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Safety

• Roll Bar Construction

  When fabricating your own roll bar, first consider that bars must be shaped on a special bender that does not wrinkle, kink or "neck down" the tubing in the bend area. A muffler shop bender will... Read More

• Roll Bar Basics

  Turning a sports car on its lid is not something any enthusiast expects to happen, but you should be prepared for the worst. Damaging your ego or your pride-and-joy is one thing, but more serious is... Read More

• Installing Auxiliary Lights

  Vehicles intended for off-road or inclement-weather use can often benefit from auxiliary lighting. Stock headlights are fine for normal city and highway driving, but people who drive in foggy... Read More

• Proper Pump Etiquette

  It's 5:40 p.m. and you desperately need to get gas before you get onto the freeway. And you're apparently not alone. Pulling into a crowded station and finding a place in line requires quick thinking... Read More

• Child Safety Seat System Flaws and Advice

  Making kids safe in cars seems to be a lot harder than we thought when the first child safety seat made its appearance in 1962. After almost 50 years of legislation and new technology, we still can't... Read More

• Revolutionizing Car Crash Response

  In the near future, vehicles may be able to alert emergency crews to how severe the injuries are in a car crash and victims should be taken for the best care. That scenario could result in a decrease... Read More

• Water Smart

  It's the stuff of nightmares: You're in your vehicle, in a body of water and you're sinking. Never mind how you got there, it's the getting out that's critical. As in most life-threatening... Read More

• Fire Smart

  Smoke and/or the acrid smell of burning wires—these are not sensual assaults to be ignored when you're heading down the highway. Just like in Monopoly: Do not pass go, do not collect $200.... Read More

• Strict Safety Standards Primary Lifesavers

  According to a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), U.S. drivers are safer on the road thanks to legislation requiring automakers to create, install, and improve active and... Read More

• Top 10 Safety Systems

  This year about 42,500 people, give or take 1,000, will die in traffic accidents in the U.S. Though terrible, it could be a lot worse. Without the advances on our following list of Top 10 Safety... Read More

• Big Rig Blues

  The television movie "Duel" began Steven Spielberg's directorial career and forever changed the way drivers view big rigs. Separating fact from fiction, however, casts a much less demonic aura over... Read More

• Highway Safety and Crash Testing Organizations

  Henry Bliss stepped off a New York trolley in 1899 and was hit and killed by an automobile, becoming the first North American motor vehicle fatality. Since that time, over 20 million people worldwide... Read More

• Light Roads Ahead

  As the sun sets, traffic accidents and fatalities spike on American roadways. The government estimates that 2.8 million police-reported crashes including 23,000 fatalities occur annually in the... Read More

• Simple Tips for Safer Trips

  According to the Federal Government, something on the order of 80 percent of all crashes is due to driver error. This means, they didn't have to happen. In fact, some people are of the strong... Read More

• Making Cars Safer

  Safety is key on almost every new-car buyer's list today. Why has it been elevated? Simple. In 2004 there were 42,636 traffic fatalities in the United States, according to the National Highway... Read More

• Behind the Wheel of a Big Rig

  Imagine you're motoring down a curvy backroad. It's so narrow that when you're 18 inches away from the fog line on the right, the left side of your vehicle is no more than that away from the... Read More

• Bondurant Executive Protection Driving School

  Say you're based, doing business or vacationing in a potentially dangerous place, a place where people sometimes get killed or kidnapped. What will you do if the bad guys come after you on the road?... Read More

• Full-Size-Van Safety Improvements

  Television news magazines have been having a field day with coverage of numerous safety groups' concerns over the safety aspects of full-sized passenger vans. No matter if it is an actual or... Read More

• Pocket Bikes

  Buzzing like angry hornets, the mini-motorcycles or pocket-bike craze is sweeping from California to New York. These miniature motorcycles copy the racing looks of Honda, Kawasaki and Harley, but... Read More

• High-Tech Good Samaritans

  A high-tech fleet of OnStar good Samaritans is adding 2.5 million pairs of eyes to the search for a missing child when the AMBER Alert is sounded. GM's subsidiary OnStar joined up with the National... Read More

• Explosive Safety

  Automobile safety is an explosive issue. Literally. New cars have several features that, if employed in a different manner, would earn you a visit by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,... Read More

• No Victims

  Refuse to be an auto-accident victim.... Read More

• Fuel Tank Safety Updates

  Investigations into deadly gas tank explosions in Ford Crown Victoria police cruisers led the government to update its standards for fire protection in rear crashes involving all vehicle models. The... Read More

• Protecting Yourself While at the Pump

  Friends are warning friends all over the Internet to dock their cell phones or risk becoming a fireball at the gas pump. Yet there has never been one recorded incident of a cell phone causing a fire... Read More

• Nissan's Brave New World of Auto Safety

  Computer technology is shaping the future of auto safety, according to Robert Yakushi director of Product Safety at Nissan North America. Government and industry in the past focused on passive safety... Read More

• New Headlights Sharpen Night Vision

  As summer fades into fall, the hours of daylight shrink, fog and rain increase, and deer become more active at night. These factors all add up to lowered visibility and heightened hazards. Studies... Read More

• Head Restraints

  Head restraints get a ho-hum rating on a vehicle's sexy options scale, and most consumers never take the time to adjust them properly. But those little squares on the top of the front passenger seats... Read More

• RADD Approach to Stop Drunk Driving

  What do Clint Black, Jamie Lee Curtis and Shaq O'Neal have in common—besides the fact that all three are highly successful in their respective lines of work? Black, Curtis and O'Neal are just... Read More

• Power Windows Dangers

  Most parents are unaware that the power windows in their automobiles can kill or injure young children. Typically, the child has his or her head out the window of a parked car and accidentally leans... Read More

