I’ve started noticing a trend. 2 trends actually. One of them is the number of roundabouts at intersections, the other is the number of people complaining about them. Roundabouts are mainly used in Europe where they are just about everywhere and here within the last couple of years, we’ve started seeing them pop up in Grapevine and Colleyville. There are currently over 3700 roundabouts in the US and that number is only going to get bigger. The reason for the roundabout gaining popularity is pretty simple, it relieves traffic congestion. In many parts of the DFW metroplex, there are problematic or dangerous intersections that have utilized the roundabout and made giant leaps in progressing towards less fatalities and crashes.

So why all of the confusion regarding them? Well, it’s pretty simple, we just aren’t used to them. We are used to 4 way stops at most intersections and that’s what we were taught in driving school. The roundabout is completely foreign to us.

Here are the rules of driving in a roundabout (via RoundaboutsUSA)

• As you approach a roundabout there will be a YIELD sign and dashed yield limit line. Slow down, watch for pedestrians and bicyclists, and be prepared to stop if necessary. (Editors Note: On some intersections, there will be a protected lane that will allow you to make an immediate right turn without having to yield or stop for other cars.
• When you enter, yield to circulating traffic on the left, but do not stop if the way is clear.
• A conventional roundabout will have ONE-WAY signs mounted in the center island. They help guide traffic and indicate that you must drive to the right of the center island.
• Upon passing the street prior to your exit, turn on your right turn signal and watch for pedestrians and bicyclists as you exit.
• Left turns are completed by traveling around the central island

Get used to navigating a roundabout, because they’re here and they aren’t going anywhere. Have you gotten used to the roundabouts yet?

The modern automobile has come a long way since the first mass produced car came off the Oldsmobile line in Lansing, Michigan in 1902. There were no restraints of any kind, no seat belts, airbags, or back up sensors. Seat belts were just an option until 1958 when SAAB began putting them in all of their cars, the rest of the automotive world followed suit. In fact, the law states that every car manufactured after This is the single most important safety aspect of your vehicle and has saved millions of lives. Yet we still have people who don’t wear a safety belt. I was just in the car the other day with a friend who, I noticed, didn’t have his seat belt on. I quickly told him to buckle up or walk (we were just going around the corner). Buckling up is a no-brainer, and should be the first thing you do when you get in the car. I can point you to multiple studies done that prove that driving with a seat belt is a smart idea, but I shouldn’t have to.

Texas has recently changed the law regarding buckling up in the back seat of a vehicle. Previously, adults had the option of whether or not to wear their seat belt. This is no longer the case. All adults and children must be restrained when the vehicle is moving.   I’ve heard plenty of excuses about how seat belts could trap you if there was a fire or the dismissal of seat belts because of air bags being widespread, but those are all bad reasons. In fact, airbags are designed to work in conjunction with your seat belts, they make your car safer if they are all working together.

When you get caught without your seat belt on, you’ll also get a nice ticket and fine to go with it.  Here in Texas that’s about $$250, depending on where you are, plus court costs. If you get caught with a unrestrained child under 15 years old in the car, guess who gets the ticket. The driver does. Being vigilant about making all of your passengers buckle up is the only way to be.

There’s a lot of confusion regarding antique cars that did not have seat belt installed when they were manufactured. Here in Texas the law states:

A motor vehicle required by Chapter 548 to be inspected shall 
be equipped with front safety belts if safety belt anchorages 
were part of the manufacturer's original equipment on the vehicle

That means if the car didn’t have them when it was new then you are not required to. But let’s be honest, why wouldn’t you install seat belts? It’s the smart thing to do.

Check out this video and then visit your state’s Department of Transportation website to check your state’s seat belt laws.

There may be nothing in the world that angers me more than to find out that someone has their child’s car seat improperly installed or not safely restraining their children before driving. Child safety seats are designed to lessen the risk of injury or death when in an accident, but they must be used and installed properly, or all of the science and research that goes into the production of them is all for naught. Some studies I’ve read suggest that 7 out of every 10 car seats are installed incorrectly.

