Bonus Chapter No.1

Buckle up.

I've been involved in two major accidents that nearly killed me, and a few others that were minor. In both major accidents my life was saved by the fact that I was buckled up. As a result I will never drive or ride in a car without buckling up. So, this is another safety rule: buckle up no matter if you're driving a short distance. Most bad accidents and even fatalities happen within a few miles of home.

Avoid flanking maneuvers.

What the heck does this mean? You're driving on a multilane main highway and you want to change lanes. The tendency is to move over without considering that someone over two lanes could be planning the same move in the opposite direction. If you move to the right and they move to the left, you'll have an accident. The rule is: either pull ahead or lag behind the car two lanes over before changing lanes.

Stay focused.

This is a given. Always stay focused on driving instead of your phone. A few seconds of distraction could lead to a disaster. Traffic congestion these days requires constant attention. As I said before, there are several drivers out there who are texting, trying to read a newspaper, talking to their broker or whatever. You may want to keep an eye out for them because they could kill you.

Children should be secured in approved child safety seats and be in the back, not in front.

This is applicable to parents with infants and young children. Most places have laws that require the use of safety (booster) seats. Many require that the child be in the back seat. These laws vary as to age and size. A typical requirement is that children less than 4 years or 40 pounds be in a safety seat. The reason that a safety belt is not good enough is because the child can slip out of it. The booster seat moves them up to allow the belt to do its job.

Thanks for reading.