All posts in On the Road

Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Ignore Even Minor Pain If You Are Injured In A Car Accident

by Carsurfer Admin on 2015/03/25 in On the Road with Comments Off

Car accidents are serious in nature, and they cause an incredible amount of unfortunate injuries and deaths. If you’ve recently been involved in a car accident and realize you have minor pains and aches, there are plenty of reasons why you shouldn’t ignore them.

The Injury Could Be Serious

Whether it seems like it or not, there is a great likelihood that the minor pain you’re experiencing is indicative of a serious injury. It’s impossible to know what you’re dealing with without the help of medical professionals. Keep your health as a top priority by seeking medical attention right away for even the most minor of pains.

It Might Not Be Chronic

If you’ve had a history of chronic pain, you might feel inclined to brush the discomfort off. However, any pain felt directly after a car accident has taken place shouldn’t be ignored. Talk to your doctor about the types of pain and symptoms you’re experiencing.

You Could Be Stuck with Countless Medical Bills

Should you find in the future that the subtle pain turns into a serious medical issue, you’ll likely be stuck with paying hefty medical bills and prescription costs. It’s incredibly important that you talk to a lawyer early in the process about your options for receiving the compensation for the injuries you sustained.

The Injury Could Lead to Lost Income

If your pain worsens over time, you will definitely run the risk of missing work and losing income. This is why it’s incredibly important to seek medical help for your injuries. Additionally, if you happen to file a suit against a defendant and win your case, any lost income will be restored to you.

Waiting Can Worsen the Injury

When pain is felt after a car accident, one of the worst things you can do is simply wait for it to heal or get better. For example, if the pain is originating from internal bleeding, it won’t take very long for circumstances to take a critical turn. Seek medical help before your injury has a chance to become serious.

Many Serious Conditions Begin with No Symptoms

Lastly, keep in mind that even though you might feel little to no pain, the possibility is high that you’ve still sustained a serious injury. It’s always better to play it safe by consulting a physician about the matters pertaining to your car accident.

Minor pain can always indicate that there is a more serious, underlying health problem. Be sure to see a doctor right away if you experience any type of pain following an auto accident.

Teen Driving: What to do When Your Car Breaks Down

by Carsurfer Admin on 2015/03/20 in On the Road with Comments Off

There is nothing worse than having your car breakdown on the road. Not only does it make you unable to get to your destination as planned, but it’s also very scary. This is especially true for teenagers. Many don’t know the proper way to react to such an occurrence. Check out some tips for teenagers on what to do when your car breaks down:

1. Get Your Car Off the Road

As soon as you notice that your car isn’t working right, pull over to the side of the road. Remember, most vehicles don’t just stop working altogether. Instead, you usually have a short timeframe where you can drive your car safely off the road. Then, once you get to the side of the road, make sure you put your car in park. Then, flip on the emergency brake and turn your steering wheel in the opposite direction of the road. All these steps will help prevent your car from rolling out into the traffic. You should always put your hazard lights on too. This will alert the other drivers that you are experiencing car issues.

2. Call for Help

Thankfully in today’s society, practically every teenager has a working cell phone. That means when your car stops working, it’s time to pick up your phone and call for help. This can be a roadside assistance business like OnStar FMV or AAA or a local towing company such as Mike’s Auto Towing. Either way, these are qualified individuals who can talk you through your situation and offer advice on what to do next. They will know how to fix this issue so that you remain safe.

Depending on the severity of the situation of when you are pulled over, you might also consider calling the state highway patrol. They will help keep you safe and get you back on the road as soon as possible. Their emergency lights can help slow down oncoming traffic as well and help create safer surroundings. Once you have sent for help, the best thing you can do at this point is get back in your car and wait. Waiting inside of the car is the safest place you can be rather than standing next to it on the side of the road.

3. Let Other Drivers Know Your Experiencing Car Trouble

As mentioned earlier, you want to let the other drivers know that you are dealing with car trouble. Putting on your hazard lights are definitely the first step, but that’s usually not enough to fully get the point across. For instance, you could have simply pulled over to make a phone call. Instead, if you can, get out of the car and put down some road flares. You should put a few of these roughly 50 feet behind your vehicle. Besides this, you should raise the hood of your car and leave it up until help arrives.

