Pre-Drive In-Car Instruction: Lesson 9

Traffic Signs

Traffic Signs

Traffic signs are devices placed along, beside, or above a highway, roadway, pathway, or other route to guide, warn, and regulate the flow of traffic, including motor vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, equestrians, and other travelers.

Signs, like any other traffic control devices, must meet five fundamental requirements:

• Fulfill a need
• Command attention
• Convey a clear, simple meaning
• Command respect from travelers
• Give adequate time for proper response

Signs should be placed only where warranted by facts and engineering studies. Signs that are unwarranted or ineffective may distract road users from more important traffic control devices, may breed disrespect for all signs in the area, and are often a waste of valuable public agency and taxpayers' resources.

Signs should be placed as necessary for safety and proper regulation of traffic. However, the use of too many signs in a given location may reduce the effectiveness of all the signs at that location.

Traffic Signs Video One

Traffic Signs Video Two

Testing Site Two

Peephole Driving (Unscraped Windshield Driving)

Unscraped Windshield Driving Video One

It’s cold and you’re running late, so you do a rush job of clearing the snow and ice off the windshield. You pull out of the driveway, peering through a small ice or snow-free hole in the windshield just enough for you to see part of the road, hoping the wind and defroster clear the rest quickly. This tactic is known as “peephole driving” and while it is not a new trend, the winter season and new laws are bringing the issue into the spotlight.

Peephole driving significantly reduces a driver’s field of vision and increases the risk that snow or ice can become dislodged and fly off, causing injury or an accident. At the minimum, these rolling avalanches can create a slippery mess in the road. Peepholing also causes a number of blind spots around the vehicle. Visibility on many modern cars and SUVs, is compromised on the best days. Don’t risk making it worse.

We suspect you don’t care what we think, but clearing your car of snow and ice is the law. Legalities are almost beside the point, though, given that few things jack up a driver’s blood pressure in winter more than the sight of you rolling along in your two-ton igloos.

“If someone drove during the summer with cardboard taped to their windows, they would be ticketed,” said Caroline Thoms of Scandia, Minn. “It’s part of living in the snow belt. You have to take the time to scrape.”

And there it is: the sad-but-true fact that, once it starts snowing, living where the frost is a regular occurrence takes more time.

Just like it’s going to take you a little longer to get places, it’s going to take a little longer to clear off your car. Just plan on taking that extra time.

One more tip: After years of keeping his snow brush and scraper in the trunk, Zahner learned that it’s better to keep them tucked somewhere in the front seat. In sight, in mind.

While the law says only that windshield and front side windows must not be obscured “to such an extent as to prevent proper vision,” the safest drivers brush snow from their hoods, roofs, rear windows, headlights and taillights.

Unscraped Windshield Driving Video Two

Flip Flop Driving

Driving Without Shoes Video One

As the weather gets warmer, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is reminding drivers that proper shoes play a big part in safety.

During hot summer days flip-flops may be your shoe of choice until the fall air freezes your toes.

But you may think again, especially when hitting the road, after hearing the results of a recent British survey.

The company found that the flimsy footwear results in about 1.4 million close-calls and accidents each year. The company hopes that people will not take these results lightly.

They even say that flip-flops are more dangerous to drive in than high heels, making it hard to brake safely. In comparison with high heeled shoes, wearing flip-flops can take double the amount of time to move your foot from the brake pedal to the accelerator.

Another scary statistic finds that one in nine women confess that their flip-flop has been caught underneath the pedal while in drive. Under driving simulators, the company found that flip-flops actually can slow a person’s brake time by about 0.13 seconds.

Drivers should wear safe footwear that does not have an open heel such as flip-flops or sandals because these types of shoes can slip off and wedge under accelerator or brake pedals. High-heeled shoes can also be problematic because heels can get caught in or under floor mats and delay accelerating or braking when needed. Driving in bare feet, socks, or stockings can also be dangerous causing your feet to slip off the gas or brake pedals. While wearing certain types of footwear while driving or driving barefoot is not illegal, vehicle control can be compromised, and it is not recommended.

Sneakers or low heel flat shoes are encouraged. Consider keeping an extra pair of good driving shoes in your car to wear while operating your vehicle. DMV cautions drivers to be extra careful in wet weather as slippery soles make it easier for your foot to slip off the pedals.

"Our employees see it all the time," says DMV Commissioner Richard D. Holcomb. "Our customer service representatives who conduct road tests have seen flip-flops and sandals come off and get stuck under the gas or brake pedal."

In April of last year, tragedy struck in Voorheesville, New York when a driver lost control and drove through a church vestibule, killing three elderly women. The driver told investigators a flip-flop fell off while driving.

Flippity Floppity Driving Video Two

Texting While Driving

What is distracted driving?
Distraction occurs any time you take your eyes off the road, your hands off the wheel, and your mind off your primary task: driving safely. Any non-driving activity you engage in is a potential distraction and increases your risk of crashing.

Is distracted driving really a problem?
Distracted driving kills. The friends, family, and neighbors of the thousands of people killed each year in distracted driving crashes will tell you it is a very serious safety problem. The nearly half a million people injured each year will agree.

Who are the most serious offenders?
Our youngest and most inexperienced drivers are most at risk, with 16% of all distracted driving crashes involving drivers under 20. But they are not alone. At any given moment during daylight hours, over 800,000 vehicles are being driven by someone using a hand-held cell phone.