Stains on the seats are the last to worry about!

In our hustle and go world lunch at the wheel is becoming a more efficient use of time, however, the consequences could be deadly. An insurance.com article has listed the most dangerous foods to eat while driving. We at Harmony find this to be a bit redundant due to the common sense factor, but we will entertain you this week with the list that was released. To take it further, a local radio station we frequent, asked its listeners to add to the list of silly driver delicacies so we have included those responses too.

First let's get to the seriousness of this issue. Driver distraction is listed as the #1 cause of collisions on today's highways. As we have mentioned before cell phones top the list closely followed by other media sources, applying cosmetics and reading. Eating while driving is about midstream but poses just as serious a risk. According to NHTSA, distraction was most likely to be involved in rear-end collisions in which the lead vehicle was stopped and in single-vehicle crashes. What makes distractions like eating such a problem is that they combine with unexpected situations – like a sharp curve or another driver's sudden stop – to cause a collision. In a 2001 survey of 1,000 drivers for Exxon, more than 70 percent of drivers say they eat while driving, up from 58 percent in 1995. Eighty-three percent say they drink coffee, juice, or soda while driving and a few even say they'd love a microwave in their car.

So, just what are these drivers eating that is sooooo good they can't wait to park and eat or get back to the office or home to consume it? Well, insurance.com list these foods as dangerous to eat while driving.

The top 10 food offenders in a car are:

1. Coffee – Even in cups with travel lids, somehow the liquid finds its way out of the opening each time you hit a bump.
2. Hot soup – Many people drink it like coffee and run the same risks.
3. Tacos – Any food that can disassemble itself will leave your car looking like a salad bar.
4. Chili Dogs – The potential for drips and slops down the front of clothing is significant.
5. Hamburgers – From the grease of the burger to ketchup and mustard, it could all end up on your hands, your clothes, and the steering wheel.
6. Barbecued food – Ditto. The sauce may be great, but if you have to lick your fingers, the sauce will end up on whatever you touch – and that wheel will be tough to grip.
7. Fried chicken – Another food that leaves you with greasy hands, which means constantly wiping them on something, even if it's your shirt.
8. Jelly donuts – Have you eaten a jelly donut without some of the center oozing out? It's simply not possible.
9. Soft drinks – Not only are they subject to spills, but also the carbonated kind can fizz as you're drinking if you make sudden movements, and most of us remember cola fizz in the nose from childhood. It isn't any more pleasant now.
10. Chocolate – Like greasy foods, chocolate coats the fingers as it melts, leaving its mark anywhere you touch. As you try to clean it off the steering wheel you're likely to end up swerving.

The listeners of the radio show added these items:

1. Ribs
2. Chinese food (w/chopsticks)
3. Salad
4. Ice cream in a bowl
5. Cereal in a bowl
6. Cotton candy
7. Drinks in a large cup
8. Blowing bubbles w/ gum
9. Watermelon
10.Jaw breakers (choking hazard)

That's just ridiculous stuff! but these acts have been witnessed by other drivers and we're sure you have seen this too.

How do insurance companies feel about this? Insurance companies don't track specific information on eating and driving, because it's too difficult to break it down. But every company knows it's a problem. Drivers who are cited for this as a cause for a collision, can suffer an increase of 25% or more in their insurance rate.

So now you know what foods to avoid while driving, wait! you should avoid eating while driving period! Any reasonable person knows that it is just not wise to dine n drive. Harmony again brings you the reality of driving on today's roads and reminds you that these types of drivers are out there sharing the roads with you. Please, if you must stop to eat en route, find a place to park or a picnic table at a park, your insurance provider will appreciate you for it.

Thanks for reading and keep the special sauce and pickles off the steering wheel.

Do you have rhythm?

Yes, you have A rhythm, not for dancing , rather for sleeping. If you cross the this rhythm with driving at the wrong time the results are deadly. Driving while fatigued is just as, if not more, dangerous than DWI/DUI. The rhythm which effects us so severely is called the circadian rhythm. "Wiki" has this to say about circadian rhythm: Humans, like most animals and plants, have biological rhythms, known as circadian rhythms, which are controlled by a biological clock and work on a daily time scale. These affect body temperature, alertness, appetite, hormone secretion etc. as well as sleep timing. Due to the circadian clock, sleepiness does not continuously increase as time passes. A person's desire and ability to fall asleep is influenced by both the length of time since the person woke from an adequate sleep, and by internal circadian rhythms. Thus, the body is ready for sleep and for wakefulness at different times of the day.The comparison to DWI/DUI is accurate Alcohol, however, has a clear legal limit for impairment; there are no comparable criteria to suggest sleepiness.

Drowsiness has been recognized as a pervasive problem for drivers. This is due largely to the necessity to have good eye-steering coordination and sleep deprivation or disorders affect this profoundly.
The amount of sleep a person gets affects his or her physical health, emotional well-being, mental abilities, productivity and performance. Recent studies associate lack of sleep with serious health problems such as an increased risk of depression, obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

A study, authored by Mark Chattington of Manchester Metropolitan University, focused on six participants, who drove a winding route on a driving simulator. On the first day, they drove for one hour starting at 5 p.m. The subjects were kept awake the following night, and on day two, drove again at 5 p.m. for up to two-and-a-half hours. Their eye movements were monitored using a dashboard mounted eye tracker, and steering wheel movement was monitored through a precision potentiometer attached to the steering column. The results showed that, in all drivers, sleep deprivation adversely affected their ability to coordinate eye movements when steering. There were instances of both acute and chronic reductions in the degree of coordination and in the time lead of eye movements over steering.

