driving - Dad of Divas

A Guide to Driving Safely with Children in the Car

April 1, 2020 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Even for the best drivers in the world, there is one element that can cause their expertise and poise to quickly disappear: a car full of excitable children!

While it can be fun to reflect on, it’s the opposite when you’re on the road and trying to get to your destination as safely as possible. Kids can throw in a wide range of distractions, from demanding something to eat to trying to unlock their passenger door, and these can result in a loss of focus.

Thankfully, there are a number of tips you can implement to help with keeping your cool and avoiding any accidents. Here is a quick guide on driving safely with children in the car.

Play a game

If you can find a game that promotes quiet behavior and keeps children engaged, you have discovered a gold mine.

One option in that regard is to go with a classic game of ‘I Spy.’ It’s creative, fun, and children of all ages can get involved. Another option could be to introduce a drawing game, where the kids depict all the sights they see during the journey.

Keep them occupied

In this day and age, traditional games might struggle to keep their attention – particularly older children. This is where the likes of tablets and smartphones come in handy. With these portable devices, you can keep kids – both young and older – occupied for hours.

To maximize the effectiveness of tablets/smartphones, ensure they are loaded up with plenty of games to play, reading apps, and videos to watch. Also, remember to supply them with headphones, as the music and sounds from these devices can cause as much distraction as the kids themselves.

Stick to the rules of the road

Above all else, you have to maintain composure and stick with the rules of the road. It’s particularly important you don’t follow any cars too closely. It only takes a split second for you to lose focus and end up crashing into the vehicle in front.

On the other hand, you might be involved in an accident due to no fault of your own. As an example, someone could perform an improper lane change and end up hitting your car. In this case, it’s vital you have the right support. For instance, FLT Law is an expert personal injury practice that deals with improper lane change accident cases, along with many other vehicle-related incidents.

Getting the right representation could be the key to ensuring you’re not faced with any costly bills that impact the future of both you and your children.

Plan accordingly

If you’re going on a long trip, it’s essential you organize a strong plan for the journey. Along with the previous points, consider the following:

Bring plenty of snacks and drinks. This will limit their insistence to stop at any restaurants and fast food joints you come across on the road
Allow for extra stops, giving them a chance to blow off steam and enjoy a change of scenery
If possible, have an extra adult in the car to keep them engaged

Additional resources:

Traveling with kids? It is prudent to know how to avoid accidents with larger vehicles
Life insurance policy quote tips for dads
Riskier behavior on the road is causing more accidents

Tips to Help You Recover After a Car Accident

January 22, 2019 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Thousands of people around the world are injured every day in car accidents. The injuries suffered can range from a few minor scrapes and bruises to far more serious injuries. It’s not just the body that gets injured either. Thousands of people suffer severe mental trauma following an accident. The recovery process can be very long, however, every situation is different. It is possible to help the recovery process along and here are some tips to help.

Get the Best Care

If you’ve been injured in a car accident, you’re going to need the best medical attention for your recovery. Things aren’t going to get better on their own, and you’re going to need medical care. Get yourself checked out as soon as possible after a car accident as ongoing medical treatment may be required.

Get Plenty of Rest

Rest plays an important role in the healing process, and you’re not going to help yourself if you push yourself too hard. For the first couple of days after the accident you can spend time in bed, but after that, it’s important you get yourself moving. The simple act of moving around plays a crucial part when you’re recovering from injuries or surgery.

Find a Respected Lawyer

Finding a reputable lawyer will mean you can concentrate on healing and recovering while they get on with making a claim for spinal injury, broken limbs and damage to your vehicle. The insurance company will be handling your claim, but a lawyer is be able to help you negotiate the process, help with communications and represent you throughout the proceedings.

When to Start Driving Again

For many people, getting back into a car for the first time can be very traumatic. The symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can last much longer than any physical injuries. There are various coping strategies you can use, but you should take it slow. At least for a while, you should avoid circumstances that will trigger your emotions. Remember that your emotional wounds will heal in time, but you have to take things slowly.

Take it Slow and Steady

You can’t rush the recovery process and may be doing more harm than good if you try to do it. It’s vital that you take things slow and listen to people who are offering their advice. This might include your doctors, lawyers, and people who are close to you. Take each small step one at a time and you’ll make much better progress.

