The Dangers of Drowsy Driving

It is no secret that driving while drowsy is extremely dangerous, but new research is showing why we get so sleepy when driving or even while riding in the car. It also supports the fact that we must find a solution fast.

According to new research, driving makes us lethargic, even while most alert. New studies show data that should interest both car manufacturers and road safety experts. Experiments show that while in motion, cars emit a low frequency vibration that begins to make both drivers and passengers sleepy after just 15 minutes of exposure!

In this study, 15 test subjects were put through a highway driving simulation and researchers monitored their heart rate variability. The HRV is a good test of drowsiness because it detects the changes in the central nervous system that occurs when we physically feel tired. The data supported the claim that it takes just 15 minutes for the driver to feel tired and 30 minutes for the tiredness to have a noticeable effect on the driver. The sleepiness levels were also found to steadily increase throughout the duration of the experiment.

Unfortunately, these results are slightly limited due to the small sample used. Additionally, the driving simulation was not an extremely accurate representation of the real thing. However, the extreme tiredness and its effects are extremely noteworthy. With further research, car manufacturers should change some of the design of cars to reduce the vibration, such as changing the shaping of car seats. But, that may take a while, so road safety specialists should calculate the maximum amount of time that a driver can and should be driving, before the drowsiness has adverse effects.

Either way, a solution must be found, since 1 in 5 fatal crashes are due to at least one drowsy driver. For now, all we can do is take the preventative steps to avoid extreme sleepiness while driving. Part of the problem is that some drivers are already drowsy when they get behind the wheel. In fact, 60% of Americans admit to getting behind the wheel while feeling tired and 37% report to have actually fallen asleep.

Those numbers are insane, especially since previous research has shown that driving while drowsy has the same effects on your driving as if you drive while under the influence of alcohol. Experts say that if you drive after staying awake for 18 hours straight, it has the same impact of having a BAC of 0.05 (when the legal limit is 0.08). Furthermore, after staying awake for 24 hours or having a restless night sleep, your driving skills are impaired the same way as if you have a BAC of 0.10.

If you choose to drive while tired and a collision occurs, you can probably say goodbye to your cheap auto insurance, since your premiums will likely increase. But, sometimes drivers are not aware of how fatigued they really are and have a hard time judging if/when they will fall asleep. So, if you notice that yourself or someone else driving has any of these symptoms it is a tell tale sign that they need to rest a while before continuing.

• Difficulty Focusing
• Excessive Yawning
• Drifting/Getting too Close to Other Vehicles
• Having Trouble Keeping Your Head Up

These are just a few signs that a driver is drowsy and should get off the road as soon as they possibly can. Hopefully, experts can find an effective solution to help alert drivers stay alert in a combined effort with drowsy civilians avoiding getting behind the wheel to minimize the fatalities caused by driving while feeling tired.

Successful Automotive Marketing Strategies For Vehicle Dealers

What good is your marketing campaign if it leads to an empty lot and silent telephones? Whether you're an established player or an amateur, who's just entered the industry, if you do not regularly review your marketing strategies and market position, you might as well be throwing huge amounts of cash without any measurable results.

Being one of the world's largest industries, the automotive industry is rapidly changing and constitutes of complex supply chains and demands. Automotive dealers aren't immune to such demands and are under more pressure than most other business owners. Therefore, it becomes vital to propagate their ultimate selling proposition to their customers, potential and existing alike, through sophisticated channels the modern buyers are accustomed to; the prime being the digital world. As much as 90% off all the automotive shoppers begin their car buying journey with the internet. Majorly most of the potential buyers regularly check their emails and most of all on their mobile devices. Such metrics clearly show the need for effectual digital marketing strategies.

Internet is a no-pressure form of research and ensures that the buyers know what they are going to get, would end up paying, and all the purchasing terms, well before entering any dealership. On the other hand, internet lets a brand come across as an involved and forward-thinking company with effective and attractive digital marketing strategies. It's a win-win situation for both the buyers and automotive dealers.

Dealers should:

• Know the competition: Researches are conducted to address strategic questions and internal needs; keeping a close eye on competitors, their marketing successes and failures, where the competition is headed. These are some of the questions you need to address.

