Holiday season calls for defensive drivers

Almost every week we see the results of a busy schedule getting in the way of good defensive driving. Holiday shopping and travel are going to test your limits so we would like to do a short "refresher" to help you make it through the next few weeks.

Defensive driving means taking reasonable action to prevent a collision. However, defensive driving starts before you even get on the road. Checking weather and road conditions in advance helps you plan a route and know what to expect along the way.

It's also important to pack the car with basic supplies. A first aid kit, flares, snacks and blankets ensure you're ready for emergencies on long drives.

Check your mirrors frequently and scan the area ahead and, as hard as it is, just give the right of way to fellow motorists. Keep a safe distance from other vehicles, slow your speed and look for signs of impaired, distracted and even aggressive driving. Develop techniques like deep breathing to keep calm under pressure.

Here are some of the behaviors identified as unsafe and the cause of most collisions: improper speed, violating right of way, driving left of center (aka passing), turning improperly, passing improperly and following too closely.

Let's be safe out there and enjoy this festive time.

Dec. 3. Wanted: The driver thinks he's escaped prosecution by getting pulled over in Nevada however Utah says "no." Next thing you know he's on his way to Clark County Detention Center to await extradition at 12:36 a.m. in the area of Veterans Memorial Drive and U.S. Highway 93.

Suspicious: A woman calls to say she believes the squatters are back next door because she just found a hose hooked up to her outside faucet at 4:31 p.m. in the 600 block of Avenue H.

Thought for the day: It pays to do a walk around your home outside every so often and pay attention to anything that doesn't look right. It can save you some serious money.

Dec. 4. Suspicious vehicle: Security reports a vehicle parked in the area and a check results in a call for medical assistance for a victim of domestic violence from Las Vegas who fled out here in fear at 4:17 a.m. in the 2300 block of Buchanan Boulevard.

Suspicious: The neighbor insists the squatters are back again and officers find the home unsecured and trashed at 11:36 a.m. in the 600 block of Avenue H.

Thought for the day: Officers are trying to determine ownership of this vacant home so it can be secured as it is becoming a hazard to the community.

Dec. 5. Suspicious: The homeowner is dismayed when the subjects that are not known to him offer to wash windows for $40 and then do not return with the $60 change from his $100 bill at 11:20 a.m. in the 800 block of Marina Drive.

See person: A man who was evicted yesterday wants to meet officers to report items being removed from "his" apartment today at 5:10 p.m. in the 800 block of Nevada Way.

Thought for the day: Do I really have to tell you not to trust someone that you don't know with bringing you change from a $100 bill?

Dec. 6. DUI: Officers receive a report of an impaired driver coming from the lake and he drives through town then gets the vehicle stuck in the desert. Officers are able to assist the female passenger reunite with her parents at 1:16 a.m. in the 2300 block of Buchanan Boulevard.

Domestic: A woman states that her relatives are having a fistfight and she and the kids are locked in another room at 9:40 p.m. in the 1400 block of Stacey Lane.

Thought for the day: I wonder if that drunk guy was coherent enough to realize how lucky he was to have been found by us and arrested instead of being found by the father of the passenger?

Dec. 7. DUI: A report of a wrong-way driver turns into a cluster as the uncooperative intoxicated motorist gives us quite a lesson in patience at 5:41 a.m. in the 600 block of Kendrick Place.

Theft: A man reports the theft of a package. It was delivered during the day but it is not there when he arrives from work at 2:55 p.m. in the 800 block of Avenue B.

Thought for the day: So, if you get a DUI before 6 a.m., are you late for yesterday or early for today's drinking?

Dec. 8. Suspicious vehicle: The caller states there is a vehicle partially blocking his driveway that has been there for hours and looks "trashed" on the inside at 12:52 a.m. in the 700 block of Avenue A.

Suspicious person: Officers receive a report of a man standing on the corner, with his face covered, and talking to himself. However, the Bluetooth device reveals that he is really arguing with a relative on a very cold morning at 8:59 p.m. in the area of Avenue G and Adams Boulevard.

Thought for the day: Some people's idea of "clean and organized" is different from others and the trashed car turns out to be one of those.

Dec. 9. Medical: The woman states that the paramedics better hurry or her bladder will blow up so we hurry over at 2:58 a.m. in the 200 block of Morgyn Lane.

Suspicious: Neighbors report that the vacant property next to them has a strange person entering the back garage and officers are able to rouse two people who also don't understand the meaning of "evicted" at 3:10 p.m. in the 500 block of Ville Drive.

Thought for the day: Eviction (noun): the action of expelling someone, especially a tenant, from a property; expulsion. "the forced eviction of residents"

Call(s) of the week: Assist other jurisdiction: So, you think you'll just zoom past that motor officer from another jurisdiction because he's in your town? It's a bad idea. A DUI is a DUI and a police officer is a Nevada officer at 11:34 p.m. on Dec. 7 in the 1500 block of Veterans Memorial Drive.

Have a great week.

Tina Ransom is a dispatcher with Boulder City Police Department. She is coordinator of the Boulder City Citizen's Academy.