No road safety summer slumber

Over the past few days, Simcoe County roads have been the scenes of a number of collisions. Some have been quite serious, involving hospitalization and the closure of roads.

The region is well into the grips of summer, which means warmer weather and better road conditions. But that brings with it busier roads and highways, and the need to continue to be vigilant at all times while driving.

“Driving in the summer may seem like a walk in the park, but the same care and precautions need to be taken, especially with so many people on the roads,” says Steve Overend, senior instructor at DriveWise. “Thinking otherwise is the reason we have collisions.”

DriveWise believes that most crashes can be avoided if drivers use the principles of cooperative driving. These include:

• Looking 15 seconds ahead
• Scanning your environment and using your mirrors regularly
• Adjusting your speed and covering your brake and horn when you spot a potential problem
• Maintaining a safe following distance

It’s a fact of life that collisions are going to happen. But if we all do our part and practice cooperative driving, we can greatly reduce the probability of them happening, or, at the very least, reduce the severity of crashes when they do occur.

NOTE: Photo courtesy Nicholas A. Tonelli