• The demand: It makes little sense to open up a store and later realize that no one's wants it. Stay current with what the customers are looking for with the right inventory mix, and tools.

• Determining the digital mix: As an automotive dealer, it's important to know which mix delivers the best of your brands. For sales and services, use email marketing; search engine optimization, search engine marketing and blogs for brand development and increasing organic presence and so on.

• Cross-device marketing: Ensure that your website and marketing campaigns are well-optimized for all the devices.

• Making it transparent and personal: Everyone who is well versed with internet buying will become wary of your service if it doesn't include price and photographs. Also, stock images would get your dealership dropped from consideration. Real pictures and videos provide a direct connection with the vehicle. It's important to bring all the vehicle details above the fold; the manufacturing year, make and model, mileage, interiors, amenities, etc. Further, personal descriptions would get the customers excited and also tells them why the vehicle is best-suited to their needs.

Apart from the above mentioned digital strategies, include the following in your marketing mix:

• Express deliveries and pickups: A great way to convey how you value your customers' time.
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• Exchange policies suiting your dealerships.

Keep your inventory and dealership fresh with strong research and great planning and add value to your outcomes. Regularly evaluate your target market and communicate with you prospective buyers for a competitive edge over your competitors and to maximize your revenue.

Driving the Future

As we think about learning to drive where ever you are isn't it time to think about how your driving will change over the years. With all this talk about self-driving cars and now there is news that one company is thinking of designing a car that can fly too, where are we going.

I have sat down and thought what were people thinking about when the main form of driving was riding a horse or riding in a carriage which was drawn by a horse. If they were to travel forward in time what would be their thoughts on our driving.

Would they be thinking that we are all crazy driving around the country at what they would call fast speeds? They probably think that we would be crazy doing all this stuff. So what are your own thoughts on a car driving its self around with you sat in the driving seat with you reading or watching something?

The cars that are being tested for driving on their own are being slowly introduced onto the roads around the world. So let's put you in a situation, You are being driven down the Motorway in your self-driving car and you see problems ahead do you jump in before the car reacts to the situation or do you see what the car is going to do as you have been told it is totally safe to let the car drive for you.

In the world, we have slowly become more technical but also a lot lazier and for me, a lot fatter as I do less walking and more sitting. So why do we need to have the car drive for us, we have to learn to dive even if the car is going to drive for us, we still may need to take over. So why not leave the self-driving car and let us do something as we travel around.

I am totally happy for changes but maybe we should take a step back and look at what we are doing to ourselves making even lazier than we are at the moment. I am guessing next the scientist is going to start looking at ways to grow wheels out of our feet so we do less walking as well.

Within today's world let's just start being happy with how we are now and enjoy what we have and make use of what we have got. I agree with the hybrid cars but definitely, don't agree with self-driving cars.

Top 7 Tips to Help You Drive Safely in the Rain

Driving in the rain is not as easy as walking. Driving during a heavy shower or ghastly winds may not cause fear in the drivers' mind, but none of them can ignore the challenges associated with it. Adverse weather conditions are sure to increase the potential risk of falling into a grave danger and cause a situation for you along with your family. Evidently, driving in such conditions requires your undivided attention.

Enrolling for driving lessons may help you remain prepared for emergency situations and make you confident to drive in inclement weather. Moreover, you should be well accustomed with the possible downturns that may come in your way and take necessary safety precautions. Here are some quick tips for driving in the rain.

· Turn on wipers: This is possibly is the foremost thing you should do when it starts raining abruptly. It not only helps in keeping your windshield clean but increases your visibility. It will be wise for you to replace the wipers every year for preventing any unwanted occurrence. Moreover, it is advised to use hydrophobic washers that will make the water drop.

· Switch on the headlights: Turning the lights on is the other essential thing you need to do as soon as it starts pouring even if there is daylight.

· Drive slow: It can prove to be foolish on your part to keep a high speed while it is raining. High speed will increase the chances of the skid and ultimately lead you to meet with an accident. To ensure your traction with the wet roads, you must slow down your speed.

· Eyes on the road: You are required to be extremely focused while you are driving in the rain. Turn off the music if possible and stay glued to the road ahead. Moreover, it is the best time to drive utilising both of your hands.

