Residents of Cedar Hill are lucky to live in such a great town. It is a lovely place to raise a family with plenty of outdoor activities. Joe Pool Lake is a great place to cool off on a hot summer day while Cedar Hill State Park offers a variety of hiking and biking trails as well as swimming, fishing and boating.
One of the only downsides to life in Cedar Hill is the commute into Dallas for work or shopping. As the area has exploded, so has the traffic, creating traffic jams, which can lead to accidents.
According to government statistics, roughly 40,200 people were killed in car accidents on U.S. roadways in 2016. In Texas, there were 518,577 car accidents in 2015, which resulted in 246,335 people being injured and 3,531 fatalities. This translates into a car accident in the Lone Star state every two minutes and eight seconds.
We want to make sure you stay safe out on the road, which is why we have put together a few safe driving tips:
Stay Focused: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics show that 3,477 people were killed, and 391,000 were injured due to distracted driving in 2015.
Do not use your phone or other electronic devices while driving and devote 100 percent of your attention to the road and operating your vehicle.
Secure the Kids: Children can also be a distraction, make sure they are always buckled in, fighting and climbing around can be a major distraction. Wait until you are safely stopped before reaching for a dropped toy or cup.
Buckle Up: This is a big one. Before you get on the road, make sure that you and everyone in the car is buckled up. According to NHTSA statistics, more than half of all accident fatalities are people who were not wearing a seat belt.
The numbers are even worse for young people. A whopping 70 percent of fatal victims that were between the ages of 13 and 15 were not wearing seat belts.
Safe Practices: Always maintain safe driving practices. Secure cargo, which can be a distraction and can possible injury a passenger or driver in an accident. Keep items you need, such as garage door openers, toll cards and toll fees within easy reach so you don’t have to search for them.
Practice Defensive Driving: Always practice defensive driving when behind the wheel. Be aware of what other drivers are doing and expect the unexpected. Maintain a two second cushion between you and the car in front of you and extend that to four seconds if the road is wet or the weather is bad.
Stay Sober: It should go without saying, but driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs is always a horrible idea. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), almost 10,000 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2014. This was roughly 31% of all vehicle related deaths.
Plan Your Trips: Long road trips should always be well planned but even short trips across town need a bit of planning. Always be leave time for food and bathroom breaks and pull over and stop the car when eating.
Before heading out on the road, adjust your mirror, seat, climate control, radio and any other vehicle components that need to be adjusted.
Speed Kills: Driving 10 mph over the limit will only save a few minutes on the average trip but increases your risk of a crashing by 50 percent. Slow down, and drive the speed limit, or slower if weather is a factor.
Get A Good Nights Sleep: A Virginia Tech study found that 20 percent of all accidents have sleepiness as a contributing factor. If you are exhausted, don’t get behind the wheel. Make sure you get a good nights sleep, especially if you are leaving on a long trip.
Maintain Your Vehicle: A safe vehicle will make for a safe trip. Maintain your vehicle and tires and have regular oil changes and preventative maintenance done to ensure your vehicle is always safe to drive.
Keep these tips in mind the next time you head out the door on the way to Dallas, across Cedar Hill or a long road trip to another state, they may just help prevent an accident.
Contact us today for an insurance quote for your car, truck, or other vehicle.
