How to establish a school carpool

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How to establish a school carpool

From: New Source

Yellow buses are synonymous with school. But in some neighborhoods, budget cuts have forced school districts to limit bus service for students. In an effort to transport youngsters to school more efficiently, parents often band together to form carpools. Those who are new to the area or school may not know where to turn to team up with other like-minded parents.

Ridesharing is an effective way to get children to and from school and divide the responsibilities among parents. Carpooling reduces vehicular congestion in and around the school, cuts down on car emissions in the atmosphere and also helps multiple families save time. Furthermore, carpooling can offset fuel costs and cut down on wear and tear on a vehicle for those parents who live far away from their kids’ school.

Choosing carpoolers: Parents who live nearest to you are the most likely choices for carpoolers. Most schools funnel children from specific areas into one school, so look for parents of school-aged youngsters in the immediate vicinity of your home. Many school communities now have an online presence through social media, and this can make finding people to share carpooling responsibilities with that much easier. Keep in mind that if you are new to the school and/or community, it could take more time to establish yourself as a reliable and safe driver among other parents. Remember, when it comes to the safety of their children, many parents are not quick to let them hop into the car with just anyone. The same principle exists when you are looking for a carpool. You’ll want to develop a relationship with the parents prior to the start of the carpool to ensure you feel comfortable with your child riding along with this person.

Establish a Schedule: Carpooling will blend the schedules of a few different families together. It is important to map out a schedule so that all days of the week are covered. There should be a contingency plan should one driver not be able to carpool that day due to illness or other commitments.

Carpooling Safety: Even if you are close friends with someone who will be ridesharing, you will want to be certain of their driving shills prior to their driving your kids to school. All parents involved in the carpool should bring their safety concerns and rules to the table to be sure everyone has the same priorities. The size of vehicles will play a role in carpooling safety. Each child should have ample room to sit and his or her own seat belt. If booster or car seats are still required, the car should fit the seats comfortably so that all passengers have the correct safety equipment. No child should be allowed to ride unsecured, in the front seat under the required age by law or in the rear cargo area of a sport utility vehicle.

Establish a payment arrangement: In most school carpooling situations the amount of fuel used is nominal. However, those who do spend a good deal of money on gas may want to establish a way of sharing the costs associated with the carpool. Taking turns divides the cost fairly. Some parents prefer to give a gift at the end of the school year to parents who did the bulk of the driving. Donations to the primary driver also can offset any expenses.

Carpooling is a good method of transporting children to school when buses are not available. A carpool reduces the number of cars on the road and also helps conserve time and resources among several different households.

 

How to establish a school carpool

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Nearly 50 years in the Making: Corolla

What To Do When Cars Collide

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What To Do When Cars Collide

By: Josh Sens, AAA, Via Magazine July/August 2013 edition

You can’t undo what has happened when you’re in a car crash. But you can help ensure the safety of all invalid while fending off future problems. Here are tips for what to do in the aftermath.

• Stay calm and take stock: Take a deep breath, then check the scene to determine if anyone is injured. If so, call 911.


• Find a safe place: Resist the urge to swap information immediately. Instead, work quickly to get yourself and others out of harm’s way. If your car is drivable, move it into an emergency lane or onto the shoulder. Turn on your hazard lights, and –if you can do so safely — set out flares or reflectors.


• Hold the apologies: Even if you think, you’re at fault, accepting blame can complicate your claims process.


• Notify the authorities: Always travel with a cell phone, and keep contact information for first responders in your glove box. Police may not come out for a minor collision, but you’ll want to file a report as soon as possible at a local police station. Most states also require drivers in a collision to notify the DMV if there are any injuries or if damages exceed a certain dollar amount; check with local authorities.


• Gather the facts: Use your cell phone to take photos of the scene, and exchange information — full names, driver’s license numbers, insurance carriers, and policy numbers — with the drivers of other vehicles involved. Also record the vehicle’s license plate and ID numbers, and any witnesses’ names and phone numbers. Don’t count on getting those details from the police report; it may not be ready for days.


