Tag: safety

The countdown to Christmas has started. Santa’s elves need help, so you may have asked your children to create a holiday wish list, and if your kids are like mine, there’s at least one technology gadget on their list this year. My 8-year-old wants a new iPod, my 12-year-old a new Xbox and my 13-year-old wants an iPhone 5.

Whatever the gadget is, if it connects to the internet, there are five things you need to do before giving it to your child.

Giving your kids the keys to a car is one of the scariest moments of parenthood. "Will they make safe choices?" is always a parents’ haunting concern. I was involved in a Dateline special where we watched teens make decisions in what appeared to be potentially dangerous situations.

* Will they get into a car with a teen they think has been drinking?
* What about with a driver who says he is high?
* Which—if any—teen say, "No" to a peer and refuses to get into that car?

It’s hard for moms to find the balance between being laid back and cautious. You want to make sure your kids are protected, though you know a paranoid focus on safety won’t be effective. How do you guard them from danger without stressing yourself out all the time? Outfit your kids with products they will want to wear that will also give you peace of mind.

Costa Rica is one of those places that ends up on every bucket list and for good reason. With many parts of Central and South America always in political flux or surrounded by negative media coverage, Costa Rica is a haven for travelers looking to experience all the beauty without any of the danger.

Our adventures have taken us around the world and finally they have led us to Costa Rica. We want to share with you some of the positives and negatives we have experienced, and hopefully help you make an informed decision while you embark on your journey.

Since its debut in 1983, Toyota has sold more than 15 million Camry cars worldwide. That is enough Camrys to, if parked bumper to bumper, wrap around the world almost twice.

If you’re asking yourself why you aren’t one of millions behind the wheel of a Camry, consider this—it is redesigned for 2012 with a better-looking body and the same dependability. Now in its seventh redesign, the Camry and Camry Hybrid offers six different trim levels to choose from. The Camry is available in the entry-level L, well-equipped LE, premium XLE and sporty SE grades.

The 2012 Acura TL and Volvo S60 were the only two of 11 luxury vehicles tested that passed the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) new "small-overlap" frontal crash test with a "good" rating. The Infiniti G-series sedan received an "acceptable" rating.

Small-overlap collisions are frontal crashes that impact either of the front corners of the vehicle. By releasing these results, the insurance group aims to increase the safety of future vehicles.

Distracted driving is at an all-time high and we are seeing more and more accidents from cell phone use among all age groups. For teen drivers though, inexperience and accessibility to smartphones has made for a lethal combination. The Governors Highway Safety Association reported in February that the number of 16- and 17-year-old driver deaths increased 11 percent for the first six months of 2011. If the trend continued for the second half of 2011, it would have ended eight straight years of cumulative declines in teen-driving deaths. Final numbers are still being tallied.