Boyd Autobody & Glass Articles

So how can drivers drive more safely?

With thousands of collisions taking place every year on our roads, it's no surprise that many groups are trying to raise awareness and inspire people to drive safer: Governments, insurance companies, charitable organizations, and your friendly neighborhood Boyd Autobody & Glass shops are all trying to inspire drivers to be safer on the roads.

One of the key ways that drivers can be safer is to have a healthy respect for the unexpected

Here's what we mean: When we drive, we are bombarded with information every single second. We filter what we can and pay attention to the stuff that seems to matter most. Often, collisions happen because something out of the ordinary occurred and we didn't have time...

We talk about road rage as something that many drivers feel, and as a sign of how crazy it can get on the roads

Road rage creates unsafe drivers because angry drivers are not cautious drivers.

We talk about it… But do we spend a lot of time figuring out how to stop it? By identifying the triggers of road rage, we can help people manage it and eliminate it.

Heavy traffic

One of the places where road rage appears is in heavy traffic. Drivers want to get somewhere and they feel boxed in by heavy traffic – frequently because that traffic isn't going as fast as the driver wants. If you tend to get boxed in by traffic and feel like it's holding you back, speeding is not the answer. The answer is to take another route. Get...

Canadians face a lot of different kinds of weather – from snow to fog to sun to rain

Each one of these scenarios presents its own unique challenges for driving safely. Being able to quickly identify what the weather is like and then adjusting your driving style to match the weather is a key part of driving safely.

Here are some top tips for driving safely in the rain Turn your wipers on. Of course! Turn on your defroster. The humidity in the air can cause your windows to fog up quickly. Turning your defroster on as soon as the rain starts to fall will help to reduce this risk Turn on your lights. Rain clouds can block out the sun, rain can diminish visibility, and roads can get foggy. And, it can all happen in an instant. So when...

If you were to get into your vehicle, drive down an empty street and pull into your neighbor's driveway, how many dangers did you face on the road?

You might say "none" but, in fact, you faced several. Fortunately, the rules of the road PLUS your safe vehicle, your safe driving skills, and your experience made those risks seem like none at all. You faced risks by not backing out of your driveway correctly, you might not have driven straight down the road or you might not have turned into your neighbor's driveway correctly.

That driving experience might be considered a "best case scenario" because there were risks but there weren't very many and they were quite minimal.

Now consider your average driving experience: If you...

It's the commute home FROM work that really does you in

Your day starts off just fine. It's a little rushed in the morning but everyone gets out the door on time and you get to work (with a quick stop at Tim Hortons of course).

Why is that?

It's not always easy to tell while you are in the vehicle driving home but here's what we think Your day at work can sometimes build up stress. Bosses are annoying, coworkers are far from perfect, customers can be demanding, and you're reminded by the end of the day that you don’t get paid enough to do what you do You're thinking about the project that you wanted to finish today but didn't get a chance to do and you'll have to rush it a bit tomorrow morning to have it ready You haven't...

Since we were all that age once, parents know that their children will probably drive unsafely

A parent recently told me the following alarming truth: His daughter admitted to him that she drives very unsafely when he is not in the vehicle with her. Although the statistics suggest that young male drivers will choose to drive unsafely more often than young female drivers, the fact is that both genders are learning to drive at an age where the respect and admiration of their peers can often trump their ability to make logical and safe choices.

Even in the hit show "Breaking Bad", meth cook Walt White and his wife Skyler are concerned about their son's safety when Walt buys his son a flashy new sports vehicle for his birthday.

So...

The commute home after work is, for most people, probably the worst 30 minutes of the day

You've had a long day at work, you're tired and hungry, everyone around you feels the same way, and the red lights are conspiring against you to keep you from getting to the only place on earth you want to be right now.

At these times, it's easy to feel road rage, to drive aggressively (and even vindictively) and to ignore the rules of the road in a desperate attempt to get home to your loved ones. This is a classic case of driving unsafely because of your mentality. You lose focus or focus on the wrong things and you can make poor driving decisions.

Here are some tips to help you change your thinking so you drive more safely and get home in a...

Long trips can test your sanity

You might start out okay – eagerly anticipating the journey and especially the rewarding destination – but part way through the trip you're at your wits' end. WHEN that happens ultimately depends on whether or not you have children and how many people there are in the vehicle during your trip.

So here are some tips to maintain your sanity while traveling Get creative to make the journey as fun as the destination. Plan periodic rest stops at historic sites, or just get out and stretch your legs and read a book. Too many people get stressed out about their trip because they see it as a painful necessity prior to their destination. A slight attitude adjustment can change all that around Make a...

Our brains take in information from the world around us and that information helps us make decisions

While driving, we see a red light and we decide to stop. Or we see that we are entering a school zone and we decide to slow down. The human brain can only handle so many pieces of information at any given time.

The more information coming into our brain, the hard it is for our brain to process the information and decide what to do with it. If you are mindful of this fact, you can actually avoid some collisions!

A study of an airline crash showed that most pilots handle a normal number of information coming into their brain but during an airplane malfunction, the number of pieces of information increases dramatically and this...

During the Academy Awards, we are reminded that it takes far more than a talented actor and actress to make a movie

There is also the director, the producer, the film crew, the musicians, and (of course) the supporting cast… and so many more.

The same is true if you think of driving as a type of on-the-road performance

The driver might be the leading actor or actress, as well as the director and producer all rolled into one. They are not the only actor in this drama! Consider some of the other actors that can change the scene at a moment's notice:

Other drivers. Vehicles share the road with other vehicles and those vehicles are driven by other drivers. Each driver has a goal (to get where they want to go) and usually...