Stay Safe on the Road Through Defensive Driving Tactics

Everybody has to drive. We all rely on our cars for necessary commuting and recreational travel. But so many cars on the road make it difficult to feel totally confident that we will reach every destination intact. Accidents happen. If you are in an accident, your status quo is turned upside-down. If the accident is minor you can take a check from the insurance company to your local body shop, put a band-aid on your scratches, and get back to normal. If the accident is more serious, getting back to normal takes more effort, time, and money. If you live in Pennsylvania, a Pittsburgh personal accident attorney can help you to sort things out and get the resources to cover your medical needs and replace your car. A Pittsburgh personal injury attorney has the knowledge and experience to bring order to the chaos in your life.

However, avoiding an accident is always preferable to surviving one. The best way to avoid an accident is to practice what is commonly called defensive driving. The concept of defensive driving is that the driver pays close attention to all of the traffic around him and anticipates the possible actions of the other drivers to be able to be able to react quickly in order to avoid or prevent a possible accident. For example, be aware of the blind spot. I am sure that you have had experiences of trying to change lanes. In this instance, you hope that the person in your blind spot is practicing defensive driving to react quickly to your "misstep" and avoid a fender bender. You need to turn this scenario around and think of yourself as being in the blind spot of another driver. Keep a sufficient distance between your car and the one in front of you so that, in case you are in another driver's blind spot, you can easily give him room to fit into the space in front of you.

Another important safety point is to concentrate on your driving. Keep your eyes on the road in front of you, but also always be aware of what is happening behind you and to each side. And do not do anything but control the car. That means you need to stay off your cell phone. Do not make calls, do not text, and do not carry on long, involved conversations. Another source of distraction is the radio. The radio is a bigger problem for younger drivers because they lack experience and because the song that is playing is such an important part of the driving experience for them.

The last bit of advice for defensive driving is to keep your cool. If the driver behind you wants to get in front of you, just let him. What difference does it make to your arrival time? (Of course, do not hold up traffic. Travel with the flow.) Never do anything that would work another driver into a case of road rage.

Last of all; remember that if we all drive cooperatively, we will all get to our destinations more easily.

Over the Counter Medicines and Driving

Over the Counter Medicines that Affect Driving

When you see someone driving badly down the road, you probably immediately suspect that they are either under the influence of alcohol. It is easy to blame alcohol for all types of bad driving, but there are actually a number of things which can affect driving ability and a number of them can be purchased at any drugstore or grocery store.

Certain over the counter drugs can create a serious problem if the person who is using them makes the ill thought out decision to get behind the wheel even though they can tell that some of their senses or mental capacity is greatly hindered.

How Drivers under the Influence of Certain OTCs Appear on the Road

For the most part, a person that is on a certain drug that impairs driving ability will be engaging in all the same typical driving patterns of people that are under the influence of alcohol. Look out for certain signs in order to identify these drivers. Indicators that a driver is under the influence of a mind altering OTC drug include:

• Erratic driving in any way

• Fast lane changes which are not carefully thought out. This includes cars that are "road weaving" or quickly changing lanes and weaving between cars.

• Very fast driving-like alcohol, these drugs can cause the driver to be unaware of how they are driving.

• Very slow driving-these drivers find it difficult to operate their vehicle while on the mind alerting OTC and thus slow down to ridiculous paces which they assume will make driving easier. This slow driving can result in serious accidents as it greatly disrupts the natural flow of traffic.

• Swerving-basic things such as staying in one lane can seem like a very difficult endeavor to undertake on these drugs.

What Types of Over the Counter Drugs Cause Mental Impairment

Most people do not have to worry about popping an aspirin or ibuprofen while they are driving unless they have a very specific adverse reaction. But OTC drugs that often cause mental impairment include and should not be combined with driving include:

• Cold and Flu drugs-anything used to treat cold and flu symptoms most likely contain drugs that may alter your mental state.

• Decongestants

• Anti-histamines