KIDS, CARS, AND CAR SEATS

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According to NBC News, about 340 children have died from being left unattended in a vehicle in the last 10 years. Such tragedy does not have to happen; it can be avoided. Here are some suggestions you might want to incorporate into your daily routine if you have small children in your car.

• Put something you'll need like your cell phone, handbag, lunch, or briefcase on the floor in the back seat.
• Get into the habit of always opening the back door of your vehicle every time you reach your destination.
• Ask your child's day care provider to phone you if your child doesn't show up when expected. Many children's lives could have been saved by a telephone call. Give childcare providers all phone numbers, including those of family members or friends.
• If you see a child alone in a vehicle, call 911 immediately.
• Keep a large teddy bear in the child's car seat when it's not occupied. When the child is placed in the seat, put the teddy bear in the front passenger seat.

Remember that driving a car is the single most dangerous thing we do each day. Always be sure to use an age-appropriate car seat when you have a small child in the car.

And, although flying on a scheduled airliner is certainly safer than riding in a car, don't forget the car seat if you are flying with your little one.

If you don't have -- or cannot afford -- a car seat, there are several agencies that can help. Please call your insurance office and they can put you in touch with the right people.

AVOID PHONE CONVERSATIONS AND TEXTING BEHIND THE WHEEL

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According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver distractions are a contributing cause in approximately 25 percent of all motor vehicle crashes or about 1.2 million accidents. However, distractions can be hard to quantify, and the number of accidents due to driver distractions is difficult to define. What can further complicate matters is that there may be more than one distraction, such as texting while chastising a child in the backseat.

Cell phones are considered one of the leading driver distractions. As a result, more communities are placing restrictions on drivers' use of cell phones. And more states are now passing laws banning the practice of texting while driving. The U.S. Congress is even considering a federal law related to this ban. The following tips are offered to motorists in regards to cell phone use in vehicles.

• You should never text message while driving. One study indicates that when drivers engage in texting, their collision risk was 23 times greater than when not texting. Another study found that texting while driving is more dangerous than drunken driving.
• You should wait until the car trip is complete before placing a call. Your cell phone's voice mail feature should answer a call while you are driving.
• Absolutely essential calls should only be performed while stopped. However, it is not wise to pull over on the side of the road, where a rear-end collision is possible. Instead, you should pull into a parking lot to perform this task.
• The phone should be placed where it is easy to see and reach.
• You should take advantage of speed dialing capabilities.
• You should never drive and talk on the cell phone during stressful, emotional, or complex discussions since the risk of an accident is heightened.
• If you must occasionally use a cell phone while driving, you should consider using a hands-free cellular phone since some studies indicated that these are safer to use.

CELL PHONES AND DRIVER DISTRACTIONS

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver distractions are a contributing cause in approximately 25 percent of all motor vehicle crashes or about 1.2 million accidents. However, distractions can be hard to quantify, and the number of accidents due to driver distractions is difficult to define. What can further complicate matters is that there may be more than one distraction, such as eating while chastising a child in the backseat. In addition, vehicles have become much more sophisticated with options such as navigation systems, DVD players, and video games.

Cell phones are considered one of the leading driver distractions. As a result, more and more communities are placing restrictions on drivers' use of cell phones. The following tips are offered to motorists in regards to cell phone use in vehicles.

• You should wait until the car trip is complete before placing a call.
  Your cell phone's voice mail feature should answer a call while you are driving.
  
• Absolutely essential calls should only be performed while stopped.
  However, it is not wise to pull over on the side of the road, where a rear-end collision is possible. Instead, you should pull into a parking lot to perform this task.
  
• The phone should be placed where it is easy to see and reach.
  
• You should take advantage of speed dialing capabilities.
  
• You should never drive and talk on the cell phone during stressful, emotional, or complex discussions since the risk of an accident is heightened.
  
• You should consider using a hands-free cellular phone since some studies indicated that these are safer to use.
  
• You should never text message while driving.