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Contact: Lauren
Sides
(303) 495-1210
lsides@amr-corp.com
AMR URGES SAFE DRIVING OVER THANKSGIVING
GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO,
November 20, 2003 – Of all
the holidays, Thanksgiving sees more families traveling long
distance. Most go in the family car. To reduce the risk of
motor vehicle crashes during the holiday, American Medical
Response (AMR), the nation’s largest ambulance service,
issues this advisory to drivers. AMR urges drivers to
•
Be sure your vehicle and driver are both in good condition.
• Have your vehicle serviced
before the trip. Especially check the tires, brakes, windshield
wipers, headlights, tail lights and hoses.
• Be sure your driver is
alert at all times. Drivers should get a good night’s
sleep before departing.
• Take frequent breaks
and switch drivers every couple of hours.
• Leave early enough that
you don’t have to drive when tired and sleepy. If fatigue
sets in, go to a motel and sleep. When you’ve reached
the limit of your endurance, do not press your luck by getting
right back on the road after only a few moments rest. Tired
and sleepy drivers are far more likely to have a crash.
• Plan the driving for
daylight hours. More fatal crashes happen at night.
• Stay on major highways
wherever you can. Two lane roads are the deadliest; interstate
highways are safest.
• Avoid distractions behind
the wheel. Not paying attention to the road is one of the
leading causes of motor vehicle crashes. Some research claims
that cell phone users are about as likely to have a crash
as are drunk drivers.
• To make your vehicle
more visible, drive with headlights on, both day and night.
Research shows that daytime headlights decrease crashes.
• Holiday traffic includes
more big, slow recreational vehicles. Be on the lookout for
them, especially on hills and curves.
• Impatience can kill.
Observe the speed limit. Don’t pass in no-pass zones.
Don’t rush through yellow lights to beat the red light.
• Designated drivers save
lives. Forbid anyone from driving who has had even one alcoholic
drink.
• Insist that everyone
in the vehicle wears safety belts or uses a child safety seat
anytime the vehicle is moving, no matter how short the trip.
Don’t transport people or animals in the back of pick-up
trucks.
“Thanksgiving is a
holiday with numerous motor vehicle crashes. Any crash that’s
prevented means grief over loss of loved ones, physical suffering,
disability, medical bills, lost income and lawsuits that don’t
have to be endured,” said Ron Thackery, AMR Vice President
of Safety and Risk.
American Medical Response
Inc. (www.amr.net),
the nation’s largest provider of medical transportation,
is locally operated in 32 states. More than 17,000 AMR paramedics,
EMTs and other professionals transport over four million patients
nationwide each year in emergency, critical and non-emergency
situations. AMR, a wholly owned subsidiary of Laidlaw International,
Inc. (TSX:BUS), is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colo.
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