A: drive

Back to school is a busy season for both parents and kids and with so many drivers on the road it is more important than ever to practice safe driving when precious cargo, your children and their friends, are in the vehicle. But do parents currently maintain and monitor the safety features on their vehicle? A new Michelin and Edmunds.com Road Safety Survey revealed these staggering statistics:

• Moms are willing to invest more in safety features, but only 1-in-4 check on those safety features on a regular basis.
• Moms spend seven hours a week in their vehicles, and more than half of that time their child is with them, making safety a top priority.
• Only 27% of moms said they regularly check their vehicle’s safety features and three quarters (75%) admitted waiting at least a few days before responding to a dashboard warning light-despite carrying “precious cargo” to and from school and activities.
• We sometimes forget that there are a range of new advances to keep us safe on the road. In fact, when we asked moms about the last time they thought about safety features, 18% said, “When they first purchased their vehicle!”
• More than 8-in-10 (84%) moms said they were more concerned with other people’s driving ability than their own.
• While you cannot control other drivers, you can practice good driving etiquette.