When to Seek Additional Help

If, after 3 months, your life has not returned to normal then you may be suffering from an anxiety disorder. It doesn’t happen to everyone, but if it happens to you it can be very worrying. You might be experiencing extreme anxiety and disturbing irrational thoughts and fears. Some people have flashbacks, dreams about the accident or feel like they’re in a daze. If you’re experiencing any of these feelings, you should talk to your doctor as soon as possible. You may be referred to a psychologist, social worker, counselor or psychiatrist for additional support.

Distracted Driving and Safety On The Road

December 23, 2018 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Driving with kids can be incredibly difficult because they have a knack for getting us distracted. Whether you have siblings fighting in the back seat or you’re dealing with a teenager who is screaming at you, it is important that you concentrate on the road in front of you to avoid an accident. In some cases, distracted driving can even be a legal issue and you could be involved in quite a hefty lawsuit if it is found that you caused the accident simply because you were distracted.

How Parents Get Distracted on the Road

The reason so many parents have a difficult time driving on the road with kids in the back seat is because children are notorious for needing everything at the wrong time. They may be asking to go to the bathroom or they might be fighting with one another, causing a ruckus in the back seat. You may find that this distracts you a great deal and gets it to where you are no longer paying attention to the road in front of you. This is the reason it is so important that you focus on everything around you other than just your kids.

Rules for Driving with Kids

If you’re driving with kids, make it a rule that you will not get distracted while they are in the same car as you. Try not to make sudden jerks in the wheel just to get to the side of the road, as everything can wait until you are able to safely pull over. If you are driving with kids, it is especially important to avoid using phones and other gadgets. This is an important rule to follow even if you are going to be driving on your own. The key is to be as safe as possible at all times so that you do not need to worry about getting into or causing an accident.

Avoiding Phones and Gadgets

The most important thing about driving a vehicle is to be safe at all times and avoid using gadgets. There is nothing on your phone that cannot wait until you are able to pull safely over and look at it then. This is important because there are many accidents that are caused all the time because someone decided they were going to stay on their phone, or check text messages throughout the drive home from work or on the way to school to pick up their kids. If you have kids in the car with you, you may find yourself in hot water if it is found that you are using phones or other devices with them in the vehicle with you.

Laws Regarding These Problems

If you are found to be using a phone in the car, you could receive a pretty hefty fine and ticket. In some cases, you may even face jail time if you are using a phone with kids in the car. This is looked at as child endangerment and is something that needs to be avoided at all costs. A simple check of the phone to read a text message could result in thousands of dollars worth of tickets and the possibility of having to take classes on keeping your children safe. For this reason, you need to make sure that you avoid using any and all of these gadgets while you are driving on the road.

There are a lot of reasons to avoid using these types of gadgets while on the road. Not only can it result in distractions while driving, but it can put you, your children, and other drivers on the road at risk. If you get into an accident that you caused yourself, you may find that you are dealing with problems associated with fines, tickets, and even suspended licenses. This can be a major issue because you will not be able to drive with your current license and will notice that it makes life incredibly difficult for you and the family. The most important thing for you to consider is to watch the road while driving, and to keep any and all of the gadgets far away from reach so that you do not find yourself reaching to use them while on the road.

The 2016 Kia Sorento Offers Space, Safety and Comfort For All Families!

October 17, 2016 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

When taking a trip with a family you need space and the 2016 Kia Sorento SXL was the perfect vehicle for our family in a recent trip that we embarked upon. Why do I say this? Well, you see for us to be able to fold he seats down to the ground in the third row was SO important on this trip as we knew that we were going to have to pick up our oldest daughter from summer camp and we were going to stay away from home for a week. To be honest if we did not have a seats that folded flat, we would have been sunk, but the Kia delivered and while we were packed to the brim, we fit completely!

On top of space this vehicle was SO comfortable. The kids had all the room that they needed and they commented over and over how comfortable the seats were. I noticed right away how quiet the vehicle was and how smooth of a ride this was too.

When you are traveling for long periods you want a vehicle that makes the time feel like it is passing quickly and while I know that the Kia did not speed up time, because of the comfort I found that I was not focusing on the time that was being spent.

