Sports Season Means Safety Standards For Your Car New Jersey!

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Paul Sansone, Jr.

Photo Credit: momsmiami.com

As school sports are already underway for the season, you will see many fields full of baseball, soccer and football players as you drive down your New Jersey streets. With sports season however, also comes lots of scrapes, bumps and bruises. If you are a parent of a sports player, it’s important to be prepared and have some supplies stored in your car. Although there are several items you may think of to have in a first-aid kit, these are some of the basic and multi-functional, that you may want to keep on hand during the sports season.

1. Band-Aids. Keep your favorite ones on hand for scrapes, cuts or blisters. Waterproof blister bandages are good to have in your first-aid kit in case any of your kid’s sports involve water or sweat.
2. Antiseptic wipes. These are great for removing any dirt, gravel or tar from cuts and scrapes, and sanitizing them until you can get home. Wipes are also a car essential for almost any type of mess you may encounter.
3. Neosporin. This first-aid essential will have almost instant relief for any scrape or cut. Swipe a little on the injury before placing the Band-Aid on, and you will have a hard time finding it again.
4. Ibuprofen. This pain reliever can help with pain and swelling before it gets to be too bad. It may also come in handy for the chauffer, by curbing those headaches.
5. Benadryl. Allergies can hit at any time, and if your children are especially prone to them, allergy medication is a good idea to store in your first-aid kit. From plants and pollen to pets, the game fields and parks can be full of allergy irritants.
6. Sports tape. Whether your child actually has a sports injury that needs tape or not, this too can be a multi-purpose too. Fix broken sports equipment or help tape up a knee.
7. Tweezers. From pulling out splinters to retrieving small objects, tweezers are another multi-tasking tool. Keep one on hand for anything you may have to dig out.

These are just some items that you may or may not find beneficial to keep in your car’s first-aid kit. For more suggestions, visit cars.com. And don’t forget to visit your local new and used auto dealer, Sansone Jr’s 66 Automall whenever you are out and about heading to sports events.

The Best New Cars For Teen Drivers New Jersey!

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Paul Sansone, Jr.

Photo Credit: The Auto Channel

Do you have a new teen driver? Are they in need of a car for back to school? If this is the case, Consumer Reports just released the best 2012 cars for your teen driver. As a parent, you probably have a list of the top qualities you want for the car that your child will be riding in. And safety, reliability, cost and fuel efficiency are probably a few. One criterion that Consumer Reports made sure all of the vehicles on the list have, is standard electronic stability control. Two cars on the list that are available at your local New Jersey auto dealer include the Nissan Rogue and the Kia Optima.

The Nissan Rogue is a crossover SUV starting at $22,310. It has received the 5-Star rating for side-impact crash safety. The Rogue receives 23 miles per gallon in the city and 28 miles per gallon on the highway. A few of the safety features of the Nissan Rogue include six standard airbags, front-seat active head restraints, traction control system and electronic brake force distribution. The Rogue also includes intuitive AWD (all-wheel drive) and optional navigation and Around View Monitor.

The Kia Optima, a midsize sedan starting at $21,200, received the 2012 IIHS Top Safety Pick. The Optima SX and Limited versions include a 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder, V6 GDI turbo engine. Other features and options of the Kia Optima are 18-inch chrome wheels, LED daytime running lights, LED taillights and a chrome accented spoiler for a high performance look. The fuel efficiency of the Optima is 24 miles per gallon in the city and 35 miles per gallon on the highway.

For more information on the top picks of new cars for your teen driver, visit consumerreports.org. And visit your local New Jersey Nissan and Kia dealer, Sansone Jr’s 66 Automall, to purchase your teen’s new car today!

Preventing Child Heatstroke New Jersey!

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Paul Sansone, Jr.

Photo Credit: nhtsa.gov

The summer’s months are very well known for their heat. And one spot during these months that can get extremely hot is the inside of your vehicle. Should the very unfortunate incident of a child being locked or left inside a vehicle occur, this can cause heatstroke leading to death.

