It’s a commonly held notion among pet owners that our pets are extended members of our families. That’s certainly the case with all of the pet owners here at Superior and Mike Albert, and no doubt it’s like that across the board. We go out of our way to provide niceties for our furry little friends, from the latest in modern plush toys, to food as expensive as our own meals in some cases, to pampering that borders on the ridiculous. So, why do we just throw Fido and Fifi in our cars and let them walk around unsecured? Not only can this be a serious distraction, they can also be injured or worse if you have an accident. I’m not a physicist, but even I know that an unsecured, 40lb animal has a lot of potential energy and can be a serious hazard to everyone in the car (including themselves) should you have to stop suddenly.
Take a look at the video below for a helpful hint on securing your pet while traveling.
There are also a lot of products on the market that you can purchase.
The bottom line is, if you are going to travel anywhere with your pet, you should secure them as best as you can. Whether that means using the tip provided in the first video, or purchasing a product designed to keep your beloved pet in place as in the second video, it is you responsibility you provide safe and secure seating when transporting your pet. I’m sure if the collar were on the other neck, they’d do the same for you.
If you have any questions, or want to share tips of your own with Superior or Mike Albert, don’t hesitate to leave us a comment, or give us a call.
If you are a commuter, like all of us at the Superior Automotive Group and 95% of rest of the working population, there’s no doubt that you may have had a few close calls with fellow commuters. Dare I say, maybe you’ve even had the misfortune of being in a fender bender? My morning commute and a near collision lead me to think about what times are the most dangerous to actually be out on the road. With a little digging, I found these stats from the National Motorists Association.
Here are the results from 2009 (the most recent available data) ordered from most crashes to least crashes:
1) 5pm to 6pm (1774 crashes)
2) 6pm to 7pm (1737 crashes)
3) 7pm to 8pm (1673 crashes)
4) 4pm to 5pm (1595 crashes)
5) 9pm to 10pm (1595 crashes)
6) 8pm to 9pm (1578 crashes)
7) 3pm to 4pm (1575 crashes) 2pm to 3pm (1498 crashes)
9) 10pm to 11pm (1464 crashes)
10) 2am to 3am (1421 crashes)
11) 1pm to 2pm (1310 crashes)
12) 11pm to 12pm (1300 crashes)
13) 12am to 1am (1296 crashes)
14) 1am to 2am (1240 crashes)
15) 12pm to 1pm (1173 crashes)
16) 11am to 12pm (1099 crashes)
17) 6am to 7am (1015 crashes)
18) 3am to 4am (1000 crashes)
19) 10am to 11am (961 crashes)
20) 7am to 8am (903 crashes)
21) 8am to 9am (880 crashes)
22) 9am to 10am (874 crashes)
23) 5am to 6am (831 crashes)
24) 4am to 5am (756 crashes)
To answer the question posed in the headline of this article, the evening commute is substantially more dangerous.
There it is. A rundown hour by hour…it looks like I’ll be starting my morning commute at 4 am from now on! Have any commuting horror stories? Leave them in the comments section below…make sure you give us the time so we can compare it with the data above.
If you’ve been in a fender bender during your commute recently and need a little work done to your car, we feel your pain. Bring the old girl by any Superior Automotive Location and we’ll get you back out on the road in no time.
If you are a parent, or a parent to be, then you know the importance of properly equipping your Superior Car with the right restraint system. I recently ran across a great video from Honda that covers every aspect of restraining your child while in the car. It’s not always easy to tell when it is time to change protective seating for your child. For example, when is it the right time for your child to use the 3 point- seat belt restraint your Cincinnati car is equipped with? Good question!
Take just 5 minutes to watch the video below and educate yourself a little more on the appropriate use of your child’s car restraint system. Remember, not every child is universal. They will be moving from car seat, to booster seat to regular seat at different times during their early growth periods. The video give you are great standard to know when it is the right time to change restraint systems, including when it is OK for them to use the 3-point seat belt in your car, without a booster seat.