The vehicle was filled with so many safety features too which made me feel secure, especially with the fact that you get things like:

Dual front advanced airbags
Front seat mounted side airbags
Side curtain airbags in the 1^st and 2^nd rows
Anti-lock braking system
Blind spot detection system
And much more!

Best of all is the warranty. The Kia brand itself is so inclusive in its’ warranties. People who purchase from Kia will get:

10 year/100,000 mile limited powertrain warranty
5 year/60,000 mile limited basic warranty
5 year/60,000 mile roadside assistance

We loved how far we could get on a tank of gas too. With 22 mpg combined average and 25 mpg on the highway we did not have to fill up many times during the entire week which ended up saving us a ton of money!

Overall, for a price of $45,095 this fully-loaded Kia Sorento is a great buy for a family like mine and for yours too!

Here is a video with more of my thoughts on this great vehicle:

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Kelley Blue Book Shares Top 10 Teen Driving Safety Tips Everyone Parent Should Know

August 24, 2016 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

With so many parents around the country gearing up for in the throes of sending their kids back to school or back to college, I wanted to share the top 10 teen driving safety tips every parent should know and some other great information with you from both the editors at Kelley Blue Book and their friends at Kia.

In addition to sharing the top 10 teen driving safety tips every parent should know I also wanted to share information about the B.R.A.K.E.S. Program, a non-profit Teen Pro-Active Driving School founded by Top Fuel drag racer Doug Herbert in memory of his teenage sons, Jon and James, who were tragically killed in a car crash on Jan. 26, 2008. The B.R.A.K.E.S. curriculum includes advanced, behind-the-wheel training from professional driving instructors including: skid avoidance, distracted driving awareness, panic stopping (ABS activation), drop-wheel recovery and car control.

According to a study by Dr. Paul Friday of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the North Carolina Department of Transportation, 84 percent of all B.R.A.K.E.S. graduates since 2011 had no crashes, and 93.6 percent of all students since 2011 had no moving violations following the course. Perhaps most importantly, B.R.A.K.E.S. graduates are 64 percent less likely to be involved in a crash in their first three years of driving.

Doug Herbert has provided 10 tips you can share with you followers regarding how to keep young drivers safe on the road.

There are B.R.A.K.E.S. schools all over the country, so feel free to check them out http://www.PutOnTheBrakes.org.

Top 10 Teen Driving Safety Tips Everyone Parent Should Know

We put this one first since it is a big one! While your teen likely will never admit it, you serve as a role model and often help shape their habits – driving and otherwise. Remember to always wear your seatbelt, never drink and drive and avoid distractions – including texting!
Establish a safe driving contract with your teen. It is important to keep an open line of communication regarding safe driving habits. Visit http://putonthebrakes.org/parents-teens to download a contract today and be sure to display it in a prominent location such as your refrigerator at home as an ongoing reminder to you and your teen.
Ensure your teen does not become reliant on cruise control to maintain appropriate speeds. Cruise control should be avoided when roads are wet, since many systems do not compensate for slick roads and may cause an unintentional loss of control.
Encourage your teen to leave space between them and large trucks. An 80,000-pound truck is not very maneuverable and has many blind spots. Teach your teen to not squeeze into spaces in front of a truck. Trucks require a large stopping distance. Also, teach your teen to not ride alongside a truck, especially along the right side. Large trucks have many blind spots and often cannot see vehicles alongside them. This is especially dangerous since trucks have a large turning radius.
Encourage your teen to drive defensively. Remind your teen to keep their eyes up and look through the car ahead of them. This will help your teen be ready to respond to traffic situations around them.
Give your teen a “Hall Pass.” In other words let them know that you will give them a ride home fromANY bad situation with NO consequence. Discuss with your teen that they may have made a bad decision that could have had a very bad outcome but calling you for a safe ride home was a good decision.
Teach your teen to properly adjust their mirrors to reduce blind spots. Proper side mirror adjustment slightly overlaps with the rear view mirror, in other words, you will NOT be able to see your rear of your car in your side view mirrors, they will be adjusted farther outward and therefore reducing the blind spots.
Practice, practice and more practice. You spend countless hours practicing for sports including football, soccer, baseball, etc. with your teen. Driving with your teen is important and critical to helping them develop into a safe and responsible driver. The more hours a teen can spend behind the steering wheel of a car the better. Practice makes perfect!
Talk to your teen about safe following distances. Highway speeds require increased following distances. As a general rule of thumb the minimum following distance should be at least one car length per 10 mile per hour, in other words allow six car lengths for a speed of 60 miles per hour. At night or during poor visibility or rain these following distances need to be increased. If someone is tail gating you or following too close pull over or let them pass. Remember faster traffic is always encouraged to be in the left hand highway lanes and slower traffic and trucks in the right lanes.
Keep initial driving lessons to less than 30 minutes and increase the times commensurate with the teens’ ability. Do not bring additional passengers along and most importantly, keep your cool. Expect mistakes and don’t over-react or over-correct. Don’t expose your teen driver to heavy traffic or situations that require more advanced capabilities until you decide they are ready to tackle it.

