This Static Spot is open for sponsor

Click Here to Sponsor MCT Eric Post in Full Page

Afrikaans Afrikaans Albanian Albanian Amharic Amharic Arabic Arabic Armenian Armenian Azerbaijani Azerbaijani Basque Basque Belarusian Belarusian Bengali Bengali Bosnian Bosnian Bulgarian Bulgarian Catalan Catalan Cebuano Cebuano Chichewa Chichewa Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional) Corsican Corsican Croatian Croatian Czech Czech Danish Danish Dutch Dutch English English Esperanto Esperanto Estonian Estonian Filipino Filipino Finnish Finnish French French Frisian Frisian Galician Galician Georgian Georgian German German Greek Greek Gujarati Gujarati Haitian Creole Haitian Creole Hausa Hausa Hawaiian Hawaiian Hebrew Hebrew Hindi Hindi Hmong Hmong Hungarian Hungarian Icelandic Icelandic Igbo Igbo Indonesian Indonesian Irish Irish Italian Italian Japanese Japanese Javanese Javanese Kannada Kannada Kazakh Kazakh Khmer Khmer Korean Korean Kurdish (Kurmanji) Kurdish (Kurmanji) Kyrgyz Kyrgyz Lao Lao Latin Latin Latvian Latvian Lithuanian Lithuanian Luxembourgish Luxembourgish Macedonian Macedonian Malagasy Malagasy Malay Malay Malayalam Malayalam Maltese Maltese Maori Maori Marathi Marathi Mongolian Mongolian Myanmar (Burmese) Myanmar (Burmese) Nepali Nepali Norwegian Norwegian Pashto Pashto Persian Persian Polish Polish Portuguese Portuguese Punjabi Punjabi Romanian Romanian Russian Russian Samoan Samoan Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic Serbian Serbian Sesotho Sesotho Shona Shona Sindhi Sindhi Sinhala Sinhala Slovak Slovak Slovenian Slovenian Somali Somali Spanish Spanish Sundanese Sundanese Swahili Swahili Swedish Swedish Tajik Tajik Tamil Tamil Telugu Telugu Thai Thai Turkish Turkish Ukrainian Ukrainian Urdu Urdu Uzbek Uzbek Vietnamese Vietnamese Welsh Welsh Xhosa Xhosa Yiddish Yiddish Yoruba Yoruba Zulu Zulu

 

 

Article Navigation

Back To Main Page

 

Click Here for more articles
Google
Kids and Cars - Driving Is More Hazardous When School Is In Session
by: Jerry Appleby
The new school year has started. That means a lot more traffic on the roads, and a lot more kids crossing streets, parking lots and driveways. Parents drop off their children at school in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon.
And little does anyone realize the dangers.
With today's prevalence of SUV's, Minivans, and sedans with high back ends, visibility behind these vehicles is seriously compromised. When mom or dad puts the car into reverse, they are taking it on faith that whatever is behind the car will get out of the way.
Automobile manufacturers are dealing with this safety problem by offering (on select high-end models) a device designed to help a driver when in reverse. These little electronic marvels, often called Reversing Aids or Backup Sensors, can literally be lifesavers.
Ask Dr. Greg Gulbransen.
On October 19, 2002 Dr. Gulbransen was backing his SUV into his driveway when he ran over his 2 year old son Cameron.
If Dr. Gulbransen would have been aware that something was behind him -- whether it was something as precious as his son, or as trivial as a mailbox -- he could have stopped the car before a tragedy occurred.
If you've never seen or used a reversing aid, you might be surprised at how technically advanced they actually can be.
Reversing aids use a variety of technologies to sense an object behind the car. Some units use Doppler radar, and others use infrared sensors, but by far the most accurate method of detection is the one the U.S. Navy uses on its submarines: sonar.
Sonar can operate in any weather, including direct sunlight or rain. And it doesn't require that the car be moving in order to sense an obstruction.
And that's when the device has to warn the driver.
Some of the least expensive models use a tone which beeps more rapidly as you get closer to an obstacle. Although you have no real indication of how far you are from an object, you can at least hear the relative distance just by listening to the beeps. Compare that to other devices which actually have LED displays on your dashboard. These are cumbersome -- almost useless -- because when you drive in reverse, you naturally look behind you, and you'll never see the little red lights.
That's why an audible sensor is best. But even better than a beeping indicator is one that tells you in a spoken voice exactly how far away you are. Not only do you not have to look forward at your dashboard, you'll know without guessing how much further you can safely back up.
When buying a new car, ask your dealer if a backup sensor is available for your model. If a new car is not in your plans, then search Google or your favorite search engine for Backup Sensors or Reversing Aids that you can add to your car.
Another valuable resource is the Technology page at http://www.KidsAndCars.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to children's safety in and around automobiles. Janette Fennel, who runs the organization, has compiled a list of different reversing aids.
She's a big fan of these devices.
Ms. Fennell is also a champion of children's safety, and is responsible for proposing much new legislation in this area, including the recently proposed legislation H.R. 2230, the Cameron Gulbransen Kids And Cars Safety Act of 2005, which has also been supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The bill would require that the Department of Transportation establish regulations and deadlines by which light vehicles "would be equipped with a variety of safety measures, including a rear-ward visibility standard and driver notification systems", says Ms. Fennell.
This type of legislation is a necessary stepping stone in order to strengthen car safety codes throughout the country.
Whether or not you have children, think carefully before backing up. When you buy a new car, ask the dealer if a reversing aid is available for your model. If not, consider adding one to your current car.
Even if you don't have kids, or if school is not in session, it's worth the peace of mind.
Just ask Dr. Gulbransen.


