It’s the same story every year.
Fall comes to an abrupt close, and winter greets the Midwest with an unexpected – but really, is anything unexpected in South Dakota, anymore? – overnight ice or snow storm, leaving roads suddenly slick.
And somehow, no matter how long we’ve lived here or how much winter weather experience we have, everyone drives like a southerner seeing their first snowfall on that first day. Other drivers shake their heads as they drive past ditches littered with cars whose drivers forgot that ice and snow do not care how late you are, but we all know that it could happen to anyone on that first day.
No matter how much your head remembers that snow is slippery, your foot forgets to tap on that brake an extra 20 feet earlier, or your hands forget to allow for much wider turns. Or you think, the passing lane can’t be THAT slick. And there you go, into the ditch.
Do I speak from experience? Maybe.
It’s been a rough winter all over the U.S., and those of us who live in South Dakota are intimately acquainted with the treacherous roads that come with those winter storms. As someone who has to make a daily 40-minute commute, there were times that I thought the winter would never end. But I was one of the lucky ones; so far, I’ve only had one minor weather-related accidents this past winter, resulting in no more than a minor scratched fender.
Others are not so lucky.
Just in this past 6 months there were over 7,200 car accidents in South Dakota alone. Of those, 17 were killed, and 811 were injured. And when you look at the past 15 months, the picture looks even worse – 33,025 accidents, 4,229 injuries, and 108 deaths, right here in South Dakota.
What surprised me is how few of these accidents took place in the winter.
I’ve always looked at winter – especially that “first day” (or week, or even month for some people) – as being the most dangerous time to drive in South Dakota. But according to the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, only about 4.6% of accidents that occurred in the past 15 months were related to poor road conditions or inclement weather. Don’t get me wrong, there were still over 3,000 accidents involving poor driving conditions; it would be foolish to assume that weather is not a contributing factor. However, it does not seem to be the main factor to consider, even in South Dakota. In fact, deer seem to pose a much higher danger to us Dakotans, being involved in almost 30% of reported accidents in 2018!
Well, this got me thinking. What if everyone made those same assumptions, presuming that dry roads mean less likelihood of getting into an accident? If we all lose our winter’s caution as soon as the roads are dry, assuming our own safety, perhaps it is not that surprising that accidents are more likely to occur on dry roads than not. In South Dakota, we all know most of the rules for safe driving on bad roads – drive slowly, don’t use your cruise control, expect to have no traction on turns, etc. – but what else do we need to know to keep us driving with appropriate caution for the rest of the year?
Well, apparently, a lot. But for the sake of convenience, I’ve narrowed it down to the top 4 ways to drive safely in South Dakota – regardless of the weather.
How to Drive Safe in South Dakota
1. Drive at Appropriate Speeds
From 2006 to 2015, 30.6% of fatalities in car accidents were due at least in part to drivers who were going too fast for the road conditions. In the year 2015 alone, there were over 10,000 deaths caused by speeding drivers.
Sure, everyone is tempted to push the speed limit a little bit, especially if you’re late for work (again), and you know that there is little danger of getting a ticket on that particular road. But before you push the pedal, consider a few facts:
- Speeding often saves you little to no time. If you have a 45-mile drive in a 65 mph zone, and you choose to drive 80 mph (15 mph over the limit), you will save less than 8 minutes. If your drive is 20 miles long, at the same speeds you will save about 3 and a half minutes in time. Meanwhile, if you do happen to get caught by the highway patrol, you will be out at least 15 minutes of time and $125. Is it really worth it for that satisfying feeling of getting places faster? Check out this link to test and see how much time you actually save by speeding.
- Speeding is terrible for fuel efficiency. The U.S.Department of Energy estimates that every 5 mph that you drive over 50 mph is about the equivalent of paying an extra $0.20 per gallon of gas. Moreover, the rapid acceleration and slowing that tends to come with that frantic need-for-speed can cause you to decrease your fuel efficiency by up to 30% on the highway, and up to 40% in town. So again, is it really worth it to save 5 minutes of time?
