Collision Debris
With the nation emerging from isolation, many motorists plan to hit the road to make the most out of this summer. Even if you don’t spend a lot of time on the beltway, odds are you’ll witness an errant piece of debris in the roadway. It could be a piece of lumber, trash, blown tire or metal fragments – no matter what it is you don’t want to hit it with your vehicle. Here are a few tips to help you avoid a visit to our Baltimore body shop!
Slow Down
It may come as no surprise that the easiest way to avoid hitting debris is to watch your speed. If you’re speeding down I-95 and see a piece of wood in your lane, you won’t have much time to stop. Even worse, you may end up reacting and switching to another lane and causing an even more costly and dangerous collision with another vehicle. By driving the speed limit, you will have more time to stop or avoid any debris that may appear before you. You’ll also be giving the motorist behind you more time to anticipate your stop so as to prevent a rear-end collision!
Pay Attention to the Stopping Sight Distance (SSD)
The minimum distance your vehicle requires to come to a complete stop when applying your brakes is referred to as Stopping Sight Distance (SSD). There are plenty of variables that affect SSD, including the vehicle’s weight, speed, tire tread, brake quality and road surface. Get a feel for how far it takes to stop your vehicle and train your eye to that distance. If you spot a piece of debris within that area, the odds are in your favor that you will be able to stop on time.
Do Not Tailgate
You remember this one from Driver’s Ed. It is always important to keep at least one car length from between you and the vehicle before you. You should increase this to another car length on the highway, and one more for slippery road conditions. This will ensure you have enough time to react to the brake lights of the vehicle before you, preventing a collision.
Speak Up
Do your part to help keep the roads safe for other drivers. If you see debris in the road that could be potentially dangerous to others, try your best to report it to a relevant authority as soon as possible. Your actions could potentially safe someone else’s wallet or health from an unfortunate accident. The local highway authority will remove the debris safely.
Wrap Up
While you may image vehicular collisions to be the only danger on the roadways, debris accidents cause plenty of accidents annually across the nation. Keep your eyes peeled to prevent yourself from joining these statistics. Should your vehicle unfortunately collide with debris, Jerry’s Collision Center will be here for you to repair the damages. We are conveniently located off of Exit 30B on the Baltimore Beltway!