OSPE - The Voice - Fall 2012 - (Page 26)

ENGINEERING INTELLIGENCE YOu’VE JuST hAD AN AuTO ACCIDENT. NOW WhAT? Engineers have made tremendous improvements to automobile safety in recent years. Innovations such as blind-spot warning systems, adaptive headlights and electronic stability control (ESC) are among the advanced safety features now available. Lane departure systems alone have the potential to save thousands of lives, since sleep-deprived drivers cause up to 100,000 accidents each year. Thanks to engineers, today’s vehicles offer a level of safety and comfort that henry Ford himself could never have imagined. Despite this progress, accidents still occur, usually as the result of human error. The leading cause is driver distraction, things like talking on a cell phone and looking down to adjust the stereo. Speeding, recklessness and driving while impaired are other major causes. Still, you can be the safest of drivers and find yourself involved in an auto accident. here are the steps you should take to protect your own safety and ensure your claim is successfully and efficiently processed. If the accident occurs on a busy highway, stay in your car until emergency personnel arrive. Put on your four-way flashers and, if you have a cell phone, call 911. Do not get out into traffic, where you could be hit by passing vehicles. Only if you’re in a safe location, such as on a rural road or urban side street, should you leave the vehicle. Check yourself and your passengers for any injuries, and then check on occupants of any other vehicles involved. If anybody is injured, immediately call 911. Even if there are no injuries and vehicle damage is minor, there are circumstances were you must legally call police and remain on the scene until they arrive. These include, but are not limited, to: damage to public property, suspected criminal activity, a vehicle damaged to the point that it is not drivable, or if any other person demands police attendance at the scene. If none of these complications is present, then simply exchange information with all other involved parties, including witnesses. Get their names, addresses, phone numbers, insurance and driver’s licence information, as well as vehicle particulars. If you are insured with The Personal, you can call the number on your policy slip directly from the scene to obtain the emergency roadside assistance needed (a tow truck, police or a cab, for example). You will then need to proceed to a Collision Reporting Centre, where the damage will be documented and you will receive a Police Report. While the claims process is similar with all auto insurers, at The Personal we try to make it simple, fast and painfree. Simply contact us as soon as possible, anytime, 24 hours a day. Our claims expert will ask you to describe the event in detail. We will immediately prepare a damage assessment report and proceed with repairs according to your policy coverage. When you pick up your repaired vehicle, you simply pay the deductible indicated in your auto insurance policy (only if you were at fault) and return your rented vehicle, if you have one. It’s that simple. For more information about auto insurance, or to make a claim, call The Personal at 1 888 476-8737 or visit www.thepersonal.com. SAFETY FEATuRES AT A GLANCE Seat belts Anti-lock brakes Electronic stability control Rear parking sensors/cameras Still the single most effective auto safety feature Could reduce single-vehicle crashes by up to 48% Could eliminate 10,000 fatal crashes each year An estimated 50 children are injured by reversing vehicles each week Sources: Forbes Magazine, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2 6 TheVoice Fall 2012 http://www.thepersonal.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of OSPE - The Voice - Fall 2012

OSPE - The Voice - Fall 2012
Contents
Viewpoint
Newsbytes
A Great Day on the Green
Don’t Miss the 65th OPEA Gala
Engaging Tomorrow’s Engineers
Renaissance Plan
The Business End of Engineering
Profile: Pierre Lassonde, P.Eng.
Continuing Professional Development: Mandatory or Not?
PAN Expands Outreach to Ottawa
BIG Engineering
You’ve just had an auto accident. Now what?
Ask the Expert: Facing a Complaint
Keep Yourself Covered
What’s 2 + 2? Depends Who’s Answering!
Custom-built Learning for Engineers
Coming Up

OSPE - The Voice - Fall 2012