Black Friday Driving Survival Tips

Black Friday is a crazy day to be out and about, roads and parking lots are packed with impatient and short tempered drivers.

According to Progressive Insurance there are 34% more car accidents on Black Friday, 25% more accidents on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and 20% more accidents on Thanksgiving Day compared to the two weeks before and after. . On Black Friday, 31% of insurance claims tell of  incidents happening in parking lots

Here are a few tips to stay safe on the road and in parking lots on Black Friday

• Start at home, make a list of the places you want to go to, organize the drive to be efficient. For some it’s in term of time or mileage but for most it’s going to be decided based on advertised deals (wink). Use apps to check traffic

• Make sure you are rested and sober, don’t drink and drive there is going to be a lot of sobriety checks over the holidays

• Traffic is going to be heavy, drive defensively, avoid distractions like eating, drinking coffee, cell phones

• Keep your distance while driving, stay calm, there is going to be a lot of crazy driving, people rushing, not paying attention (According to USA Today , approximately 80 percent of all U.S car accidents accidents are related to distracted drivers) and yes driving while under the influence

• It’s not until you get to the parking lot though that the Wild West really begins. Parking can be one of the biggest hassles on the biggest shopping day of the year. Drivers are fighting over spots, parkings are jam-packed aisles are narrow, Black Friday parking is an accident waiting to happen.

  • Drive slowly, stay in the middle of the aisles, you will be able to anticipate other drivers’ moves sooner. remember that 25 percent of parking lot accidents in the U.S. are caused while someone is backing out of a parking spot

  • Be aware of children, they are excited and while parents are busy loading packages in the car or exiting the car, children can run around and pop from between parked cars, watch out for them when driving in or out of a parking spot

  • Don’t try to get the closest parking spot, the longer you drive around searching for a close parking spot the more likely you are to get into an accident or have to deal with short tempered drivers. When you park further away, there is less competition for parking spot, you’ll get out of the parking lot faster and as an added bonus you can give your Fitbit or smart watch a workout and get those steps in, especially welcome after the big Thanksgiving meal.

  • Be considerate, a lot of people drive big SUVs and when parking next to one or worse between two, it is very hard for drivers backing out to see incoming vehicles. Give them some slack and let them back out.

  • At night, park in well lit areas, park in view of police lookout and security cameras in light poles

  • Always be aware of your surroundings

  • Do not leave anything in plain view in your car

From all of us at Stroyer Brothers, have a fun and safe Thanksgiving weekend

Getting Your Car Ready For A Road Trip

Holidays are around the corner and many will take road trips to visit family, go on vacation, go camping. Now is the time to make sure your car will take you safely to your destination. What should you check your car for?

Let’s take a walk around the car and get it ready for the trip

• Tires:

  1. Are they correctly inflated? Most tire stores will check your tire pressure at no charge or you can check them yourself, most gas stations have an air station and for a few quarters you can check the air pressure, you may even have one of those multi use gizmo that also has a compressor. Ideally you want to do it before driving and before your tires get warm. Check the recommended pressure, on most cars you will find it on the driver side pillar.

  2. Do you have enough thread left to drive safely in the rain and if you are going up the mountains, in the snow. again, you can go to a tire store or do the penny test or as new studies suggest, replacing the penny with a quarter

• Windows and mirrors:

  1. Are they clean inside and out? Most clean the outside windows regularly or when they wash the car, most try to avoid cleaning the inside, especially the windshield but a dirty inside windshield is a safety risk. Dust on the outside and the film on the inside both increase glare and as a result driver fatigue, reduces visibility, and increases the risk of accident

  2. Don’t forget the rear window. I know, it’s a pain to clean on sedans and coupes but with time they also get dirty and create glare from headlights at night

• Windshield wipers

  • When did you last check your windshield wipers?

  • I know, we live in Southern California and it does not rain much but windshield wipers bake on the hot windshield for months and damages the blades. You should change your wipers at least twice a year and when they streak on the windshield

  • Check the windshield wiper fluid. Are you going to be driving in freezing temperatures? Chose the right fluid, some are designed for Winter driving and will not freeze

• Lights:

  • Check all lights, it’s not just about seeing it’s also about being seen.

  • Are your headlights working

  • Are they clear (with time, plastic headlights become cloudy and reduce visibility, check out our blog post on clearing cloudy headlights)

  • Your brake lights

  • Your blinkers

  • Your back up light

  • Your warning signals

  • Replace the bulbs if necessary, if one side goes out, change both sides, the other side bulb is likely to go out soon and keep spares in your car

• Clean the inside of your car:

A road trip is a good opportunity to do that cleaning and vacuuming you have been procrastinating

Now let’s open the hood:

• Are you due for an oil change?

• Check your levels:

  • Engine oil

  • Brake fluid

  • Power steering fluid

  • Transmission

  • Coolant

  • Windshield wiper fluid (have an extra bottle in your trunk in case you run out, especially if you encounter bad weather)

• Check your battery

  • Do you see any sign of corrosion (you know that white powder around the terminals. Corrosion can prevent the car from starting and the battery from charging.

  • If you do, clean them, you can use a wire brush or buy a battery cleaner spray your local auto store, when you are done spray a battery terminal protector

  • You can also go to your local mechanic, auto store or battery store to get the battery tested.

From all of us at Stroyer Brothers

Happy trails and be safe