| 1. When you are the first car to arrive at a traffic light.......don't drive as far up as you can initially. ...stay back about a car length at first....that's to avoid being near where the accidents happen....out there in the intersection. Stay back until just before the light is going to turn green, then move up to just short of the pedestrian cross walk, ready to go when the light turns. Much safer that way. |
| 2. If you park under trees : If you park your car under trees regularly, or anywhere small leaves and junk can fall on it, clean out the air intake grills at the base of the windshield ( this doesn't apply to Vanagons....another great thing about them ! ). If leaves and junk get into the air cavity at the base of the windshield of most cars - that's where the air for the heater enters the car - if junk gets in there it can clog up the water drains at the bottom of that area .....causing water to slosh around in there...and even ruin electrical components like wiper motors and heater fans. You can often see the drain outlets under the hood of some cars....check them to make sure they're not blocked. Could save you a lot of money in repairs. |
| 3. Don't hold your clutch down at traffic lights. If you drive a manual transmission car, while you're sitting at a light waiting for it to change, keep your car in neutral with the clutch up until just before it's time to go. Holding the clutch in for long periods of time is bad for the clutch, and it's also dangerous....if your foot slips off the clutch your car could jump right out in traffic. On all cars, never hold the clutch down with the engine running for more than say, 20 seconds. |
| 4. Brake and Clutch Pedal Rubber Covers. Yup, they're there for a reason....a safety reason. They are to help prevent wet shoes from slipping off the pedals on rainy days. If a rubber cover falls off, either get a new one ( they're usually inexpensive ) or carefully glue the rubber back to the pedal. On some cars the rubber pedal covers will fit on 'the other way' so your foot will bear on a part of the rubber that hasn't worn so much yet. Just a safety item, small but significant. It could save a life. |
| 5. When you stop in a row of cars, like to wait for a light - STOP A SHORT WAY FROM the car in front of you. This is to give you an escape route if you need it. .....Always protect the 30 feet or so in front of your car....try to keep nothing in that space except pavement. This way, if you see a car approaching from behind that won't be able to stop in time to avoid hitting you, for example, you can move up and avoid being hit. Or, if the car in front of you stalls or something, you can drive around. Just don't block yourself in......stop back a ways - keep that space in front of you open at all times, while driving and or while stopped. |
| 6. Before turning left off the road you're on, check over your left shoulder last thing just before turning. Somehow, someday, even though you checked behind you before slowing down to turn, some car could be zooming by you to pass on your left . . .. just check one last time before the actual turn. It could save you. This doesn't apply to dedicated left turn lanes of course, but mostly to two-lane roads, where there is more risk. |
| 7. HOW TO PUT A CAR IN REVERSE WITHOUT CRUNCHING THE GEARS - on all manual transmission cars, if you are idling with the clutch up and in neutral, if you just push in the clutch pedal and move the shifter straight into 'reverse,' the gears will crunch. This is not good for the transmission. Instead, depress the clutch, then move the shift lever into 'first', then through second gear, and then finally into 'reverse' - it will never crunch this way. Applies to all manual transmission cars. |
| more Auto and Safety Tips coming - sdf |
| ( contact me please if you know of a newspaper that might want to publish these on a regular basis. ) |