Keeping Teens On The Road To Safety

According to the latest information from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), teens have the highest crash risk of any drivers, at nearly four times that of drivers over 20. In fact, the IIHS says 39 percent of all deaths of 16- to 19-year- olds are caused by car accidents, making it the leading public health problem for teenagers. It's the parents' responsibility to teach kids how to be safe in the driver's seat. My son became a race car driver while he was still in his teens, so I really understand the fear of putting your child behind the wheel. "It is more important than ever to think 'Safety First' before teens get behind the wheel and onto the open road," said Brad Eggleston, vice president of AutoVantage, a leading car care and travel assistance group. Here are a few tips for parents: 1. Give the driver's seat to your teen. Recent reports suggest teens need between 25 and 50 hours of supervised driving before getting a license. Stay calm. If you panic, so will your child. Cover parking, multiple lanes, various road types, weather conditions and different days and times. Draw attention to safety hazards and day-to-day conflicts. Simple, straightforward instructions are best. 2. Limit the number of friends allowed in the car when your child drives. 3. Wear your seat belt. Some 63 percent of fatally injured teens are unrestrained. Lead by example. 4. Continue to periodically ride with your licensed teen. The sudden freedom he or she gains with a license can result in risky behavior, such as speeding. Teens are new to the road and can be overconfident. 5. No cell phone. The IIHS says drivers with cell phones are four times more likely to be involved in crashes that result in injuries. 6. Drinking and driving don't mix. Make yourself available should things get out of hand. Blood alcohol concentrations as low as 0.02 percent can hinder a driver's ability to track moving targets. Membership in AutoVantage (http://www.autovantage.com/) begins with a two-month trial that costs $1 and can be canceled anytime during the trial period. Unless you call toll free (1-800-876-7787) to cancel during the trial period, your privileges will automatically continue at a low monthly membership fee. Customers can cancel at any time for a refund of the unused portion of then-current month's fee, no matter how much money they've saved.

Read More

Keep Your Truck Bed Clean

It was bound to happen. You lend your truck to a “friend” who says they have a couple of pieces of furniture to move and it comes back to you with scratches in the bed area of your truck. It wouldn’t have been so bad had they apologized, but now you have to deal with unsightly scratches that can only make your truck’s value deteriorate quicker. Had you thought about it, you would have stuck a bed liner in your truck ahead of time to prevent the problem from happening in the first place. The above account actually happened to me as I was trying to help a young couple out with a good deed. I was warned in advance by a friend that the couple would take advantage of me and he was, unfortunately, correct. Let’s just say that it was a bitter lesson learned. Twenty years have passed and I no longer have that old F-150. My current people mover is an SUV, so I have no open area to deal with. Yet, I likely will have a pickup truck again in the near future and I have looked closely at some of the products available to owners today, particularly bed liners. Advances in technology have brought new products on the market that either did not exist a few years ago or were too expensive for the average driver. Some of the bed liners you can purchase include: Spray on liners. That’s right; you can have super-thick polyurethane sprayed right into the bed of your truck. At one quarter inch thick, you can receive protection from scratches or fluid and it is completely air tight. One manufacturer says this about their product, “It's scratch-resistant, slip-resistant, and really easy to clean.” Roll on liners. Similar to spray on liners, are roll on liners. Everything that I have read about roll on liners means a lot of work for the person who does the job, which typically is the truck’s owner. After sweeping and cleaning the bed free of all debris, you will then need to sand the entire truck bed as well as the sides before applying the rubberized coating. The sanding forces the coating to adhere to the bed area and I must tell you that between the sanding, masking tape, rubbing alcohol, newspapers, and particle masks, this is one smelly and messy job! Installed liners. Okay, I am biased. If it were up to me, this is the product I would purchase. Option number one is too expensive; option number two is too messy; while the third option -– an installed liner -- makes the most sense to me. Still, you need to be careful in this area too as some bed liners are certainly better made than others. Look for those liners that are scratch and dent resistant, waterproof, chemical proof, stain resistant, and durable, i.e. not subject to cracking, chipping, or fading. In all, a bed liner makes perfect sense for any truck, particularly if you can put one in that covers the sides and the wheel wells. All the decent ones I have seen are nicely padded and can easily be cleaned. Learn all about the product you want before making a decision to buy.

