| Red Means Stop By Frank Hinds, Executive Director  This will be our fifteenth Christmas without Jennifer. It's really hard to believe nearly fifteen years have gone by since that awful day in March when our safe, normal family experienced the worst fate imaginable - the death of a child.I remember that day like it was yesterday. Even though the events happened a long time ago, I replay them over and over again in my mind on a fairly regular basis, with the same clarity. The people, the conversations, the disbelief. No amount of time will repair the hole in my heart or ease the sadness I feel when I remember the child she was or think of the adult she could have been. I know our family doesn't have a corner on the market for grief due to tragic red light running crashes; hundreds of families face a similar fate every year throughout our country. The real tragedy is that these deaths are preventable and families shouldn't have to suffer. Responsible driving behavior continues to be ignored and innocent people are dying on our roadways because of it. We all need to focus our attention in the coming year to reducing the causes of red light running - reminding drivers of the serious and deadly consequences of their actions. Get involved; help the victims and volunteers of Red Means Stop achieve our goals. Contact us at (480)305-7900 or on the web at www.redmeansstop.org |
Showing posts with label texting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label texting. Show all posts
Sunday, December 18, 2011
RED MEANS STOP..... REALLY !!!!!!!
Two for the Road USA are supporters of Driving MBA who works so hard to bring awareness to Red Means Stop. They have a fantastic school for teens and adults to "learn" how to drive and stay alive.....
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Size really does Matter!!
Okay, this isn’t going to be as titillating as you may have thought the subject matter was, but the truth is, there’s been a lot of ink lately about the Insurance Institute’s recent announcement that there are more traffic fatalities when a small car is involved in an accident than there are when large cars or SUV’s are. Now if that isn’t a case of stating the obvious I don’t know what is. The statistics I’ve seen show a ratio of about two to one between SUV’s and cars, and to that end, here are some thoughts I have about that.
My wife and I have always been fans of roadsters and over the last 30 odd years we’ve always owned a small two-seater of one kind of another. We’ve been asked countless times about driving a small car and the dangers we face because of the overabundance of huge SUV’s on the highway today.
Both of us are what I call aggressive defensive drivers, and by that I mean, if at all possible we do not stay behind vehicles we can’t see around, and we never stay in anyone’s blind spot and more importantly, because we drive cars that have a degree of performance, we have the ability to move quickly to avoid dangers on the road. I have to add that there is not any statistical data that I’m aware of the validates my claim of maneuverability keeping smaller cars out of harms way, but non-the-less, I know that I feel better about my odds of staying out of trouble with the quickness and agility of smaller cars.
Okay all that said it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the law of physics is immutable and therefore cannot be denied. So clearly we understand that if there is a collision between a 6000 pound Hummer and my wife’s Z4, the BMW will lose. Yes, smaller cars are indeed more dangerous but my question is, how big is big enough?
A Taurus will likely be safer than a Honda Civic in a collision, as will a Crown Victoria in a collision with the same Taurus, and the same goes for a GMC Denali if it collides with the Crown Vic and on and on. So, it begs the question. How big is big enough? Life is full of risks so what are the issues to take into consideration to help abate this ever growing problem caused by consumers wanting to drive smaller more fuel efficient cars.
The issue is that small cars are here to stay now, and with the Smart car coming to America, there will be even more deaths because no matter how well a vehicle meets safety standards, the aforementioned law of physics holds sway. I recently read that GM is cutting production at six plants that build pickups and SUV’s because of falling sales so it will be interesting to see how the balance of size shifts over the next few years.
The absolute truth of the matter is that each of us is responsible for how safely or unsafely we drive. Unfortunately people in big cars and SUV’s sometimes appear to throw their weight around which causes problems, and sometimes people in smaller cars try to squeeze in where there simply isn’t room because they think they can. We all have to remember that size does in fact matter when it comes to our vehicles.
Your thoughts? visit http://www.twofortheroadusa.com and let us know.
My wife and I have always been fans of roadsters and over the last 30 odd years we’ve always owned a small two-seater of one kind of another. We’ve been asked countless times about driving a small car and the dangers we face because of the overabundance of huge SUV’s on the highway today.
Both of us are what I call aggressive defensive drivers, and by that I mean, if at all possible we do not stay behind vehicles we can’t see around, and we never stay in anyone’s blind spot and more importantly, because we drive cars that have a degree of performance, we have the ability to move quickly to avoid dangers on the road. I have to add that there is not any statistical data that I’m aware of the validates my claim of maneuverability keeping smaller cars out of harms way, but non-the-less, I know that I feel better about my odds of staying out of trouble with the quickness and agility of smaller cars.
