School Zones

The Reasons that Children are Unreliable Pedestrians

As the school holidays wrap up, it’s a timely reminder to slow down on the roads, particularly around schools. To ensure the highest level of pedestrian safety, motorists must maintain a speed of no more than 40km per hour in these areas to help protect our kids.

According to a paper published by the Australian Automobile Association “Most child pedestrian deaths result from an error made by the child”, which is likely due to their unpredictable behaviour on, and near, roads. Children can be more at risk than adults due to number of developmental factors, including -

·       Poor ability to judge the distance and speed that a vehicle is travelling;

• ·       Being more easily distracted by surroundings,
• ·       Underdeveloped peripheral vision, meaning they cannot always see vehicles approaching;
• ·       Vulnerability in regards to body size and strength in comparison to that of road traffic.

By slowing down in school zones, drivers give themselves more time to stop a car in an emergency situation. For example, if a child ran out onto the road without looking (as they are highly likely to do), a car travelling at 40km/h is more likely to be able to stop in time than a car travelling at 60km/h.

One of the factors affecting the efficiency of school speed zones is driver knowledge of where they are and when they are enforced, so be sure to make yourself aware. Follow this simple guide to school zones -

·       School zones are marked by road signs, pedestrian crossings and in many areas, flashing electronic signs or lights;

·       They operate Monday to Friday within school terms, including Staff Development/Student Free Days;

·       The standard school zone times are between 8am - 9:30am and 2:30pm - 4pm, but always read the signage as this may vary.

As a motorist, it is your responsibility to make sure you are aware of the road rules, your surroundings and that your car is kept in good working order. Ignorance is not an excuse. 

Contact us today for a complete safety inspection of your vehicle. http://www.cooperautomotive.com.au/

Is your Car Winter-Safe? 3 Key Items you may be Missing

Driving a car in the best conditions takes an extreme amount of care and caution, but the winter months bring a whole new element to safety. The colder weather, sometimes including snow and ice, can make driving on the roads a lot harder and if your car is not up to scratch your safety, your passengers’ safety and that of others around you, can be put at risk.

After you’ve checked the regular items such as battery, brakes, wipers and heating systems, what else needs to be done heading into the Tassie winter?

Check your windscreen - Inspect your car’s windscreen carefully for cracks or chips. In icy conditions, the windshield glass can become very cold and any cracks can spread further or even shatter your windscreen altogether. Getting the tiny chips fixed before winter can prevent such a disaster occurring.

Test your tyres - Did you know that if you turn your steering wheel to full hard lock you can check the wear on the tread of your tyres?  Doing this presents the full face of the tyres, which helps you to check the entire surface for baldness. Car tyres have wear indicators and shouldn't get to the point of ‘smooth’. If they do, you need to pay us a visit as a matter of urgency to avoid unsafe driving conditions.

Prepare an emergency kit - Apart from your regular first aid kit, it’s important to have an emergency kit packed in case you become stranded with your car during the freezing winter months. Items to include are: a blanket, portable phone charger, extra drinking water, protein snack bars and a torch. These few things packed in the boot will ensure you and your passengers are kept warm, fed and watered in the event of an extended wait for help.

If you need any assistance in making sure your vehicle is ready to face the harsh temperatures of winter, contact one of the Cooper Automotive Service Centres today. 

http://www.cooperautomotive.com.au/all-service-centres.html

5 Surprising Ways you can Lose Points on your License

The devil, they say, is in the detail. As a driver, if you are not aware of all the rules you could be at risk of a fine, losing your licence or even injuring yourself or another person. Here are five of the lesser-known rules of the road to illustrate our point.

1. You can be fined and lose three points for not wearing your seatbelt, even if the car is not moving.  Resist the temptation to unbuckle your seat belt at the lights and make a grab for something on the back seat.

2. As a driver you will be fined if one of your passengers is not wearing their seatbelt, even if the car is not moving.  If you don’t provide your passengers with properly working seatbelts then you will also lose points.

3. Speeding is of course a well-known offense but did you know that if you exceed the speed limit by 45 km per hour you can lose six points and get of whopping fine of $900? You might think that you’re not likely to be going that fast, but it is surprisingly easy to do when coming off a freeway or other fast road.

4. You can lose three points off your licence and get a $300 fine for just HOLDING a phone while driving, even if you are not using it. 'Holding' includes resting the mobile on the driver's lap, or between the chin and shoulder or even passing the phone to a passenger.

5.  Did you know that an amber traffic signal means stop?  It doesn’t mean speed up to get through the intersection before the light turns red.  You can only continue to drive through the intersection if lights turn amber when you are so close that stopping may cause a crash.

Brush up on more road rules here: http://www.transport.tas.gov.au/licensing/publications/tasmanian_road_rules/road_safety_rules/new_offences_table