Jingle bells mean prepare for holiday driving hell
Bill Love
Correspondent
Holidays are scattered throughout the year, but the winter holidays host unique travel challenges. The arrival of Christmas season is the impetus for many of us to visit family – a time when we often travel long distance by car. New Year’s Eve brings with it, whether you are for it or against it, many revelers who celebrate by imbibing spirits.
Some will make their Christmas journeys by train or plane, which involve their own sets of preparation and stress. Those who choose to travel by auto during this time, though, take on a challenge worthy of preparation. Road trips take special care, but even local shopping trips can be trying.
First, the vehicle should be up to the task. I’ve spoken earlier this year of preparing a winter ride for the harshness of winter. In addition to what should be obviousóattention to tires, brakes, battery, charging system, anti-freeze, and recent servicing – further steps are prudent.
It’s good to have what many call a “winter kit” in your trunk. That may consist of a shovel, sand or kitty litter, blankets, jumper cables, snow/ice removal tools, water, flares, tire-chains, gloves, boots, or anything else that may help in an emergency.
Please send me lists of items that you have used or needed on the road during winter.
Next, drivers must be “in shape” to drive. This is true all year, but its importance is exaggerated now. It is established that this time of the year brings additional stress to many of us. Shopping for presents, adverse road conditions, elevated traffic levels, out-of-town visits, and corporate downsizing may all play a role in added anxiety levels.
Driving is a complex task on its own, requiring a driver’s full effort to be safe. So as you embark this wintry holiday season, please be certain that you are healthy, and emotionally fit to drive. Don’t head out if you are overly tired, stressed, or using drugs or alcohol – these things mix poorly with driving under ideal conditions, and can be a recipe for disaster during winter conditions.
Again, New Year’s Eve is notorious for producing drinking drivers, but so are the office parties occurring this month. Please use taxicabs or designated drivers if you are drinking, and be extra-vigilant for the unexpected driving antics of those who make the mistake of driving while intoxicated.
To be fit for safe driving, one must have sharp senses, and the importance of good vision is paramount. Hearing is helpful to safe driving, but not a requirement for it. I began researching this subject when my mother-in-law said she was not as comfortable driving as her hearing deteriorated – she now has a hearing aid, and drives confidently.
Hearing-impaired, or deaf drivers can be safe on the roadways, however. I hadn’t given the topic much thought until I heard my mother-in-law’s comment, but while checking Internet forums on the subject, I came across a telling post from a Wisconsin police officer who wrote, “The other day I made a stop and found both the driver and passenger to be deaf. This surprised me, as I didn’t think a deaf person could get a driver’s license. But the driver presented a driver’s license and it came back as valid.”
So obviously not everyone realizes this, but yes, states across the country, including Washington allow drivers with hearing problems to obtain driver’s licenses. The key is admitting to, or knowing your impairment, and adjusting to it. Countless studies show the driving records of hearing-impaired drivers to be as good or better than drivers with good hearing. A quote from the Washington Driver Guide states, “These drivers learn to rely more on their vision and tend to stay more alert.”
Problems arise from drivers who are gradually losing their hearing, and don’t acknowledge, hence don’t adjust, to it. If a hearing aid will help you, by all means use one. If you have a hearing problem that is beyond hearing aid correction, however, it does not mean that you can’t drive.
Most states have a visor placard that states the hearing problem, which can be referenced by a police officer in the event of a traffic stop. In most cases, the officer will then proceed to communicate with the aid of a pad and pencil.
For this holiday season, I can’t resist passing on another of the Burma Shave sequence-signs seen along the roadways in the 1940s and 1950s, submitted by reader D.M.
“THE ONE WHO DRIVES
WHEN HE’S BEEN DRINKING
DEPENDS ON YOU
TO DO HIS THINKING”
Readers may write to Bill Love, c/o The Spokesman-Review Auto Section, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. Or you may contact him via e-mail at precisiondriving@spokesman.com.
