What Your Car Color Says About You

Do you have any summer vacations planned or do you have any road trips coming up? Your car is the most important piece of this trips so it is important to treat it as a priority. Make sure you’re taking all the right steps for a stress-free, smooth sailing vacation from the moment you leave the driveway to the moment you return. Here are some tips and tricks we suggest: Functionality. Check to make sure everything is functioning correctly and all fluid is filled. Make sure your windshield wipers aren’t streaking and your windshield wiper fluid is filled. Also, if you’re due for an oil change or tire rotation soon, you should schedule a service appointment before you leave. Battery life. Having a dead battery during vacation can certainly kill your vibe which is why you should look out for these warning signs before leaving: The engine is taking longer than usual to turn over Your check engine light could mean problems with your battery Battery fluid is low (look for a translucent area of the casing to check fluid level) A very swollen battery case could mean the battery has gone bad A very foul smell around the battery means the battery needs some cleaning or your car may not start If you’ve had the same battery for more than 3 years, it is a good idea to have it checked on a yearly basis If you do not know how old your battery is, you can check the code on the cover of the battery case. The first letter shows the month, the number that follows indicates the year. Status of Tires. Before leaving for a road trip make sure you take a look at your tires to see if there are any tears or bulges on the side wall. Also, check the treads to make sure there is still enough there to create traction in case it rains. Finally, find out what the pressure of your tires are suppose to read (you can typically find this on the inside of the drivers door) to make sure your tires are ready to hit the road. Brake. With any road trip normally comes traffic. Stop by your local mechanic and have them look at your brake pads so you can brake easily with any amount of traffic. Emergency kit. Your car should have an emergency kit in it at all times. This kit should include a flashlight, a blanket, a phone charger, a first aid kit, basic tools and some water and snacks. Hopefully you’ll never have to use them, but play it safe and keep it in your car. Load capacity. On the inside of the drivers side door you should be able to find the load capacity your car allows for. This number includes both luggage and passengers so make sure you don’t go over. Also, when using roof-top cargo, you should only be packing light, bulky items in these. Having a heavy load on top of the car will not only decrease fuel efficiency but it will also make for more difficult handling of the vehicle. GPS. Although some may prefer to use maps or printed directions, a GPS is useful in that it can find local gas stations and restaurants along the way. A GPS can also detect upcoming traffic and re-route to a different way that doesn’t have as much traffic. Some systems can even send emergency help to your location if you need it. Kids. If you are traveling with kids in the car, make sure to pack enough entertainment to keep them occupied. Whether it be books, movies, video games or card games - driving is much less stressful with quiet, content children. You’ll also want to make sure to pack enough snacks and water to keep them full. Follow the rules of the road and be patient with any traffic you hit. If you find you become more frustrated and more aggressive with the increase of traffic, consider leaving before the sun rises or after rush hour that way you are less likely to hit the more intense traffic throughout the day. We encourage you to follow all of these steps to ensure for an easy, laid back road trip. Have a great time on vacation!