Talking Tuesday – Do you Commute?

June 2, 2015 by dadofdivas 12 Comments

This is the next of the Tuesday Talking posts, and today we are talking about your commute. Some of you have long commute everyday while others just have to roll out of bed. Let’s talk about it!

Time to hear from you! What has been the experience that you have had with your commute? Tell me about it, I want to hear your thoughts!

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Talk to Your Teen about Winter Driving #dadchat

September 20, 2013 by dadofdivas 3 Comments

Here is a very cool Teen Driving PSA that a friend of mine made a while back. As we start getting ready for winter weather this is so important to share with our kids:

How do you talk to your own kids about this topic?

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GMC ( @thisisgmc ) Acadia Denali Offers Style and Comfort

March 14, 2013 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

I was so excited to be able to try the new 2013 GMC Acadia Denali over the past week! GMC graciously provided me with the vehicle and I put it to the test. Below is a video I made talking about some of the great features as well as my other thoughts on my time in the vehicle!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site’s Disclaimer for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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Tips for Driving with Little Ones this Winter

December 21, 2012 by dadofdivas 3 Comments

Winter Safety Tips for Driving with Little Ones

Provided by:

Julie Kleinert, North American Child Safety Technical Lead for General Motors

Kate Carr, President and CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide

1. Avoid Bulky Winter Clothes. We know you want your little ones to be warm this winter season, but please don’t strap your child into a car seat with a bulky coat as it can affect the ability of your car seat to do its job. A bulky coat can compress in a crash and create a loose car seat harness, putting your child at greater risk of injury in the unlikely event of a crash. To properly secure your child, the harness straps must be snug and close to their body.

Make sure your child’s harness is adjusted correctly yearound by using the “pinch test,” which is the best way to make sure your child is secure. First, remove bulky clothing and blankets. Make sure the harness straps are adjusted to the correct height – they should be at or just below the child’s shoulders when they ride rear-facing, and at or just above the child’s shoulders when they are forward-facing. Then buckle and tighten the harness straps. Place the chest clip at armpit level. Now pinch the strap at your child’s shoulder. If you are unable to pinch any excess webbing, you’re good to go.

2. Ensure Comfort and Safety at the Same Time. So how do you keep your little one warm and safe? Remove bulky coats and snowsuits before putting your child in their car seat or opt for outerwear that is not as heavy like a lightweight fleece or hoodie. To keep your child warm and toasty after you remove the bulky coat, you can use a blanket (or even the removed coat) placed over the tightened car seat harness. It also helps to warm the car up before leaving – those remote car starters are pretty nice and make a great holiday gift.

3. Check your Tailpipe. Before you get in your car, do a quick walk-around and check to make sure your tailpipe is not blocked with snow. A simple check can ensure you won’t have any problems with carbon monoxide, which is dangerous.

4. Prepare for Mother Nature. You never know when you might get stuck in the cold and snow, so always have an emergency bag stocked in your car. Be sure to include necessities like baby food or formula, water, diapers, extra blankets and a spare set of warm clothing. You’ll probably never need it but it’s nice to have just in case.

5. Watch Out for Sleds. One of the great things about snow is the chance to go sledding. And kids will do it anywhere, anytime, often cruising right into the street. That creates one more thing to look for when you’re driving. A few ways to be prepared are to slow down and be especially alert in residential neighborhoods and school zones, turn on your headlights earlier in the day if your car is not equipped with daytime running lamps, and, as always, reduce any distractions inside your car so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.

