Nearly 40 Million Drivers Expected to Hit the Road Memorial Day Weekend

May 18, 2009

Memorial Day is the Third Most Perilous Holiday for Vehicular Traffic. Radarsign™ Reminds Drivers How-to Keep Roads Safe for Holiday Fun

ALPHARETTA, Ga., May 18, 2009—Nearly 40 million drivers are expected to fill highways and byways this coming holiday weekend according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Memorial Day weekend is the third most perilous holiday for vehicular traffic. Thanksgiving holds the number one spot, with Independence Day at number two. Labor Day and New Year’s Eve round out the top five.

Radarsign™, the leading manufacturer and retailer of driver feedback signs, today released Ten Tips to Road Safety as vacationers hit the streets.

Every 18 seconds a U.S. driver is involved in an auto accident and every 11 minutes someone dies in a car crash.

  • Don’t drive drowsy. According to the National Sleep Foundation’s Report on Drowsy Driving, 100,000 reported crashes, 71,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths every year are attributed to drivers falling asleep at the wheel. Add to that heavy holiday traffic and you have a recipe for disaster. If you are feeling drowsy, get off the road.
  • Wear your seat belt. The DOT reports 50 percent of all vehicular deaths could have been prevented with seat belts.
  • Signal your intentions. Every move you make on the road impacts the decisions and actions of others. By signaling your intention to turn or change lanes, you ensure others are alert to your movements.
  • Do not tailgate. Leave a distance equal to one car’s length for every 10 miles per hour. For example, if you are traveling 50 miles an hour, you should fall back a distance equal to five car lengths from the vehicle in front of you.
  • Move away from tailgaters. Many drivers attempt to “teach” a lesson to tailgaters by tapping their brakes telling the other driver to back off. Tailgaters typically exercise poor judgment and endanger themselves and others – especially when challenged. The best thing to do is move out of the way and let the tailgater safely pass you.
  • Avoid standing water. If you must drive through water, do so slowly and avoid sudden use of your brakes, turning too sharply or excessive acceleration. If you do hydroplane (an instance where the tread cannot channel the rainwater from under your tires), do not hit the brakes. Reduce your speed by taking your foot off the accelerator and turning the wheel in the direction you want to travel.
  • Know pedestrian rights. Always be aware of pedestrians at intersections and remember pedestrians have the right of way.
  • Turn on your headlights when visibility is low. The sobering statistic is that while only 25 percent of the miles we drive are at night, about 50 percent of the fatalities occur in the darkness—25,000 people each year.
  • Obey the speed limit. A difference of only five miles an hour can be the difference between life and death.
  • Stay alert! Talking on a cell phone, texting, reading maps—even listening to voice-directed GPS systems —can distract you from the road and lead to accidents.

“Every eighteen seconds a U.S. driver is involved in an auto accident and every 11 minutes someone dies in a car crash.” said Charlie Robeson, co-Founder of Radarsign. “Road safety is a serious issue; that’s why Radarsign solutions are affordable enough to be purchased by anyone and flexible enough to be put anywhere speeding is a problem. In the meantime, we hope everyone follows these driver safety tips and has a happy and safe holiday weekend.”

About Radarsign® Brand Radar Speed Signs:
In 2004, Atlanta-based Radarsign® established new industry standards for traffic calming solutions with the debut of the world’s first armored driver feedback signs.Radarsign radar speed signs are vandal-, weather- and bullet-resistant. They are also the traffic calming industry’s most durable, most ecological and most energy efficient radar speed signs. Engineered and manufactured in the USA, all Radarsign models are MUTCD-compliant and utilize recycled aluminum, innovative LED reflector technology, minimal battery power and solar panels to deliver bright, easy-to-read feedback to drivers. Radarsign products are scientifically proven to reduce drivers’ speeds and have been entrusted to provide safe and effective traffic calming solutions for: municipalities, treasured national parks, schools, neighborhoods, military bases, and private and public development projects across the U.S., Canada and overseas. www.radarsign.com.

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