Tips to Stay Awake When Driving

According to Drivers.com, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that approximately 100,000 police-reported crashes annually involve drowsiness and/or fatigue as a principal cause. Those crashes result in an estimated 1,500 fatalities and 71,000 injuries each year, costing approximately $12.5 billion.

Here are some of the best tips to avoid falling asleep while driving.

Before a trip, do the following:

• Get adequate sleep the night before (7-9 hours).  When you don’t get enough sleep, your body will try to make it up somehow.
• Schedule breaks every 2 hours during long trips.
• Arrange to travel with a companion -- someone to talk with and share the driving.
• Avoid driving between midnight and the early morning hours -- this is usually the time I have the most trouble, especially driving home after a late night flight.
• Avoid alcohol and sedating medications -- check your labels or ask your doctor.
• Avoid having a large meal and then setting out to drive.

Even with the best intentions, you may still find yourself falling asleep while driving.  If you do, watch for the warning signs:

• Yawning
• Heavy eyelids, frequent blinking, watery eyes and rubbing the eyes
• Cannot keep your mind focused
• Trouble remembering the last few miles driven
• Drifting from the lane, hitting the rumble strips
• Head bobbing

If you do find yourself getting drowsy while driving, here are some countermeasures to prevent an accident:

• Take a nap -- find a safe place to take a 15 to 20-minute nap.  Again, I cannot emphasize enough that this is the only guaranteed way to combat drowsy driving.  Taking a rest may get you to your destination a little bit later, but as the video says, think of it as the "rest" of your life. 
• Stop driving and find a place to sleep for the night.
• Consume caffeine -- 2 cups of coffee or equivalent can increase alertness for several hours.  Remember that caffeine may take some time to take effect.
• Try consuming caffeine before taking a short nap to get the benefits of both.

Courtesy of BlogHer.

Throwback Thursday! Who can guess the year of this Toyopet Masterline Van?

Car tip: Lighten up your key chain

Does your car key share a chain with a dozen or more other keys? That’s a pretty heavy load hanging off the car key when it’s in the ignition.The weight, combined with bouncing while you drive, can wear out the tumblers inside the ignition and eventually lead to ignition switch failure. To add years of service to your ignition switch, purchase a lightweight key chain that allows you to separate your ignition key from the others. Drive with only the ignition key in your ignition. If your ignition key “sticks” when you try to turn on the car, it’s a warning that your ignition switch is about to fail. Replace it before you get stranded.

Courtesy of Reader's Digest.

Wallpaper Wednesday! Here's a cool abstract of a Toyota Supra.

After Auction, the 1967 2000 GT Is Now the Most Expensive Toyota in History

It received little more than passing mention in the Lavishly Expensive Roadster Edition of Wheelies, but something significant happened a couple of weekends ago. It wasn’t earth shattering, but it was noteworthy: RM Auctions sold a 1967 Toyota 2000 GT for nearly $1.2 million. It ended up being one of the higher priced cars in a batch that included Ferraris, Porches and one-off concept cars like a 1954 Chrysler GS-1 Special that sold for $616,000.

According to the figures David Kinney – publisher of Hagerty’s Price Guide – came up with, the yellow ’67 is not only the most expensive production Toyota in history, but also the highest-priced Asian production car ever.

“I believe it to be a double highest price ever achieved, both for a Toyota production car and for any Asian car,” he wrote in an e-mail. “I have looked for anything higher and have been unable to find it.”

Another 1967 2000 GT sold for $650,000 in March 2011.

But 2000 GTs were never cheap cars. An article in the February 2009 issue of Automobile magazine puts the list price of one when new at $7,230, which is more than $50,000 in today’s dollars. By comparison, a Chevrolet Corvette sold for $4,663 and a Jaguar E-Type for $5,559. Even a Porsche 911 was only $6,190.

The 2000 GT saw only limited production. Although the exact number of cars built varies from source to source, RM Auctions claims Toyota built 351 of the curvaceous little sports cars from 1967 to 1970. Toyota did not build enough cars to have established an American presence sufficient to be heard over the big block din of the muscle-car era, but it also means 2000 GTs are highly collectible now.

A technologically advanced car for its age, the 2000 GT featured a dual overhead cam 2-liter in-line 6-cylinder engine, fed by three Solex 2-barrel carburetors. It produced 150 horsepower at 7,000 r.p.m., and the engine was mated to a 5-speed manual overdrive transmission. In its description of the car, RM Auctions said it was capable of reaching a top speed of 135 miles per hour.

Although the 2000 GT was a short-lived nameplate, it left a lasting legacy. It was the car that showed Japanese car manufacturers that they were capable of building more than just stodgy family cars that many considered knock-offs of European designs. Toyota, and later other Japanese automakers, knew they could do sporty, and they knew they could do beautiful.

Courtesy of The New York Times.

Monday Maintenance Tip: How To Safely Jumpstart Your Car

Be kind to your battery

If you inadvertently leave your lights on and drain your battery, take the following precautions to prevent damage to the battery and the starter when jump-starting your car:

• Don’t risk causing the battery to explode. With both cars off, connect a positive cable end to the positive battery terminal of the dead battery.
• Connect the other positive cable end to the positive terminal of the source battery.
• Connect a negative cable end to the negative terminal of the source battery.
• Attach the remaining negative cable to unpainted metal on the car engine (as far from the dead battery as possible).
• Wait a few minutes and try to start the disabled car. If it doesn’t start, start the source car and then try starting the dead one again.
• When the car starts, be careful to disconnect the cables in the reverse order.
• If the car still doesn’t start, don’t keep trying to charge it or you are liable to damage the starter. Bring the battery to an automotive shop to see if it can be recharged.
• Even if you’re successful, ensure a full recharge by hooking up the battery to a charger overnight or by driving the car for 5 or 10 miles (8 to 16 km).

 

Courtesy of Reader's Digest.

Toyota is giving away 6 Dierks Bentley autographed guitars!

Toyota is giving away 6 Dierks Bentley autographed guitars to celebrate the reveal of the redesigned 4Runner.  Check out the 4Runner Facebook page to win! http://bit.ly/Zq5R2v