According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), “Heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related deaths for children under the age of 14, with at least 33 fatalities reported in 2011 alone.” To increase awareness to child heatstroke, the NHTSA and the organization Safe Kids Worldwide have teamed up together. Throughout the month of July, these two groups will jointly host public events to increase the awareness of the dangers of heatstroke. This joint effort is in conjunction with the NHTSA’s “Where’s baby? Look Before You Lock” campaign. When a child is left inside a vehicle, the internal temperature can reach deadly levels within just 10 minutes when outside temperatures are in the low 80’s. The NHTSA and Safe Kids Worldwide will be relaying the following preventive measures regarding child heatstroke, to parents and caregivers alike.

Never leave your child alone in a vehicle even if the vehicle is running and the windows are cracked.
Establish a routine of checking the inside of your vehicle before locking the doors and walking away.
Ask your childcare provider to notify you if your child does not show up as usual.
Give yourself a reminder that you have a child in the car. Leave your purse or briefcase in the backseat, write yourself a note or leave a stuffed animal in sight.
Teach your children that vehicles are not toys and keep all keys out of reach.

For more information on this joint effort in the prevention of child heatstroke, visit nhtsa.gov or safekids.org. And visit your new and used local New Jersey auto dealer, Sansone Jr’s 66 Automall today!

New Car…Unbreakable Rule #1

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Paul Sansone Jr.

WEAR YOUR SEAT BELTS!

If you ever get into an accident in your new car without wearing your seat belt, do you know the one decision you are going to regret the most? No. It’s not going to be wishing you left home 10 minutes later; or if you just drove a little slower, or even a little faster you might have been a little more lucky. It’s going to be the 2.5 seconds you didn’t decide to buckle up. Really, this is important and not to be taken flippantly. It should be second nature. Instead of throwing statistics at you, I’m posting a picture I took yesterday, moments after I happened upon a very serious accident.

The girl in the flipped car was wear her seat belt

Everyone involved in this accident appeared to be fine from my vantage point and the demeanor of the emergency personnel confirmed this by their focusing on controlling traffic.

Don’t think wearing a seat belt in your new car is that important? Watch the video comparison below:

I guarantee you the two people involved in this accident didn’t leave their houses thinking this was going to happen. The bottom line is that you never know when something like this will happen. However, you do know how one simple act of putting on your seat belt might save your life one day…I’ll be reminding all of you of this periodically. No need to thank me.

The Seat belt Law and Your New Car

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Paul Sansone Jr.

With the vacation season approaching, there’s no doubt that many of you will be taking trips. Perhaps a cross-country journey is in your future? Where ever you go as a driver, you are responsible for understanding and following the rules of law in every state you drive in. Getting busted for not wearing your seat belt is a great way to put a big wrinkle in your vacation budget.

Did you know there are two types of seat belt laws? Primary and secondary.

Primary enforcement laws allow law enforcement officers to pull over drivers and ticket them if they are not wearing their seat belts. Secondary enforcement laws, on the other hand, only allow an officer to pull over drivers for a separate violation (speeding, headlight out, etc.) and then ticket them if they are not wearing their seat belts.

New Hampshire is the only state without a seat belt law for adults. All other states have either primary or secondary enforcement laws on the books.

As of April 2010, the following states have primary enforcement laws:

Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois ,Indiana ,Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin

And these are the states that have secondary enforcement seat belt laws:

Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming

Who’s going on a road trip this year?

Using Your New Car Alarm for Home Protection

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Paul Sansone Jr.

