Page 4 - AAA Hudson Valley – AAA Every Day – March/April 2019

MAIN OFFICE
618 Delaware Ave. Albany, NY 12209-1096 Phone: 518-426-1000 AAA.com
SERVICE CENTERS
All offices can be reached by phone at 518-426-1000
Latham:
Newton Plaza
595 New Loudon Road Latham, NY 12110
Troy: 514 Congress St. Troy, NY 12180
North Greenbush:
593 N. Greenbush Road Rensselaer, NY 12144
CLUB OFFICERS
Chairman ....... Robert Blackman Vice Chairman ....... Carl Florio
President/CEO ....... Michele Van Epps Treasurer ....... William A. Zeronda
Secretary ....... Alisa Henderson
DIRECTORS
Marc Ehrlich Joseph Herd Joseph Porter Michael Walsh
OFFICE HOURS
Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m.–1 p.m.
(Albany office only)
Monday-Friday 9:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m.–1 p.m.
(Troy office only)
Monday 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Tuesday-Friday 9:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m.–1 p.m. (Latham and North Greenbush offices only)
TRAVELERS CHEQUES & PREPAID CARDS
Travelers Cheques are free of AAA service charges to members. Travelers Cheques and prepaid cards are available during office hours (listed above). Cash, cashier’s checks and credit cards accepted. Payment by credit card may incur a cash advance fee and/or cash advance interest rate charged by your bank.
All telephone calls received by the club are recorded for training and quality-control purposes.
The advertisements in AAA Every Day are, to the best of the Club’s knowledge, accurate representations of the products and services offered. However, no endorsement by the Club is intended or implied. As a membership service, any complaint against an advertiser will be investigated in the interest of seeing
a satisfactory and equitable resolution. All complaints should be addressed to the Editor. The Club reserves the right to reject any advertising including that not related to travel.
4 I MARCH/APRIL 2019
Bigstock, Paha_L
Every day we witness risky driving and unsafe pedestrian behavior. In 2017 we had more than 37,000 people killed on United States roadways. We
had an additional 2.4 million people injured. Our vehicles are 2-ton machines capable of moving at high speed. This destructive force needs to be taken seriously. Many of us drive very safe cars, with a host of safety features.
Our safer vehicles have helped keep death and injury rates down, but we need to do a lot better. Let’s focus on three of our most dangerous issues.
Distracted Driving: Driving requires us to multitask. We need to scan the road from near to far and left to right. Avoid adding additional non- driving tasks. Even something as simple as reaching for a cup of coffee or changing the song we are listening to limits our focus on driving. More complex actions like cell phone calls, text messaging and using vehicle touch screens are even more dangerous. The extra second it takes to notice and react to a child playing near the roadway is too long. The defensive driver is the person who “expects the unexpected.”
Impaired Driving: Drunk driving alone kills more than 10,000 people
in the U.S. each year. While it is the biggest killer on our roads, it’s not the only type of impairment. Any drug, legal or not, can alter the way you drive. The fact that a drug may be legal, or even prescribed, does not mean you can drive while under the influence of these products. With an aging population, the number of drivers under the influence of prescription medication is rising. Marijuana legalization also is increasing the number of drugged drivers on our roadways.
Drowsy Driving: Being drowsy can sneak up on a person and will impair your ability to operate a car safely. Be proactive and don’t ignore the risks. Opening the window or turning up the music are very temporary solutions. Caffeine is another temporary aid. None of these methods replace sleep. Get off the road as soon and as safely possible. A short nap or physical activity might help you regain your alertness and focus.
Don’t forget, even though we all share the roadways, some groups take the majority of the risk. These groups include pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists. Pedestrian and motorcyclists combine for more than 11,000 of our 37,000 roadway fatalities.
Let’s all make a promise to exercise safer driving habits. Move over for flashing lights, focus on the task at hand and limit distractions and risky behaviors.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE