Florida residents have good reason to exercise caution whenever they drive around commercial trucks. The trucking industry continues to see rising accident numbers, which has been reinforced by a new report from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This report is unique in that it focuses on serious crashes involving dump trucks and ready-mix concrete delivery trucks (serious refers to anything that requires the truck to be towed away).
A low BAC doesn't mean alcohol didn't cause a crash
If you are like other Fort Walton Beach residents, you may be under the impression that as long as your blood alcohol content remains below .08, it is safe for you to drive. Sadly, the state's identification of that BAC as the legal limit for drinking and driving is dangerously misleading.
Why drunk driving can be so dangerous
If a person in Florida has a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or higher, he or she is legally drunk. At this point, there is enough alcohol in the system to make it hard to react properly to changing road conditions. Younger adults are more prone to causing drunk driving accidents that result in death as opposed to older individuals. This is generally true even if they have had the same amount to drink.
Advanced vehicle safety tech could solve rising accident rate
When people shop for new cars in Florida, they encounter many vehicles equipped with safety technologies like lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, front crash prevention and automatic emergency brakes. With increasing numbers of vehicles equipped with systems designed to prevent crashes, a report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety predicted that accident numbers could decline by 20 to 30 percent by the 2030s. A separate analysis from Bank of America Merrill Lynch agreed that the advanced safety technology could compensate for the problems that have been driving the accident rate upward for seven years.
What Florida drivers should know about ZF's external airbags
External airbags are an emerging safety feature that could reduce vehicle occupants' injuries by as much as 40 percent. This is according to new safety data from the ZF Group, one of many car parts manufacturers that are developing external airbag technology. While these airbags are far from being perfected, much less implemented on vehicles, ZF has a concrete strategy for moving forward.
Recommended steps to prepare for winter driving
With the approach of winter, drivers in Florida will need to prepare themselves and their vehicles. While winters in the Sunshine State are often mild, inclement weather is still a possibility. That's why it's wise to have a mechanic ensure that components like brakes, an ignition and batteries are ready for the cold. The mechanic could also check tire pressure and antifreeze levels. Drivers should know the function of basic safety features like anti-lock braking and traction control.
Your safety in road construction zones
Road construction in Florida is a never-ending frustration. Construction crews no sooner finish with one road when they are already at work tearing up another street. It may seem at times like every project the Florida Department of Transportation undertakes is along your route to and from work.
