How to avoid deadly car dangers that can happen even when you're not on the road.

Most people think that cars are only dangerous when they're on the roads in Tampa or Clearwater. They think that the danger from cars comes only from the possible collision of their car with another object in a typical Tampa car accident. But there are other ways that people are injured in cars even when they are not driving on the roads.

One way is the danger of a rolling vehicle.  For example, you may step out of your car and the car rolls on top of you or somebody standing nearby. These rollover accidents can be deadly. Therefore, it is important to people with automatic transmissions to always make sure that the car is placed in park before leaving the car.  People with manual transmissions need to make sure that their car is in gear before leaving the car.  Although people will often get their oil checked on a regular basis, they will often forget to make sure the mechanic checks their parking breaks.  You also may want to make sure that your car has not recently been recalled.   Recalls can involve problems with tires blowing up while in use or parking breaks that suddenly don't work.  Recently, Toyota vehicles made national news when the company recalled vehicles because of a sudden acceleration issue that resulted in a number of injuries and death.  In order to check out your vehicle for any recalls, you can go to www.Recalls.gov/nhtsa.htlm

Many people don't give any consideration to the dangers that exist at service stations.  Static electricity can ignite gasoline vapors causing serious fires. Many times these fires will occur when people start the pump, go back into their vehicles to talk to somebody or stay warm during the few cold days in Tampa and then go back outside and touch the gas nozzle igniting a spark that causes fire.  Some things that you can do to prevent this problem include simply not getting back into your car while you're refueling. If you do have to get back into the car, you may be sliding against the fabric or the leather seats and that can create static charges.  So if you must get into the car while you're refueling, you should discharge electricity immediately once you get back out of the car. You can do this by touching metal on the outside of the car but far from the gas nozzle.  Also, after you refuel, you should leave the nozzle in place for just a few seconds to avoid drips when removing the novel.  Finally, should a fire start during your refueling do not try to remove the nozzle or stop the flow of gasoline. The best thing you can do at that point is to immediately leave the area and get help.

Another area of danger with automobiles that has nothing to do with getting into a Tampa car accident is car monoxide.  People will often leave their cars running in a closed garage or other enclosed place in order to stay warm.  This can lead to car monoxide poisoning and even death. This can happen even if there's an open door or window which often gives people a false sense of comfort.  A study published by the American Journal of public health shows that most carbon monoxide deaths occurred despite open doors and windows.

Finally, people often think about getting trapped in their car after a Tampa auto accident, but rarely do they think about the dangers of getting trapped in their car’s trunk.   Usually the problem isn’t that adults find themselves locked in trunks but children.  This can result in not only injury to children, but death. Most of these deaths from car trunk entrapment occur during the summer. One way to prevent this problem is that cars should be locked when adults are not nearby so that kids cannot pop the trunk or get into the trunk through fold down seats.

Cars that are manufactured after 2001 have emergency releases inside the trunks with glow-in-the-dark handles which make them easier for adults and children to find. Older cars can be outfitted with these kinds of similar devices for less than $20. You can find these types of kits online or go to www.AAbleLocksmiths.com.

As you can see, it is important to recognize the various dangers of autos which are not limited to just Tampa car accidents but also off road incidents as well.  If you ever have any questions about the dangers of automobiles and how to prevent injury to yourself or others, please feel free to contact one of our Tampa injury law firm attorneys who would be glad to speak with you.