Fasten your seat
belts
Car crashes are a leading cause of death. Aside from always following
traffic signs and obeying the rules of the road, buckling up your safety
belt may be the single most dramatic move you can make to reduce your
health risks. The deaths and injuries that occur every year due to car
accidents could be reduced by about half if both drivers and passengers
used their safety belts. Make sure that everyone in your vehicle is
strapped in, and that small children are secured in safety seats before
you take off. It can save your life, and it's the law!
Never, Ever Drink and Drive
Young
people in particular are at high risk for auto accidents. Adding alcohol
to the situation is sheer insanity. Alcohol is the major cause of fatal
car crashes caused by human error. People are killed on the road every
day because they or others had alcohol-impaired judgment or reflexes. If
death doesn't scare you, how about disability? Drunk driving results in
hundreds of thousands of injuries including lifetime disability from
brain damage, paralysis, blindness, or amputated or deformed limbs.
New Air Bag Guidelines
To help prevent injuries in the event your car's air bag deploys :
Properly
restrain all infants and children in safety seats, or lap and
shoulder belts, whenever they ride in a motor vehicle.
Never use
rear-facing child safety seats in the front seat of a vehicle. A
rapidly inflating air bag can strike the rear-facing seat, seriously
injuring or killing the child. Infants should ride in a rear-facing
safety seat - placed in the rear seat of the vehicle - until they are
about one year old.
Have children ride in the rear seat whenever
possible. When a child rides in the front seat, make sure the seat
is pushed back as far as possible - away from the air bag. (Kids often
sit close to the dashboard so they can see better. This minimum
clearance can be a problem if the air bag ever deploys.) Source: CDC
Hot Cars
On a warm day, the temperature inside a car can shoot up in minutes -
even if the windows are partially open.. Even if it is not so hot
outside, the danger of overheating exists - especially if you have a
dark-colored car. Don't leave pets or children unattended.
