A Serial Killer On The Loose

Since 1900 more than 3 million Americans have died in car wrecks. Since the Revolution in 1776, less than 1.2 million Americans have been killed in all wars in which the United States has been involved. Simple arithmetic shows that car accidents have been two-and-a-half times more deadly than war in less than half the time.

In war, people are killed by enemies. In a car accident, you could be killed by your relative or best friend—people who would never dream of killing someone. But the best intentions sometimes lead to the worst accidents, whether from reckless driving practices, ignorance of traffic laws, or even health problems. It's ironic: a traffic accident can turn a healthcare professional or even a lifeguard—people whose jobs are dedicated to saving lives—into killers.

Every tragic accident leaves a lot of devastation behind: all the people who were injured or permanently disabled, the innocent animals who were killed or injured, and all the property that was damaged—all as a result of careless drivers!

Nationwide Statistics Are Depressing...

In 1998, for example, 41,907 Americans lost their lives on the highways. In the same year the national total for highway injuries was 3,733,804. That's more than ten thousand a day!

The knowledge that this number can be significantly lowered is even more depressing when we consider that most people are well informed of the consequences of improper driving habits.

The word "accident" has come to be synonymous with "collision." This is unfortunate because unless there is an unavoidable road hazard or mechanical breakdown involved, there is nothing "accidental" about most collisions. By driving safely, you can significantly lower your chances of getting into a crash. If you ignore this, you invite accidents.

But Virginia Is No Exception

In 1998, 875 Americans died on Virginia roads. For the same year, the number of the people injured or permanently disabled reached 71,302. Add to this the friends and families left to mourn and it becomes easy to see how many lives are affected by bad driving habits.

Life and health are not the only costs. Accidents are costly and place a tremendous financial burden on every taxpayer. In 1994, Virginians spent $3,321,000,000 for their highways, and an enormous portion of it covered the consequences of motor vehicle crashes. Divided by the driving age population, your part would be $636. Join the club!

Even though the number of highway fatalities is declining now, there is still a lot more you can do to prevent accidents and tragedies by acquiring good driving manners and skills.

The Alcohol Factor

Of course alcohol plays a major role in traffic collisions. No surprises there. A few drinks with dinner, a few rounds with friends after work, a few beers at a party (if a drunk driver talks about having "only a beer", it usually refers to a whole 6-pack!)— it all adds up to about a thousand people killed on Virginia roads every year. Almost one-third of all Virginia traffic fatalities can be attributed to people Driving While Intoxicated. That’s almost one out of three. That's a whole lot of preventable death.

Here's a scary Virginia statistic to think about:

• Fewer than 10% of all accidents are alcohol-related.
• More than 30% of all FATAL accidents are alcohol-related.

What do those numbers mean? Simply put, they mean that drinking and driving isn't just about crashing—it's about dying. Your chances of dying in an alcohol-related crash are three times as great as they are in a crash that doesn't involve an intoxicated driver. That's a 300% jump in your chances of being killed. Given the choice, why would anyone want to take that sort of avoidable risk?

Not Everything Depends On Your Will

Even with the best intentions, you can't always prevent a fatal collision. With the latest changes in speed limits, there is much higher kinetic energy in a moving car or truck, and that means a stronger impact on collision.

Fatality rates seem to have dropped fairly dramatically in the late 1980s, leveling off at just under two percent. Why? Apparently, mandatory seat belt laws and improved safety features like air bags, anti-lock brakes, and rear-deck brake lights have helped. But it's also clear that they're not enough. It's up to YOU, as a responsible driver, to make the roads safer by driving defensively and encouraging others to do the same.

Pedestrian fatalities, on the other hand, have not dropped during the last five years. This is not good news. It looks like higher speed limits on the highways make drivers think they have higher speed limits in business and residential areas, too. Unfortunately, pedestrians are just as vulnerable as they used to be. Only cars have become stronger and more powerful. Think twice before speeding on the street: you can save somebody's life.

Have you ever seen an abandoned car on a shoulder? Of course—we all have. The mistake is to think that people intentionally left them there. So what is the reason for these cars being stuck at the side of the road marked with red tags on their windows?

The explanation is simple: their owners didn't maintain their vehicles properly. Unwillingness to do routine checkups ends the careers of those cars much earlier than their owners might expect. People are so busy today that they forget to even check the gas tank gauge!

It's Like Junior High...

You remember a math problem involving cars: car A left point X and drives to point Y through point Z at 55 MPH; car B started driving from point Y to point X through point Z at a speed 65 MPH. What do both drivers have to do to pass Z safely?

The answer seems to be simple, at first glance. But if you take a closer look, it's clear that you have to prepare more thoroughly. Start with your own body. Because your concentration is essential while driving, try to eliminate any factor that makes you feel uncomfortable, distracts your attention, or doesn't allow you to pay constant attention to the road. First think about your clothes. They should be as comfortable as possible—tight clothes restrict movement. Keep in mind that the weather might surprise you during the day. You'd better keep your umbrella in your car (and if you have a habit of leaving umbrellas everywhere, carry several). If you prefer a raincoat instead, and you put it on a hanger in your car, make sure it won't obstruct your view when changing lanes. Also make sure that you can maintain a comfortable climate in your car: the heat works, the airconditioner works, etc. Shoes are also very important: thin soles allow for greater sensitivity when you touch the pedals. It's a good idea to keep a pair in your car, just for driving.

Always eat a healthy meal before any trip. Driving on an empty stomach will lower your blood glucose level with every muscular contraction. You increase your chances of falling asleep behind the wheel with low blood sugar. Don't overeat, though: an overfilled (with food or gas) stomach lowers blood pressure which may make you dizzy. Later, digestion requires excessive blood circulation in your abdomen making it hard for your brain to get enough oxygen, and after about a half hour of dizziness you may feel drowsy, or even fall asleep. Strong black coffee can help you regain your alertness, but drinking a hot drink when you are driving is another potential danger: imagine the distraction of spilling a 130-degree liquid into your lap or even lightly burning your tongue. The best policy is to eat a sensible meal a reasonable amount of time before you start your trip. Visit the restroom as well—and you'll solve your junior high math problem of getting to your destination point in the quickest, safest way possible.

While On Your Way To Your Car

In addition to the weather, other necessary information every driver wants is traffic conditions. There are five sources for this: TV, newspaper, the Internet, the radio, and your family/neighbors. The morning paper is a good source, but reading it on a busy highway is very, very dangerous, and the information it provides is limited, usually to construction or detours. The Internet can supply more recent information, but on a very busy morning you may not have time to switch on your computer. The radio is the best and the most convenient source of information, but it's also a major distraction!

The second important task is to be responsible for your mood. The weather has a unique influence on people's emotions. Every day you have different emotional reactions to events around you. If you wake up in a bad mood, you might meet a lot of drivers that morning that you perceive as aggravating or troublesome.

Usually, "road rage" doesn't come from traffic—it starts in your bedroom, with an annoying alarm-clock; or in your kitchen, with burned toast, or whatever. Try to relax, take a deep breath, smile and change your mood to a sunny one. Remember: your mood affects your judgement—and that governs how safe a driver you are.

Things That You Usually Forget To Do

Finally, you're set to go, ready to ride your steel stallion. As a good jockey you want to make sure that your racehorse will be reliable. To ensure this, you have to check your car carefully.

