Your Allergy Meds Could Land You a DUI This Spring!
As snow melts from the Foothills and orchards bloom, the Wenatchee Valley changes. For drivers, spring brings more than cherry blossoms. It also brings unique road hazards that could cost you more than a car wash.
DiscoverCars.com experts have found five common springtime risks that can lead to fines or even accidents.
Wenatchee area orchard via Canva
Here’s how to stay safe this Spring
1. The Allergy Trap
Spring in North Central Washington means lots of pollen. If you take antihistamines, check the label. Many allergy medicines cause drowsiness. In Washington, you can be charged with a DUI if a legal medication affects your coordination or reaction time. If the box warns about "operating heavy machinery," that includes your car.
Canva
2. The Danger of a Sneeze
It may seem surprising, but sneezing at 60 mph means you travel about 50 feet with your eyes shut. If hay fever causes a sneezing fit that leads to a crash, you could be cited for reckless driving or "failure to maintain control."
3. Wildlife on the Move
Spring is when wildlife is most active, especially early in the morning and late in the day. Whether you’re on Highway 2 or the roads in Malaga, watch for deer and bears coming out of hibernation.
Photo by Y S on Unsplash
4. Sticky Situations
Parking under a blooming tree may look nice, but tree sap and blossom debris stick to your car. If your windshield is blocked by "nature’s glue," you could get a ticket. If an unclear view causes an accident, your insurance may find you at fault for careless driving.
5. Blinding Sun Glare
As the sun changes position, low light can be blinding during the evening drive. If your visor and sunglasses don’t help, pull over. Waiting 15 minutes for the sun to set can mean the difference between getting home safely and having an accident caused by glare.
"While spring means less ice, these hazards are just as real"While spring means less ice, these hazards are just as real," -Aleksandrs Buraks of DiscoverCars.com.
Stay alert, keep your windows clean, and enjoy driving safely in North Central Washington.
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To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.
Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.
Gallery Credit: Sophia Crisafulli
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