Keep your Keys on your nightstand

I’m all about making things easy and this idea is really easy! Every once in a while one of those “forward this to a dozen friends” emails has some good advice. I got one like that just the other day. The advice is to keep your car keys nearby, “even when you are home asleep in your bed.” This particular advice assumes that you have an alarm system on your vehicle. It doesn’t have to be on of the systems that tells you to step away from the car or sounds like a storm-warning siren… just an alarm system with a panic button that makes the horn sound and the lights flash. As the email goes, if you hear a noise outside your home or someone is trying to get into your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will go off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery goes dead. It doesn’t even matter if the car is in the garage. The advice is supposed to have come from a neighborhood watch coordinator, and it’s a good idea. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys on the counter or a key rack, think of this: It’s a security alarm system that requires no installation and no outside monitoring. Try it for yourself. The alarm can be set off from most everywhere inside your house and it will continue to go off until you reset it with the button on the key fob. It works if you park in your driveway or garage. If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the crook won’t stick around. After a minute or so, all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and the intruder won’t want that. Remember to have your keys ready while walking to your car in a parking lot, as well. The panic button alarm can work the same way there.

Has anyone ever had to use their panic alarm for personal safety?

Your New Car's Seat Belt, It WILL Save Your Life.

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Paul Sansone Jr.

Accidents can happen anywhere, and at anytime. Did you know that 63% of people killed in car accidents are not wearing their seat belts? Education alone is not going to help this issue. Statistics show that males between the ages of 18 and 25 are the least likely to wear their seat belts. I find it absolutely vital that you talk to your kids, show them videos and really educate them on the consequences of NOT wearing their seat belt. It’s not only an expensive ticket to pay but nothing is worth the risk of not wearing your seat belt.

Here are a few OBVIOUS reasons why you should wear your seat belt:

Wearing your seat belt reduces your chances of injury by 50% if you are in an accident.

The only law you can’t break is the Law of Gravity. If the driver applies an instant brake to the vehicle, he and the passengers are thrown forward due to inertia. Steering wheels and windshields are pretty painful in regards to human projectiles.

Here’s something you may not know. If it is found that the person has suffered injuries because of not wearing a seat belt, he is equally responsible for his injuries. Confirming that the best form of insurance is your seat belt.

It’s what’s on the inside that counts: Seat belts can protect a person’s vital organs like head (brain) and chest (heart) from getting injured if he gets into an accident.

I think this is hilarious: There are people who actually believe that they would prefer being thrown out of the vehicle if in an accident instead of being stuck inside. Really? Let me know how you feel when you get thrown 200 ft. like a rag doll and the car happens to come to rest on you. It will ruin your day…trust me.

Since you are responsible and don’t drink and drive, it doesn’t mean everyone else is a safe as you are. There are more drunk drivers on the road than you may think.Protect yourself. Wear your seat belt!

Here’s a beautiful video that I found from Consumer Reports that shows why you should embrace the use of your seat belt.

Tailgating in your New Car…the Wrong Way.

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Paul Sansone Jr.

Hey Dale Jr., this isn’t the Winston Cup…no need for drafting.

Off the track, that’s just a fancy name for “tailgating”. Although we all know we shouldn’t, we all do it. That’s a problem because the closer you follow the vehicle in front of you, the less time you have react. Tailgating the car in front of you will never speed up your trip, so don’t do it! If the person you are tailgating has to stop suddenly, you will absolutely be in the wrong when you “accidentally” ram them from behind.

Here are some guidelines to help you determine a safe distance when traveling on certain road conditions:

1. The Two-Second Rule - If you are on a dry and clear road, count two seconds to safely gauge the distance between you and the car in front of you. When the car in front of you drives past a sign or pole, you should reach the count of two before you pass the same sign or pole.

2. Four-Second Rule -This is for when the roadways are wet and rainy. In these conditions, you should employ a four second gap between you and the car in front of you.

3. 10-Second Rule - This rule applies to icy and snowy conditions when the roadways are at their worst. This may seem like a large distance, but every winter there are an enormous number of weather related accidents. Better to be safe than sorry after an accident.

Who has something to say about tailgating?

Your New Car: Is the seat killing your back?

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Paul Sansone Jr.

A lot of us experience lower back pain while driving. A number of researches have investigated the relationship between driving and Back Pain, which some interesting results. One finding is a comparison of drivers in the USA and in Sweden found that 50% of people questioned in both countries reported low back pain.

