| The single biggest factor in vehicle safety isn't the | | | | checking and replacing worn wiper blades with new |
| latest technology, air bags, electronics or driver skill. | | | | blades, such as the new Michelin advanced frameless |
| According to Dr. Philip Hessburg, chairman of the | | | | design wiper blades. |
| internationally recognized The Eye and the Auto | | | | "The primary inputs for nearly all of your driving |
| symposium and president of the Detroit Institute of | | | | decisions are related to what you see," said Dr. |
| Ophthalmology, the single biggest factor in vehicle | | | | Hessburg. "Virtually everything comes to your brain |
| safety is the driver's vision. | | | | through your eyes." Some examples of primary visual |
| Information from such safety experts as Leonard | | | | inputs include: |
| Evans supports Hessburg. Evans' book "Traffic | | | | • Turning, merging and changing lanes |
| Safety" notes that vision provides motorists more than | | | | • Recognizing the presence of pedestrians, |
| 90 percent of the information used to drive. | | | | bicyclists and motorcycles |
| "I can't imagine anything being more important than the | | | | • Traffic and road conditions. |
| ability of the driver to see clearly through the | | | | Worn, torn or inefficient blades leave streaks, a film |
| windshield," said Dr. Hessburg, noting that reduced | | | | and an inconsistent view of the road that can limit |
| visibility is a factor in 42 percent of all vehicle crashes | | | | vision or delay driver judgments. |
| and safety research reveals collision risk usually | | | | Michelin's expertise in creating a rubber compound that |
| increases by 50 to 100 percent during precipitation. | | | | allows your tires to grip the road in all kinds of weather |
| Much of the elevated risk during rainfall appears to be | | | | has inspired the development of a high-perfor-mance, |
| related to visibility, since collision rates quickly return to | | | | all-weather wiper blade with many innovative features |
| near normal after the rain has stopped, even if roads | | | | and benefits, including patented M-Guard Advanced |
| continue to be wet. And snowfall has an even greater | | | | Rubber Technology™. The advanced design |
| effect than rainfall on collision occurrence. | | | | eliminates the framework, joints and openings of |
| Fortunately, one of the easiest ways to help drivers' | | | | conventional blades that can clog with snow, ice and |
| vision is also one of the least expensive solutions: | | | | debris. |