Read More

K&N Air Filters cleaning air for up to 1,000,000 miles?

For more than 30 years, K&N Filters have been the choice in engine filtration. The K&N filter delivers virtually unrestricted flow letting your engine run stronger, cleaner and with greater fuel efficiency. And yes, their warranty is good for 1,000,000 miles. So you could use your single air filter on all of your family’s vehicles for your entire life and only K&N has a guarantee and industry approval to hold up. The secret of the K&N filter is its filter medium. Four to six sheets of pleated and oiled cotton-gauze are layered between two sheets of aluminum wire mesh. This proven design stops dirt, dust and other harmful particles like no other filter, all while clean, power-enhancing air flows freely to your engine. With no costly changes and services, your K&N filter will save you money. And, you’ll be helping the environment by reducing the number of disposable air filters that end up in landfills. Have any doubts that you can install one on your own? Don’t worry; it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3! Performance air filters fit in the exact spot where your restrictive paper filter once lived. Installation involves quick loosening or removal of your air box for cleaning. Once dry and dirt-free, fit the performance air filter in place. Cleaning makes for a tight seal between the air box and the polyurethane border. If you're one of the proud few who has never changed their own air filter, location and directions can be found in the manual for your vehicle. It's super easy. The average install time is 10 minutes or less. The immediate and long-term benefits to installing a K&N air filter in your ride are as follows: Improved airflow to your engine Boosted horsepower, performance and gas mileage Better filtration of engine-destroying dirt Easy maintenance, thanks to infrequent cleaning Environmentally-friendly reusable materials It's the last filter you'll ever need - saves you from the expensive disposable filter circus Helping your vehicle's power by upgrading your vehicle's air system doesn't stop with the filter. There are also entire air intake replacements that combine a performance air filter with a wider intake tube for faster, higher volume airflow. This is a topic for a different discussion and future article… ; )

Read More

John Reese's Top Traffic Secrets

Track all sources of traffic generation. John Reese stresses the need to track where all traffic comes from and at what cost. It is crucial to know exactly how many sales, newsletter sign-ups, or other leads your particular marketing campaigns generating. This enables you to work smarter and not harder. By tracking all traffic to your site you can make twice as much while working fifty percent less. Content is King On the internet, people are searching for one thing....... Content! Load your website with as much content as possible. Then, continuously add content. Search engines love information and they will love your site if you've got lots of it. There's plenty of free content for the taking on the internet. You can load up your site with articles from article directories like ezinearticles.com. Or, you could be like John and use content from the public domain. Or, you can use content that is in the creative commons. This type is now easier than ever to find now that Yahoo and others have come out with a search engine designed specifically for content that is in the creative commons. An affiliate program is critical to maximum traffic and sales. Lots of internet marketers don't take advantage of this powerful traffic-generating technique. An affiliate program allows you to have your own personal salesman spread all over the web. The best part about it is that there is absolutely no risk involved but tons of traffic and sales to gain. Your website simply cannot grow to its full potential without an effective affiliate program. Banner Ads John Reese advocates the use of banner ads during a time when they are largely an untapped marketing source. Banner ads are one of the most overlooked sources of targeted traffic online. Also, banner ads are now one of the cheapest sources of targeted traffic. In the late 1990's during the dot-com boom, people were selling banner ads for $40 and $50 CPM. Then the dot-com bubble hit and these rates hit the floor. You can now buy banner ads dirt cheap, at $1 to $1.50 CPM. This is $1 for 1,000 banner impressions. The key here is to find the perfect place to advertise that will send targeted, willing to buy customers to your site. Create viral reports that can quickly spread around the internet. This method works best when you have an affiliate program. Allow others to brand your report in order to encourage its distribution. A quality free report can be a powerful promoter when passed around the internet. This same phenomenon can occur when you submit your articles to article directories and popular newsletters. Take advantage of your virtual real estate. Take advantage of the different parts of your website. Don't let any of your web pages go to waste. You can do this by adding a link to another one of your web sites or pages on your thank-you or sales confirmation pages. If you have articles on your site, place links to related articles on the bottom of the page. The longer you keep a visitor at your web site, the more valuable they become. It is very important to funnel traffic from within the multiple sites you may have. Continually seek out other web sites to link to you. Now, we're not just talking about any kind of link here, but powerful, traffic-generating links from respected sites. Here are some quick suggestions: Send a related web site an article that you have written and allow them to display it on their website with a resource box at the end. Offer to exchange articles and tell them about the benefits of doing so. Allow multiple, related web sites to distribute your free e-book or report. All web masters are looking to add value to their web site, why not make it easy for them. There are unlimited possibilities, be creative! Online group participation can produce a no-cost stream of traffic and sales. Get involved in email discussion lists, online groups and forums that are related to your target market. Becoming involved in discussions makes you very credible. Traffic from forums can produce a much higher sales conversion rate. This method can produce quite a bit of sales for you just by helping others out. Not to mention, you'll learn a lot along the way.

Read More

Jeux de : Comment Perdre de Argent Rapidement

Examinons donc les différentes théories de jeux existants, leur sérieux et leur efficacité, pour ne pas dire inefficacité. Tout d'abord, il est une chose essentielle a toujours garde en mémoire: le jeu est un sport, un loisir lie aux aléas du hasard. Comprenez donc la chose suivante: rien ne peut défier le hasard. Perdre est donc naturel et il faut bien l'accepter. Tout n'est donc que question de chance. Ainsi, toutes les théories sur "Comment battre les Casinos" n'ont aucun fondement et n'ont, par ailleurs, jamais prouve leur efficacité. Ces dernières n'ont été inventées que pour donner de faux espoirs de contrôle d'une partie, face a un manque de confiance en soi. 1) L'une des méthodes les plus célèbres est celle de parier sur un événement qui n'a pas eu lieu a un moment précis. Selon des calculs statistiques, un événement qui ne s'est pas produit a ce moment sera forcement récurent sous peu. Grave erreur. Par exemple, a la roulette: 3 cases rouges sortent coup sur coup,le joueur parie alors sur une case noire pour le quatrième tour. Manque de chance, une autre case rouge est sortie. Hors cette méthode est très courante au sein des casinos, surtout parmi les joueurs cherchant a battre le casino. Regardez donc le nombre de personnes autour du table avec leur air songeur! En fait, ils analysent les parties. 2) La seule méthode plus fiable jusqu'a présent fut le comptage de cartes des sabots. Or, sachez que les casinos peuvent mettre dans un même sabot 8 voir 10 jeux différents pour le Blackjack. Donc cette méthode n'est plus trop en vigueur de nos jours. Cette dernière fut très prisée car non basée sur les probabilités, et offrant, a long terme, plus d'avantage sur le Casino. 3) Toutefois, certaines méthodes ont vues le jour comme les Martingales pour la casino en ligne pour la roulettes. Celles-ci ont au moins le mérite d'annoncer la couleur des le départ: "Aucune fiabilité a 100%". Toutefois, elles offrent l'avantage de proposer les meilleures possibilités de paris (comment miser pour récupérer la précédente mise,combien, etc..), tout en ayant fait d'avantages de preuves que la première. Les casinos permettent-ils ceci ? Les casinos connaissent même mieux que nous ces fameuses stratégies "miracles". Par conséquent, les casinotiers changent régulièrement leurs conditions générales de jeu ou leur matériel, sans pour autant être trop inquiètes. En effet, contre le comptage de cartes, le casino a par exemple rajouté des jeux dans son sabot afin de le rendre impossible. De plus, ces derniers savent qu'a la longue, l'avantage revient a la maison (soit, le casino). Mais pour éviter de tout perdre: Autre que le conseil singulier de "faites attention a vos mises. Ne misez jamais plus que vous ne disposez", il est utile de rappeler que les allers/ retours a Las Vegas ou Atlantic City ne sont pas nécessaires pour pouvoir bénéficier de bons casinos. Le choix s'offre a vous,: dans votre région ou en ligne. Alors pourquoi gaspiller en plus de l'argent dans des billets d'avions tous les deux mois?