- Now it’s time to really get serious. In all truth, statistics show that your chances of dying in a car accident increase drastically the faster you are going. It makes sense, right? A 2-ton vehicle traveling a mile-per-minute or faster is obviously more dangerous than the same vehicle traveling at 35. And while it is certainly ridiculous to advocate driving 35 mph on those loooonng SD highways, speed limits are actually set for a reason. And as it turns out, obeying those speed limits, or driving as slowly as is needed in inclement weather, is much more likely to help you stay alive. The chart below shows the distribution of speeds in those 10,000 deaths that I mentioned before.
So, is it really worth it to speed? Knowing that you are saving very little time, wasting money both on gas and a potential ticket (not to mention your increased insurance rates), and literally risking your life – maybe it would be better to accept being 5-10 minutes late, and make changes that will allow you to be more organized in the future.
The image below from this blog is an excellent example of the extreme potential for damage that a speeding vehicle can have.
Bonus! Tips on Preventing Lateness (and Speeding)in the Future
- Okay, so you were late today. Was it an anomaly, or more the norm? If it is the norm, calculate the amount of time that you are late every day, and set your alarm clock to give yourself that amount of time + 5 extra minutes for the future.
- Prepare what you need for the day the night before, so that you will not be rushing around trying to grab your briefcase, lunch, schoolbag, etc., when the morning comes.
- If possible, try to go to bed early enough that it will not be as agonizing to get up when your alarm goes off in the morning. If you can wake up feeling somewhat refreshed instead of like an undead thing, it will certainly make your morning more efficient.
2. Do NOT Drive While Distracted, Drunk, or Drowsy
If you don’t know by now that you shouldn’t be driving under the influence, then I don’t know where you’ve been for the past 30 years. Billboards and ads like this have been plastered all over the place for as long as most Millenials or Gen-X'ers have been alive. But even if you’re tired of hearing it, the information is being put out there for a reason. Approximately 31% of deaths in car accidents nationally from 2010 to 2014 were linked to drinking and driving. Another 16% were linked to distracted driving, and an additional 2.5% of vehicle deaths were attributed to driving while drowsy.
Altogether, that is nearly 50% of fatal car accidents, of which there are approximately 35,000 or more every year – to say nothing of the thousands of non-fatal accidents that are caused by the same issues.
During the last 15 months in South Dakota, there were over 1,500 accidents involving driving under the influence, or driving while distracted.
Of course, it’s very hard to guarantee that you will always be fully alert every time you drive, but here are some tips to help you increase your chances of driving safely regardless of the road conditions.
- Don’t drive if you are under the influence. Whether alcohol, drugs (prescription or otherwise), exhaustion, or otherwise. It seems obvious, but just don’t do it. Get a ride if you know you will need one; even a taxi will do.
- Get enough sleep before driving. Easier said than done, I know. But drowsiness – especially if it’s combined with distraction, alcohol, or drugs – can greatly decrease your alertness, making it harder for you to react appropriately when something happens on the road.
- Don’t be afraid to pull over. It is better to take a few minutes to rest by the side of the road than to run off it!
- Put your phone away. Set up your music before you start driving, and turn off your phone’s volume so you won’t be tempted to answer a quick text on what seems to be an empty stretch of road.
It is easy to agree with these ideas in principle – and we would all like to be sure that the other drivers on the road are following these rules – but a bit harder in practice. Why take so many extra steps to be careful, when you’ve texted all the time without a problem?
Well, because ultimately what you are doing is gambling, both with your own safety and the safety of others. And I’ve never heard of a gambler who didn’t lose at least once. Check out this link for a bit more information on just what it is you are risking by driving drunk or distracted “just this once.”
And remember, every one of those activities becomes measurably more dangerous the faster you are driving; if 30% of fatal accidents are due to speeding, and over 30% more are due to driving under the influence, it is easy to assume that the risk of dying in an accident is much higher for a speeding drunk driver than for either category alone.
