Killer Tips – Part 2

I gave you five tips in a recent column and promised more to follow. Well, this is the follow-up column with five more “killer tips.”

Tip 6 – When driving in hazardous conditions with either wet pavement or snow and ice on the roads, never drive with your cruise control on and shift out of overdrive-usually the gearshift position with an encircled D-and use the next lower gear. In most automatic transmission vehicles, that will be the D with no circle around it. You will have much better traction and control of your vehicle. You can also use this downshift on steep uphill or downhill grades to get better traction and avoid overuse and heating of your brakes on downhill roads, as it will hold your speed down considerably. I always use this downshift tip when there is a road sign warning truckers to use lower gears.

Tip 7 – This one is state law in most states, but so many drivers ignore it that it needs to be in here. When driving in rain, snow or fog, in addition to turning on your windshield wipers also turn on your low beam headlights. Don’t use just parking lights since they aren’t as effective. This is not only for you to see better, but so that your vehicle can be seen by the oncoming and following traffic. Don’t use high beams at all. If you’ve ever tried that in snow or fog, you’ll know that it tends to blind you, and it certainly doesn’t make you any more visible to other drivers.

Tip 8 – Do you have some money sitting in a dormant account that you’ve forgotten about? A few years ago I was reading one of my daily Kim Komando messages and she gave a link to a website that allows you to learn whether or not there is a sum waiting for you to claim it. I used the tip to view the web page and subsequently claimed $78.70 for the price of two postage stamps. It was money I didn’t know I was owed, and I still have no idea specifically where it came from.

If you’ve never done this before, take a few minutes to go to missing money. Follow the instructions to type in your name and see if you have some unclaimed money out there. If you’re married, type in your spouse’s name too. Don’t neglect to use maiden name as well. It will only take a few minutes to complete the scan, and you might find a windfall similar to or even larger than mine.

Tip 9 – We all know the old sage saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Did you know that that apple could also do more good if eaten in the morning when you first get up? It isn’t true that it is better than coffee at waking you up. That myth has been debunked. However, eating an apple first thing in the morning is just about the healthiest thing you can do, so choose your variety and take a bite. Here’s a link to an article that tells of all the benefits you’ll get from eating just one apple each day.

Tip 10 – This one is near and dear to my heart, pun intended. If you ever are witness to someone collapsing with danger of losing consciousness or worse, you may be the only person who can save that person’s life. You might not be trained in CPR techniques, but you can still make the difference. When you finish reading this column I’d like you to go to the following link and read about how to administer hands-only-CPR.

The few minutes it takes to read the article might be enough for you to save a loved one, a friend or even a complete stranger. Hands-only-CPR is easy enough to administer that almost anyone can do it, even without formal training.

There you have it. I’ve given you ten tips, some of which I’ve covered in past columns, but all bearing repeating. Some of them just might save your life too.