Circadian rhythm is strongly effected by light, so driving at night has effects different than driving during daylight. This is important for drivers to understand since many people work at jobs requiring shift rotations. These rotations adversely affect your sleep cycle and it may take several days to "reprogram" the cycle. All drivers should be aware that we are sharing the road with these individuals and should be especially alert at the most common shift change hours.

So how do we help alleviate these adverse reactions?

1. Get plenty of rest each 24hr cycle.
2. Re-adjust sleep habits for shift work.
3. Avoid changes in light (other than day/night cycle)artificial light and sunlight variances have very different effects on your rhythm.
4. Get healthy, the better you feel the more rest you will get while sleeping.
5. Create a proper sleep environment. No phones, timers(alarm clock ok), light interruptions or "reminders' that you are not on the old cycle.
6. Avoid caffeine and heavy foods before sleeping.
7. Do not elevate heart rate before sleeping. (working out or stressful situations)
8. Wear comfortable non-binding sleepwear.
9. Make sure room temp is in your normal range.
10. Take advantage of down time for a short nap.

Keeping yourself alert and well rested before driving is essential for the safety of all drivers. If you feel drowsy or recognize the signs of fatigue, get off the road and get some rest. All the myths for staying awake while driving are generally false and will only get you in trouble, hurt or worse! There is NO substitution for sleep.

Thank your reading and please keep your rhythm while driving.

Better milage, sacrafice safety

Well, seems your government has been calling for improved MPG for years now! This time they are getting serious. The President's recent announcement for automakers to reach the goal of 35.5 MPG (average) by 2016 is a "radical" expectancy and may have some negative results on highway safety. A recent FORBES article states, "The purpose is to improve the environment and reduce our dependency on foreign oil. The impact will be more far reaching and consequential-and not all benign." It continues, "The rules will mean greater carnage on our highways." The article sites a previous change in fuel economy standards by the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rules in 2002, in which an additional 2,000 deaths were contributed to cars being made smaller and with lighter materials. Why should the result be any different with this round of MPG expectations? In fact, advocates say that by forcing automakers to reach these goals by 2016, buyers will pushed heavily into hybrids or electrics and over time everyone will be driving smaller cars.

AHH hahh! now we get to the real issues. The problem is that almost half of vehicular collisions (and 51% of crash deaths) involve only one vehicle rather than a multi-car collision. Incidents such as hitting a tree, a pole, bridge abutment or something Else. A second effect will be that the newer cars, hybrids or other, will cost significantly more than traditional styled autos, therefore, people are likely to keep their older cars an extra 2-3 years. (harmony has posted about this before). Lighter materials, expected to be used in the new round of MPG improvements, have yet to be tested thoroughly and with deadlines approaching may be put into use too soon. As we found out in past post about why we drive like we do, comfort in our safety systems tends to lead drivers to take more risk. If drivers of the future cars are led to believe that the materials are durable, then when these risks result in a collision what will be outcome, severe injury or death? Improved MPG is great but not at the sacrifice of lives. The automakers have had more than enough financial woes just selling cars, they don't need to be burdened with civil suits do to poor quality.

Commuters, while we may be shrinking the size of the cars we drive, we must consider the difference in outcome when more cars can fit on the road! that's right the greater potential for more collisions. Harmony would like to offer this to the CAFE supporters, a life saved is far more important than a gallon saved.

Thanks for reading and ponder this, is your diet going to get you into that new car?

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Are you in an angry city?

Yep! there are angry cities out there and we have the proof. The Affinion group has conducted it's annual study of road rage and the angriest and least angry cities have been determined. The study was completed between January and March of 2009 in 25 major metro areas. Road rage is dangerous and can be fatal if taken to extremes. Wikipedia describes road rage as: Behavior by a driver of an automobile or other motor vehicle which causes collisions, incidents, gestures, some times death on roadways. It can be thought of as an extreme case of aggressive driving. It has even been deemed a mental disorder. There are about 1200 cases of road rage reported annually with 300 of them ending in serious injury or fatality. Only a few states, about 14, have enacted special "aggressive driving' laws and most are processed as assault and battery (with or with out a vehicle) or "vehicular manslaughter" in cases involving related deaths.
Only one state, California, has turned "road rage" into a legal term with specific meaning. Those road ragers stopped by police, may only be charged with a lesser offense, such as careless or wreckless driving.

So where does your city rank? The Affinion report gives us the top 5 angriest and least angry cities.

WORST ROAD RAGE US CITIES

1. New York
2. Dallas/Ft. Worth
3. Detroit
4. Atlanta
5. Minneapolis/St. Paul

LEAST ANGRY CITIES

1. Portland
2. Cleveland
3. Baltimore
4. Sacramento
5. Pittsburgh

Missing the list this year are Miami (last year #1) and Los Angeles with Atlanta moving from the least angry list to #4 on the angry list.

While rural areas are usually populated with calmer drivers and Metro areas with faster paced angrier drivers, the study itself does not factor in this element. It does however, look at driving habits and attitudes. Some contributing factors to angry, ragefull drivers, according to the study, are people in a hurry, traffic problems and selfish drivers. Some of the behaviors noted in the study, that lead to road rage were, drivers on cell phones (talking and texting), speeding, tailgating and eating or drinking while driving. How did people say they reacted to these habits? Well, 43% say they honked, others stated they cursed, waived arms or made an obscene gestures. (normal everyday reactions)

Bottom line, it exsist and is a growing issue on todays highways. Take all the steps necessary to avoid being a victim or agressor. Some helpful thoughts; Plan ahead, get plenty of rest, keep your car in good order, take a relaxation period before getting behind the wheel and develop coping strategies. When you become aware of the factors of road rage, you can usually get through the day without incident.

Thanks for reading and please "chillax" before you ruin a good day!