Road Safety

FREMONT — If you own a car, chances are you’ll need to jumpstart its engine at some point. Before attempting this, however, it’s important to know the proper procedure, as well as critical safety precautions.

The most important thing to remember when jumpstarting a vehicle is that once a pair of clips is connected to a battery, the opposite pair of clips must not touch each other. Since one clip is positive and the other is negative, if they come into contact, it can cause electrical sparks or even electrocution. A good safety technique is to clamp one clip onto the opposing cable, which will ensure the two clips cannot touch. Additionally, to protect your eyes in the instance of electrical sparks, Read more

SAN LORENZO — Following a minor collision, there are four steps you should take to ensure both physical safety and legal protection:

1. Remove any traffic obstructions. After safely pulling to the side of the road, turn off the ignition and turn on your hazard lights. If you have cones or flares, use them to warn oncoming traffic of the accident.

2. Confirm the safety of other drivers. If anyone is injured, call 911 immediately. Do not give emergency medical assistance unless you’re trained to do so. Never move an injured person unless they’re in danger.

3. Gather pertinent information. Get the names and phone numbers of drivers, witnesses, Read more

SAN LORENZO — Host, Sarah Rutan: In the event of an auto collision, it’s important to know what steps to take immediately after the fact. To learn more, we’re in San Lorenzo with Luis Toste of George McGill’s Body Shop, speaking on behalf of Diamond Certified Expert Contributor Manuel Garcia.

Luis Toste, co-owner of George McGill’s Body Shop: If you find yourself in the accident, there is some things we have, the least you have to do. First is stop gently, but do not obstruct traffic. Assist injured – Have someone call the police and repeat after five minutes. Secure the names, phone numbers, addresses in drivers, witness, injured persons. Read more

FREMONT – Host, Sarah Rutan: Most vehicle owners keep a pair of jumper cables in the trunk for use in the event of a dead battery, but the reality is, not everyone knows how to use them properly. Today we’re in Fremont with Diamond Certified Expert Contributor Snehal Shah of Auto Techies to learn how it’s done.

Diamond Certified Expert Contributor, Snehal Shah: Okay, whenever you’re jump-starting your car, first think you want to do is make sure the two cables are not in position to touch each other. So what I like to do is just kind of put a clamp around one of the two cables, holding the other one, Read more

SUISUN CITY — While a bill of sale and transfer of title are both crucial documents for selling a used vehicle, one that sometimes gets overlooked is the Release of Liability form. However, by neglecting to submit this document, you may end up getting an unexpected parking ticket or tow bill in the mail.

A Release of Liability form is exactly what it sounds like: by submitting it when you sell your vehicle, you’re informing the DMV of the sale and formally divesting yourself of any liability. By failing to submit this form, you put yourself at risk—since your name is still attached to the vehicle, if its subsequent owner gets a parking ticket, Read more

SUISUN CITY — Host, Sarah Rutan: Following the sale of your used vehicle, the last thing you’ll want to receive is a bill for a parking ticket or a towing fee. Today, we’re in Suisun City with Diamond Certified Expert Contributor Steve Ramirez to learn about the release of liability forms and why they matter to you.

Diamond Certified Expert Contributor, Steve Ramirez: I wanted to let the viewers know how important it is to properly fill out a DMV release of liability when you sell your automobile. We have people come here all the time that have sold vehicles, they have been towed in, impounded, and they have no proof that they sold the vehicle. Read more

ORINDA — Host, Sarah Rutan: To keep your car running smoothly, it’s important to know how each part of its system works. Today, we’re in Orinda with Diamond Certified Expert Contributor John Vanek of Orinda Motors to learn more about a vehicles suspension system.

Diamond Certified Expert Contributor, John Vanek: Okay, when we talk about shocks and struts, shocks and struts basically do the same job. They’re mounted on the car a little bit differently, but they have the same task. Basically shocks are dampeners. The springs in the car take care of the bumps and the bounces, and the dampening part of the shock rebounds the bumps and it is designed to keep the tire firmly mounted on the ground. Read more