Complete Guide to Road Safety

For millions of Americans, commuting is a part of day-to-day life for both work and pleasure. Even with efforts by some to cut back on driving and save money, the United States is one of the most “mobile” cultures in the world, with a huge number of cars and drivers active every day. For that reason, it’s important to keep ahead of the latest trends in automobile safety, even when the other motorists on the road may not be so savvy. This article covers vital information for safe driving: authoritative, reliable resources on general driving habits, air bags, safety belts, winter driving, automotive recalls, and fuel consumption.

Driving Tips

• Safe Driving Tips: Extensive bulleted list of safe driving tips from the Butler County Engineer’s Office in the state of Ohio. Includes dozens of easy, accessible tips.
• MSP: Safe Driving Tips: Safe driving tips in a variety of categories, including tailgating, drowsy driving, school bus safety, and many more. Provided by the Michigan State Police.
• Massachusetts RMV: Safe Driving Tips: Variety of safe driving tips for common road situations, in checklist format. Safe site includes a variety of other resources for drivers, including safety-related information.
• Safety Tips: Additional Driving Tips: Information from the Texas Department of Transportation covering general driving safety, highway safety, safety at railroad crossing, and a number of other vehicle safety topics.
• Courteous Driving Tips: Facts from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation on how motorists can recognize and defend against potentially dangerous aggressive driving.
• Work Zone Driving Tips: All about maintaining safety in a construction area, from the Missouri Department of Transportation.

Air Bags

• What You Need to Know About Air Bags: Series of several information articles on the technology of airbags and their safe use, from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
• Injuries Associated With Airbag Deployment: Scholarly article from the Journal of Emergency Medicine discussing injuries sustained in airbag deployments.
• Safety Restraints and Airbag Safety: Airbag facts and safety information including an overview of their operation and how to adjust the driving environment to deploy them safety in the event of a crash.
• FHP: Airbag Warnings: Airbag facts, statistics, and safety procedures from the Florida Highway Patrol.
• Air Bag Safety: Question-and-answer format article from the American College of Emergency Physicians discussing the safe operation of air bags.

Safety Belts

• Safety Belt Use Laws by State: Nation-wide statistics and facts on auto safety belt laws and their enforcement across the United States. From the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
• Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety: Facts and statistics on seat belt safety and the enforcement of “buckle up” laws.
• National Safety Belt Coalition: Large variety of informational articles on the use and importance of safety belts.
• Fairy Tales About Seatbelts: Six common “myths” about safety belt use addressed. From the Police Notebook project of the University of Oklahoma Police Department.
• Technologies to Increase Seat Belt Use: In-depth scholarly article on patterns of seat belt use and implementation of new technologies to enhance seat belt use.

Winter Safety Tips

• Caltrans Winter Driving Tips: Safety checklist for winter driving covering precautions before and during driving in a snowy or icy area.
• Communications Winter Driving Tips: Variety of information on driving in winter conditions, including low visibility conditions, rain, snow, and facts on chain use and traction-enhancing tires.
• General Driving and Winter Driving Tips: Accessible overview of safe driving practices in winter conditions.
• Know Snow in Arizona: Eleven-point list of safety tips for winter driving from the Arizona Department of Transportation.
• ConnDOT: Winter Driving: Collection of detailed articles dealing specifically with winter driving preparation, dealing with ice and snow, sharing the road with plows and sanders, and other relevant topics.

Recalls

• Defects & Recall Information: Comprehensive information from the Office of Defects Investigation. Includes a searchable database of recalls, email alerts when recalls are issued, current recalls grouped by category, and general information on the recall process.
• Online Resource for Recalls: More information on U.S. government recalls related to vehicles, tires, and restraint devices.
• Vehicle Recall Announcements: Overview and archive of present and past vehicle recalls related to emissions corrections, from the Environmental Protection Agency.
• A Quick Guide to Recalls: Article discussing the importance and meaning of the recall process and offering more resources for motorists to learn about recalls.
   
  

Fuel Consumption

• Tips to Improve Your Gas Mileage: Variety of detailed, illustrated articles on different ways of improving fuel consumption. Provided by the U.S. Department of Energy.
• Money Saving Gas Tips: Tips for driving, maintenance, and vacation planning oriented toward using less gas and saving on fuel costs.
• How Can I Improve Fuel Efficiency for Summer Driving? Detailed articles on enhancing fuel efficiency under summer and winter conditions. From Utah State University’s Cooperative Extension.
• Fuel Saving Tips: General tips, maintenance tips, and common myths related to fuel economy and efficiency.
• Changes in Driving Habits Improve Fuel Efficiency: Article from the college newspaper of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, discussing the relationship between fuel mileage and road habits.