Rudest Drivers in America

Do the drivers you see every day seem rude? Are they constantly using a phone while driving, tailgating, or not using their turn signals? Find out what behaviors other drivers find most annoying, and which states the drivers are guiltiest of participating in those behaviors.

Idaho ranked as the No. 1 rudest state in the study. Survey respondents' attitude toward this potato-producing state is rooted in its alleged bumper crump of both speedy spuds and slow-rolling couch potatoes. "The roadways of Idaho present a dichotomy of drivers: Those who are moving so slowly that they're judged to be rude, and the aggressive drivers who speed around them and flip them off," Insure.com said in a statement.

The five driving behaviors that bothered survey participants the most, followed by the percentage reporting so, were:

• Talking on a mobile phone while driving, 47 percent
• Tailgating, 37 percent
• Not signaling turns, 35 percent
• Weaving in and out of lanes, 28 percent
• Driving too fast, like every road is a highway, 26 percent

It bears noting that in Cars.com's recent poll seeking readers' opinions on the most-annoying driving behaviors respondents overwhelming identified "camping out in the passing lane" as the most egregious offense. Our poll's choices represented the most frequently expressed complaints in the comments section of our previous post on the subject.

The study's top 10 rudest states list is split almost evenly between the western and eastern U.S. On the opposite end of the spectrum, North Dakota drivers are, by default, the most polite in the nation, ranking No. 51.

Insure.com's entire list of all 50 states and the District of Columbia is as follows; see where your discourteous drivers rank:

1. Idaho
2. Washington, D.C.
3. New York
4. Wyoming
5. Massachusetts
6. Delaware
7. Vermont
8. New Jersey
9. Nevada
10. Utah
11. Alaska
12. Louisiana
13. Connecticut
14. Rhode Island
15. Iowa
16. Oklahoma
17. California
18. Alabama
19. Arkansas
20. Mississippi
21. Colorado
22. New Mexico
23. Florida
24. Ohio
25. Georgia
26. Illinois
27. Texas
28. Hawaii
29. Kansas
30. Virginia
31. West Virginia
32. Kentucky
33. Maryland
34. Arizona
35. Michigan
36. Indiana
37. Pennsylvania
38. Tennessee
39. Missouri
40. South Carolina
41. South Dakota
42. North Carolina
43. Washington
44. Nebraska
45. Wisconsin
46. Oregon
47. Minnesota
48. Montana
49. New Hampshire
50. Maine
51. North Dakota

Read the full article from Kicking Tires here: http://bit.ly/ZsaDji

Finding the Right Car Insurance

If you're going to have a car, you're going to need insurance. But it isn't as cut and dry as having insurance or not. There are a few different kinds of coverage you can get. There are also a few other important considerations you should look at when looking for the correct coverage. Hopefully this blog will help put some of those different aspects of car insurance into perspective for you.

Three Types of Coverage

Although insurance policies and prices vary from company to company, there are three basic types of coverage you'll want to consider.

Liability: If an accident is your fault, the insurance company will usually cover the damage you caused, including bodily injury and property damage.

Collision: The insurance company will pay for repairs performed after an accident. Make sure you go to a repair shop approved by your agency. Otherwise, they may not pay for the work.

Comprehensive: Damage from vandalism, theft, floods, fires and other events is covered. Some insurance agencies don't cover certain kinds of mishaps, so make sure you know all the details — and exclusions — of your policy. Some insurers offer protection from uninsured drivers.

Other Important Considerations

Find out your auto lender's preferences
If you owe money on your car (through your loan), your lender may have some rules on the kinds and amounts of coverage you'll need. Most lenders want a comprehensive coverage package to protect the car in the event of an accident. However, if you own your car outright and have the title, you are free to select the insurance you feel most comfortable with, as long as you comply with state insurance requirements.

What's the smart amount of coverage for me?
Figuring out how much time you spend in your car and the number of hazards that your car faces on a regular basis (traffic, parking, etc.) can help you figure out the coverage you need. If your car is frequently exposed to hazardous conditions, you may want to consider adding more coverage. If you keep your car in a garage most of the time, you probably don't need as much coverage as someone who's parking on congested city streets every day.

