Tips by Bob Caisulli to Spot and Avoid Drunk Drivers & Ensure Safety on Roads

Hi, I’m Bob Ciasulli and I own several car dealerships in northern New Jersey. I’d like to bring the following information to your attention: this article concerns drunk driving and how to spot and avoid drunk drivers on the roads.

Knowing the law can empower you to protect your safety and the safety of your friends and loved ones. The following is Part 2 of a drinking and driving informational article and contains helpful information regarding drunk driving and how you can ensure your safety on the road.

How Do I Spot Drunk Drivers on the Road?

The Scenario: It’s late at night on the weekend and you’re on the road driving home. You see another car in front of you driving very slowly and weaving in and out of lanes. What should you do? Learning the signs of drunk driving can help you avoid harmful situations.

• Do you see cars that are driving between two lanes, or driving on lane markers?

• Do you see cars stopping at green lights, crosswalks, or at other times when not necessary?

• Do you see cars hitting or striking objects in the road or other vehicles?

• Do you witness drivers taking extremely wide turns?

• Is the individual driving well below the speed limit, at least 10MPH below?

• Are they driving on the shoulder or the wrong side of the road?

• Are they tailgating another vehicle and/or breaking at erratic intervals?

• When passing another car, do they narrowly miss hitting or making contact?

• Do you see a car driving without its headlights on?

These may be indications or signs that the driver is under the influence of alcohol and you should take measures to avoid them. Do NOT try to pass them, stop their vehicle, tailgate them, or act on behalf of the police.

• Get out of their way and anticipate any sudden movements or erratic behavior.

• Stay far behind them and change lanes if necessary.

• Make that your seatbelt is on, and the seatbelts of all your passengers.

• Pull over to the side of the road.

• You may also choose to call 911 and report the drunk driver. You will be prompted to disclose the location, car description, behavior of the driver, as well as the direction they’re heading.

Avoid putting people (and yourself) in danger and don’t drink while intoxicated. Here are a few alcohol-related myths about drinking and driving:

Splashing my face with water will sober me up enough to drive.

That’s not true. Take a cold shower if you want, but the only thing that will sober you up is time.

I’ll run around the block a few times before driving home. Exercise will sober me up.

This is not true either. While it may make you feel more awake, it won’t make you any more sober.

I’ve eaten a large meal before I started drinking. There’s no way I’ll get too drunk to drive.

The size of the meal you eat only has a SMALL effect on how slowly or rapidly the alcohol you drink enters your bloodstream. If you drink excessively, you’ll still be too intoxicated to drive, no matter what size your portion.

Neither post-drinking breath mints nor coffee will prevent officers from pulling you over. The only thing that’ll sober you up enough to drive is time. Protect yourself and protect your family and friends.

Bob Ciasulli owns and operates several car dealerships in northern New Jersey and is very interested in automotive maintenance and safe driving habits. He encourages you to drive safely and protect yourself and your fellow drivers.

Bob Ciasulli Speeding Ticket: You’re Going to Get speed!

I’m Bob Ciasulli and I own several car dealerships in northern New Jersey. I’d like to bring the following information to your attention—more and more motorists these days are getting stopped and ticketed for minor violations while driving at slower speeds. This article will bring to your attention how states are relying on additional traffic citations to bring in revenue in these tough financial times.

We’re all guilty of it—driving 5-10 miles per hour over the speed limit. But the once accepted “speeding cushion” is disappearing, mainly due to the recession. States need to fill their budget gaps with traffic and speeding citation revenue, so you’re going to find that troopers have a much lower tolerance to speeders these days. Friendly warnings are a thing of the past and I encourage you to carefully drive the speed limit to avoid being pulled over and ticketed.

One 2009 study in the Journal of Law and Economics found that officers issue a greater number of traffic tickets during periods of economical recession and discovered that the decrease in annual state revenue resulted in a direct 6.4% increase of traffic tickets. Increasing the volume of traffic citations is the easiest way for local governments to make up for budget shortfalls in a weak economy.

In Ohio for example, 2011 traffic tickets were issued in January 2010, a significant amount more then the 452 tickets recorded in January of the previous year. Georgia also adopted a practice that would add an additional fine of $200 to “super speeders”, or individuals who were recorded driving more then 25 MPH over the speed limit. Tennessee is also considering implementing this practice as well.

Stay alert for new “travel-safe” zones, because your speeding fine could be doubled in those areas. These zones are usually in highway areas—for example, Missouri has 5 in the St. Louis area. For all states, fines are doubled in highway construction zones. Paying attention to these established areas will prevent you from receiving a large speeding citation.>

Don’t be surprised if you get a ticket for a minor violation of a few miles per hour. Being aware of these new low tolerances to speeding, maintain the speed limit especially in school zones, construction areas, “travel-safe” zones, and adhere to all speed limit signs and you’ll avoid seeing those red and blue flashing lights in your rearview mirror. Don’t expect to go 80 MPH down the highway anytime soon-- this harsher speed enforcement isn’t likely to lighten up even as the economy improves. *Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-03-30-speeding-cushion_N.htm

Bob Ciasulli owns and operates several car dealerships in northern New Jersey and is very interested in automotive maintenance and safe driving habits. He encourages you to go the speed limit, drive safely, and protect yourself and your fellow drivers.

No Text Is as Important as Your Life : Bob Ciasulli

Cell phones and driving don’t mix. All teens and some adults as well should understand that texting while driving is extremely dangerous. When texting, your attention is diverted away from the wheel, the road, and your safety. Consider your life and the lives of others before responding to texts while driving.

