I read, with interest, some recent postings on Clark Howard’s website titled, “Auto Insurers Happy to Cover Teenagers – with Caveats.”

As the CEO of DriveCam and the father of six children (one of whom died in an accident, though not an auto accident), I have personally experienced the tragedy of losing a child. I will tell you that you don’t want to watch your child killed in an auto accident, you want to prevent them from being killed. Clark – and his family – are very lucky that his daughter did not lose her life in her two collisions. I’d like to answer some questions concerning DriveCam that have been posted to the site. Some insurance companies (like American Family Insurance) are giving this technology to parents free of charge, so they have the opportunity to coach their teen before the crash occurs. And, parents only see what their teen does when something abrupt or risky with the vehicle occurs. When this happens, the teen loses 12 seconds of privacy in their life, which become the teachable moment to correct potentially lethal habit patterns before it becomes too late. What’s 12 seconds of knowing compared to a lifetime of grieving? Perhaps Clark’s 19 year old daughter may have avoided the two collisions (and totaling the car) if she had had the opportunity to be coached before they happened. 

The following is a brief interview with Bruce Moeller – a rare opportunity to get to know the man behind the message.

Thanks for spending a few minutes with us, Bruce. Why are you so passionate about road safety?
BM: Because 43,000 people died last year – needlessly. And that’s only in the U.S. That number is 1.2 million worldwide! What people need to realize is that there are no accidents. Every crash, collision and incident is predictable and preventable. These “accidents” do not need to occur.

What causes these “accidents”?
BM: Everyone thinks they’re immortal and that it will happen to the other guy.  Also, because we’re lucky. When we drive and take risks, whether we’re cutting corners, rushing or multi-tasking without ever having received a ticket or bent a fender, we are subtly reinforcing the notion that we can behave in this irresponsible manner. Each time we get away with it, we become more confident, bold and aggressive. This is all fine and well until our luck runs out. And, as the statistics prove, our luck does run out. For 465 of us each and every day.

Why did you write Driving Me Crazy?
BM: Because I had to. Seeing the death and destruction that occurs everyday compels me to stop it. I needed to let as many people as possible know what’s going on, why it’s happening and how we can make our roads safer. What’s interesting is that as I began writing the book and relaying my stories to friends and colleagues, I quickly became aware that although each of our lives are different, our stories are similar, and we all share the same passion.

How can people get involved?
BM: By sharing their stories on DrivingMeCrazyStories.com. It’s here where we can begin to create a community of people who share the same passion and vision – to make our roads safer. They can become involved in their communities and in their jobs. By simply talking to people, listening to their stories and sharing their own, they’ll become more aware of what’s going on and raise the awareness level of risky driving, what causes it and how it can be stopped.

I agree. I just hope it starts before one of our readers becomes one of the statistics. Thanks for your time.

My wife, baby boy, brother-in-law and I embarked on a road trip from Phoenix to Lake Tahoe and back in a 1993 Toyota Previa mini van.

It’s a long trip (over 750 miles) during which you traverse many hundreds of miles of pretty straight boring road. Making it even more interesting are big rigs passing you in the opposite direction at such velocity that the mini van would shake and practically blow off of the road.

On the trip back from Lake Tahoe, I decided that I wanted to make it as comfortable and roomy as possible, so I strapped the cooler and the baby stroller onto the roof rack.

Well my wife liked that stroller way more than she liked my peace and contentment or her brother’s ability to have the maximum room inside the van to stretch out and relax. She was incredulous that I would do something as stupid as to strap those items onto the roof rack and she drilled me on that subject the entire trip. All 750 miles. Read More >>

One of my colleagues told me of a funny incident that happened to him the other day while he was out getting the mail with his toddler properly secured in the car seat in the back.

He stopped at the mail boxes, which are concentrated near, but not directly in front of, his house.

It was a chilly day so he had the heat on in the car. He simply stopped in front of the mail boxes and left the car running so as not to interrupt the flow of warmth to his young child.

Somehow, either he or his toddler hit the door lock button and, you guessed it … he was suddenly standing on the outside looking in at his toddler locked in his running car. Read More >>