Thursday, January 24, 2013

The Dangers Of Driving

"..driving alert is driving safe"


A recent tragedy has hit close to home. A tour bus crashed killing seven Canadians on a trip from British Columbia to Las Vegas. The bus, carrying 47 passengers, crashed near a cliff after veering off icy roads.
Image by "Salvatore Vuono" from www.freedigitalphotos.net
The Vancouver travel company is now being sued by two survivors of the accident.  They claim the bus driver violated American federal laws by working 90 to 100 hours during the first eight days of their trip.  They indicate in the lawsuit that the tour company’s driver seemed extremely fatigued and ignored evident dangerous road conditions.

After the driver lost control, the bus spun and crashed through the guard rail. There were 9 fatalities and 38 others were hurt.  Although this is an extreme case of getting behind the wheel of a vehicle without acknowledging ones mental and physical capabilities to drive, this is a subject that relates to all Canadian drivers. 

All drivers should be aware of their mental and physical state before operating a vehicle. Being overly tired and drowsy is a “silent killer”.  Drivers’ nodding off while at the wheel leads to fatal accidents. Some of the signs you should look out for besides the obvious ones of yawning and heavy eyelids, are daydreaming, missing road signs or exits and feeling irritable and restless. If you experience any of the mental or physical signs of exhaustion, pull over to the side of the road immediately and phone a relative or a friend to come help. In the event that you are out of town, you can call a tow truck to come help you in this type of situation.

And remember, driving alert is driving safe.


2 comments:

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  2. I'm guessing that auto insurance brokers are ones that are very knowledgeable about the dangers of driving, and are going to do their best to evaluate the customer before selling the insurance? -Calgary

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