Unfortunately when many teenagers experience car trouble, they don’t know how to react. Instead of making the right and safe move, they act foolishly. Car trouble is not something to take lightly. However, with these tips in mind, teenagers will be in good hands when the unexpected happens.

Driving Record: Tips for Cleaning Up Your Act

by Carsurfer Admin on 2015/03/18 in On the Road with Comments Off

We know by now that an adverse driving record affects how much we will pay for auto insurance. Like credit rating, our driving record may be cleaned up, gaining us the best rates. Here are a few ways to accomplish that goal and make driving a better experience for everyone.

Know Your Record

Does it contain accidents? Multiple tickets? Driving while suspended? Knowing this will help you focus on violations that are your particular issue to resolve. If you have 3 speeding tickets, no one has to tell you to let up on the gas pedal.

Look for Renewals

Get a new copy every year on your renewal date. Entries fall off after three years, except the worst of them, such as DWS and Negligent Homicide. You can learn more here about which strikes against you will count for a while. Time may be just what you need to get it cleared up in time.

Get Enough Sleep

Driving when you are tired or sleepy puts you in a vulnerable position. It is harder to focus on what you’re doing than if you get 8 hours of sleep every night.

Know the Law

Know and obey speed limits, not just patrol car locations. If you don’t know a particular speed in an area, review a driver’s manual. If you are near a school in a residential area, 25 mph is too fast. Slow down.

Keep Your Eyes Open

The most dangerous driver on the road is everybody else—and you. Be aware of who is in front, behind, and beside you. If they get too close, get out of their way. Let them have an accident somewhere else.

Keep Your Distance

Honor the rule of thumb about putting distance between you and the car in front of you. It is 1 car length for every 10 MPH. Most car lengths average around 16 feet. At 20 MPH, there should be thirty feet between you and the car in front. Learn how far that is by checking the distance between cars parked on the street. It’s more than you think it is.

Downgrade Distractions

Keep distractions to a minimum. Do not slide in a new CD, answer your cell phone, or reach over the back seat while driving. If you drop something, leave it where it lands, even if it’s your lunch. Pull over to take care of it later. Caution passengers about distractions, and don’t permit them to continue. That’s why teens can’t ride with teen drivers.

Set short-term goals for yourself. When you’ve reached your goal, put the savings away for that new car or insurance policy you want. But check how much the insurance will cost before you buy it.

5 Reasons why Truck Sales are So High Right Now (and Still Climbing)

by Carsurfer Admin on 2015/03/16 in Trucks with Comments Off

The U.S. auto industry has displayed strong growth throughout 2014 and into 2015, with automakers selling over 16.7 million units last year and that growth only expected to continue. Nowhere is the gain more apparent than in pickup truck sales, where Ford, RAM and GM have all seen double-digit percentage gains in January 2015 after a strong 2014.

What are the driving factors behind so many pickup trucks finding their way into American driveways? Here are five contributing reasons:

The Return of the Midsize Truck

Smaller, lighter trucks used to be a common sight on American roads, but U.S. automakers bowed out of the segment entirely for several years, leaving Toyota, Nissan and Honda as the sole players. The Toyota Tacoma has dominated sales even as its platform and powertrains were getting a little long in the tooth. For 2015, General Motors storms back into the midsize segment with the 27-mpg-highway Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon trucks. Buyers have responded, driving up segment sales as Toyota prepares to release a heavily updated version of its Tacoma for 2016.

New Full-Size Trucks from Ford and GM

Profitable full-size pickup trucks make up a huge portion of the Detroit Big Three automakers’ revenue. In the last 2 model years, Ford and GM have each released all-new versions of their popular full-size models, leading to an uptick in buyers who were waiting for the new-generation trucks to hit the market. The new-for-2015 Ford F-150 has made a particularly big splash with its aluminum-intensive body, bed and chassis helping cut around 700 pounds of weight when compared with the 2014 truck. While less ground-breaking, Chevrolet and GMC’s newest full-size trucks have struck a chord with legions of buyers as well, thanks to much more fuel efficient engines and comfortable interiors.

