Myth 6. If another person is driving your car, his or her auto insurance will cover them if they get in an accident.
In most states, the auto insurance policy covering the vehicle is considered the primary insurance, which means that the auto insurance company for the vehicle must pay for damages caused by an accident.

It may not be news to you that the Pawtucket DMV branch will be closing and is soon to be replaced with a branch in Cranston.  But here are some things you may need to know:

• The Pawtucket branch will officially be closed to the public August 19^th
• The new DMV headquarters, located at the Forand Building on 600 New London Avenue in Cranston will officially be open at 8:30am on August 25^th.
• Throughout the process all other DMV branches will maintain the current schedule. To find DMV locations and hours please follow the link.
• Online and mail-in transactions will be accepted and processed during the move and AAA locations will continue to accept and process DMV transactions for AAA customers.
• Road tests appointments will be honored during this time. Customers with road exams schedules in Pawtucket through Friday August 6^th should go to the existing site in Pawtucket. Those with an appointment in Pawtucket after August 10^th must go to the new Melrose St. facility in Providence.

Important: Written exams for permits, licenses, and commercial drivers’ licenses (which are only given at the Pawtucket branch) will not be available from August 19^th to August 24^th. It is important that you plan to take your test either before or after those set dates.

IN ADDITION:

The Rhode Island Mall branch will permanently close on August 7^th and to accommodate, the Wakefield branch will be expanding their days of operation to four days a week (8:30am- 3:30pm Monday, Wednesday-Friday) starting August 11^th.

The good news:

• Wakefield branch has recently made major renovations
• Waiting area has increased to 2,000 square feet
• Seating capacity has jumped from 65 to 155 seats
• New windows and air conditioning units have been installed
• Brighter, more comfortable waiting area

Everyone has probably driven when they did not get a full eight hours of sleep the night before, right? I know I have and yesterday the Providence Journal made a point of this as well. Their article was about how driving when drowsy can lead to accidents. Now, most of us do not intentionally dose off while driving; It is just something that happens when we do not get enough sleep, we can not control it. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that 90 percent of officers have reported pulling someone over because they thought they were intoxicated, but in actuality the drivers were simply tired. It is crazy to think that being sleepy can cause the same effects as being intoxicated while driving.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NSF) reported that 100,000 police reported accidents caused by driver drowsiness every year in the mid-1990s. Can you just image how many more accidents are reported today? Today people are on the go even more than they were 10 years ago. Over half the country is probably not getting the recommended eight hours of sleep and then getting up to drive to work in the morning. It is just not safe anymore. At Bucci Insurance we can protect you while driving by providing you with the perfect auto insurance in Rhode Island. When it comes to drowsy driving, we can inform you of ways to prevent it!

First we will inform you of some of the danger signs that AAA pointed out: not remembering the last few miles, wandering thoughts, not being able to focus, drifting across the road, tailing without realizing it, and missing traffic signs. Now, if you have experienced any of those signs you probably did not get a good night sleep. If that happens here are some things that you can do. Pull over you car, ideally into a rest area, and try to take a short walk. If you are still tired, NSF advises people to take a 20-minute power nap. If you are extremely tired, then get a hotel room and go to bed. It is worth it to spend that extra money and get a hotel room, rather get possibly getting in a car accident and endangering your lives and others. Other small steps to adopt are taking regular breaks on long trips, having a driving companion, not drinking sweet drinks, and eating healthy food.

You need to remember also that drowsiness is not just a nighttime occurrence. We can also feel drowsy in the mid-afternoon. An example of this is, one of my friends was driving home from URI and did not get eight hours of sleep the night before. It was around noon and she was so tired that she fell asleep at the wheel and flipped her car into the wooded area on the highway. Luckily, she was safe and did not endanger anyone else, but if she had just slept a little longer and waited a couple more hours to go home it would not have happened. The bottom line is that everyone needs to get a good night’s sleep! It is the best remedy for drowsy driving, and the easiest to do.

The NSF sponsors a whole Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, this year it will be during November 8-14. It is important that we make people aware of this dangerous driving. No one is invincible when it comes to this. Nodding off for only a couple seconds can cause you to drive off the road or cause an accident. We want our customers to be safe. If you have any questions about your auto insurance please call our Rhode Island insurance agency at 401.558.0101 or 877.210.7159.  Now, go get your eight hours of sleep, count your sheep do whatever you have to do to drive safe!