Now that it's winter in England, Europe, and North America we need to take extra care.
Allow time for these extra activities:
1 To go back into the house to get a warmer coat or hat!
2 To clear ice off car windows.
3 To warm up the car.
4 To clear windows of mist.
Get familiar with the controls for fog lights, and demisting of front and rear windows. Show any passengers who may need to drive.
Check petrol.
Buy a device for cutting seatbelts and breaking window glass. In an accident the electrics may go so you cannot free seatbelts, nor open windows and doors!
To drive slowly at night, because it starts getting darker earlier each day. Plus the clocks changed at the end of October in the UK.
I have made up ten commandments for drivers and passengers. Perhaps revise the highway code. Know these ten commandments for drivers and passengers. Or create your own.
If you are going to Christmas parties or organizing holiday events, ensure you have a supply of non-alcoholic drinks and designated drivers.
For pedestrians, wear white at night. Even if you are a car driver or passenger, you may be crossing a road from where you parked to a restaurant, home, or other venue.
Ten Commandments For Drivers
1 Do up your own seat belt.
2 Do up the passengers' seat belts - do not drive until everybody is securely fastened.
3 Secure any children, in the back, in a seatbelt, in a car seat.
4 Ensure you have enough petrol (Americans say gas) so you do not run out on a motorway or far from home.
5 Have your destination in GPS on your phone or car satnav, and listen to instructions.
6 Don't look at a map whilst driving.
7 Plan rest stops and do not drive when tired.
8 Remove all valuables when leaving a car in a public place. Especially jackets and bags. You know there are no valuables. The thief does not. On finding the jacket or bag is empty they might smash your window out of spite or bad tempter. If thieves smash your window to break in you will have glass everywhere and the vehicle will be undrivable.
9 Do not hitch hike.
10 Do not drive when traffic lights are red, even at night on empty roads. A car coming the other way may be speeding thinking it is the only car on the road.
Ten Commandments For Passengers
1 Do up your seatbelt - the life you save may be your own.
2 Do up your seatbelt in the back, to prevent yourself catapulting forward and injuring the person in front.
3 Do up the seatbelt of a child passenger.
4 Check the road is clear of vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians before opening a car door from inside.
5 Do not ride in a car with a drunken driver.
6 Do not ride with a driver who does not own the car.
7 Do not ride with a driver who is not inusred.
8 Do not ride with a driver who had only recently passed their test.
9 Do not distract the driver.
10 Tell the family where you are going and who you are with and what you are doing in the car.
Let's make that lucky or unlucky 13. Good luck is obeying all 13. Bad luck is disobeying 1 to 13 of these.
1 Do not try stunts.
2 If you dare not tell the family, the police, a court of law, an insurance company, the local paper, you should not be doing it.
3 Nothing good happens after midnight.
4 If locked in a boot, push out the light cover and wave your hand to attract attention.
5 Before getting in a taxi, hire car or stranger's car, send a photo of the number plate and rear view or driver to a family group chat. Check the license photo in a hire car matches the driver.
6 Allow extra time for any journey so the driver can proceed at a safe speed even if you are delayed by traffic at some point.
Ten Commandments For Pedestrians
1 Wear white at night.
2 Dress warmly.
3 Don't run.
4 Beware of black ice underfoot.
5 Always have a chocolate bar in your pocket in case your vehicle gets stuck, or you fall.
6 Assume all vehicles are driven by drunks who will react slowly, or aggressively.
7 Wear warm clothes whenever you open the door, even when going out to the bins, or to smoke a cigarette. You could fall, or be attacked.
8 Invest in padded clothing, or ski clothes, to protect yourself from both cold and injury if you fall.
9 Have help lines in your phone.
10 When you go out, check your route and tell your family your route and when you will be back. This includes going into your own back garden, round the corner to the shops and popping in to see neighbours.
Warn your children not to accept dare. Just reply, I dare you to try to act like an adult.
Website on Accident
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16291157/Schoolgirl-brain-damage-car.html
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