Few things are as much of a royal headache as being involved in a car accident – even a minor fender-bender. I’ve compiled a few short tips on how to (hopefully) avoid both being on the giving and receiving end a rear-end accident.

Always leave a car length between you and the person in front of you. We’ve all learned that since driver’s ed, but it’s rarely practiced – mostly because it would double the length of cars at every stop light. When I was a chauffeur (just one of the many random jobs I’ve had) one of the training videos I watched said you should always be able to see where the tires meet the pavement of the car in front of you. It’s a good rule of thumb to follow.

Pick your poison. When I approach a red light on a multi-lane road, I’ll look at my options of cars in front of me. For example, if there’s a Ford Taurus and a BMW, I’ll usually choose the lane with the Ford Taurus. I figure if I get hit from behind, causing my car to lurch forward and rear-end the car in front of me, I’d rather have it be a Ford than a Beemer. Of course, that can be avoided if you…

Keep your foot on the brake. If you’re rear-ended you’re less likely to launch forward into the car in front of you. So keep that foot planted firmly on the brake pedal.

Last Minute Lurch. Once I was sitting at a light and glanced in my rear view mirror only to see that the person approaching behind me clearly wasn’t going to stop in time. I pumped the breaks a few times to try to alert her via flashing break lights that she needed to brake harder, but her head was down fishing around in her purse. It wasn’t going to be a bad accident, but I could tell she was going to hit me.

I waited until the last second and then quickly lurched my car forward a bit into the (pedestrian-free) crosswalk in front of me. It did the trick and the extra six inches of space prevented an accident.

Hopefully you’ll find these tips beneficial and maybe they’ll even save you from having to pay an insurance deductible. Any other ideas on how to avoid fender benders? Let me know in the comments.

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Photo courtesy of here.

I’ve noticed a weird phenomenon amongst highway drivers in Utah: they’re driving the speed limit, 65 mph. For those of you outside Utah, this is quite amazing as normally one has to go about 80 mph to keep from feeling like you’re going to be run off the road.

In an effort to save on gas, my wife and I have been driving slower too. After reading a number of articles on hypermiling I decided to change some other driving habits as well. In addition to ekeing out every last penny from our gas tanks, we’ve noticed a pleasant side effect: we’re much less stressed while driving.

Honestly, it’s kind of a weird feeling.

While I never felt that I was worked up or anxious before while driving, I now realize I wasn’t relaxed either. Now I am and I find it rather pleasant. You should try it. Below are four steps I’ve been incorporating in my driving. Give them a try and see if your stress level goes down while your fuel economy goes up.

1. Slow down. According to the federal Energy Department, for every 5 mph you drive over 60 mph, it costs you about 20 cents more per gallon . So all that time I was keeping up with traffic at 80 mph, I was spending the equivalent of nearly $5/gallon for my gas. (See here for more details.) Knowing that I’m no longer doing that is a wonderful feeling. Almost wonderful enough to make me not care about gas prices. Almost.

2. Leave early. Getting a bit of an early start will not only help your driving be less aggressive (consequently, saving gas) but does wonders for your stress level. If you can be organized enough to leave early it means you’re becoming more organized in your life outside your car. That’s a good thing.

3. Don’t accelerate quickly . I’ve been playing a game in the car. It’s called, "Keep My RPMs Below 2,500."  It’s loads of fun (slight exaggeration) and keeps me from accelerating too fast. The obvious exception to this rule is when you’re getting on the freeway. I do enjoy the smooth shifting that comes from moderate acceleration – no jerking like you’re more prone to get at high RPMs.

4. Coast before braking. Don’t keep your foot on the gas until the last minute and then hit the brakes. As soon as you can tell you’re going to need to stop, start coasting.

Now, in interest of full disclosure, I’ve done some things in cars that may have been of dubious legality. (My preference is BMW but you’d be surprised what my little Nissan Altima is capable of.) Driving is fun and driving fast is even better. One of my goals in life is to drive a 6-speed BMW and actually need to use the sixth gear.

That being said, I’ve actually found that I enjoy driving more when I’m practicing these points. That’s not to say I wouldn’t take the opportunity to drive a 6-speed BMW if given the chance (do you know someone?), but for day-to-day driving I enjoy the overall experience of slow and steady quite a bit. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

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Photos coutresy of here .

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So what’s the simplest way to remember where you parked? Pull out your cell phone and take a picture of the nearest color-coded pillar. Simple.

You may even want to go so far as to snap a shot of which mall entrance you used. Sometimes I remember I came in through, say, Sears, but I can’t remember which door in Sears. Was it men’s wear or large kitchen appliances?

Oh. And please remember to delete the parking pillar pictures on a regular basis or someone is going to be checking out your cell phone and think you either have a really bizarre sense of what constitutes “art” or you’re insanely boring.

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This is a quickie, and in the overall scheme of things fairly insignificant, but I found it interesting nonetheless.

