Happy New Year!

Driver’s New Years Resolutions

Since it’s almost 2013, it’s time to decide what habits you want to make (or break) going into the new year! Make 2013 the year you resolve to stay safe when driving. Try following these 10 New Year’s safety resolutions from Consumer Reports:

1. Always buckle up. Seat belts save over 12,000 lives a year by protecting passengers from hitting hard vehicle surfaces or being ejected from the vehicle in a crash.
2. Not use my cell phone behind the wheel. In 2010, over 3,000 people died in crashes related to using a cell phone or texting while driving. Put the phone down or pull over to use it.
3. Never drink and drive or drive drowsy. Over 10,000 people die in drunk driving car crashes each year. If you plan on drinking, make sure you have a designated driver or hand over your keys.
4. Yield to pedestrians and bicyclists. Pedestrians make up 12 percent of all motor vehicle deaths each year and bicyclists about 2 percent. Drivers need to be especially diligent around crosswalks and remember to look both ways for bikes even on one-way streets.
5. Drive the speed limit. Speeding is a factor in about one-third of all fatal crashes.
6. Wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle. Studies show that the use of motorcycle helmets is 42 percent effective at preventing deaths and 69 percent effective at preventing head injuries.
7. Model good behavior when driving children around. Children learn from their parents. Don’t show them bad habits.
8. Always use a proper car seat. Children under age 8 should be secured in a proper car seat and all children under 12 should be in the back seat.
9. Stop at red lights. Red light running killed 676 people and injured 113,000 in 2009 and most of those killed were occupants in other vehicles. Stop at red lights and slow down on yellow.
10. Maintain your vehicle and tires. Performing regular tire checks and routine maintenance will help to ensure your vehicle will stay in optimal condition.

Read the original article here: http://bit.ly/vnfxkR

How Do Turn Signals Work?

Your turn signal can not only notify other drivers of your intentions, it can help pedestrians know what you’re planning to do. If you fail to signal, you could put your car and its passengers in danger. Want to learn more about the interesting technology behind your signal? Read more:

In the American southeast, which up until recently was comprised mainly of small towns, it's said that drivers don't use their turn signals because everyone knows where you're going anyway. Turn signals may be the most underutilized device on a car. Yet signaling is one of the most important actions you can take as a driver, warning other drivers of your impending moves to minimize hazardous surprises. You might not see a car in your blind spot, but that car's driver might see your turn signal start to blink before you move into his lane. Failing to signal may be the cause of quite a few accidents, and is probably a big source of "road rage" as well.

Get the full article here: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/turn-signal.htm

5 Simple Ways to Drive Safe in the Snow

Going dashing through the snow this holiday season? Make sure you’re ready for anything winter has to throw at you by following these tips from the NHTSA:

Keep yourself and others safe by planning ahead before you venture out into bad weather.

• Check the weather, road conditions, and traffic; plan to leave early if necessary.
• Don't rush! Allow plenty of time to get to your destination safely.
• Familiarize yourself with directions and maps before you go, and let others know your route and anticipated arrival time.
• Keep your gas tank close to full. If you get stuck in a traffic jam or in snow, you might need more fuel to get home or keep warm. Note: To avoid carbon monoxide poisoning when stuck in snow, be sure to keep your vehicle's exhaust pipe clear of snow and ice, run your vehicle only in the open with the windows partially down, and run it only long enough to keep warm.
• If road conditions are hazardous, avoid driving if possible. Wait until road and weather conditions improve before venturing out in your vehicle.

Carry items in your vehicle to handle common winter driving tasks such as cleaning off your
windshield as well as any supplies you might need in an emergency. Keep the following on hand:

• Snow shovel, broom, and ice scraper.
• Abrasive material, such as sand or kitty litter, in case your vehicle gets stuck in the snow.
• Jumper cables, flashlight and warning devices, such as flares and markers.
• Blankets for protection from the cold.
• A cell phone, water, food, and any necessary medicine (for longer trips or when driving
• in lightly populated areas).

Read the full article and get more tips from the NHTSA here: http://1.usa.gov/XLk5La

Top 5 Signs of Engine Trouble

5. Warning Lights: If your car is working properly, these are what Audra Fordin of "What Women Auto Know" calls "hello, good morning" lights. You fire up theengine and the dashboard lights up like carnival. This is the car's computer checking everything out. One by one, each of the lights turns off and you're ready to drive.

If they don't turn off, though, that's bad. Either very bad or slightly bad, depending on which light remains lit. These lights are connected to sensors that monitor everything your car does. If something seems out of whack, the computer will use these lights to tell you what it is. It can't use its words; it's not KITT, you know.