Okay all that said it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the law of physics is immutable and therefore cannot be denied. So clearly we understand that if there is a collision between a 6000 pound Hummer and my wife’s Z4, the BMW will lose. Yes, smaller cars are indeed more dangerous but my question is, how big is big enough?
A Taurus will likely be safer than a Honda Civic in a collision, as will a Crown Victoria in a collision with the same Taurus, and the same goes for a GMC Denali if it collides with the Crown Vic and on and on. So, it begs the question. How big is big enough? Life is full of risks so what are the issues to take into consideration to help abate this ever growing problem caused by consumers wanting to drive smaller more fuel efficient cars.
The issue is that small cars are here to stay now, and with the Smart car coming to America, there will be even more deaths because no matter how well a vehicle meets safety standards, the aforementioned law of physics holds sway. I recently read that GM is cutting production at six plants that build pickups and SUV’s because of falling sales so it will be interesting to see how the balance of size shifts over the next few years.
The absolute truth of the matter is that each of us is responsible for how safely or unsafely we drive. Unfortunately people in big cars and SUV’s sometimes appear to throw their weight around which causes problems, and sometimes people in smaller cars try to squeeze in where there simply isn’t room because they think they can. We all have to remember that size does in fact matter when it comes to our vehicles.
Your thoughts? visit http://www.twofortheroadusa.com and let us know.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
How many people will have to die???
I find it hard to believe that less then a month after hearing about the five young girls killed in New York because the driver was texting while driving, we hear about two more people killed here in Phoenix because allegedly a young lady was texting while driving. Even more disheartening is the fact that we just dedicated an entire radio show to the problem of driving while texting.
Now I know that everyone doesn't listen to the show, but I'm sure you get my drift. There simply isn't enough outcry about this ever growing problem. Clearly it's always a tragedy when anyone dies in a car accident, but when someone dies because another driver was texting is virtually criminal.
It begs the age old question of whether or not there should be stronger limits on teenage driving because of the distractions presented to them with today's hi-tech information systems in cars, as well as the multi-tasking that teens seem to need to do. I have to be quick to point out that I am well aware of the fact that many adults use their blackberry's while driving, dial phone numbers and so on. But the truth is, teens are much more likely to have a problem with it than more experienced drivers.
Another part of the equation is how docile cars are today. I'm sure there are quite of few of us old enough to remember when steering components were linked together by rods and bushings that wore out, making it necessary to move the steering wheel all the time to keep the car in our lane. Today's cars are so well built that they appear to be able to drive themselves and in fact, some almost do. Key word being "almost." Maybe if all vehicles were required to have a lane departure warning system like some high end cars do, who know, maybe the seven people now dead would in fact still be with us.
So, the question is, who is accountable, and what can each of us do to make driving on today's very crowded highways, with vehicles traveling at a pretty high rate speed, safer. I know that I worked with my sons for two to three years teaching them "about" driving as well as driving. I know there are no guarantees, but there has to be a way to cut down on the senseless tragedy of people dieing because someone can't wait to text a friend instead of calling, which in and of itself is dangerous.
Let us hear from you. You can reach us at http://www.twofortheroadusa.com/
Now I know that everyone doesn't listen to the show, but I'm sure you get my drift. There simply isn't enough outcry about this ever growing problem. Clearly it's always a tragedy when anyone dies in a car accident, but when someone dies because another driver was texting is virtually criminal.
It begs the age old question of whether or not there should be stronger limits on teenage driving because of the distractions presented to them with today's hi-tech information systems in cars, as well as the multi-tasking that teens seem to need to do. I have to be quick to point out that I am well aware of the fact that many adults use their blackberry's while driving, dial phone numbers and so on. But the truth is, teens are much more likely to have a problem with it than more experienced drivers.
Another part of the equation is how docile cars are today. I'm sure there are quite of few of us old enough to remember when steering components were linked together by rods and bushings that wore out, making it necessary to move the steering wheel all the time to keep the car in our lane. Today's cars are so well built that they appear to be able to drive themselves and in fact, some almost do. Key word being "almost." Maybe if all vehicles were required to have a lane departure warning system like some high end cars do, who know, maybe the seven people now dead would in fact still be with us.
So, the question is, who is accountable, and what can each of us do to make driving on today's very crowded highways, with vehicles traveling at a pretty high rate speed, safer. I know that I worked with my sons for two to three years teaching them "about" driving as well as driving. I know there are no guarantees, but there has to be a way to cut down on the senseless tragedy of people dieing because someone can't wait to text a friend instead of calling, which in and of itself is dangerous.
Let us hear from you. You can reach us at http://www.twofortheroadusa.com/
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