3. Be Aware of Traffic Rules, and Follow Them
Again, this may seem self-evident. But according to this site, some of the top causes of car accidents in the nation come from people just… not following traffic laws. Some of the top offenses that are likely to cause accidents are as follows:
- Running red lights
- Running stop signs
- Failure to Yield
- Failure to use blinkers when changing lanes (we all knew it was aggravating when people do this, but apparently, it’s actually dangerous as well!)
- Reckless driving (street racing, excessive speeding, passing a school bus that has stop signs out – basically, anything that endangers others)
- Speeding – but we’ve already covered that one.
So if you’re seeking ways to avoid accidents in all circumstances, a good place to start is just by dusting off those lessons from good old driver’s ed, and simply sticking to them. As with speeding, it may seem reasonable to just run one red light or gun it through a yield sign if you’re super late for work, but again, it’s a gamble. Even if you walk away from an accident uninjured, you’re definitely going to be later than if you just sat through the 90 second stop light.
Need more convincing? Check out this news article to see what can happen when you are being careless or reckless while driving.
4. Be Aware of Your Surroundings, and Know Your Limitations
The last tip is pretty simple. Just be aware of what’s going on around you. This involves not driving distracted, or under the influence of anything that would dampen your senses, but more than that, it means to just pay attention to what’s going on.
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- Check the weather forecast and road conditions before driving, and pay attention to the speed of traffic. Chances are, if everyone is going 20 miles under the speed limit, there’s a good reason for it.
- Give yourself plenty of time if you expect to drive in inclement weather; then you won’t feel the pressure of being late when you’re inching along the interstate at 45 miles an hour.
- Be aware of animal crossings, and deer season. Over 19,000 South Dakota accidents in the last 15 months have involved hitting an animal; far more than the reported accidents caused by poor road conditions. To be extra safe, follow these tips to know how to deal with the high likelihood of encountering a deer on a South Dakota road.
- Be careful when driving at night; not only are you more prone to drowsiness when traveling a long stretch in the dark, but the headlights of passing cars can be disorienting, making it harder to be aware of what is around you. Deer are also harder to spot ahead of time when it is dark, as are patches of ice or snow. For safety, plan to drive at reduced speeds at night time, listen to the radio, and keep water on hand to help you stay alert if you must drive at night.
- Know your limitations: are you prone to drowsiness at night, or if you take certain medications? Do you easily get road fatigue? Are you easily tempted by your cell phone on boring stretches of road? Do you tend to have road rage when you are late? Do you have terrible night vision? Does listening to music distract you? You know yourself the best, and if you have a tendency that can cause you to drive less safely, address it ahead of time, or avoid driving under those circumstances whenever possible.
If you can follow these tips, you can feel much safer as a driver in South Dakota, regardless of the time of year. It may not be easy to implement all these guidelines, especially if you have longstanding habits pulling you the other direction, but it is definitely worth it in the long run. After all, it's far more likely that your future self will thank you for your caution now that that you will look back and wish you had spent more time speeding.
Bonus! Recognize your Risk Factors
Below are some factors that are statistically likely to increase your chances of getting in a car accident. It is best to be aware of these things ahead of time, and recognize if you are in a group that is higher risk than others.
- Male (Men are 2-3 times more likely to die in a car accident than women)
- 20-24 years old (feeling invulnerable just because you are young? Think again.)
- 85 years old or over
- A daily commuter
- Not a seat belt user (In SD alone in 2017, 64% of car crash fatalities occurred in drivers or passengers who did not use their seat belts)
Clearly, most of these factors are unavoidable. But if you can be aware of your higher risk, you can take extra precautions to be sure that you are driving as safely as possible: starting with the tips above.
Double Bonus!
This video has some excellent tips for vehicle maintenance – you definitely don’t want to discover that your tire treads are too thin on that first day of winter – as well as general safe driving guidelines.
Comment below if you have any other helpful tips for driving safely that I've missed!
