate the break even point, divide the cost of club or discount membership by the percentage savings. Example: you are offered a $40 membership that will save you 10% on future purchases for one year at store X. The break even value is 40/.10 = $400*. If you plan to buy more than $400 during the year at store X the discount will save you money. If you spend less than $400, you won't make back the $40 membership cost.

*Math Note: 10% means 10/100 so you divide the cost by .10 instead of 10