• Alert your agent: Notify your insurance company as soon as possible. The longer you delay, the more complicated filing a claim becomes. Even if the damage seems minor, don’t let anyone persuade you to settle informally. A driver may offer to cover costs –until he or she sees the bill.

What To Do When Cars Collide

Car hacking: A new threat emerges

Bosch aims to protect vehicles from cyberattack Continue reading ... http://p.ost.im/dsCVsv

Car hacking: A new threat emerges

By: Hans Greimel at hgreimel@crain.com. 

Automotive News

YOKOHAMA, Japan — Imagine cruising down the highway when the brakes suddenly give out. Or sitting in a parking lot when your doors unlock by themselves.

In today’s world of increasingly interconnected cars, it might be more than a factory glitch. You could be a victim of automotive cyberattack, warns supplier Robert Bosch GmbH.

Bosch is tackling what it describes as a new era of driver threats, through its software security subsidiary Etas GmbH.

In extreme cases, attackers could track your car’s location, spy on cabin conversation, tamper with the odometer, disrupt the engine, engage the brakes or even manipulate steering.

For drivers, the intrusions mean “potentially life-threatening consequences,” Wolfgang Sienel, president of Etas’ Japanese operations, said last month at Bosch’s Yokohama r&d center, its biggest active safety lab outside Germany.

Actual cases of car hacking are still extremely rare because gaining remote access to onboard computers is difficult. But the concept has already captured the imagination of Hollywood. In the film Fast & Furious 6, villains cyberhack a car to crash it.

Closer to reality, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration listed vehicle cybersecurity as a risk in a May report outlining its preliminary policy on self-driving cars.

The electronic systems of today’s vehicles are vulnerable to outside attack through global positioning systems, linked smartphones and keyless entry fobs.

“These entry points open access to many manipulation possibilities,” Sienel said. “Once you are in the infotainment system you can go step by step further, because all the systems are interconnected in the car. You have the possibility through the infotainment system to get access to the powertrain.”

Etas’ solution is a kind of software firewall for cars that aims to block such attacks. The service is sold through an Etas unit called Escrypt GmbH, which was founded in 2004.

Escrypt says it counts major global Tier 1 suppliers and automakers among its customers but wouldn’t name any.

Last month, Pricewaterhouse-Coopers issued a report warning about the risk of car hacking, citing General Motors’ push to offer in-vehicle Wi-Fi across its four brands by 2014. “Internal computing components have now proliferated into a complex, interconnected web of peripheral networks — all of which are susceptible to threats like viruses, malware and denial-of-service hacks,” the PWC report said.

Today’s onboard electronic systems have built-in redundancies that aim to shut down or correct a glitch when it occurs. Most are designed to prevent accidental external disruptions from such forces as ambient electromagnetic interference.

But they can’t always counter deliberate deception, Etas says.

“Redundancy is not sufficient to tackle cybersecurity threats because an attacker who can compromise a first device can easily compromise the redundant device as well,” Sienel said.

The Escrypt cyberattack firewall dials it up a notch to guard against deliberate electronic attacks, said Herbert Hemming, president of Bosch’s Japan operations. “This goes one step beyond what we are already doing,” he said.

The company outlined several kinds of attacks:

• Some disrupt communications among a car’s electronic control units, the dozens of microprocessors that run the vehicle.

• Others interrupt communication between a car and other cars or a car and intelligent traffic systems, including roadside monitors, sensors or meters, such as electronic toll collection systems.

• Some attack such wireless vehicle interfaces as onboard Internet hot spots or GPS systems.

Etas declined to say how many cyberattacks occur globally. PWC’s report said only a “few cases” have been reported.

Today, a common form of cyberdeception is simply manipulating odometers to sell a used car for more than it’s worth, says Andre Weimerskirch, who heads Escrypt’s business outside of Europe.

He is unaware of any attack that resulted in injury or death. “Our current environment is safe,” Hemming said. “Nevertheless, we should not lay back. There could be potential risks coming up more in the future. We have to start thinking about it.”

 

Car hacking: A new threat emerges