If you have any questions, or are a new parent and would like us to educate you a little more on properly restraining that little bundle of joy, don’t hesitate to stop by any Superior Automotive location for some tips and hints. After all, your child is the most precious cargo you could ever carry.
This year, there will be thousands upon thousands of teens both learning to drive and getting their actual licenses. If you happen to be one of those teens, and you happen to be reading this, then you can thank us now, because Superior is going to help you prepare for what you can expect from your driver’s test.
Now, although the video below might be from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, but the same holds true up here in Cincinnati. When you take your driving exam, Superior can assure you that you will be scrutinized in all aspect of your driving skill and knowledge. This video will help young teen drivers in any area of the country prepare them for their driver’s test.
Watch the video above again, then again on the day you go to get your learner’s permit or actual driver’s license. when you pass, convince Mom and Dad to bring you by a Superior Automotive location and check out some sweet new wheels.
First, let Mike Albert Direct congratulate you on your new family member. Are you ready to install that infant baby seat, or are you going to wait until you are rushing your poor wife to the hospital for delivery? Don’t worry, we’ll is going to show you how to install an infant car seat. It’s easier than you think, but you must install it the right way.
The easiest way to show you the proper way to install an infant seat is by example. Since you aren’t here, this video does a great job explaining the “Do’s and Dont’s” of installing an infant seat.
Don’t wait until you are rushing to the hospital before you attempt to put in your infant seat to bring that bundle of joy back home. Go out to your car and practice. If you are having a problem achieving a proper installation, see any Mike Albert Direct or Superior Auto Group location and we’ll show you the proper way to install an infant car seat. You can also go to your local fire department, as they will also be more than happy to give you a brief demonstration,
Remember, if your infant isn’t secured in his or her seat properly, you can cause sever injury to your child. Be safe. Double and triple check your latches…Oh and…Congratulations.
All of us here at this Cincinnati car dealer group, know that there’s nothing more frustrating than being stranded after a breakdown, or a flat. Throw in pitch black darkness, and now you have a frustrating situation mixed with absolute danger. How do you alert on-coming traffic that you are there? For the sake of argument, let’s just assume that you are a prepared traveler and have a few road flares in your trunk “somewhere”. Road safety lighting can be invaluable. Of course I hope you never have to use them, but if you do you’ll want the most noticeable lighting you can get…that is not necessarily traditional flares. Ever heard of Duroflares? I haven’t, until today. The unit is roughly four-inch-square of aluminum with an LED tinted red or blue, it’s waterproof and can support up to 20,000 pounds. In other words, it would take a loaded semi to crush them.
Powered by a rechargeable lithium ion cell, the Duroflares come in a box that acts as both a charger and the on/off switch: take them out, they come on, plug them back in, they turn off. They’re a little on the pricey side at $180, but if you spend a lot of time on the side of the road these might be for you.
Pretty cool, huh? What do you think? Is your roadside worth $180? Would you carry these? The Superior Auto Group is always concerned about driver safety. If you have any other products or suggestions you can share with the rest of our readers, please do.
It’s late and time to go home after a really amazing dinner at your favorite restaurant. You might be feeling a little relaxed, maybe a bit fatigued after a long day at work, but you are sure that driving is not going to be a problem. Besides you live only a few miles away. You jump in your car full and relaxed and the next thing you realize is that Road Hypnotism has sent in and you are drifting in and out of your lane. What do you do? Before you answer, read below:
A recent study conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center found Drowsy driving crashes can be hard to detect due to difficult and unreliable reporting, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates there are about 100,000 sleep-related crashes per year and 1,550 fatalities.
After staying awake for 24 hours straight, a person will be about as impaired as if he had had enough alcohol to be legally drunk in most states, a study says. Australian researchers tested 40 people to create a “blood alcohol equivalent” for different levels of impairment from sleeplessness.In one experiment, participants stayed awake for 28 hours. In the other, they drank alcohol every half hour until they reached a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10 percent. That’s the drunken-driving standard in most American states.
Every half hour, the subjects took a computerized test of hand-eye coordination.
