Infuriating Interstate Situations and How To Deal With Them

Posted on Nov 19, 2024 in Safety | 3 comments

Coming back recently from a cross-state road trip, I have to admit I was tempted at least four times to follow a car until it stopped and then remove its valve stems. Some people just aren’t good enough drivers to traverse the Interstate system. I know it’s not my place to police America’s highways, but if a little vigilante justice results in a bad driver...

Volvo Can’t Decide What It Wants to Be—Safe or Naughty

Posted on Mar 13, 2024 in Safety | Comments Off on Volvo Can’t Decide What It Wants to Be—Safe or Naughty

Since 2008, Volvo has undertaken a noble effort called Vision 2020 that declares: “By 2020, nobody shall be seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo.” The company’s objective is to integrate “preventative and protective safety systems in the car,” while studying driver behavior and developing ways to protect pedestrians. Computer World reported the story as...

Red Light Cameras: Not Too Many People Love Them

Posted on Nov 8, 2023 in Safety | 1 comment

It’s like harassment, right? The gummint has just entered another area that should be private. And cash-starved cities have found another way to milk their citizens. Red light cameras have no fans among drivers, even those who drive safely. The devices have been springing up all over the U.S. for some years now, and their use has generated a lot of public...

How to Expose Hidden Problems in Used Cars

Posted on Sep 7, 2023 in Safety | 2 comments

People trying to sell used cars can be downright desperate to unload their driveway-bound sheet metal in order to pocket some quick cash. While scams or intentionally deceptive sales tactics from sellers aren’t particularly common, they do happen. More often, instead of trying to hide problems, sellers simply don’t mention them. When I, for example, was selling...

Stealing Cars for Fun and Profit: Cadillac Escalade Tops Most-Stolen List

Posted on Apr 25, 2023 in Safety | 1 comment

In Malaysia, they like to steal Protons. In the U.S., it’s the Cadillac Escalade, which has made the top of the theft-loss list (prepared by the Highway Loss Data Institute), for the last six of seven years. In 2005 there were an estimated 1.2 million U.S. vehicle thefts; in 2008, totals were declining, below 1 million. After the Escalade, the next-most-stolen...

Used-Car Shopping: How To Satisfy Man and Woman

Posted on Jan 11, 2023 in Safety | 1 comment

Men and women look for very different things when they shop for cars. I know, that’s not exactly shocking news, which is why I was surprised to read about a study by the brilliant minds at CNW Market Research. The firm conducted a study leading to the “discovery” that personal tastes in a vehicle vary greatly depending on gender and age. Groundbreaking stuff,...

Don’t Roll Your Car This Summer

Posted on Dec 25, 2022 in Safety | Comments Off on Don’t Roll Your Car This Summer

The white Tahoe sat in the median between the north and south lanes of the freeway. Personal belongings were scattered for dozens of feet in all directions. The rear window was broken out, and about 10 people milled around inspecting the damage. This could have been any of the accidents that are unfortunately all too familiar on American Interstates, except...

The Early Death of the 3-Wheeled Car?

Posted on Dec 23, 2022 in Safety | 3 comments

Starting a car company is probably one of the most difficult of all business ventures. Even the best ideas can fail due to a lack of funds or stifling government regulatory requirements. And yet, people still try. The people who start car companies do so because they believe they can change, or improve upon, the current state of automobile design,...

Are Collision Avoidance Systems Really Necessary?

Posted on Nov 22, 2022 in Safety | Comments Off on Are Collision Avoidance Systems Really Necessary?

“Hey, watch this, kids,” I said as I lifted my feet off the pedals off my 2013 Subaru Legacy. “This car’s so cool because it senses cars in front of it and stops itself.” I should mention that I was on the Interstate going about 60 miles per hour as traffic up ahead slowed to a crawl. With my car careening toward the brake lights, I trusted the car would...

Don’t Be the Next Victim of a Rollover Accident

Posted on Nov 20, 2022 in Safety | Comments Off on Don’t Be the Next Victim of a Rollover Accident

Cars can roll over more easily than you might think. In the time it takes to blink, a driver can be cruising the highway and then suddenly find his or her vehicle tumbling side-over-side. According to SaferCar.gov, 33 percent of all passenger-vehicle fatalities are caused by rollovers. You might read that and assume it won’t happen to you because you’re a safe...

Toyota Prius: Most Stolen Car in America?

Posted on Oct 19, 2022 in Safety | 2 comments

Imagine the movie “Gone in 60 Seconds” with a Prius in place of the Shelby GT500. Not very exciting, is it? Car theft has been romanticized in movies and video games, but the reality is far less exciting. Cars are stolen every day in this country, and it happens in plain site at grocery stores, in home driveways, and in mass-transit parking lots. Instead of...

The Start/Stop Button: A Silent Killer?

Posted on Oct 17, 2022 in Safety | 3 comments

A huge lawsuit against ten of the world’s largest automakers was quietly filed last summer. The suit claims at least 13 people have died due to a major safety defect in automobiles made by BMW/MINI, Mercedes-Benz, FIAT/Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda/Acura, Hyundai/Kia, Nissan/Infiniti, Toyota/Lexus, and Volkswagen/Bentley. The issue has nothing to do...