Cell phones and driving don’t mix. All teens and some adults as well should understand that texting while driving is extremely dangerous. When texting, your attention is diverted away from the wheel, the road, and your safety. Consider your life and the lives of others before responding to texts while driving.

I’m Bob Ciasulli and I own several car dealerships in Northern New Jersey. I’d like to bring the following information to your attention to encourage you to protect your teens remind them to always practice safe driving habits. When it comes to texting while driving, teens are at a huge risk. It’s easy to see why. According to a recent study, “The average United States teenager sends and receives on average around 2,900 text messages a month”. At almost 3,000 texts a month, it’s safe to assume that some of these are being sent while behind the wheel of a vehicle.

But lets talk about talking on the phone first. Interestingly enough, the majority of drivers who got into accidents were not dialing, but just having a conversation. Another cause of cell phone related wrecks is drivers reaching for their phone when it’s ringing and out of reach. When using your cell phone, you’re a lot less likely to avoid obstacles or large objects in the road. I’m talking about everything from minor damage potholes to other vehicles. When you’re on the phone, you lose track of how fast your going and are more likely to drift out of your lane. You’re also less likely to observe traffic patterns or anticipate the moves of other drivers.

Texting is even more dangerous. Jennifer Guevin from CNET says, “Texting [takes] a driver’s focus away from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds—enough time to travel the length of a football field at 55 MPH.” Texting drivers are far more distracted because they not only look down while texting, but move their fingers to type. Because of their added inexperience, younger drivers who choose to text while driving are not only a hazard to themselves, but to others on the road. On most occasions, these drivers are talking, texting, changing songs on their iPods or MP3 players and neglecting their speed and safety.

The American Automobile Association says that car accidents increase by 50% for people who text while driving, I encourage you to have a talk with your teen about texting. You can persuade them to not text or call while driving if you demonstrate safe behavior in your own vehicle. Remind them that no text message is important enough to be worth their life or the lives of others. If they MUST send a text, encourage them to have friends or passengers be the “designated texter” and send their messages for them.

Any activity that draws your eyes away from the road is the greatest risk to your safety. I encourage you to talk to your child and show him or her a video of the consequences of texting while driving. Or have your child play the New York Times Texting Game. Take care of yourselves, your family, and each other on the roads.

Bob Ciasulli owns and operates several car dealerships in northern New Jersey and is very interested in automotive maintenance and safe driving habits. He encourages you to drive safely and protect yourself and your fellow drivers.

Important Tips of Bob Ciasulli to Urban Drivers: Get those Brakes Checked!

Bob Ciasulli demonstrates how to keep your brakes in good shape—so they can do their job when you need them most. Brake maintenance, brake safety, and brake repair.

Myself Bob Ciasulli and I am the owner of numerous car dealerships in northern New Jersey. Today I decided to discuss brakes, brake maintenance, and brake safety. Brakes play crucial part the performance and safety of your vehicle. The following article will inform you of what you need to know about your brakes and how you can avoid needing new ones before your manufacturer warranty expires.

Front brakes are always the first to go, and here’s why. A circular rotor (also referred to as “the disk”) rotates your wheels, propelling your car forward. When you hit the brakes, the brake pads attached to the caliper clamps down to bring the disk and wheels to a stop. When slowing to a stop, the two front brakes handle the majority of your car’s weight. This continual shift in car weight results in front brake wear and tear, often resulting in a necessary replacement well before the back two brakes need maintenance.

You can do something to affect the daily wear and tear on your brakes. It’s absolutely true—driving habits play an important role in the brake degeneration. If you’ve read my previous articles, you’ll know how I feel about tailgating. Constant hard braking will lead to an early brake job. If you’re an overly aggressive driver, you’ll obviously be putting more strain and wear on your brakes. Urban drivers, get those brakes checked regularly! Stop and go traffic and short bursts of speed followed by heavy braking will wear those brakes out.

Here are a few tips that’ll help you increase the life of your brakes:

• When possible, avoid stop and go traffic. This is a HUGE factor in premature brake wear and tear.


• Aggressive drivers—slow down! Don’t tailgate or ride the brake pedal during driving.


• Coast. When you see a red light, there’s no need to accelerate and then quickly stop behind the line of waiting cars. Gently coast to a stop. The same is true at stop signs!


• When you’re not braking, keep your foot off of the brake.

How do I know my brakes are going bad? Here are the warning signs:

• When braking to a stop, do you notice a “squealing” or “squeaking” noise? This is an indication that your brake pads have worn thin and need to be replaced.


• Do you need to apply a lot of force when braking? Or conversely, does your brake pedal feel “soft”? A soft brake indicates a possible fluid leak. Don’t ignore either signs and get your brakes checked immediately.


• Dashboard lights—this is your car’s way of letting you know what’s wrong. Don’t ignore it.

If you put those tips to use, you’ll keep your brakes lasting as long as possible. Brake jobs are usually pretty expensive because they’re one of the most labor intensive maintenance services a car needs. Ease up on that brake pedal, keep those brakes in good shape and save yourself a costly repair.

Bio: Bob Ciasulli is the owner of numerous car dealerships in northern New Jersey and Bob Ciasulli is very interested in automotive maintenance and safe driving habits. Bob Ciasulli encourages you to drive safely and protect yourself and your fellow drivers. Bob would also like to remind you to change your oil, rotate those tires every 7,500 miles, and get your brakes checked regularly!