Read More

It Will Eventually Happen To You. What To Do When You Have To File An Auto Insurance Claim.

It's bound to happen. Sooner or later, if you drive long enough, you're likely to have some sort of automobile accident. With luck, it will be minor. But irregardless, knowing how to handle an auto insurance claim can possibly save you thousands of dollars. If you are involved in an accident, particularly in moderate to severe accidents, the first thing you need to do is contact the police. They will arrive quickly and help you sort out what happened, who may be at fault, and contact towing companies to remove your vehicle from the scene of the accident if necessary. The second thing you should do is contact your insurance company. They will likely want the insurance information of the other driver. Get that information from the other driver if possible, but if they are angry or uncooperative, do not push them. They must give that info to the police, and your auto insurance company can get it that way if necessary in order to process your claim. It takes longer, but it can still be done. This also saves you from escalating an already stressful situation if the other driver is extremely agitated. An auto insurance claim is simply a process by which you are covered in the event of an accident. If you were at fault in an accident, your insurance company will conduct an investigation, and pay for damages. This will likely result in an increase in your premium, or if you have had multiple accidents over the past few years, your insurance company may drop you completely. If another party was at fault for the accident, your insurance company will handle to process of handling the claim with the other drivers insurance company. Depending on the severity of damage to your vehicle, they will either issue you a check for the current market value of the vehicle, or they will provide you with information about where you can take your vehicle for repair. The process of filing auto insurance claims is a very stressful one. However, one possible benefit to this unfortunate event is that you learn quite a bit about your insurance company in the process. It's very easy for companies to promise the world, until you actually need them. At this point, you have the opportunity to evaluate how they treat you as a paying customer. Are they responsive when you contact hem? Do they process your claim quickly? Do they get you back on the road with a repaired vehicle or a check in a timely manner? Do your rates go up? Do they drop you? As difficult as it may be to go through, there is simply no better way then having to file an auto insurance claim, to find out if you are with the right company. Here's hoping you don't have to find this out for many, many years to come!

Read More

It's Time To Get Your Tire Inspection Rolling

It's the season for getting our vehicles in gear for 2006. Let's begin with the only part of your car or truck that actually touches the highway-your tires. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says underinflation is the leading cause of tire failure-and tire failure can lead to accidents. Be your own crew chief and follow these simple guidelines from the NHTSA and other experts: • Take a peek at your tires: Visually inspect your tires on a regular basis. Consumer Reports says consult a professional if you see cracks or cuts on the sidewalls. If you see bulges or blisters, which signal potential weak spots that could lead to tire failure, replace the tire at once. • Under pressure: A tire doesn't have to be punctured to lose air. Tires naturally lose air over time. Check the pressure in all your tires -even the spare-at least once a month with a tire gauge. • How much air?: Tires should be inflated to the psi, or pounds per square inch, recommended by the vehicle's manufacturer. • Time matters: The best time for checking pressure is when a tire is "cold"-at least three hours after the vehicle has been driven. Even if you only drive your car around the block, the tire still needs to rest for three hours to get an accurate reading. • Tread test: Make sure your tires have the proper amount of tread. Many tires have tread wear indicator bars molded into the tread. If you can see a solid bar of rubber across the width of the tread, it's time to buy new tires. • Rotation, rotation, rotation: Most manufacturers recommend rotating tires every 5,000 to 8,000 miles. However, some four-wheel- drive vehicles require rotation even sooner, such as every 4,000 miles. Always check your owner's manual. According to Brad Eggleston, vice president of AutoVantage, "One of the best precautions is proper tire maintenance, which keeps your vehicle humming during the often hazardous road conditions."

Read More