Your insurance agent will ask you about your driving habits. Based on data from thousands of insured drivers, the agent can figure out the likelihood of you having an accident and offer a plan that is appropriate for you. Some insurance companies will reduce your payment if you drive less frequently, live close to work or if you drive a safer vehicle.

You should also consider where you live, work or go to school. Are you concerned that your car may get stolen or vandalized? Weigh all these things when choosing your insurance plan. You can easily increase your coverage if necessary.

Click the link to read the entire article from Cars.com: http://bit.ly/17YZhRO

Cleaning Up Spills in the Car

If you have kids, you know that spills are unavoidable. In a perfect world, spills would never happen in the car, but unfortunately this is usually never the case. So what do you do when a spill does happen? Kicking Tires has shared advice from parents on cleaning up spills in the car.

Start with Protective Surfaces: Generally speaking, leather or vinyl seating surfaces will be easier to clean than fabric. However, several automakers offer a stain- and odor-resistant material in some of their cars. GM, for example, uses interior coatings to protect cabin materials from sun, sweat, sunscreen, bug repellant and more. Engineers conduct durability experiments on the surface coatings, some of which involve applying perspiration to the seats for hours (a synthetic simulant, not real sweat, phew!) to see how surfaces hold up. Sweat is just the beginning. GM spills "everything from sewing-machine oil to petroleum jelly," said Doug Pickett, GM engineering group manager. "We do coffee, ketchup, blue-ink pen, regular soy sauce, chocolate milk, red Kool-Aid and black marker." 

Act Fast: If someone in your car spills, clean up as much as possible off the car's seats and floor as soon as possible. Scoop up any, um, chunks, and soak up any puddles with paper towels. 

Scrape it Up: If you've found your noxious fume culprit and it's had time to dry and harden, try to scrape up any residual particulates first. Gather plenty of fresh towels, wet the area with hot water and soak up smelly aftereffects with the towels. Rinse and repeat. 

Buy Stock in Baking Soda: Cover every possible affected surface with a thick layer of baking soda. Let that sit and work its magic for as long as possible (in the legendary strawberry milk episode, I let it sit for three days). The same principle that makes baking soda great for soaking up garlic fumes in your fridge means it will work in your car. After a few days, use a high-powered Shop-Vac or a commercial-grade coin-operated vacuum at the gas station or car wash, to suck up all that odor-absorbing magic powder. 

Combat Lingering Smells: By this stage the spill should be gone, but there might be a lingering aroma. Rather than trying to mask one smell with another, try an all-natural product like Moso bags, which are filled with bamboo charcoal that can soak up smells from a mile away. OK, maybe not a full mile, but at least within the confines of your car. They come in several shapes and sizes to fit discreetly in your car, and if they work on my daughter's ballet shoes, they can definitely work on your nasty car smell. 

Create an Alternate, Pleasant Aroma: Now that all traces of putridity are a distant memory, you can add a pleasant scent to transform your morning carpool schlep into a feast for your olfactory senses. Rather than adding chemicals to the mix, try a few drops of a favorite essential oil (I vote for grapefruit) on a cotton ball and tuck it into a cupholder or an in-door storage pocket. Breathe deep and enjoy that wonderful family, spills and all.

Click the link to read the full article: http://bit.ly/1AbFA6j

Warning Lights to Watch Out For

Your car has all kinds of built-in functions to let you know when something is wrong. Warning lights are one of these functions. In order to give your car the proper attention it needs though, you want to be sure you're able to decipher any warning lights that could potentially come on. This article from AOL Autos explains 5 important warning lights and what exactly they mean.

Low Tire Pressure Warning
Many modern vehicles constantly monitor the pressure of each tire, and inform you when there is a pressure drop due to a puncture. When the low tire pressure light turns on, you should pull over to visually inspect your tires.

