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How Much Do You Know About Car Safety?

LilSugar — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:35:26 PDT

One more good reason to send the kids to grandma's for the weekend! A study published in Pediatrics found that kids are actually safer in crashes when driven by grandparents than when driven by their parents. And not just a little bit safer - taking risk factors like proper seat belt use and type of car into account, the study concluded that there's a 50 percent reduction in injury risk with grandparent drivers.

Busy parents spend an awful amount of time in the car. How much do you know about carting your kids around safely?

Take the Quiz

Do You Still Use Gadgets While You Drive?

Kristy Korcz — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 05:11:00 PDT

Though texting and chatting on the phone while driving is illegal (not to mention super dangerous), most people still multitask behind the wheel. A recent report shows that in the US, up to 25 percent of car crashes are caused by distracted drivers that use gadgets while driving.

There are plenty of texting apps available for download that will help you stay away from your smartphone while on the road, but with these kinds of stats it seems that most drivers would just rather ignore the law altogether.

Be honest - are you still using your gadgets while you drive?

Texting on the Sly Leads to More Car Accidents

GeekSugar — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:15:22 PDT

Texting while driving is banned in 30 states, but have you ever snuck in an SMS while you were behind the wheel? The answer for most of us is no, but people are in fact still texting on the sly, and it's leading to more fatalities and accidents than before the ban, according to a new study.

When people try to hide their texting from the police they tend to lower their phones to their laps, the study says, which means no eyes on the road for longer periods of time. That translates to an increased chance of crashing; the accident rates in three of the states they studied rose after the law was in place. Last year, there were almost 450,000 accidents and 5,474 deaths due to distracted driving.

The government, however, is not giving up; US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he is confident that the texting ban will work in the future, once it is enforced "effectively." So instead of trying to outsmart the cops, keep your cell phone tucked safely away and try my top five texting-while-driving alternatives.

Source: Flickr User mrJasonWeaver

Put the Pedal to the Metal and Pump: Have You Done It?

LilSugar — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 07:00:05 PDT

A friend recently told me about the ultimate mom multitask - pumping while driving! She was in a bind after a doctor's appointment ran late so she had to hop in her car and hook up. Using a travel pump and bottle attachments, she headed home while making dinner for her son. Have you expressed milk in transit?

Road Rage 2.0: Bump.com

GeekSugar — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 07:30:22 PDT

Even though most people agree that certain types of technology and driving don't mix, when it comes to being on the road, there are ways to take advantage of tech. Case in point: a driving-centric dating site. Now there's another site aimed at drivers, though this one seems more likely used as a way to take out your frustrations on another driver. Bump is a new site and iPhone app devoted to helping drivers communicate.

To use it, register with the site, including your license plate number and state. Then, if you'd like to send a message to another driver, simply enter her license plate and state. If the driver's registered with the site, she'll receive your message. Find out more about the site (and why I think it's a bad idea) after the jump.

Website of the Day: Go Gas

GeekSugar — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 07:30:34 PDT

Over the weekend, I took a road trip down the California coast to Big Sur - a prime spot for road tripping. While filling up our gas tank at a tiny gas station along the way, I started talking to a guy pumping gas into a huge rented RV as he joked about it costing more than $100 to fill his tank (it did!). "I wish I would have known how expensive this gas would have been before I started," he said.

Now, there's a quick way to find out. Get more details on today's Website of the Day after the jump.

Voice Commands to Update Facebook While Driving: Bad Idea?

GeekSugar — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 05:47:21 PDT

It's fair to say you'd have a hard time finding someone who agrees texting while driving is a safe practice but is using voice functionality any safer? According to GM, it is; the car manufacturer is testing functionality for voice-activated Facebook updates that drivers can make directly from their cars. The technology, which is part of GM's OnStar system, would also read Facebook and text messages aloud and allow drivers to select one of four preset messages from different buttons on the steering wheel.

Am I the only one who thinks this is just as dangerous as texting while driving? Hear more of my thoughts and share your own after the break.

Love It or Leave It: Digital, Ad-Displaying License Plates

GeekSugar — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:30:59 PDT

California's budget deficit has been in the news for years, but a new proposal aims to help reduce it with a geeky touch. One state senator has proposed adding advertisements to new digital license plates. The proposal, which is now in front of the state Legislature, authorizes the California DMV to "investigate the emerging digital electronic license plate technology" and partner with tech companies to find out if digital plates have the potential to display ads.

Details on how such plates would work aren't entirely clear, but supporters say that ads would potentially be displayed only after a car is stopped for four seconds at a red light, or when in traffic. Additionally, the car's plate number would be visible at all times. Call me crazy, but no matter how hard the plate designers try to prevent distracting drivers, anything that flashes in front of me when the car is stopped will catch my eye. Maybe that's the point? Plus, if this is akin to driving around with a mini computer screen on your bumper, I could see them being a target for thieves, not just my eyes. What do you think?

Study Finds People Sex, Text, and Game While Driving

GeekSugar — Fri, 28 May 2010 12:30:19 PDT

Unfortunately, the photo on the right is not a good representation of what people do behind the wheel. A recent study performed by research firm Lindberg International says that five percent of drivers play video games while behind the wheel. But wait, there's more - as shocking as this stat sounds, here's another: a whopping 15 percent of drivers admit to having sex while navigating a vehicle! Amazing!

The study surveyed 300 people (spanning countries like the US, Japan, France, and the UK), and while both of these activities can be pleasurable, they are both extremely dangerous pastimes while flying down the freeway at high speeds. Want to know what else participants do while driving? Find out after the break.

Website of the Day: Route4Me

GeekSugar — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 09:30:54 PDT

Getting from point A to B is easy with the help of Google Maps, but what if you have a number of stops to make, and want to make your travel time as fast as possible? Point your browser to Route4Me. This website lets you enter in all of the addresses you need to visit, then gives you driving directions for the fastest loop and shortest route between point A, B, C, D, or up to 10 different locations. No more wasting gas getting around inefficiently! Plus, you can enter the addresses in any order, and Route4Me will determine where you should go to make your trip as quick as possible.

Do you have an interesting website you want to share? Create a PopSugar Account or log in to your account. Then join the Website of the Day group where you can post your favorite website! And you never know, it could be featured on GeekSugar! Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.