Start from beneath: check to see that tires are in good condition, and are inflated to the proper pressure. It is essential for good vehicular control. Don't forget that wellmaintained tire pressure will help you save on gasoline costs. It's very helpful to take a look under the car and check for the oil, transmission fluid, or cooling liquid stains, and replenish them, if necessary. Check the muffler for any stuck plastic bag (it'll smell when melting) as well as for any pieces of paper on your radiator grill (which could prevent sufficient heat exchange). Check for cracks in the windows, rear view mirrors, and light lenses, and carefully clean them to ensure safe driving at night or in inclement weather. Once a month a good driver usually checks the battery (electrolyte level and contacts buildup), brake fluid, power steering fluid, spark plugs, as well as alternator belt tension. Coolant, wipers, and windshield washing solution must also be checked. Last, but not least, check the condition of your emergency kit: spare tire, jack and iron wrench, first aid kit, emergency raincoat, and fire extinguisher.

Make sure your windows are clean, and start the engine. While the engine is warming up, check your turn signals and backing lights, your headlights and braking lights, your night lights, and fog lights. Remember: safe driving depends half on good driving skills, and half on your ability to be visible and understandable to others. This can be done only when your horn, lights and turn signals are in good working condition.

Do cellular phones put drivers at risk for a crash? A recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that drivers using cell phones are four times more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers who pay attention solely to the road. The study conducted by a Canadian research team, looked at 699 cell phone users who were involved in a crash resulting in substantial property damage, but no personal injury.

Using phone records to analyze calling patterns, researchers found that drivers often had their fender-bender within their 10 minutes of placing a call. And, surprisingly, it didn’t help when drivers used the speakerphones, leaving both hands free. That’s probably because “motor vehicle collisions result from a driver’s limitation with regard to attention rather then dexterity,” researchers say.

Of course, no one denies the merit of cellular phones for drivers in distress who need to call for help, report dangerous road conditions or to summon police. Even the Journal study didn’t say that phones were responsible for crashes, just that they were associated with them, and can impair your ability to perceive gaps in traffic or changing conditions. To use a cell phone more safely, get to know your type of phone and its features, keep it within easy reach, and suspend calls when in hazardous or heavy traffic or in bad weather. Place calls when you are not moving or before pulling into traffic.

If you spot a cell phone user in the car ahead, make sure you increase the distance between his/her car and yours. Cell phone users can react erratically, from inattention or distraction.

If you pass such a driver, monitor its behavior constantly. He or she may react to your braking signal slowly, and can easily rear-end your car. If possible, brake mildly, or swerve into the other lane or improved shoulder instead of braking.

Pass such cars with particular caution because the peripheral vision of cell phone users could be obstructed by the phone.

Everybody wants to be free. Everybody wants to act independently. However, everybody has to obey the rules and orders. Do you see the paradox in it? No, it is reality. If a mature person drops any of the earned freedoms or privileges, and starts to cooperate with society to achieve some goals, that person is doing this consciously and, therefore, voluntarily. If a young person feels that he/she is being restricted to comply with laws and rules, it may result in a certain form of protest. Unfortunately, this often involves speeding, reckless, and/or other high-risk driving.

Younger athletes win by demonstrating higher agility, speed, and reaction. Younger drivers may feel that they have better control over their vehicle and reactions, but they usually lose when choose to drive at the higher speeds. Lack of experience and incomplete knowledge of their cars’ abilities in extreme situations offsets their reaction time.

On the other hand, older drivers have plenty of experience at maintaining a speed that is optimal for the weather and road conditions, but their reactions, vision, and control over their vehicle is diminished. Of course, power steering, power brakes, and ABS help, but only if the driver can use them effectively.

Good vision is essential for safe driving. This is one of the biggest limitations of aged drivers. Vision screenings are required for all new licenses and license renewals.

Virginia's vision standards for safely operating a motor vehicle are as follows:

Driver's license:

• 20/40 or better vision in one or both eyes, and
• 100 degrees, or better, horizontal vision in one or both eyes.

Driving restricted to daylight hours only:

• 20/70 or better vision in one or both eyes, and
• 70 degrees, or better, horizontal vision. If only one eye, 40 degrees or better temporal and 30 degrees or better nasal are required.