Low Fuel Prices

Toward the tail end of 2014 and into 2015, fuel prices hit their lowest levels in more than 5 years, with regular gasoline selling at less than $2 per gallon in nearly all U.S. markets. When gasoline prices go down, consumers tend to drift more toward large, powerful vehicles and away from compact cars and hybrids. The trend toward ultra-low fuel prices appears to be reversing itself, particularly on the West Coast where an explosion at a large Exxon refinery in Torrance, California has contributed to a 70-cent rise in prices in just a few weeks. Still, experts predict fuel should stay relatively affordable at least into 2016.

Luxury Truck Trim Levels

From Ford’s Platinum and Raptor trim levels to the Chevrolet High Country, RAM Laramie Longhorn and GMC Denali, pickup trucks can now be ordered with all the interior luxury and quality of a finely crafted German sedan. This luxury truck segment, with base prices reaching $50,000 or even $60,000, courts a different sort of truck buyer, one who needs the capability of a pickup but will make no compromises in comfort. These trucks, usually offered in crew cab form with expansive interiors, bring conquest buyers that may have otherwise opted for a crossover or luxury car. They are also hugely profitable for the trucks’ producers.

Incentive Wars

The mighty F-150 has been the nation’s best-selling consumer vehicle for more than 30 years. In the lead-up to the long-awaited 2015 replacement’s release, GM and RAM slashed prices and upped the level of available incentives on their own full-size models in an effort to cut into Ford’s market share. The strategy worked, with RAM gaining ground to control 21.3 percent of the truck market in the third quarter of 2014 to over 35 percent when combining totals of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. Whether the strategy of offering up to $8,500 in incentives on a new pickup is sustainable or not is another question, but buyers are the clear winners here.

What can truck buyers look for in 2015 and 2016 going forward? Nissan just debuted its all-new 2016 Titan full-size, offering 12,500 pounds of towing capacity thanks to a powerful turbo-diesel V-8 built by Cummins. Honda will debut its next Ridgeline midsize soon, and Toyota’s updated Tacoma will seek to steal back some of the midsize thunder from GM. Truck buyers have more credible options than at any time in recent memory, and sales are expected to keep flying high.

The information for this article was provided by the professionals of 99 Truck Parts & Industrial Equipment Ltd., who specialize in truck parts in Vancouver, BC.

On the Road: How to Stay Safe on Your Next Road Trip

by Carsurfer Admin on 2015/03/10 in On the Road with Comments Off

Road trips are great adventures. But whether you know exactly where you’re headed or are going wherever the wind takes you, there are plenty of things to keep in mind for your own safety, and that of your travel companions.

Get Your Vehicle Checked

Before you leave, have your vehicle checked for wheel bearings that may come loose, transmissions that may fail, and anything else that could break down. That way, you can repair what needs to be done before your trip, saving you a potential breakdown. A Colorado hit and run attorney says if your trip will take longer than a week, it is always a good idea to have the numbers of a few local repair places in every city you plan to visit on your journey. You should also carry a spare tire and toolbox just in case you get in a car accident in Colorado or a flat tire along route 66.

Look Like a Local

Don’t advertise your tourist status on your face or your vehicle. Looking confused with your face glued to a guidebook, and leaving a map on the dashboard of your parked car are bad ideas and will show that you are not from the area. Instead, look like a local. Walk as if you know where you are going, be confident when asking locals for information, and keep your maps and travel plans in the glove compartment.

Keep an Eye on Your Belongings

Park your car close to your hotel room where you can watch it from the window. The same goes for when you stop at a restaurant. You may feel silly asking to be reseated so you can be near the window with your car, but it is far better than having something get stolen while you’re eating. If you have valuables you can bring into your hotel room with you from the car, it is safest to keep them with you.

Find the Safest Places to Stay

If you know what cities you will be going to, book your hotels in advance and check the reviews. Don’t book a motel that seems like it’s in a bad area. Take note of any cancellation policies just in case you need to cancel a reservation during your travels. If you don’t know where you’re staying in advance, make sure the lodgings you find during your travels are safe and sanitary. If you find a small motel with a sign that says No Refund for Early Checkout, that likely means they get people leaving in the middle of the night due to unsavory conditions, and staying there may not be in your best interests.

"Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most her time hiking, biking and gardening. For more information contact Brooke via Twitter @BrookeChaplan."