· Don't smash the brakes: An essential tip you can follow is to not be harsh the brakes whenever you want. If you do it often on the wet roads, you may end up sliding or skidding forward. You may lose control as you wallop the brakes. Moreover, as you smash the brakes hard, your car brakes will be filled with water and cause malfunction as well. Slowing down the accelerator is a better option for such occasions.

· Maintain safe distance: It is mandatory that you don't act smart and try to speed up when there is too much traffic. Keep at least 5 feet distance from the car in front of you. Leaving the required space in front of the car will help you to avoid accidents.

· Take slow turns: Drive as slow as possible while you are taking turns. Making sharp turns during rain may lead you to skid and meet with an unexpected accident.

According to the experts, you need to decrease the speed of your car for about a third, while it starts raining.

You may also try wearing polarised glasses for obtaining better visibility. Following the guidelines of driving learning schools will help you in acquiring necessary knowledge regarding driving in adverse climate.

Driving Data Analytics in the Automotive Industry

It's interesting to see that the amount of companies using data is increasing. It's also pretty cool to see some of the new and innovative ways that companies are doing so, especially with data analytics playing a big role in achieving new levels of success.

The automotive industry has been trying their hands at using data and they're doing it well. The amount of data that can be gathered from cars is quite ridiculous, especially when you take into account that a lot of data is simply stored in the key which is then plugged in at the garage to view it.

Cars have been kitted inside and out with data. Yes, I bet that's not one you've heard about as it's not quite cream leather interiors or mud resistant trims. Data is so much better. It's behind vehicle safety and quality and contributes to the driving experience.

Did you know, the average hybrid vehicle generates up to 25 gigabytes of data in just one hour? Car manufacturers and garages have been capturing telematics for many years however it's becoming much more sophisticated. Using analytics and data has enabled technology to alert drivers of any hazards on the road, or if the conditions are particularly dangerous. Anti-locking systems, traction control and so much more have been created with the help of data.

IBM reported that Volvo, through using predictive analytics, repair instructions and identifying replacement parts before a vehicle arrives for a service has benefit from a reduction in diagnostic times by up to 70% and repair times of over 20%.

Furthermore, with recent years having cars being recalled, some companies like BMW are using data analytics to record errors reported by customers to identify any potential weakness in new models that could cause problems and then eliminating them before they even go into production. Now if this isn't major cost savings, increased efficiency and keeping a good reputation then I don't know what is.

Connected vehicles are becoming more popular. Services and experience can be constantly updated once the car has left the factory. They can have important updates and interactions without having to return and this has proven extremely useful through the connecting capability. Ford, for example have focused on more "consumer-based, more real-time interaction, real-time services, real-time experiences, contextualized experiences" rather than the storage capabilities of the cloud.

It's not just information about faults that manufacturers use data for. Financial predictions means cars are priced according to the market and behind the prices are more realistic pricing plans and financial support. It goes without saying that car companies will use their contact data for marketing purposes and targeting their communications to ensure their messages stay relevant. They've proved that data can go far beyond the use of marketing and with the likes of BMW and Volvo showing that data is having a rather positive impact on business, it will be interesting to see where and how the market takes its usage of data.

8 Best Driving Tips For The Summer

The rise in the temperature during the summer season can create many problems on the road, while you are driving. It can affect both, the driver and the car. In order to keep your car in perfect running condition during summers, make sure you take it out to the mechanic for regular checkups. The tips given below will also help you to avoid some serious breakdowns during summers.

Check The Tyres-

Do check the air pressure of the tires and make sure there are no cracks or cuts, uneven surface and bald patches. Heat causes the rubber to get damaged which in results in punctures. Always re check the spare tire in the back boot of your car before heading out in order to avoid problems on your way.

Note Fluid Levels-

Counter check the coolant level regularly and top up whenever needed. If you want to avoid your car engine from overheating, check if the coolant fan is in proper working order, if not, the temperature of the engine will rise and affects the working of the car. It's also recommended to check the brake oil, engine oil and power steering fluid before going for a long journey.

Take a Break-

After hitting the road, do not push yourself to drive more, if you feel like too exhausted or drowsy, take a break. Long drives can make you exhausted sometimes, especially in summers. Turn up that radio and try to focus on the road. But it's wise to stop on your way after every two hours' drive.

