5 Defensive Driving Tips to Minimize Catastrophic Motor Vehicle Accidents

About 6 million crashes occur on roads across the United States annually, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, resulting in approximately 40,000 deaths and 2 million injuries.

Expecting to be involved in a motor vehicle accident isn’t something that one generally thinks about. But, the sad fact is that accidents often occur. Thankfully, many are not serious, but tragically many are—and many of the accidents that occur on American roadways are preventable.

Westboro Toyota encourages everyone to use defensive driving skills to minimize the risk of being involved in a motor vehicle accident. Here are some tips to help keep you and your families safe in your vehicles:

Remove driving distractions—That means not taking cell phone calls whenever possible while driving, or at the very least, using a hands-free device, such as Bluetooth to make and receive calls. Also, never text while driving—not only is it illegal; it’s a serious issue that can result in catastrophic consequences. Whenever possible, pull over to talk, eat, change the CD in the changer or engage in other behavior that could distract you while driving.

Maintain a safe distance with the vehicles around you—By giving yourself a good amount of distance to the vehicles in front of or to the right or left of you, you’re in a better position to anticipate and react to braking, swerving and other maneuvers that could result in a collision with your vehicle.

Slow down and proceed with caution through intersections. Even though you may have a green light that doesn’t mean someone with a red or yellow light is obeying the traffic laws. As you proceed through intersections, reduce your speed and scan the scene from side to side. In the event that someone runs a light or stop sign or an emergency vehicle is passing by, you will have more time to stop and reduce the risk of a crash.

Make sure your vehicle’s safety features are working properly—Get your brakes checked regularly, and inspect your tires to ensure that tread depth is sufficient. Consider, too, that vehicles equipped with anti-lock brakes, traction control systems and electronic stability control systems may help reduce the risk of collisions.

Book your vehicle maintenance appointment with Westboro Toyota 24/7 using our online scheduler, so we can check and fill necessary fluids, inspect your brakes and tires, and perform other key maintenance designed to keep your vehicle running smoothly and safely. Also, use Westboro Toyota's maintenance menu to check on the service your Toyota car, truck or SUV may be due for.

Wear your seat belt at all times—Hopefully this one's self explanatory, enough said!

Keep in mind, too, that it’s important to lead by example. Teach teenage or other new drivers always to respect the rules of the road and to avoid distractions while driving. Toyota offers several Teen Safe Driving courses across the country to teach inexperienced drivers how to do their part to helping to ensure road safety.

When Cold Weather Strikes—Check Tire Pressure for Maximum Performance

What’s your tire pressure these days? If you don’t know, it’s a good idea to check! For instance, a PSI—pounds per square inch—of around 30 is what most automakers recommend. Defer to your vehicle manual or check inside of your vehicle’s door jam to see if there’s a PSI sticker. Also, look at your tire’s sidewall—there, you should find the maximum PSI permitted for that style of tire. As a general rule of thumb, tires should be inflated to 10 percent less than the specified maximum PSI.

When cold weather strikes, it’s especially important to be vigilant about checking the tire pressure on your vehicle. Why? Because cold air means lower pressure, generally, and having under-inflated tires is serious business.

Tires can generally lose about 1 PSI of air pressure every month, according to Motor Trend. Couple that with the fact that they may lose another 1 PSI for every 10 degrees in temperature drop. Around the holidays is the perfect time to take a few minutes out of your busy day to have your tire pressure checked.

Gradual changes in tire pressure may not seem readily evident. But, under-inflated tires do not handle as well as ones that are at the desired amount of air in them. This leads to a safety issue because vehicles don’t corner as well and they don’t have as much traction, either—something that is so important when New England’s winter road conditions are present. Plus, under-inflated tires can compromise fuel economy—Bah Humbug!

If you’re in need of new tires, visit Westboro Toyota’s Tire Center where you’ll get details on a wide selection of tires that are right for your vehicle, including the size, type (e.g., all season), performance rating and the maximum speed for which the tires are rated. To show you how easy it is to use, we plugged in a year, Toyota make and a model and presto: Westboro Toyota’s Tire Center churned out a personalized list of many different tire brands and models to fit the vehicle.

Review your options, and then just select the number of tires you want and click “Select.” We even let you know up front how much it costs to just buy the tires or have them installed, too. Then, you’ll get an itemized price for your tire purchase, including the costs for wheel weight/valve stems and mount and balance less the taxes.  You’ll get a great sense of the tires you’re purchasing at a truly competitive price—tires that are competitively prices are selected for their ability to provide an exceptional driving experience with characteristics including superior handling for wet or dry traction, stability, tread life, acoustics, comfort and rolling resistance, which impacts fuel economy!

The next part is all up to you—just let us know a convenient day and time range you’d like to come in to have your new tires mounted and balanced and we’ll instantaneously receive your request for an appointment—it’s that simple to get new tires for your vehicle!

And, with all of the major tire brands in stock—Goodyear, Michelin, BF Goodrich, Yokohama, Bridgestone and Dunlop—Westboro Toyota’s customers have the peace of mind in knowing that they’re riding on some of the best tires the market has to offer!

Visit Westboro Toyota’s Tire Center, and get rolling on educating yourself on the tires that are right for your vehicle! Be sure to give us a call, too, if you have questions that our Toyota Trained and Certified Technicians will be happy to answer. With Westboro Toyota's Tire Center by your side, purchasing new tires has never been easier!