The lights you'll probably want to pay the most attention to are:

• Check Oil/Oil Level Low
• Oil Pressure Low
• Check Engine

The "Check Engine" lamp is perhaps the most troubling of lights because it could mean so many different things, from "you didn't screw the gas cap on tightly enough" to "look out for pistons flying through the hood and into the stratosphere." The easiest way to find out what this light is telling you is to hook your vehicle up to a scan tool. This diagnostic tool looks a little like an oversized calculator and plugs into a communication port inside the car. After you instruct it to perform the scan, it "speaks" with your car's computers to find out exactly what's prompting the light to turn on.

You can purchase your own tool from an auto parts store for less than $100, but then what? You're probably not going to put on your coveralls and crawl under the hood yourself. Instead, visit a service station, where a technician will use the scan tool to identify the trouble.

4. Doing the Jerk: Driving should be free of jerking, surging, or stalling. It should be smooth and easy, more like ballet than Beyonce. What's cool in the club is not cool in an engine.

But if your car is popping and locking, that's a pretty strong sign of engine trouble. It could be due to fouledspark plugs, clogged fuel lines or fuel filter, the main computer reading the driving situation wrong, or many, many other issues.

The last thing you want is for your vehicle to take its own sweet time accelerating, or to give out entirely, as you're merging onto a busy highway with other vehicles barreling down behind you. Likewise, high revving at idle or acceleration that's out of your control are situations you should have a qualified technician investigate and repair as soon as possible.

Preventive maintenance, including regular oil changes and belt replacements at recommended intervals help to keep you out of the danger zone.

3. Rude noises: A tapping or popping that sounds like Barney doing deep knee bends (which never happens), for instance, could indicate detonation taking place within the engine's cylinders. This happens when gasoline ignites prematurely in the combustion chamber of the cylinders and can potentially result in expensive piston damage.

If you hear a grinding noise when you attempt to start your car, your starter motor might need to be adjusted or replaced. If you hear grinding when shifting between gears, it could be transmission replacement time! It's not as fun as it sounds. And if you're driving a manual transmission, do not listen to Uncle Barney when he says, "Grind it 'til you find it."

In most cases, a little bit of noise from either your car or Uncle Barney -- like a mild ticking or clicking -- might be normal. Cars with roller rockers in their valve trains, for instance, emit some ticking noise; and fuel-injected vehicles also produce slightly audible clicks from the injectors [source: 2CarPros.com].

If in doubt, listen intently, try to track down the general area of the noise as best you can and then attempt to explain it in as much detail as you can to a qualified service professional.

2. Foul Smells: Cars rarely smell delightful. They're burning gasoline or diesel fuel, there's hot metal under the hood, and your brother ate a burrito just before he got in the passenger seat. There's not much you can do about your brother besides open all the windows and monitor his lunch intake, but any other automotive smells that make it into the passenger compartment spell trouble.

The scent may signal oil or coolant leaking from their normally closed-loop systems, or it may indicate dangerous exhaust gases invading your car's interior. Car and truck exhaust contains toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, so if the inside of your car smells as if you were standing behind your car, get out and get it fixed. Fight the urge to take a little nap first. So sleepy. That's the carbon monoxide talking, friends. At least open a window on your way to the shop.

The smell of burning rubber could mean you just did an awesome smoky burnout, or it could be telling you that drive belts or accessory belts beneath the hood are damaged, loose, or worn out. It could also mean that a rubber hose carrying important fluids is touching something that it shouldn't -- something that's too hot and is melting the rubber.

In any case, it's a good idea to act sooner rather than later, as these nasty smells could be linked to a much more crucial and expensive component.

1. Smoke Signals: Smoke can come from the front or back of the car, and it's not good in either case. But the tailpipe will send-up colored smoke in attempt to tell you what the problem is. Here is your secret decoder ring:

Blue smoke: Oil is escaping from its intended passageways within the engineand is being burned along with fuel. Of course, you could always keep adding engine oil to the crankcase to prevent it from being all burned up (and risking serious engine damage), but the smart thing to do would be to take the car in to have any worn or damaged seals repaired [source:Torbjornsen].

White smoke: Water condensation or antifreeze has mixed with the fuel supply. Again, adding coolant or antifreeze to your car's cooling system will keep your car from overheating for as long as you remember to keep feeding the reservoir, but the wise move is to have it checked out as soon as possible.

If the smoke is coming from under your hood, that probably means you ignored white smoke coming out of the tailpipe, and now your engine is overheating. Or maybe you completely forgot to add coolant at all, and the engine overheated.

Article courtesy of: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/diagnosing-car-problems/mechanical/5-signs-engine-trouble.htm#page=5