Turn on the Air conditioner-

Switch that air conditioning system in your car. It will help you to ease up and will make the temperature in the car better. Currently, all cars have an air conditioning system already installed, but few older models don't have one. It consumes a lot of fuel so do not keep it on for too long either. Do you're your car out at the mechanics of the service of the air conditioning system regularly, if you want to keep the system efficient and effective.

Try to Park the Car in Shade-

In summers it's advisable to park your vehicle in the shade, this way you will be able to protect your car from the direct exposure of sun. Try finding a shady spot, and use windscreen shades to help lower the temperature. When you return to your car, open all doors and let the temperature in the car cool down. This will make the car interior cool so that the air conditioner will also work properly.

Use Sunglasses-

The problem faced my almost everyone in the summers during driving, is the glare of the sun. If you want to avoid it, try using sun glasses or shades. Keep a pair of shades in the car and put them on while driving. If you want to improve the vision, cleaning the windscreen of your car would also help. Replacing the worn or damaged wipers on the car screen will also help in clearing the vision.

Drink a lot of Water-

Your body is more important than the vehicle you are driving. During the journey keep a cool water bottle with you in the car. This will keep you hydrated and fresh. And will save you from the scorching heat.

Wear Gloves-

Due to the rise in temperature and direct exposure to the sunlight, chances are the interior of your car will be extra hot. It's better to wear gloves while holding that steering, which might damage your skin. Do not forget to apply a sunscreen crème or lotion before going out in hot summer days.

Driving Tips - Courtesy Is Key

Driving is the most common activity people do nowadays. With so many people on the road, we all have to abide by the law and stick to the road rules. This is good, but it you also need to be polite and friendly for a good driving experience..

Driving on highways is more difficult these days because of the amount of cars on the road. This sheer volume of cars causes congestion which brings with it other problems. The easiest way to get the best out of the driving experience is by being courteous and polite.

• Let a driver through - if you see a driver indicating and moving ahead of you to change lanes, let them through. It won't affect your trip in any way and you will feel better knowing that no one will swerve in front of you.

• Stop at a pedestrian crossing - when you reach a pedestrian crossing and see that people are waiting to cross the road. Do the right thing and stop. Allow them to cross safely then proceed. Do the same at a stop sign. Many people do slow down at the stop sign and proceed when they know it's their turn. Remember that a pedestrian is allowed to cross the road too. Since they were there first, they have right of way too.

• Move to the slow lane - there are usually three or more lanes on a highway. The lane on the far right side is for cars to pass by. The lane on the far left side where you should be if you driving the speed limit or slower. Usually trucks choose this lane as they do not usually have to pass any cars. If you want accelerate past the car ahead of you, don't hoot at the car that is in the correct lane or put pressure on them. Simply move to the right lane and pass them. The rule is keep left, pass right.

• Fast lane is for passing - the same applies for the fast lane. Don't drive half the speed limit of the fast lane. This lane is only for passing other cars. If you tend to pass cars often, you can remain in the middle lane and pass in the right lane when approach other vehicles.

• Own the mistake - if you have made an incorrect manoeuvre, make sure that you apologise to the other drivers that had to slam on brakes not to crash into you. It would also be wise to do the apology sincerely without laughing or smiling innocently.

• Warn people - sometimes people don't realise that their lights are not on at night. Warn them by simply flashing them with your "brights". When drivers flash another driver it usually means that there is something wrong or that you need to put your lights on. Also warn people if you brake suddenly by using your hazards. There may be an accident or a wheel on the road that causes congestion.

• Say thank you - if someone lets you through into their lane make sure that you thank them. You can do this either by putting your hand up to show that you have acknowledged their kind gesture or you can switch your hazards on for two blinks.

• Simultaneous stop - this is where your "brights" come in handy again. Not often does it happen that two drivers arrive at the same stop sign at the same time but often a little bright light can indicate that you give them right of way first.

Following the general rules of the road as well as a few courteous one will make the journey more pleasant. Always be polite to the other drivers and they will surely be polite back to you.

A1 Wheel and Tyre is a private family owned and operated company specialising in the warehouse and distribution of wheels and tyres to the automotive fitment trade. The company has a well established operation in Johannesburg, South Africa.