6. Buckle Up. This is an “all-weather” tip. We know that when adults wear seat belts, kids wear seat belts. So be a good example and buckle up for every trip. Your kids are safer in a crash when everyone in the vehicle is buckled up.

Getting to Try Out the New GMC ( @thisisGMC ) Terrain #gmcwinterdriving

December 27, 2011 by dadofdivas 9 Comments

Last week I was lucky enough to be asked to go to Steamboat Springs, Colorado to try out the new GMC Terrain in winter conditions. As I have never driven the Terrain before I was very excited about the opportunity to not only learn abotu the new car and what it offers, but also to learn more about tips for driving in winter conditions. Living in Michigan, while I know we do not have a lot of snow and ice yet it is coming very soon!

Arriving in Steamboat Springs last Thursday I had the opportunity to explore the city which was very quaint and western in Nature (which makes sense). I found some fun shops with very neat people. One of the fun stores was a store named FM Light and Sons. This was a store that has been in business since 1905. I walked in and was amazed to see that they had a whole wall of cowboy boots and another section with so many stetson hats that you can not even imagine. What I came to find was that people come to this store from over 100 miles away to get fit for hats and boots and a large amount of their orders are custom orders. What this means is that a person would have to go to the store get fit and then come back in a month or two when the boots are ready to get fit again. You might ask if I stocked up on western gear, but alas, I would have to say no. That being said though I do have to say that I was impressed though in the overall selection and the personal attention that the store provided!

The rest of the town was great and the people were very happy to have tourists in town. I walked through the entire town and found some fun gifts for my girls as well as one for my family in general (have to come back with something, right?).

The first night that I was there we had the opportunity to eat at a great restaurant called Cafe Diva (perfect name for a Dad of Divas like me) and again we were met with great hosts and amazing food. I even decided to try fresh Bison and let me tell you, if you have never tried this, it is so tender and the flavor from this restaurant was out of this world!

Day 2 was where the meat of this program took place. This was the day in which I and the rest of our group would be learning to drive in winter conditions in the new 2012 GMC Terrain. We started the day with a great overview of the Terrain itself and let me tell you from all of the things that were being explained to us, I was very impressed, but as the old saying goes, the proof is in the pudding, so it was up to the actual driving to let me get a true sense of the vehicle itself.

Getting into the vehicle I was impressed to find the large on-screen display with the

added upgrade of a navigation system. This system was great and ended up being (in my opinion) as good as the Garmin that I have in my own home. With the fact that this is only an $800 upgrade it seemed to me to be a great add-on for this vehicle. The vehicle also has some great functionality built in for stability control as well as for someone like me that is a bit shorter, I appreciated the additional controls to make it easier for me to adjust the pedals as well as my seat so that I could drive in comfort. Add onto this the rear camera as well as the new safety features that alerts you when there may be someone that could be close enough to cause a collision (don’t worry, no bells and alarms, but instead lights that were easy to understand and follow).

The Terrain handled well on main roads and when we got onto the snow it also handled well. Keep in mind that we did have snow tires on, but I can say that we had no problems with the vehicle itself. One of the things that I really liked about the vehicle (outside of what I have already related) was the fact that it was so quiet on the inside. Even with winter tires on, I found the inside to be very well insulated to outside noises which was great. I also liked the fact that you could fold the seats down to the ground for easy storage and hauling if need be.

Seeing that this was a winter driving experience, I learned quite a bit about what to have in the car with you, as well as what to do when in a slide and other treacherous conditions. Outside of this thought, one thing that I did learn was more about when to shift into first or second gear when in snowy conditions, which was good to know in any situation!

When we were done driving we had the opportunity to go outside and experience more of Colorado. I chose to try something I had never done before, snowmobiling. I had heard fun things about this, and with my bum knee being what it is I knew that I needed to try this out for myself.

Getting out on the trail with the wind in my face was exhilarating. With that and the speed behind this I can see why this is a popular winter sport. After finishing this I wanted to go out for more and now that I am back in Michigan, I may just look into doing this!

All-in-all, I was completely impressed with the Terrain as well as my trip to Steamboat Springs. I have to say thanks to GMC (@thisisgmc) for the opportunity to go and try out the vehicle as well as to experience a great town in Colorado.

If you or your family are looking for an amazing vehicle, take the new GMC Terrain for a test drive and I think that you will be as impressed as I was!

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