Amica Offers Safe Driving Tips ? and an Accident Checklist ? for the Holidays

Lincoln, RI (Vocus) December 20, 2010

Amica Insurance reminds everyone to drive safely this holiday season and offers the following safety tips ? as well as a checklist of what to do if you are in an accident.

"The holiday season is a great time to travel and be with friends and family. But if you?re driving, it?s important to be extra careful,? said Lisa DeCubellis, a senior assistant vice president with Amica Insurance. ?A lot of people are on the roads, so there is an increased risk of accidents. Here are a few tips and reminders to help you get to your destination safely.?

????Buckle up: Seat belts are the best way to prevent death or injury in the event of a crash. Make sure you and your passengers are properly buckled, and that children are secured in appropriate safety seats.
????Pay attention: Many states now have laws prohibiting the use of cell phones and/or texting while driving. Pull off the road if you have to use your cell phone or other mobile device.
????Stay fresh and alert: Get plenty of rest before a long trip. Take lots of breaks. If you get tired, pull off the road and get fresh air, or get something to eat or drink.
????Never drink and drive: If you are going to dinner parties and other events where alcohol will be served, make sure there?s a designated driver.

?It?s also a good idea to know what to do in case you?re involved in an accident, so we?ve created an Auto Accident Checklist which we posted here and on Amica.com,? DeCubellis said.

Auto Accident Checklist from Amica.com

This is a quick checklist of what to do in the event of an accident. You may want to print a copy to keep with your vehicle.

If you are involved in an accident:

Remain calm and polite.
Turn on your hazard lights.
If safe to do so, move your vehicle away from traffic.
Do not discuss who is at fault or your insurance limits.
Do not leave the scene of the accident.
Contact emergency personnel

If anyone is injured, call 911 for medical assistance.
Do not move an injured person.
Give police your version of what happened.
Obtain the police officer's name, department and incident number.
Exchange information

Vehicle owner's name, address, telephone and/or e-mail address
Insurance information (company and policy number)
Other vehicle information (year, make, model and registration plate)
Driver's name, address, telephone and/or e-mail address (if different from the vehicle owner's information)
Obtain contact information from passengers and/or witnesses.
Note the accident location.
Take photos/video if safe to do so

Accident scene
Traffic controls
Street names
Road conditions
Vehicles and other property damage

About Amica Mutual Insurance

Amica Mutual Insurance Company, the nation?s oldest mutual insurer of automobiles, was founded in 1907. The company, with corporate headquarters in Lincoln, RI, is a national writer of automobile, homeowners, marine and personal umbrella liability insurance. Life coverage is available through Amica Life Insurance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary. Amica employs more than 3,200 people in 40 offices across the country.

CONTACT:????Vince Burks , Corporate Communications, 50 Amica Way,

Lincoln, RI 02865-1155, 800-652-6422, ext. 24563????

Website: Amica.com

Twitter: AmicaMutual

Facebook: Amica Mutual Insurance Co.

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More Belt Buckles Press Releases

Contest to Build a Cool, Safe Snowboard Uncovers Four Innovative Designs -- Now, Which One Is Best?

Palo Alto, CA (PRWEB) July 15, 2011

A $ 20,000 quest to build a binding that will free a snowboarder upended into deep powder has produced four exciting, lightweight and inexpensive designs that promote snowboarding safety without diminishing snowboarding fun.

The winning design will be selected July 31 after the public, snowboarders and inventors have had a chance to view and critique all of the entries at the challenge?s Facebook page.

Creators of the Chris Zider Snowboard Design Challenge include family members of a snowboarder who was killed in a 1992 spill. They hope to call the industry?s attention to these efforts to make a fun sport less likely to be a fatal one.

?We're trying to save some lives, and hoping snowboarding companies and manufacturers will pick up on these ideas and help the inventors commercialize them,? said Bob Zider, whose son, Chris, fell into a tree well and suffocated. ?We need input from engineers and boarders. The key criteria are technically solid design, and a device young, deep-powder boarders would buy (at less than $ 100).?

Here are the four entries deemed by judges to meet the technical criteria while also infusing snowboarding safety with some degree of cool:

????Scott Nisbet, inspired by CarShield technology that assesses when a car has been in an accident, used sensors for his device. It doesn?t require any change in boots or bindings, and recognizes when the boarder is upside down or in danger, sending a signal to automatically unlock the boot from the board.
????Brad Brinson, a Santa Cruz snowboarder motivated by his own tree well scare, created a ?pyro mechanism? device that, simply put, explodes to break the connection between boot and binding. The boarder activates the device with a remote, carried in a pocket or on a belt.
????Thomas Trudel, a propulsion hardware engineer and action sports enthusiast who lives in Santa Cruz, looked complaints about current safety devices in the eye. His answer: a standard looking strap that contains a hydraulic timer that releases the board when the boarder is upside down for 30 to 60 seconds (time depending on the boarder?s setting). Trudel?s technology allows for hassle-free snow removal.
????Adam Weisberg, a snowboarding enthusiast from Corvallis, Oregon, looked at skis for his inspiration for a hands-free in-and-out connection for snowboarder and board. Weisberg?s foot-activated release operates with a lever the boarder self-activates to unlock his front foot by using his back foot.

Bob Zider, himself an inventor of medical devices and golf equipment who is credited as the mind behind Flexon, is pleased with the creativity and diversity of the designs. ?Unlike with skis, snowboard bindings are typically fixed to the board rigidly, and releasing from them requires being able to bend down and release the buckles.

?There have been many efforts to introduce releasable bindings to the industry, but all have failed to receive acceptance, and other than using a lanyard, none to our knowledge has been able to address the tree well problem of nothing being able to reach the boots to release, or provide added time for rescue of an unconscious boarder.?

Detailed specs and drawings for all four designs, as well as those of the three runners-up, are online at http://chrisziderscholarship.org/design-challenge/ through July 31. The winning designer will receive $ 10,000; second-place prize is $ 6,000 and third-place prize is $ 4,000. For more information or to arrange interviews with the contestants or sponsors, please email Susan Fornoff.

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