Interstate Drivers; We Need to Talk!

Toyota Prius cut-away view from a car show, just for fun!

OK, you're driving on an INTERSTATE highway, divided directions of travel, and multiple lanes going each direction. Folks, I hate to break it to you, but some of you HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE DOING! Here's a few tips to make everyone a little bit safer on the roads: 

1: If it's dark, gloomy, rainy, foggy, or any kind of low visibility while you are driving, TURN ON YOUR LIGHTS! Hey, believe it or not, some of our fine 50 states have a LAW that when your windshield wipers are on (rain) that you MUST turn on your headlights! In some states their signs use the phrase "BURN" headlights, which of course means to turn them ON! Again, maybe YOU can see fine, but when I'm coming up behind you on I-79 in the FOGGY and RAINY hills of West Virginia, you are INVISIBLE in the spray and darkness! Oh, and INVISIBLE equals UNSAFE. 

Shoot, this is such a big deal that most new cars have daytime running lights that are on ALL the time! For safety! That leads us to the next tip...

2: You're driving around with your daytime running lights on, but guess what? Your TAILLIGHTS may NOT be on. With DRLs being a fairly new invention, a LOT of us aren't aware that they might need to turn on the REGULAR headlights just so that the taillights come on. I've seen a TON of you doing this in the dusk and dark, headlights on but NO taillights. It's not rocket science people!

3: TURN SIGNALS, TURN SIGNALS, TURN SIGNALS. Hey, did you know that in some of our wonderful 50 states that it is a LAW that you SIGNAL before ALL LANE CHANGES? It's true! OK, maybe it's not a LAW in your state, but it's a good idea. The biggest safety improvement you can make is to be PREDICTABLE on the road, and signaling BEFORE you turn or change lanes is a great way to do that! I guarantee you that if you turn or change lanes in front of me without signaling that the words "THANKS FOR SIGNALING" will sarcastically come out of my mouth!