It’s hard to think clearly after being in an accident. As you may know, there are many steps to take but most are forgotten or ignored due to priority of checking to make sure everyone is okay. It may not seem important in the moment but later on when it comes to accident reports, insurance and claims, these steps are crucial in saving you time and money. As you may not know, there is an app for that! There are a variety of free apps to choose from that will help walk you through the process of creating hazard signals, collecting information needed and taking pictures to document. Many of the apps even offer an option to call for local help, some even go as far as to offer the form for the accident report. ConsumerReports.org took some time to research 2 of the more popular apps and reveal their findings: The two apps share many similarities as they both have an option to pre-load things like emergency contact information, personal data, vehicle make and model as well as insurance information. Each of them also have the ability to keep track of where you are based on your GPS location. They will both provide you with a list of steps to take and the order in which you should take them. Their accident report screens are easy to fill out as they provide you with the fields you need to complete about your vehicle and the other drivers involved. Car Accident Report takes it a step further by accessing your iPhone camera to take pictures of the scene and include them in the report. Users of Help I Crashed My Car benefit from this app by receiving links to nearby auto body shops and rental car companies. While they both provide a great amount of useful information, sometimes it’s too much information. The overwhelming amount of information makes for a smaller font and much more time spent reading. With the adrenaline pumping through your veins and the million of other things consuming you at that very moment, it’s going to make it nearly impossible for you to read. We would suggest reading through all of it now so you have an idea of what to expect. A more recent study done by a law group in the California/Nevada area suggests Accident Wizard. While this free app provides many of the same things as all the other ones provide, this one is like on-star in that it provides on-the-scene, live assistance to those involved in a car accident. The live assistance is free to anyone on this app. Accident Wizard also allows users to scan their license, insurance card and vehicle registration to store in case it is needed in the future. it can even send your information to the other drivers of the crash with just one touch. As we hope you never have to use any of these apps, we encourage you to download one of them, upload all your necessary information to it and read up on it so you can be better prepared.

Summer time means throwing caution to the wind and not having a care in the world, right? Wrong. Just because the snow has cleared and the ice has melted does not mean driver's can be less attentive to driving conditions. Summer has it's own set of driving hazards that driver's need to be weary of. Patrol hours and patrol routes are significantly increased in the summer months because of the amount of accidents that occur. So what measures should you be taking to avoid any collisions?   Summer driving can be dangerous for a number of reasons including increased rainfall, potholes, increased road construction, cars overheating and inexperienced drivers. Rainfall With increase of rainfall comes an increase in flooding, road closures and hydroplaning. Hydroplaning in the snow can be as scary as skidding or fishtailing in the snow. When drivers in these situations start losing control of their vehicle, they panic and hit the brakes to try to bring the vehicle to a stop. Hitting the brakes is the worst thing you can do when you're losing control. To avoid an accident the driver should tap the brakes lightly but they should be more focused on the steering wheel to keep the car from veering off the road. Potholes They are formed in the winter but they get worse in the summer. The increased heat causes pressure on these potholes causing them to expand. While avoiding these potholes can save the vehicle from damage, it can be dangerous for the driver and the others around them if they swerve into a lane of traffic to miss the pothole. When dealing with potholes, it is best practice to travel at a decreased speed because the faster a vehicle is traveling, the more damage the pothole will do. Hitting one can result in a blown tire. To prevent a blown tire a driver should always check their tire pressure (the correct pressure is listed on the door frame or door panel of the driver's side), they should also check their tire treads and make sure they have a spare for their vehicle. If a driver is not sure if their treads are still safe, they can stick a penny upside down in one of the treads. If they can see the hair on Lincoln's head, they should invest in a new set of tires. Road Construction With warmer weather, construction workers are able to get out and repair all of the problems the winter may have caused. Road construction is always going to cause a mess of traffic which can result in accidents. If a driver begins to get frustrated or if they're not paying attention, they can easily cause an accident in traffic. Drivers should always obey the rules of the road, especially in traffic. They should try to remain calm and be patient with the other vehicles around them. Lastly, it is crucial that the driver move over as soon as possible when notice a lane closing, waiting until the last minute to cut in at the last minute will only create more traffic and put them at greater risk of an accident. Overheating With the increase of outside temperature comes an increase in the use of air conditioning which can result in overheating. To prevent this from happening, it is important to get the recommended oil changes and to check the coolant levels, the radiator, the colling fan and the thermostat. Inexperienced Drivers Summer is the time for new drivers, fresh out of school to get out on their own and explore. These teen drivers are excited to get on the road but with their lack of experience they tend to make mistakes that lead to accidents. Studies show that there is an increase of car crashes and fatalities in teens during the summer months. When driving around, drivers should always make sure they are aware of their surroundings and the drivers around them. When driving around this summer whether it be to the grocery store or for a family vacation, check for vehicle recalls, be conscious of where the kids in your neighborhood are, never leave a child in the car and keep an emergency roadside kit.