If you fail the vision screening, you may be asked to see an eye care professional. If you need to wear glasses or contact lenses to pass the vision screening, you must wear them when you drive. Your license will show this restriction.

Another problem for the aged driver is the length of the eye: it increases with age, changing image focusing (that causes farsightedness) and limiting peripheral vision. If a driver previously had myopia, these new changes in one’s eye require one pair of glasses for the reading, another one for work, and the third one for looking far. Latest developments in this area brought bifocal and trifocal lenses to us, but there are two serious limitations for the drivers who use them:

1. Looking from the road to rearview mirrors or the speedometer causes temporarily blurred vision, because it requires a certain time for the eye to focus after jumping from lens to lens;
2. The frame of the glasses limits peripheral vision.

Hearing problems are also an issue for the older population. Although this may occur in early childhood, hearing loss is more common among seniors. Hearing loss causes problems for all drivers, not just the one affected.

Special license plates for hearing impaired drivers are available from any DMV office. No special privileges are given, but the plates and decals help law enforcement officers recognize drivers who are hearing impaired. Drivers who are hearing impaired may also request a "hearing impaired" indicator on their driver's license in order to identify their disability to others.

Additional concerns for older drivers include slowed reaction time, limited agility and control, and memory loss. Alert drivers should always be aware of the likelihood of traveling alongside individuals who may be experiencing these problems.

Recent research confirms our common-sense knowledge about the effects of aging on cognitive, perceptual, and motor abilities. As our connective tissues stiffen over the decades this limits our abilities to look over our shoulders before changing lanes. The muscles of people over 50 are partially substituted with stiff connective tissues. That makes muscular tone of older people much lower than one in younger men and women. Muscular contraction becomes uneven, making movement erratic. Older drivers might brake improperly, or steer sharply and skid, or even activate the windshield washer accidentally.

Age-related changes in vision make it more difficult for older adults to recognize objects under low lighting conditions, recover from glare, and search their environment. Virtually all reactions slow with age, with decreases in performance being more pronounced as task complexity and cognitive demands increase. Making decisions becomes more difficult, as does changing a course of action once a commitment has been made. Memory deteriorates with age, although the decline in healthy adults is not as great as previously believed. Short-term memory, in particular, is affected by aging. While few studies link cognitive declines specifically to driving abilities, it is clear that these kinds of changes in abilities could pose problems for drivers who experience them.

Experience and judgment can help compensate for these changes. Evidence shows that most older drivers are aware of their changing abilities and adapt accordingly: making shorter trips totaling far fewer miles, and driving substantially less at night, in heavy traffic, and in bad weather. These self-regulated changes in exposure to risk largely account for the differences in crash characteristics between younger and older drivers.

Drivers' problems increase with certain medical conditions. To the extent that older individuals are aware of their conditions, they tend to limit their driving appropriately. But, if they are victims of conditions of which they cannot be aware, they are exposed to greater crash risk. Cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer's Disease, and difficulties performing tasks that require processing several sources of information are among the most serious of these latter conditions.

Increasing frailty exacerbates older drivers’ safety problems. Driver 75 years and older are three times as likely to die in a crash than are 20-year-old drivers.

Imagine a beautiful sunny morning. A skylark is whistling in blue skies. Blooming spring fields lay beside the road ahead. Your windows are open and the relaxing aroma of Spring allows you to forget your problems and enjoy your drive. Traffic is flowing smoothly and courteously. It is a perfect morning drive.

Suddenly your heavenly picture is destroyed by an annoying horn. You realize that you have let up on your accelerator pedal and have lost your speed. Somebody who is late tailgates your car and you can see his/her impatient face in your rear view mirror. Being a defensive driver, you may let him/her pass your car as soon as possible, ignoring the tailgater’s obscene gesture or just pleasantly smiling in response.

But everything could be much more complicated. Your reaction could range from slowing down even more to using a handgun. It only depends on what is available and your own intentions. Today, road rage has become a part of our lives: we hear about it from our friends and we see it in the news.