About the author:
Jerry Appleby is Manager of Public Safety and Information at American Dealer Services, exclusive distributor of Bak-Talk, reversing aid with voice indicator and sonar technology.
Visit http://www.Bak-Talk.comfor more information on the safety benefits and other applications for backup sensors.

** Attention Ezine Publishers And Site Owners **
You may reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or in your site so long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content, and include my resource box as listed above.

If you publish this article, please email me at jappleby@bak-talk.com with a link to it and a note when it appears.

Additional articles are available at
http://www.bak-talk.com/ArticleArchive



Circulated by Article Emporium

 


©2005 - All Rights Reserved

This Static Spot is open for sponsor

Car buying tips

Read Articles:

How to Find Parts to Customize Your M...
5 Steps To Buying Your Car
A Rookies Guide to Car Rentals
5 Tips to Buying the Perfect Seat Cover
How to Start Your Search for the Perf...
To Lease Or Not To Lease?
18 Simple Ways To Save Money On Your Car
How to reduce fuel consumption amidst...
Things to look for when buying a car ...
Things to look for when buying car st...
Mountain Dirt Bikes
Employee Pricing from Auto Manufactur...
What You Should Never Do When You Buy...
4 Tips To Saving A Bundle At Your Nex...
Auto Coverage In Alabama
Steel tariffs are needed to be lowere...
Buying A Used Car - The Wise Way!
The Secret to Saving 14% at the Gas P...
Prepare Your Ford Escape For a Summer...
Choose the best boat or yacht at our ...
Should you keep your old car or buy a...

More Article Pages 1 - 2

Used Car Buying Tips
 by: Steve Gillman

Some of these used car buying tips won't be new to you. Often the trick is just to apply what you already know. On the other hand, when it comes to expensive areas of life like buying a car, one new thing learned can save you hundreds of dollars. Try some of the following.

1. Make a low offer. Okay, you knew this one. A trick you may not have used, though, is to make a low offer, and then leave your phone number with the seller. Time has a way of making sellers desperate, especially after you just helped convince them that they are asking too much.

2. Be careful with car price guides. Use the "blue book" etc, but try not to pay more than wholesale. I can't think of many times when people I know have paid more than "bluebook," so these "average" sales prices are doubtful.

3. Talk to people. This is one of the simplest and effective used car buying tips. Just let friends, family and others know you're looking for a car. Quite often people would be happy to avoid the whole process of advertising and showing their car if they could just get rid of it by giving a good deal to a friend.

4. Check out the engine. Have a mechanic look at the car, and tell you what it's likely to need in the next year or so. Then make a list, so the seller can see in writing why you are offering less than he wants.

5. Auctions. See if there is a public auction in your area. If not, maybe you can go with a dealer friend and give him a $100 to buy a car for you.

6. www.carfax.com. It's around $25 to run vehicle background checks for a month - long enough to find your next car. They'll show the chain of title, accident reports for the car, and even safety and reliability scores for that model.

7. "Ugly" cars. Watch for cars that sit on the lot for months. Dealers will often sell these "ugly ducklings" at a loss just to move them. Again, you may want to leave your phone number with a low offer.

8. Rental company cars. They are sold fairly cheap when they get the new ones in. Buy at bluebook wholesale or less, because they have had many different drivers, so they've more wear than normal.

9. Repos. Credit unions and some small banks do their own selling of repossessed cars. You usually bid on paper, maybe with a $50 deposit, and then get your $50 back if you're not the winning bidder. If they don't sell their own repossessions, ask where they are sold.

10. Consider gas mileage. High mileage may be better, but maybe a car that costs $500 less will use only $400 more gas in the two years you expect to own it. Do the math.

Use the tips here the next time you are shopping for a used car. Meanwhile, why not learn a few negotiating strategies. This helps in many areas of life, and is the most important of these used car buying tips.

About The Author
 

Steve Gillman has been hunting down obscure knowledge and useful secrets for years. Learn more and get a free gift at: http://www.TheSecretInformationSite.com

 

©2005 - All Rights Reserved

JV Blogs Visit free hit counter