SAFETY

HOW TO SAVE YOUR OWN LIFE IN 2013

The safe driving message for this year isn't new, but as the number of vehicles on the roadway increases it's more importantthan ever:

Wear your seat belt; pay attention to your driving, and never drink and drive!

Final figures aren't in yet for 2012, but through November, preliminary data from Advocates for Highway Auto Safety show that the number of motor vehicle deaths will indicate a significant increase from 2011. In that year, the number of deaths was the lowest since 1949, including motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians. The Governors Highway Safety Association has been informally reporting that the death number was up throughout 2012.

Officials in the trucking industry say that there is a connection between states increasing speed limits and the increase in deaths for occupants of large trucks, according to a spokesman for the American Trucking Association.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says the 2011 decline was due to aggressive enforcement and public education campaigns plus the technology involved in building safe vehicles. He says, "As we look to the future, it will be important to build on this progress by continuing to tackle head on issues like seat belt use, drunk driving and driver distraction."

HOW OFFICERS (AND YOU) CAN SPOT A TEXTING DRIVER

Texting while driving is illegal in 39 states and the District of Columbia. In most of those states, it's a primary enforcement violation meaning the officer can stop a motorist solely for texting while driving, says the Governors Highway Safety Association.

The laws are having an unintended consequence. Instead of holding the phone up by their face violators are putting it down in their laps. They think officers, cops and troopers won't be able to see it, says the National Troopers Coalitions which has 45,000 members.

The troopers say these texters are more dangerous because their eyes are off the road for a longer time, but they are just as easy to spot. Generally, they act like drunk drivers, going too fast or too slow for the traffic, weaving or not paying attention when the light turns red or green. Sometimes, their heads are down and only one hand is on the wheel.

Officers advise motorists to give plenty of space to a texter because he's an accident waiting to happen. Texters are 23 times more likely to be involved in an accident than non-texting drivers.

If you spot a very dangerous driver, call 911. Police say you should never confront the individual. That's where road rage could begin.

A 2009 study showed that sending a text or email takes a driver's eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. That's about how long it takes a vehicle going 55 mph to cover the length of a football field.

A PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE COMES TO LIGHT: MANY AMERICAN ADULTS CAN'T SWIM

Swim clinics have added a new category of students to their classes: adult non-swimmers. The demand for adult swim classes has doubled in recent years. It's mainly because 37 percent of American adults lack basic swimming skills. Many would like to learn so they can swim with their children on vacations, and, of course, so they could save themselves or their children if they fall into a lake.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults, including those who can swim, make up more than 70 percent of drowning deaths in the United States each year. Adults can miss out on learning to swim if they grew up in a culture where swimming isn't popular, or if they grew up in a metropolitan or rural area without easy pool access. Others are simply afraid of water, sometimes because their parents emphasized water dangers.

Teaching adults tends to take longer and requires different techniques than those used with children. Beginner adults who take two lessons per week typically learn how to swim in about three months, says Jan Katz, professor of health and physical education at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is the author of several books on swimming.

Katz says in the first two weeks students learn to float face down and level with the water after pushing off from the wall. After one month, they glide forward with a flutter kick while holding on to a board. Arm over arm motion begins after two months, and by three months they can put it all together with appropriate breathing. Instructors sometimes break up the lesson with games but, generally, adults don't know how to play in the water.

The goal is to achieve "water competency," defined by the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Committee as being able to enter and exit water, turn 360 degrees afloat, tread water or float for one minute, and move through the water for at least
25 yards, usually the length of the pool.

SOME NEW CARS SIGNAL WHEN TIRE IS FILLED

If you're in the market for a new car you may just be able to throw away your tire gauge. Nissan is launching what it calls the Easy Fill Tire Alert system, an intuitive feature that handles everything about tire pressure except for actually putting the air in. It's built into the Altima, Sentra and Quest.

The US Department of Transportation recommends checking your tire pressure, and that includes the spare tire, at least once every month. Few drivers do it and those who do aren't sure when to stop airing. The new system gives you three short honks when you've reached the proper tire pressure.

SELF INFLATING TIRES Drivers often neglect properly inflating their tires. It damages the rubber, delivers poorer fuel mileage and poses a rollover risk. Goodyear aims to remedy that problem in 2011; the company announced that it was working on a process called "Air Maintenance Technology." It was tested on passenger cars and is being tested on commercial trucks in 2013. The Hummer already has one version, but no date has been set for offering self inflating tires on other new cars.

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