So what is the connection of driving and back pain?

So far, research has found three factors for low back pain whilst driving: vibration from the engine (something that you can not change), sitting position and the length of time that we drive.

Here are some ways to make your driving experience more comfortable.

The Seat

Make sure that your bottom sits all the way in the back of the seat – where the base and the back of the seat meet. This will help to make you sit more upright and maintain the natural curvature of the spine, minimizing the stress on the spinal ligaments. If your seat has a lumbar roll built-in have this all the way out.

The Base length and Height of the Seat

The base of the seat should never touch the back of your knees and the front of the base should be slightly higher than the back, helping to provide more support and allowing you press the pedals without changing your spinal posture.

The Backrest

First relax back into your seat, place the seat at about a 10-15 degrees incline from the vertical position. If this feels unnatural to you then it probably means that the backrest is not upright enough for you. This can result into neck strain and / or coccyx (sitting bone) pain.

The Headrest

The position of your headrest will not only help to lower the injuries in an accident, but also to help to allow a better posture. The bony bit at the back of your head (known as the ‘inion’) is a good guiding point, the headrest should be level with this. There should be about 1 inch between the back of your head and the headrest. This allows for the ligaments and the muscles of your neck to control the posture of your head better and giving better support in case of an accident.

Seat – Pedal distance

Make sure you have the distance between seat and the pedals so that when operating the pedals this does not cause you to over stretch your legs or twist your body in any way. Your legs should not be straight when pushing the throttle or clutch all the way down. Obviously your knees should not be bend to the point you cannot easily move from one pedal to another. It is normal to have your knees bent about 45 degrees.

The Arm position

Your arms should be as relaxed as possible, elbows bend around 20-30 degrees. If your steering wheel is adjustable have it in the mid to lower position, this will help to reduce the stress on your shoulders. Your hands should be positioned at ’10 past10′ and not as is suggested left hand at 9 o’clock and right hand at 3 o’clock.

Take breaks

We all have seen the “Rest Stop” signs along the roads…do it! Taking a break helps your back as well, so when you need to take a rest you can have a stretch at the same time to help your back.

Car Chat: Why the Rear Seat is the Safest Place in a Car for Children.

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Paul Sansone Jr.

I was running out for lunch the other day, and I noticed something during my trip that I thought I needed to write about.

Let me first start by saying that in the late 80’s automakers began installing airbags in cars for safety reasons, and there’s no doubt that over the past 30 years airbags have saved thousands of lives.

However, it is important to note that airbags are designed to protect average-sized adults…not young children. I know we’ve all heard it, but airbags can pose a serious risk to children who ride in the front seat.

In fact, according to research conducted by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, “children exposed to airbags during a crash are twice as likely to suffer a serious injury”. The American Academy of Pediatrics states, “children under the age of 13 are safest seating in the back seat of a car”.

The following are some safety guidelines for children riding in a car.

Infants seated in a rear-facing safety seat should never be placed in the front seat of a car that has an airbag – When the airbag engages, the force of the airbag is directed right at the infant’s head as it comes out of the dashboard.
Children seated in a forward-facing child should not be placed in the front seat of a car that has an airbag. – Again when the airbag engages, the child’s head is in the path of the airbag as it emerges from the dashboard.
Remember for children 13 and under: The safest place to be in a car is the back seat.
For children ages 13 and up riding in the front seat remember:
- All children should wear a lap/shoulder belt.
- Move the front seat as far back as possible from the dashboard.
- Make the sure the child doesn’t lean forward.
- Have the child sit upright against the seat at all times.

Note: Engineers are constantly improving airbags to improve safety. Known as 2^nd-gereation or de-powered airbags, these airbags are still NOT designed for children. Children are best protected in the rear seat.

The Children Hospital of Philadelphia has put together a great video on airbags and keeping children safe.

http://stokes.chop.edu/programs/carseat/flash/airbag_shell.html