Results showed that after 24 hours of sleeplessness, participants were about as impaired as they were at the 0.10 percent level of blood alcohol. After 17 hours, they were about as impaired as they were with an alcohol level of 0.05 percent, which many Western countries define as legally drunk, the researchers said.
The State of New Jersey has now made any injury crash involving fatigue, a felony.
The only way to combat drowsy driving is to pull over and rest for the evening, or take an extended nap. This is it. Don’t rely on coffee or energy drinks. Eating will just make you even more sleepy….the bottom line is PULL OVER and REST. Chances are if you neglect to ad hear to this very simple requirement, you will end up on the side of the road much like the guy in the video below.
Thankfully, he wasn’t killed. But it’s hard to deny the importance of not driving drowsy.
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. The Superior Automotive Group want you to keep the roadways safe for everyone.
The Superior Auto Group doesn’t really make it a habit of dwelling on unfortunate or writing about stuff that literally puts our stomachs in knots, however, I couldn’t pass this up. It’s very interesting information.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has some interesting stats available to the public through their Fatality Analysis Reporting System.One of the statistics they keep is the number of crashes on each day of the year. We decided it would be interesting to see which days had the most accidents and which days had the lowest number of crashes across the country.
Without further ado, here are the fifteen days with the most accidents on average from 1999-2008 (ten years):
Most Accidents
January 1 132.1 average crashes
July 4 131.5 average crashes
July 3 126.3 average crashes
August 3 123.3 average crashes
September 2 122.7 average crashes
September 1 120.9 average crashes
August 6 120.8 average crashes
September 22 120.6 average crashes
July 2 120.4 average crashes
October 14 119.7 average crashes
August 4 119.6 average crashes
August 31 119.5 average crashes
June 30 119.2 average crashes
July 15 118.4 average crashes
August 11 118.3 average crashes
It’s no surprise to see New Years Day and the 4th of July near the top of the list, but there a few odd ones in there.
Least Accidents
January 8 81.9 average crashes
January 23 82.1 average crashes
January 29 82.6 average crashes
January 30 83.2 average crashes
January 15 83.2 average crashes
February 27 83.3 average crashes
January 24 83.4 average crashes
January 2 83.6 average crashes
March 14 85.1 average crashes
March 20 85.1 average crashes
December 25 85.2 average crashes
February 1 85.3 average crashes
February 28 85.4 average crashes
February 9 85.5 average crashes
March 22 85.7 average crashes
The winter months dominate this list which makes sense. The danger of icy roads obviously didn’t outweigh the lower amount of drivers on the road.
I admit, not one of my most exciting or joyous posts, but an important one just the same. Everyone, the Superior Auto Group wants you to stay safe out there!
I ran across a video recently that I couldn’t believe. If you think that seeing one child behind your new Cincinnati car, truck or SUV was hard, I’m sure you’d have no problem seeing 60 children? Of course you can! Right?
Wrong! Even with your mirrors properly set, it is virtually impossible to see, not just directly behind your vehicle, but almost 15 ft in some cases depending on the height of your vehicle.
Watch the video below and you’ll understand.
It’s OK, I’ll let you change your answer.
Please be 110% aware of all of your surroundings. It is your responsibility. It is your requirement. It is your duty to be as safe a driver as you can. Yes, accidents do happen, but they usually happen when we aren’t paying attention.
Now…watch the video again.
All of us here at the Superior Automotive Group would like to ask that you please please re-post this as many places as you can.
Now we haven’t really been hit with any extreme snows just yet, but you know as well as Superior knows that a Wither storm can pop up almost without warning. I expect many of you would appreciate hearing some winter driving tips. Take a look at this video from Michelin, which talks about:
Exiting a tight turn
Traction
High-speed cornering
Four winter tires in winter
I know the roads in the Tri-State area haven’t been great, have you had any troubles driving your vehicle so far this winter? Can you give Superior any advice you’ve learned while driving in Winter weather?
The Superior Automotive Group and Mike Albert Direct have been serving Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky since 1928. We care about you, your cars, your safety, and our community.
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask and any suggestions are always welcome at SuperiorAutomotiveGroup@gmail.com
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2pm to 3pm (1498 crashes)