• Passenger Van Safety Patrol

  Perhaps the most important thing pastors, principals, and parents can do for the well-being and safety of their congregation, students, and children is to check the tire pressure of the 15-passenger... Read More

• High-Tech Accident Prevention

  With highway fatality statistics refusing to budge, the government is developing technology that can help drivers avoid accidents. Drivers are distracted, fatigued and overstressed—and their... Read More

• Building a Safer Highway

  Drivers and their vehicles are constantly under the highway safety microscope, but the roads we ride on are also a big part of the safety equation. And unsafe roads pose no thorny behavior problems... Read More

• Pedestrian Safety

  Walking can be dangerous to your health, particularly in a U.S. city. In 2001 there were 4,882 pedestrians killed in traffic accidents and nearly 70 percent of those fatalities happened in urban... Read More

• Riding in Cars with Pets

  Head out the window, air in his face, drool blowing all over—dogs seem so happy in the car. While they may be happy, it is important for pet owners to consider whether they are safe or not. As... Read More

• Are Your Teens Road Ready?

  Chrysler Corp. has launched a new teen driving campaign that enlists an important ally—parents of teens. The automaker recently conducted a survey, which showed that the top concern of the... Read More

• Active Safety for SUVs

  Over the last few decades, consumers have let it be known that safety sells automobiles. In the past, that meant designs to improve the crashworthiness of vehicles and protect occupants from crash... Read More

• Deer Collisions Cost Millions

  Today's U.S. deer population has rebounded to equal the herd roaming the country when the Pilgrims first dropped anchor in the 1600s. Decimated by the hunter/provider economy of the new nation, deer... Read More

• Unlicensed Drivers Are Deadly

  Auto fatalities involving teen and drunk drivers are widely publicized. However, a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety revealed that unlicensed drivers are also involved in an inordinate... Read More

• Volvo Safety Concept Car

  Safety is in the eye of the beholder, according to Volvo and Ford engineers who say that 90 percent of all vital driver information comes to us visually. The automakers' recent 7-city tour of the... Read More

• A Black Box Under Every Hood

  Government crash data is junk science according to former National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator (NHTSA) Ricardo Martinez. Crash data collected from police reports and eyewitness testimony is... Read More

• The New Generation of Safety

  Open highway, open throttle—the freedom of "heading down the highway" is imbedded in the American psyche. But the downside of our motoring obsession as more Americans bought cars in the '50s was... Read More

• Rain Driving Survival

  In a lot of regions of the country, rain driving is an unavoidable part of getting around. You either learn to deal with it, or else you spend massive amounts of time stranded at home, staring at... Read More

• Parking Lot Safety

  For many car-insurance claims adjusters, busy parking lots are public enemy number one. According to the Independent Insurance Agents of America, thousands of parking-lot-related claims cost... Read More

• Sharing Un-Alike

  Recently, much attention has been devoted to the size disparity between SUVs and cars. Because SUVs´ (and pickups´) bumpers are often higher than cars´, the larger vehicle can literally climb the... Read More

• Atypical Crash Testing

  There are many techniques used by auto manufacturers, government agencies and insurance companies to test the crash-worthiness of the vehicles we drive. Real, simulated or virtual, these tests can... Read More

• Are You Equipped for Roadside Emergencies?

  You've filled your travel mug to the brim with hot coffee, plugged your cell phone into the dash, and your road atlas is tucked into the door pocket. So now you're ready to head down the road, right?... Read More

• Dumb and Dumber Driving Mistakes

  Imagine that you're driving on the highway and you notice something really strange about the car in front of you. Not only does the driver have her head tilted to one side to hold a cell phone in... Read More

• Pet Safety

  Blissfully ignorant, 40 million Americans are carrying a 1,200-pound elephant in the back seat of their vehicles masquerading as the loyal family pet. According to the American Pet Products... Read More

• New Looks in Seatbelts

  The humble seatbelt made its debut in 1964 and, despite all the gee-whiz safety technology added since, it remains the single most effective safety device in an automobile. The seatbelt has proven... Read More

• Engineering Safety

  In my mind's data-storage center, "Volvo" and "safety" share the same filing cabinet. This is the inevitable result of years of advertising depicting Volvos not being crushed by Big Foot, stacked one... Read More

• Booster Seat Safety

  About 20 million children have fallen through the highway-safety cracks. Kids between the ages of 4 and 8 have outgrown their child safety seats, but only 6% are riding in booster seats that allow... Read More

• Shade Tree Safety

  While getting covered in motor oil may seem like a great idea to the do-it-yourselfer or driveway mechanic, the facts of the matter are that bathing in petrochemicals is not the world's best idea.... Read More

• Ramping Up to Under-Car Fun

  When it's time to change the oil or flush the radiator in your car the usual drill is to bust out the big old heavy jack and jack stands and do the whole pump it up, balance it out, and lower it back... Read More

• Jack Safety

  While the scissor jack in your trunk is fine for emergency wheel changes, when it comes time to working underneath your vehicle a floor jack and two or more sturdy jack stands are the tools for the... Read More

• Bumping Into Safety

  In the olden days, bumpers protected a vehicle from body damage in low speed collisions. Don't get us wrong, they still do; but, as bumper designs have evolved, so have their level of protection. To... Read More

• Adding Tubular Sidesteps

  Even the most rough-and-ready off-road enthusiasts don't mind dressing up their 4x4s, especially if the components make them look all the more tough and rugged. These mods may or may not be all that... Read More

• Installing Tire Chains

  Tire chains can approximately double your vehicle's starting and stopping traction on snow and ice. For this reason, many states that have mountainous roads require chains to be installed during... Read More