• If your child is young enough to require a car seat or booster, you want to place them in the back seat of the vehicle. The back seat offers more protection in the event of an accident and could safe the life of your child.
• Read the car seat owner’s manual to determine how to correctly restrain your child.
• If there is any slack or movement in your child’s harness, seat, or buckles, then you have not installed it properly. There should be no slack anywhere.
• Be sure to eliminate any twists in the belts and harnesses to reduce the chance of injury.
• Always wear your seat belt as an example of the behavior that is to be expected when riding in a car.

I recommend reading your owner’s manual from cover to cover before you ever even install the seat in your vehicle. Once you have it installed, visit a car seat safety specialist to double check to make sure you’ve done it correctly. It won’t take any time at all and could mean the difference in life and death.

There are staggering numbers out there when it comes to child safety seats and the number of children saved by them. This is from the NHTSA:

“From 1975 through 2011, NHTSA estimates that approximately 10,000 lives were saved by child restraints for children under the age of 5 in passenger vehicles, with more than 260 lives saved in 2011 alone.” (Read the entire press release)

Making sure your child is properly secured for every trip, no matter how short, is an absolute must. There are no excuses for your child safety. If you would like to read further on this subject, I recommend visiting the safercar.gov website, it is an endless resource for child seat safety.

We’ve seen our share of construction zones here in Grapevine. For the last couple of years, the road right outside our front door was under construction. It made getting to and from work a nightmare. Finally, all the work zones have slowly gone away and the commute is getting back to normal. For some people it’s even quicker. They’ve put in so many new features and roads, it looks completely different than it did before the start of the DFW Connector project. I, for one, am glad the roads are free and clear, but there’s also another group of people who are ever happier, the construction workers themselves. Not only do they have to work long, hard hours in the freezing cold or the brutal heat, they have to deal with drivers. I’ve driven by work sites and there are workers within a few feet of a car going 50-60 miles an hour. If that’s not unnerving, then I don’t know what is. The road construction crews work as hard, if not harder than any profession out there, and they deserve our attention when we are passing through a work zone. All you have to do is take your eyes off of the road for a split-second and a disaster could happen. In 2012, there were over sixteen thousand accidents that happen in a work zone, of those, there were 134 fatalities. That’s a number that scares me and it should scare you as well.

Not only is is a dangerous place to drive, it’s also a potentially costly one. In the state of Texas, your fine doubles if you are caught breaking the law in a construction zone. When they say “Slow Down”, they mean it. Do us all a favor when you’re out driving, pay attention to the work zones. They’re trying to get the job done so we can get to the places we go quicker and more efficiently. I recommend reading the TxDot report on driver safety and work zone awareness for more stunning statistics and facts.

With Christmas just around the corner, I wanted to take a moment and talk about a few great things to have in yours and everyone’s car and make for great gifts! In case of an emergency, these products can be helpful and can even save yours or the life of someone else. We hope you never have to use any of these items, but in any event, it’s always better to have them handy and ready to be used.

1. A well stocked first aid kit.

These come in handy whether or not it’s an auto-related accident. Band-aids, gauze, hydrogen peroxide, some even have aspirin for those pesky headaches on long drives. Having a good first aid kit in your car at all times stops your from having to run to CVS or Walgreen’s when you have a minor mishap and need to stop a cut from bleeding. If you have kids, one of these is essential. Kids are always getting scrapes and cuts and the quicker you can address it, the less chances they have of getting an infection.

2. A jumpstart battery

These have been priceless in my experience. I tend to leave my lights on and the next morning, I have a dead battery. To resolve that issue, I keep a jumpstart battery in my trunk just in case, I do it again. These batteries can keep a charge over long periods of time and can even come in handy when you go camping. Most jumpstart batteries have a plug where you can charge your cell phone or any other device.

3. The Lifehammer

This one little device is recommended by law enforcement departments across the country and can very possibly save your life in the case of a major accident. This ingenious product has a double-sided hammer head with steel tipped points that can break a window in case of being trapped in your vehicle. On the other end of it is a shielded razor blade that is designed to cut through seat belts.