A Driving School in Sarasota Asks, "What’s in a Car’s Safety Rating?"
Sarasota, FL (PRWEB) April 15, 2014 -- Driving School of Florida, based in Sarasota, asks drivers to remember that the vehicle safety ratings are only as valid as the skills and knowledge of the operator. Very few, if any, people would consider buying a new car from a manufacturer/dealer that touted a one or two star safety rating given by those independent organizations that assign such things.
We all have a tendency to believe that the bigger the number of stars the better your chances of surviving a crash. While this is fundamentally true because stars equal design safety features, we tend to forget that survivability has a prerequisite – you must first need to be saved.
Please understand that we are not suggesting that you ignore these ratings and buy any old vehicle. Rather you must realize first and foremost that your safety in the vehicle you purchase is directly proportional to how that vehicle is consistently operated.
NASCAR drivers would not get into their vehicles without knowing the safety features that can save their lives in the event of a crash. But they also know that they are going to reduce their margin of a crash down to a razor’s edge as they run the race. They are highly trained and skilled in their ability to operate on this razor’s edge. Sometimes they lose their lives as a result but one thing remains true – if they don’t take part in the race there is almost no chance they will be injured in a crash regardless of safety features available in that race.
When you buy and operate a vehicle or buy one for your children to operate you must remain aware that you/they cannot do anything you want to in the vehicle except continuously operate it safely. If you choose to add something (texting, phones, shaving, makeup, etc.) that cannot increase your margin of safety then you are allowing that same margin to decrease. Under those conditions the number of stars on your vehicle’s safety rating then becomes important. You must also recognize that those same devices that can save your life in a vehicle crash can, and do, inflict serious injury, even death, when they are deployed.
The very best way to operate a vehicle of any sort, other than just sitting in it, is with your primary focus on the task at hand. A useful “tool” that you can benefit from while operating your vehicle is actively using the following acronym – S.I.P.D.E.R.
(S) is to search around you all the time, (I) is to identify those things in your search that you could interact with or they with you, (P) is to predict what those things identified are about to do, (D) is to decide what you intend to do in response to those predictions, (E) is to properly execute the plan you just formulated and (R) is to repeat the entire process on a continuous basis. If performed continuously and consistently the result will be no accident.
Please drive safely since you only get one chance to do it – so SIPDER all the time.
Based in Sarasota, the Driving School of Florida, is a locally owned and operated business providing training, knowledge and evaluations of new and experienced drivers. Please call 941-926-9650 for more information.
Steve Dziadik, Driving School of Florida, http://www.drivingschoolFL.com, +1 (941) 926-9650, [email protected]
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