You know that little gas pump icon on your fuel gauge? As it turns out if the hose and handle in the little icon on on the right side (as pictured above) the gas tank is on the right side of the car. If the hose and handle are on the left side of the pump (not pictured above) the gas tank is on the left side of the car.

So the next time you’re driving someone else’s car (whether it be a friend’s or a rental), or if you’re on an awkward date and there’s nothing good on the radio, keep this in mind. Maybe it’ll save you from either embarrassing yourself by walking around your car only to pull away from the pump without filling up, or from saying something stupid like, “So…did you ever wear head gear?”

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The image for this light-hearted post, as well as the original idea came from my in-laws.

I called the local dealership and asked what they could do for me. They replied that running a diagnostic scan would be $89. And that was without fixing anything! Having heard stories about check engine lights appearing for things as simple as a loose gas cap, I was hesitant to lay down that kind of cash. I mentioned this to a coworker who told me that AutoZone would be able to tell me why my light was on – for free.

So I headed down to my local AutoZone. Sure enough, a friendly employee came out, plugged a little orange hand-held computer into my car and informed my that my O2 sensor was out. She was also able to specify which sensor it was, where it was located and my options for fixing it including some basic instructions. And, what do you know, they had the part in stock for about $50. Not too shabby considering I’d have spent nearly twice that at the dealership just to find out what was wrong.

In addition, AutoZone will lend you the tools you’ll need if you’re going to take on a project yourself. They charge you the full price of the tool and you get your money back when you return it. This is an excellent option for a person like me who’d like to take a more active role in maintaining my car, but don’t have the money or space to dedicate to purchasing tools.

There you have it. A simple, cheap way to find out why your check engine (or “service engine soon”) light to help keep your car running smoothly.

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Logo courtesy of here. Image courtesy of here.

1. Skip the security line. Southwest’s Rapid Rewards Cards are not only free, but at some airports (Portland International in particular), flashing said card allows you to bypass the long lines at security and skip straight to that fun machine that blasts you with little puffs of air.

2. Get an “A” boarding pass. You know those boarding passes you receive when you check in your luggage? Instead of having to decide between showing up early to get an “A” pass, having a nice seat on the plane but having to wait for hours in the terminal, and showing up on time, getting a “C” pass but getting squished in a middle seat for your entire flight, you can check in online.

By checking in online you can print out your boarding pass from home 24 hours before your flight leaves – an “A” pass without having to sit in the terminal for hours. All you need is your name and confirmation number.

3. Miss your flight? Relax. Can’t make your flight? Need to cancel last minute? Southwest allows you to apply the full cash value to apply to a future flight, up to a year away (see Southwest.com for full details). My family has actually used this a number of times and never run into a hitch.

Of course, this doesn’t help you get to your destination (especially during the holidays) but at least you’ll know your money hasn’t gone down the tubes.

Despite what you think, I’m not endorsed by Southwest (although I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea – Southwest People, you have my number). It’s just the airline I have the most experience with. Does anybody have tips for simplifying your holiday travels on other airlines? If so, either leave word in the comments or e-mail me at LivSimpl at gmail.

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P.S. Feeling lucky? A couple of years ago while we were back in Oregon for Christmas, my sister lost her driver’s license. Fearful about whether they’d let her board with the increased security measures and no government-issued ID, we called the airline. They said it was fine, but she’d have to go through a more stringent version of security and to arrive early to allow time, which we did.

While we stood in line waiting for our turn to walk through the metal detectors (I’d forgotten my Rapid Rewards card) my sister was escorted to the left where she was asked a couple of questions, had her bag x-rayed and walked on through. That’s right. With no ID, my sister made it through the “stringent security” much faster than those of us armed with IDs.

Southwest logo courtesy of here.

Instead of having to take time off work (like I recently had to) to visit a DMV/driver license office to renew that tiny piece of plastic with the unflattering picture on it, plan ahead a bit and do it online. It’s the same price and much less hassle.

In Utah, go here and click on the Driver License Renewal Instructions. According to said instructions, the whole thing should take about five minutes. You’ll be asked for the renewal notice the DMV sends you in the mail and a credit card. Follow the instructions from there and, voila! No having to schedule time off or wait around forever with the mad rush of people who try to squeeze in after work.

If you don’t live in Utah you can click here for a list of other state’s sites.

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Google has partnered with some gas stations to begin putting Google Maps on the pumps allowing motorists to get directions.

Sounds like a good alternative to waiting in line to talk to a cranky convenience store employee who may, or may not, know how to direct you to where you’re going.

The pumps will have local restaurants and other hotspots preprogrammed and will give you the option of printing out your directions on receipt paper. There’s also an option to print out coupons which, I assume, will come from paid advertisers.

Sounds like a great way to avoid the frustration that comes driving around in circles.

On a side note, does anybody remember the pumps at some Chevron stations that used to play CNN while you filled up with gas? Whatever happened to those?

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