Belgrade, Montana Personal Injury Blog

The spring season always brings rain to the area. As a driver, you must pay attention to any change in weather conditions, as this will impact your driving style and approach.

Here are four tips for driving safely in the rain this spring:

• Slow down: Even if you do nothing else, this may be enough to prevent an accident. Speeding on wet roadways increases the risk of hydroplaning, which could result in a serious accident.
• Use your headlights: This improves visibility, allowing you to more easily spot other vehicles, puddles and hazards. It also makes your vehicle easier to see.
• Don't use cruise control: Using this on slick surfaces increases the risk of an accident since you're not actively controlling your speed. It's best to turn cruise control off, move into the right lane (if you're on the highway) and slow down.
• Pass with caution: It's not always easy to pass another vehicle in rainy conditions, as you have to be careful about your speed. Furthermore, you don't want to do anything that will cause trouble for another driver, such as passing in the right lane or cutting them off.

Driving through a construction zone can be fraught with danger. You could face a variety of unique circumstances, such as shifting lanes and workers in close proximity to your vehicle.

It's critical to focus on safety when driving through a construction zone, as one mistake can cause an accident that results in injury or death.

As you travel down a highway on-ramp, it won't be long before you see a yield sign ahead. This gives you notice that you need to take great caution as you merge into the flow of traffic.

Even if you have many years of driving experience, there's something tricky about yielding onto a highway. You could make a variety of mistakes, including but not limited to the following:

• Neglecting to use a turn signal: Even though other drivers should see your vehicle, it's your responsibility to use a turn signal to make your intentions clear.
• Coming to a complete stop: It's in your best interest to keep a steady speed down the on-ramp so that you can easily merge into the flow of traffic. Coming to a stop makes it more difficult to yield, as getting up to speed will take more time.
• Assuming others will make room: Don't assume that other drivers will move out of the lane so you have space to yield. While courteous drivers will attempt to do so if possible, this doesn't always happen.

As an experienced hunter, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking you know everything. This is a major problem when it comes to gun safety, as you could make a mistake that puts you or someone around you at risk.

Regardless of how much experience you have using guns, it's important to live by the mantra "safety comes first." While there are many gun safety tips to follow, these five are among the most important:

• Always point the muzzle in a safe direction: This sounds like common sense, but it's easy to forget when you are in the woods and focused on something else. If you never point your gun at something you don't want to shoot, there's no chance of an accident.
• Unload your gun when not in use: Some hunters unintentionally make this mistake, while others are in the habit of never unloading their gun. It's better to be safe than sorry, so always unload your gun and store it in a safe place.
• Don't assume the "safety" is foolproof: Although the "safety" is there for a reason, no mechanical device is foolproof. Furthermore, it's easy to think the safety is on, just to find that this isn't the case.
• Think before you shoot: Although hunters have to react fast in many cases, you need to be 100 percent sure of your target, as well as what's beyond it, before you pull the trigger. There's no such thing as a do-over, so you need to know exactly what you're shooting at.
• Wear protection: Eye and ear protection is a must, not only when you're hunting but also when you're cleaning or repairing your gun.