While it’s fairly straightforward to visually identify a normal tire that has gone flat, it’s much harder to do so with a run-flat tire. If you see that a normal tire has gone flat, you should mount a spare or call roadside assistance. If you have run-flats, you should drive to the closes tire shop to get the tire patched or replaced. Driving a long distance on a punctured run-flat can be dangerous, so don’t risk it.

Even if the tire isn't completely flat, low tire pressure can be a serious safety issue, as it impairs your ability to steer the car. It also negatively impacts fuel economy.

The low tire pressure light looks like an exclamation point in the middle of a horseshoe.

Low Battery Warning
Depending on how much you drive and the weather where you live, your battery will last 4 or 5 years on average. When the low battery warning light turns on, it’s a good idea to change the battery within a few days to avoid getting stranded somewhere because the car won’t start. If you buy a new battery before the old one dies completely, you can purchase an inexpensive replacement at your local warehouse store and do the swap yourself. Otherwise, you could be forced to pay double the money for a battery off a road service truck.

The low battery light looks like, well, a car battery.

Brake Fluid Warning
Your brakes the the most important safety device on your car, and you should take the brake fluid warning light very seriously. This light can indicate a brake fluid leak, or another problem in your brake system.

If the problem is serious, you may experience diminished stopping power, which can have serious consequences. When this light turns on, get a brake system inspection as soon as possible. Brake failure can have life-threatening consequences for you and your loved ones.

The low brake fluid warning light looks like an exclamation point in the middle of a circle, which is enclosed in parentheses.

Oil Pressure Warning
While coolant is necessary to regulate the temperature of your engine, oil is necessary to keep the internal components running smoothly. The engine is the most valuable single part of your car, so it’s important to make sure it’s properly cooled and lubricated.

When your oil pressure light comes on, it can indicate that you have an oil leak or that your engine is burning oil. In either case, it’s important to get your oil level back to normal. You can do this by purchasing the correct type of oil for your car (as indicated in the owner’s manual) and using the dipstick to top it off. Be careful not to overfill the engine – too much oil can also cause damage. To figure out the root cause of the low oil level, you should take your car to a mechanic for inspection.

Temperature Warning
When your temperature warning light turns on, your car probably has a coolant leak, bad water pump or faulty thermostat. Driving a car with cooling problems can cause the engine to overheat, which can destroy the gaskets within the engine or even cause the delicate metal components to warp. An overheated engine can cost thousands of dollars to be rebuilt or replaced. Unless that’s a risk you want to take, take your car to a mechanic as soon as the temperature warning light comes on.

The temperature warning light looks like a thermometer floating on water.

Read the full article from AOL Autos here: http://aol.it/1un18fB

Protecting Your Family When Car Trouble Strikes

If you own a car, running into some kind of trouble is inevitable. Whether it be a flat tire, running out of gas or a dead battery, car trouble can be extremely stressful, especially if your family is in the car. Here are some tips you can use to make sure your family stays safe next time car trouble strikes.

So what should you do when your car breaks down and your kids are in the backseat? Erin Stepp, AAA spokeswoman, has tips to keep you and your family safe and sane when the inevitable happens.

Carefully pull over: In an emergency, the first thing to do is gently and safely bring the car to a stop. Pull over onto the far right shoulder, as far off the road as possible while remaining on level ground. If you're driving on an interstate or multiple-lane highway with medians, you may consider the left shoulder, again pulling as far away from traffic as possible.

Flash, baby, flash: In order to generate enough attention to notify law enforcement or a roadside-service provider of your whereabouts, turn on your car's hazard lights.

Raise the hood: Raising your vehicle's hood signals to a service provider that you need help. You can also signal that you need assistance by closing a brightly-colored handkerchief, scarf or even a baby's spit-up rag in a window.

Call for help: When calling for roadside assistance, make sure the service provider knows how many children will require transportation and if any of them need child-safety seats. While it may have been socially acceptable for me to ride on my mom's lap back in the early '80s, that wouldn't fly today.

Stay with your car … unless: If you're able to pull away from traffic, it's usually safest to remain with your vehicle until law enforcement or a roadside-service provider arrives. If you must leave the car, stick together as a family and have everyone exit through the side of the vehicle that's away from traffic.

Never leave children alone in, or around, a car: This one sounds logical, but sometimes we act illogically while under stress. Never leave a child alone in the vehicle while you leave to look for help. A car's interior temperature can rise quickly even with the windows cracked for air circulation. Children's bodies heat up five times faster than adults, making them more susceptible to heat stroke, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Secure Fido: If traveling with your family pet, secure it with a leash or pet restraint. This will protect both your animal and the roadside-service provider from unintended injuries due to a fearful or stressed animal.

Lock the doors, crack the windows: If temperatures allow, keep the car's windows almost closed and the doors locked while you wait for help. If approached by a stranger, stay in your vehicle and ask them to call for help if you haven't been able to call yourself.

Take inventory and stock up: Always keep a stocked emergency kit in your vehicle. Make sure you have these basics:

Cellphone (with charger) that's preprogrammed with your roadside service provider's number
Drinking water and kid-friendly, non-perishable snacks, such as a few granola bars or dried fruit

• Extra medication and, if traveling with infants, diapers and baby formula
• First-aid kit
• Pencil and notebook
• Your car's owner's manual
• Flashlight with extra batteries
• Jumper cables and tire pressure gauge
• Flares, warning triangles or reflectors
• Signal flag, retro-reflective vest or scarf
• Windshield-washer fluid and wiping cloth
• Engine coolant and fire extinguisher
• Tool kit including screwdriver, pliers, duct tape and adjustable wrench
• Umbrella

Most importantly, remember that your energy is infectious. Stay cool, calm and collected to help little ones get through the experience without undo emotional turmoil. Give the kids a snack and whip out your pencil and notebook for a few retro rounds of hangman or tic-tac-toe. Help will arrive soon.

You can read the full article from Kicking Tires by clicking the link: http://bit.ly/1tv2TpD

Many Americans Are Driving When They Shouldn't

A new study has found that many Americans are driving their car even thought they know they probably shouldn't. The survey didn't only look at impairment from drinking, but also at those who drove when they were tired or sick or when their car has some sort of mechanical issue that may not have been safe. Read more about the study in this article from KickingTires.

Nearly half of all drivers admitted to driving when they shouldn't have. That's one finding in a poll of 2,000 licensed drivers from December 2013, which CarInsurance.com released Monday. The website found that 46 percent of respondents admitted to driving once or twice in the past year when they knew they shouldn't have.

Eleven percent admitted to driving when they shouldn't have from three to 10 times in the past year. And 3 percent were serious repeat offenders, admitting to driving when they shouldn't have at least 11 times in the past year.

"I'm glad I don't know any of those 3 percenters," said Michelle Megna, managing editor at the Foster City, Calif.-based insurance advice website. Other survey results had no date attached, Megna told us, which means respondents only admitted to having ever done it.

It's not just alcohol impairment that precedes a poor choice to get behind the wheel. The survey dug up some interesting (if troubling) numbers: Drivers admitted to getting behind the wheel when they were sleepy (68 percent), experiencing a headache (53 percent), sick enough to be in bed (35 percent), less drunk than a friend (23 percent), weren't wearing necessary glasses or contacts (16 percent), taking narcotic pain medicine (15 percent) or had their arm in a cast (8 percent).

Note that these figures came from the general population. Not everyone has had their arm in a cast, and 25 percent of adults reportedly don't need glasses or contacts. That means, in all likelihood, that the portion of people who have ever had a cast and drove with it exceeds 8 percent. And the portion of visually impaired drivers who drove without glasses or contacts exceeds 16 percent.

Drivers also admitted to getting behind the wheel despite car problems, the survey found. What kind? Read on:

• 61 percent admitted to driving with the check engine light on.
• 32 percent admitted to driving when they couldn't see through snow or ice on the windshield.
• 26 percent admitted to driving when their windshield wipers weren't working.
• 21 percent admitted to driving with a broken speedometer.
• 19 percent admitted to driving with a broken horn.
• 18 percent admitted to driving with broken headlights.
• 17 percent admitted to driving on a flat tire.
• 10 percent admitted to driving when a door had to be held closed.
• 7 percent admitted to driving without a required car seat for their child.
• 6 percent admitted to driving a car filled with exhaust fumes.
• 5 percent admitted to driving with a missing or broken driver's seat.

