Are Old Cars Safer Than New Ones

It is a common held belief that old cars are safer in an accident than a new modern car. This is simply not true but the thought that there is about 500 yards of metal between you and the car in front makes some people feel safer. Older cars with their steering gear box and steering rack units that had to handle a great deal more weight than newer cars had a much harder time avoiding accidents. The fact of the matter is there is no replacement for technology when it comes to being safe behind the wheel.

After watching a number of crash-test videos from new cars and seeing how much of a beating a new car can take I thought it would be a good idea to take back at the classics. What can be found by just doing a search on YouTube is a bit scary. Older cars seem solid and like they could take on a brick wall without flinching, it is just not true. Recently an independent company put a 59 Impala and faced it off against a modern one. The result is not as expected while the modern impala may have been totaled but seems to be just superficial. The damage looks bad but the cabin seems to be completely intact which means the passengers would be ok. The 68 did not fare as well, Not only did the car seems to completely collapse from the impact but the driver was subject to many injuries that would threaten their life. That is if they were not crash test dummies.

 

The fact of the matter is that modern cars have been built with safety in mind and the technology to back that up. Even though a new car may seem to be plastic and light the truth of the matter is that crumple zones and frame strengthening in key areas means that the car will disperse the energy of a crash more efficiently. This in turn means that the driver will be more protected from the force of the impact. After watching all the test videos of older cars it become clear that modern automotive travel is a much safer way to travel then the classics. 

We All Know How to Merge...or Do We?

So many factors to count for what shall we do? That may be the way some of us are looking at merging into traffic. When it comes to merging it is still up to us to determine if it can be done safely, our car stereo or in-dash navigation screen cannot tell us how to do it. Because many of us rely on a nav system to get us anywhere, regular driving techniques have become a bit lax.

Merging is a important part of everyday driving an its one that many people are really really bad at doing. The idea is to seamlessly move from one lane to another in traffic and keep the flow of cars uninterrupted. It seems that many a driver believes that merging their vehicle is everyone else's problem. Just start moving over and everyone else should get out of their way. This is not true, you are the one who has to take responsibility for your driving.

When merging the main idea is to look using your mirrors and actually turning your head to make sure you can make the gap you are trying to enter. Driving along any freeway merging is needed when ever getting on the highway and usually when highways intersect not to mention anytime you want to pass. Merging is very common and one of the most used driving maneuvers that we use without thinking about it. So if we all use it so often why is it that day after day and night after night we sit in traffic for no reason? The answer is clear it bad drivers! Drivers who slam on the brakes after the merge, push their way on, other drivers who don't let people in or even worse the ones who speed up to block people from getting in. If all the drivers at an intersection were to allow one other driver to merge then the speed of a highway should only drop by a few miles an hour due to the fact that the merging car can meet the required speed with the on ramp. If it comes down to merging being the cause of many traffic jams...which it does, the "Smart guy" is the cause of many of them. This is the guy that sees a long line for an exit off the freeway and waits to the last second to cut over. They risk hitting the person who is already waiting in that line and also they slow down their lane by making people behind them panic break. It's a rude and obnoxious maneuver and it is also down right dangerous. To the driver who does this "you are not smarter than the rest of us, your just much more rude".

A drivers action on the road are going to dictate how the traffic flows on the freeway so think before you make your merge. If we all do it right, the drive will be smoother and nicer for all of us. If you are one of those people who thinks it is ok to cut the line of traffic, you should try it at the grocery store when waiting to check out and see what everyone around you has to say about that.

Use Common Sense on the Roads People!

The streets of america are a rough place...no I am not talking about growing up on the streets, I am talking about driving on them. Yeah maybe you need a new air suspension strut or air suspension compressor but that is not what makes them a rough place. What makes them bad is the other drivers, yes that means YOU and me and everyone else around. Every person has seen the news story when they end with "this horrible crash could have been avoided" but what does that really mean? what can we take away from that statement?

Cars and trucks are basically weapons on wheels, they are 3000+ lbs of unforgiving steel. People tend to forget the responsibility that goes along with driving a vehicle, the government regulates guns and driving for good reason. Sure we have all had that phone call or text come in while sitting in traffic and answered it while driving. There are signs on the road, ads in magazines and spots on TV telling us all not to text and drive. Texting and driving is as dangerous as drinking and driving but most drives just ignore the dangers.

Most phones nowadays have a feature called voice text which will take what you say and translate it to text that can be sent. The feature will also read texts back to you for added safety on the road. Phones are not the only issue when  people are behind the wheel, laziness and ignorance play a huge role in accidents as well. Law enforcement will tell us that speeding is the cause of accidents and in some ways that is true but on average it is not. Accidents are just that accidents cause by mis-judgments of a situation or just not paying attention. "I swear i didn't see him there!" but the truth is you didn't look and this happens all the time. It is time for us all to take responsibility for our actions behind the wheel and make the driving world a safer place to be.