Deadly footage

In rural Colorado, a middle-aged man was angry that a 17-year-old boy was tailgating. He waved the boy over to the side of the road. Soon the two were arguing. The man pulled a pistol from his pocket and shot the youth dead.

Two Washington, D.C., drivers in a dispute over a lane change settled the matter with a high-speed chase that ended in a fiery crash, killing four people.

These examples reveal the tension in our society, but this is not the only reason why road rage happens.

Looking back to your early childhood, you may recall situations when you were kicked or hit by your older brother or playmate, and you couldn't fight back.

Or you might remember when you had to quietly listen to an angry lecture by your boss. Both old and new frustrations can influence our behavior, or make us take out that frustration on someone who just happens to get in our way. They become our scapegoat.

If this doesn't describe you, it may describe your fellow driver. If so, what should you do?

First, remember that the only way to win with road warriors is to avoid a confrontation in the first place. The AAA suggests these strategies:

• Do not make obscene gestures, even if someone makes one at you.
• Use your horn sparingly.
• Do not switch lanes without signaling.
• Avoid blocking the right-turn lane.
• Do not take more than one parking space.
• Unless you are disabled, never park in a parking space for the disabled.
• Make sure your door does not hit the car parked next to you.
• Never tailgate.
• If you are driving slowly, pull over and allow traffic to pass.
• Do not let the car phone distract you.
• Do not cut off the same driver twice on the same route.
• Avoid stopping on the road to talk with a pedestrian or another driver.
• Turn down the volume of your radio so you do not inflict loud music on neighboring cars.

Leon James, a University of Hawaii professor who specializes in traffic psychology, says one of the best ways to defuse road rage is to learn to drive with a sense of kindness, or what he refers to as “the aloha spirit.”

"If you normally drive without checking your rearview mirror, try checking it regularly, every few seconds or so," he says. "If you usually turn on your directional signal as you are switching lanes, try turning the signal on before you start switching. If you normally listen to loud music on your car radio, switch to a quieter atmosphere."

Aggressive driving has another ugly side: it is costly. By driving aggressively, honking, tailgating, and cutting off other drivers, you may save about 10-15 minutes or so on your daily commute, but you’ll burn about 20% more gasoline compared to a defensive driver, not to mention the wear you inflict on your tires and engine.

The aloha spirit may not be a bad approach at all, especially when you consider that the alternative could lead to a smashed bumper—or much, much worse.

Once again, a benefit of looking into the mirror…

As we saw above, road rage was the fault not only of the emotionally unstable tailgater, but also of the relaxed driver who was "smelling the roses". Neglecting to look in the rearview mirror often provoked the tailgater’s anger.

Some drivers (and they are absolutely right) think that the road has to be evenly filled with cars to make traffic more stable and efficient. The unwillingness or inability of others to pay constant attention to changes in the road conditions makes them furious.

Everyone should pay constant attention to what happens ahead and behind them. To do that, check your rearview mirror every three to five seconds or so, but do not look for a long time: the situation ahead may also change. The best is to adjust your seat in the way that you can see your rearview mirrors with your peripheral vision. This allows you to react better to a potential danger while looking straight ahead.

Average reaction time has to be your criterion for how long you may actually look back: in about three quarters of a second you need to get a whole picture of what is going on with the traffic behind you. This time must be the minimum and maximum necessary to accomplish that task. When you are checking your blind spots, use the same timing.

Because we mention looking back while driving ahead, we also have to discuss safe distances. In three quaters of a second, your car would cover 71½ feet at 65 MPH. If you look ahead again after that, it’ll take you another three-fourths of a second to appraise the situation, and your car will drive another 71½ feet.

If you add 170 feet as a safe braking distance, it becomes clear that you have to keep at least 310 feet, or 3½ seconds, of a front cushion to look around safely.