Now that summer is here, a lot of people will be hitting the open road; but before you jump into the car, there are a few things you need to take care of to make sure your trip will be a safe one.

Safety is no accident thanks to a new commercial utility vehicle (CUV) for small-business owners. It arrives with more than 25 available safety features. Giving businesses the best of two worlds, the CUV is also designed to improve productivity-and the bottom line. For those who have never heard the term, a CUV is a work vehicle that combines the cargo-hauling capacity of a box truck or the people-hauling capacity of a minibus, with the confident handling and smooth ride of a luxury pickup truck.

When cold weather begins to warm, motorists may think their driving cares have melted away with the winter ice and snow. Not so.

The number of large commercial vehicles - such as tractor trailers - on our roads has increased dramatically during the past few years. One of the best things you can do to stay safe on the highway is to learn as much as you can about how these vehicles operate. Here are some tips from Transport Canada on how to share the road safely with commercial vehicles.

You can never take winter driving conditions for granted. Take for example the Minnesota man who, in January 2001, drove a few kilometres to the grocery store and ended up getting stranded in a winter storm for 36 hours! While you should always try to avoid driving in winter storm conditions, it is sometimes unavoidable. Since the weather is often unpredictable, Michelin advises drivers to be prepared for the unexpected.

There's probably no worse feeling. You're driving on a wet stretch of road and all of a sudden it feels as though your vehicle has a mind of its own. Of course, your vehicle isn't possessed; it has "caught a wave." You're hydroplaning - your tires are no longer in direct contact with the road as they are riding on top of the water that has pooled on the road. Hydroplaning can occur when a combination of speed, tire wear, tire inflation or the depth of water on the pavement causes the tires to lose traction. Essentially, a layer of water creates a barrier between the road and your tires. This barrier can cause you to lose traction and glide or hydroplane across the water's surface. In wet weather, the tires that have been properly maintained and are in good running condition can cut through the water and maintain contact with the pavement at speeds less than 50 km/h. In cases where the tires are excessively worn (bald tires) or underinflated, or the water is very deep, you may still hydroplane at slower speeds.

When checking off your list of what to do this season, don't forget to add "drive responsibly." Busy schedules, too little sleep and too many gadgets in the car can result in negligent driving--and many people underestimate how much damage negligent driving does. Every 13 minutes, negligent driving costs a life on the nation's highways.

According to the National Association of Consumer Advocates and the Consumer Federation of America, each year, approximately 2.5 million vehicles are totaled by insurance companies and issued salvage titles. More than a million of those-about 40 percent-were rebuilt and put back on the road. But just because a car is considered road worthy doesn't mean it's safe. A serious accident can damage a vehicle's air bag system so that it may not function, even if the air bag didn't deploy. Perhaps of even greater concern is the possibility of air bag fraud-or improper replacement of the air bag after deployment. The California Highway Alliance recently found that one out of every 25 previously damaged vehicles inspected had phony or dummy air bags.

Small changes in the way you drive can have a big effect on the fuel economy of just about any car. Here are a few tips for making trips to the pump more efficient.

With what gasoline costs today, we are all looking for ways to save our fuel and our wallets. Lots of people have exchanged their gas guzzling cars and SUV's for vehicles that get much better miles per gallon ratings. We are all looking for any tips or tricks to save gasoline that we can fine, hoping to save us a gallon or two. Conserving fuel helps not only our pockets, but it helps our environment as well. If we use less gasoline, that adds up to less exhaust, less fossil fuel (a non-renewable fuel source) and more money stays in our wallets. Here are a few of the tips to save some money and gasoline I have found.