Read the full article from KickingTires here: http://bit.ly/1ofx5VW

Back-to-School Safety Tips

It's back to school time! In order to keep kids safe when getting to and from school, Kicking Tires has published this list of great tips for both parents and their kids as they head back to school for the year.

Before Carpooling

• Don't agree to drive more children than you have proper seating, seat belts and, if needed, child-safety seats for.
• Set rules for proper car behavior up front; kids cannot meet your expectations unless you spell them out clearly.

Driving Through the School Zone

• Create a distraction-free zone: Cellphones, loud music, screaming kiddos, breakfast, makeup touchups and more take our eyes and minds off the road. Research by AAA shows that taking your eyes off the road for just 2 seconds doubles your chances of getting in a crash.
• Obey the (stop) signs: Shockingly, studies show that more than a third of drivers roll through stop signs in school zones and neighborhoods. If the sign says "Stop," you need to stop, people! Be aware of pedestrians: This is the time of year when walking and riding bikes to school is fun. According to AAA, pedestrians struck by vehicles traveling school-zone speeds (25 mph) are nearly two-thirds less likely to be killed than those struck by vehicles traveling just 10 mph faster. Young kids on bikes can be erratic while trying to get a feel for their new wheels; the chances of children riding in a straight line are slim to none, so plan for them to swerve into your path — even if they don't.
• Brake for buses, it's the law: According to a survey by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, on a typical day more than 75,000 vehicles pass stopped school buses. Yikes!

Speaking of buses, here are some safety tips for those of us lucky enough to have access to those awesome big yellow limos and their drivers, who risk life, limb and sanity driving our kids to and from school each and every day.

Before Getting on the Bus

• Allow enough time to get to the bus stop several minutes ahead of time. Children running to catch a bus can result in disaster.
• Coach kids to walk along the sidewalk, if available, and stay on the sidewalk at the bus stop. Yeah, I know it's much more fun to play football in the street, but I'm here to tell you about safety, remember? If a parent or two can be present at the bus stop, kids are much more likely to practice safe behavior. Gathering a couple of neighbors and splitting up the duties each week builds community and keeps kids safe.

Loading the Bus

• Here's where I inject my opinion: Big kids should wait for little kids to get on the bus. I'm not suggesting sixth-graders wait for fifth-graders, but all kindergarteners, first- and second-graders should safely get on the bus before the gangly giants ascend the stairs.
• Pushing is rude and shouldn't be tolerated by anyone, even friends.
• In the non-opinion category, kids should sit down quickly and face the front of the bus. Looking up at the driver so he knows everyone is ready to go is respectful and helps the bus stay on time.

While on the Bus

• Don't block the aisles with backpacks, instruments or even legs. Having a clear path for exiting the bus is important if there's a crash.
• Keep all body parts inside the bus. (Did I even have to say that? Yes, yes, I did.)
• Speak quietly on the bus; the louder one student talks, the louder others have to talk to be heard, and distracting the driver is a horrible idea. It also goes without saying that screaming and horseplay are also distracting to the driver.
• Don't trash the bus. Bus karma will come back to bite anyone who spits in the seat or leaves a bunch of trash for someone else to pick up.

Getting off the Bus

• Students should always cross in front of the bus if they have to cross the street. Visibility from the driver's seat of a school bus is best about 10 feet around the front of the bus, so that's where students should walk.
• Students should never pick up something that's dropped in front of, near or under the bus. Always talk to the driver before leaning down to pick something up.

Biggest Rule of All

Listen to the driver. A bus driver's job is to get kids to school safely. Drivers may be sweet as can be or big ol' curmudgeons, but either way, dissing the driver is the worst safety violation of all — even if you're 15 and know everything there is to know (about everything).

Read the full article from Kicking Tires here: http://bit.ly/1rPj5Cq