Since April 1st, I have been on the road at least once a week and have crossed Wolf Creek Pass (in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA) at least 20 times. As spring moved into summer I noticed a steady decline in driving safety. This means that being a defensive driver went from 'good practice' to 'essential' to avoid being in a crash on the road. So here is some advice for the summer driver:
- Slow down! Or at least stay within the speed limit. You will get there safely and save time not having the repercussions of being in a hurry and speeding. Consider leaving earlier if you anticipate heavy traffic. I have worked with several patients in the hospital whose summer vacations wer ruined by being involved in a crash resulting in broken bones.
- Make sure your car is in good working order. This is just as important in the summer as it is in the winter. If you have a medical condition which makes heat intolerable, be sure the air conditioner is fully charged and ready to go. Also keep in mind that you will expend a lot more energy walking to/from your car in high heat, so plan shopping trips in the cooler part of the day.
- It is important to carry emergency supplies in your car. Water is at the top of the list, both for yourself and any other people or pets you have on board, and for your car. A sun hat and insect spray are good to have in case you have to walk for gas, or just walk a long way in a parking lot.
- Don't drive into smoke that obscures your view of the road. We currently have seven wildfires in the state of Colorado. Also, do not drive into a dust storm that obscures your view. I ran into this driving across the San Luis Valley on my last trip back over the passes. And should you be lucky enough to have some rain, don't drive into water going over the road unless you are absolutely certain a) how deep it is and b) what is beneath the water.
- Be courteous. While talking with a gentleman from Holland who works as a traveling salesman, he remarked how much more polite American drivers are than those of other countries. Now, I personally think that some areas are better about this than others, but that was his overall impression of the U.S. So, a pat on our cumulative backs!
Keep up the good work! Keep the rubber side down and enjoy your summer!
__________________
Karen Richardson, OTR/CDRS
Registered Occupational Therapist, Certified Driving Rehabilitation Specialist
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Comments
After everyone did rain dances and prayers or it just was time for monsoon moisture to come to Colorado, we had a downpour here in Grand Junction and I was 'out in it', and called in a car which had lost control on I-70 where teh speed limit is 75, rotated and gone into the 'grassy' median, which around here is sage brush. Someone had stopped that didn't appear to have a phone and they didn't seem to be in any need of an ambulance and so I simply reported it.
I was actually on the frontage road which is not crowned and has had a lot of heavy truck traffic over many years so had deep water in the ruts where the tires are -- one lane each way, no real shoulders. So I was very slowed down and with my left wheels/tires in the center of the road as it was less deep there, and then on the white line, but you have to be watching for what is on that right 'fringe'.
I recall the first spring/summer I lived in Grand Junction and I read of a similar crash, in cause, but the outcome was much worse, the woman had been badly injured. She later became my patient as she was from out of state and it was cheaper for her insurance company to have her be in a subacute rehab facility here than transport her to California. I'd thought when I read she was at the hospital with both arms and legs fractured "glad I work in skilled nursing, I'm too old and weak for this kind of patient" and then low and behold there she was with us in the not too distant future! Super neat woman and she used to stop by and say hello when they'd be going through visiting family.
I was just APPAULED at the speed of the big white trucks on that frontage road with me today, going the opposite way, spraying copious amounts of water up onto my vehicle -- guys who drive many thousands of miles every month and work long hours in the gas fields or related jobs. They might have deep tread and have plent of traction and aren't going to be sliding off into me head-on but it was really making it so it was dangerous for other cars they were affecting making their 'splash'.
I was dissapointed that nobody else stopped for the crash besides one chivalrous young man! It is at times like that I so appreciate our emergency workers and law enforcement who respond, and naturally the EMTs if needed. Again, I was on another road and had a view of it, but in all honesty, anymore it's so dangerous to stop I call things in unless I think someone is going to die if I don't. I had a really close call as a first reponder in Glenwood Canyon the second trip to Grand Junction, I was actually moving the few items my movers wouldn't or shouldn't take. A car went out of control and came to a stop less than a foot from the back of mine as I was getting into it once the tow truck arrived; I was flagging people to warn them of the crash ahead as it was blocking the left lane and there was black ice as the cause. My car was 1/3 of a mile from the crash too! I'd pulled as far ahead and to what I thought was safe for a 55 mph speed limit area. I say 'keep your sunny side up!' as well as your rubber side down! ~~ Mardy
Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! is my motto. I'm Mardy Ross, and I founded Lumigrate in 2008 after a career as an occupational therapist with a background in health education and environmental research program administration. Today I function as the desk clerk for short questions people have, as well as 'concierge' services offered for those who want a thorough exploration of their health history and direction to resources likely to progress their health according to their goals. Contact Us comes to me, so please do if you have questions or comments. Lumigrate is "Lighting the Path to Health and Well-Being" for increasing numbers of people. Follow us on social networking sites such as: Twitter: http://twitter.com/lumigrate [3] and Facebook. (There is my personal page and several Lumigrate pages. For those interested in "groovy" local education and networking for those uniquely talented LumiGRATE experts located in my own back yard, "LumiGRATE Groove of the Grand Valley" is a Facebook page to join. (Many who have joined are beyond our area but like to see the Groovy information! We not only have FUN, we are learning about other providers we can be referring patients to and 'wearing a groove' to each other's doors -- or websites/home offices!) By covering some of the things we do, including case examples, it reinforces the concepts at Lumigrate.com as well as making YOU feel that you're part of a community. Which you ARE at Lumigrate!