Seat belts
Do you use your seat belt on every ride? Buckling up on every ride is the single most important thing a family can do to stay safe in the car. Here are a few tips to make buckling up a part of every car ride.
Hard Facts about Not Wearing Seat Belts More than half of teens (ages 13-19) and adults (ages 20-44) who died in crashes in 2015 were not wearing a seat belt. (NHTSA)
Top Tips about Wearing Seat Belts

1. Don’t be in a hurry to move your child out of the belt positioning booster seat. The adult seat belt usually does not fit well until sometime between the ages of 8 and 12, depending on the size of your child.
2. Find out if your child is ready for the seat belt alone by doing the Safety Belt Fit Test:
   • Check knees and feet. Your child’s knees should bend at the edge of the seat when her back and bottom are against the vehicle seat back. Her feet should touch the floor for comfort and stability.
   • Check the lap belt. The vehicle lap belt must fit snugly across the hips or upper thighs.
   • Check the shoulder belt. The shoulder belt must fit across the shoulder and chest, NOT across the face or neck.
3. If your child doesn’t pass the test, keep him in a booster seat until he does.
4. Remember, just because the seat belt fits your child in one car doesn’t mean the seat belt will fit in all cars. Do the Seat Belt Fit Test in every car before permanently moving from the booster seat to seat belt alone.
5. Be a good example. We know that when adults wear seat belts, kids wear seat belts. So be a good example and buckle up for every ride. Be sure everyone in the vehicle buckles up, too.

Learn More
Learn more about other areas of safety in and around cars, including car seat safety and booster seat safety; how to protect your kids from heatstroke in cars; driveway safety; how to avoid getting trapped in the trunk; and how to prepare teens and preteens for driving before they get behind the wheel.  

​The National Weather Service along with Nebraska Emergency Management and the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Division have declared March 26 through March 30 as Severe Weather Awareness Week.  
Knowing when severe weather is possible will give you time to prepare!
You can always find the latest forecasts and hazardous weather conditions at weather.gov. If you’re not on your computer, you can access the same information via your mobile device at https://mobile.weather.gov. Wireless Emergency Alerts are life saving messages that will pop up on your mobile phone when you are in a geographic area that is under a Warning. Visit www.weather.gov/wirelessalerts for more information!
Each day during Severe Weather Awareness Week…the National Weather Service in Omaha will cover severe weather topics and have this information available on our webpage as well as on NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards.
Topics which will be covered include…
Monday...Severe Weather Terminology
Tuesday...Thunderstorms
Wednesday...Tornadoes
Thursday...Lightning
Friday...Flooding
Saturday...How to Report Severe Weather
The National Weather Service will conduct a Tornado Drill on WEDNESDAY, March 28th, at 10 a.m. with the TEST Tornado Warning drill at 1015 a.m. CDT. Please note the data change!  The purpose of this drill is to ensure that Nebraskans and Iowans can adequately receive a Tornado Warning and can practice any actions that would be taken in the event of a real tornado. The test warning will be sent through all communication channels normally used for severe weather dissemination.

​Driving at night can be challenging, and many drivers don’t realize they must adjust their daytime driving styles. Read on for some common roadway risks and how to mitigate them.
1. Nocturnal animals, especially deer. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates that there are more than 1.5 million deer-vehicle collisions each year.
What you can do:

• Watch for animal eyes shining along the road
• Remain alert in areas where deer are likely, especially if you see road signs that indicate animals are in the area
• Be cautious when deer are on the move (between late October and early December in most areas, and generally early in the morning and early evening)
• Schedule out-of-town meetings to avoid prime deer movement times, especially if you’ll be driving through a rural or wooded area to get to your destination

2. Your vehicle’s features. Darkness can amplify problems with your vehicle’s lights, windows and mirrors.
What you can do:

• If you drive a vehicle without automatic lights, get in the habit of driving with your lights on
• Check headlights’ aim, alignment and cleanliness to make sure you can see the road and other drivers can see you
• Keep lights inside the vehicle off to avoid distracting the driver
• Keep a microfiber cloth or old newspapers to clean the inside of your windows
• Clean and adjust exterior mirrors before you begin driving and again after each stop or driver change
• Adjust the inside rear-view mirror for nighttime driving by flipping the tab at the bottom

3. Daylight saving time. Many experts suggest that when we “fall back” in October or November, drivers are at greater risk for accidents as it darkens. However, research conducted at the University of Colorado showed that the springtime shift is even more deadly, with the first six days of daylight saving time resulting in hundreds of deaths.
What you can do:

• Drive with extreme caution during the first few days of daylight saving time, both in the spring and in the fall, postponing any long-haul trips if possible
• Ensure you are getting enough sleep

4. Body rhythms. Even night owls are sleepier and less alert after dark. Highway hypnosis caused by the darkness and the lights from oncoming cars can lead to accidents at night.
What you can do:

• Pull off the road if you catch yourself dozing off
• Keep the vehicle on the cool side
• Listen to music, and turn it up a bit louder than normal
• Take frequent breaks, as moving around can help perk you up
• Keep your eyes intent and your brain alert by watching your surroundings as closely as possible

Remember that the driving dangers you face during the daytime are still present and often more dangerous after dark. These include:

• Driving too fast for conditions
• Tailgating
• Distracted driving
• Wet or icy conditions, especially black ice, which is difficult to see even in the daytime

Agri-City Insurance is Farm Certified and we are committed to protecting the farmers and ranchers in our communities.  You can count on us for all of your agricultural insurance needs both now and in the future.

Whether you're hosting a Super Bowl party for 50 or greeting the New Year with a few friends, if you're planning to serve alcohol at your home take steps to limit your liquor liability and make sure you have the proper insurance.

Social host liability is the legal term for the criminal and civil responsibility of a person who furnishes liquor to a guest. Social host liability can have serious consequences for party throwers.

Social host liability law
Also known as “Dram Shop Liability,” social host liability laws vary widely from state to state, but 43 states have them on the books. Most of these laws also offer an injured person, such as the victim of a drunk driver, a method to sue the person who served the alcohol. There are circumstances under these laws where criminal charges may also apply.

While a social host is not liable for injuries sustained by a drunken guest (as the guest is also negligent), the host can be held liable for harm to third parties, and even for passengers of the guest who have been injured in their car.

Social host liability—insurance considerations
Homeowners insurance usually provides some liquor liability coverage, but limits are typically $100,000 to $300,000, which, depending on your assets, might not be enough. Before planning a party in your home, speak to your insurance professional to review your homeowners coverage for any exclusions, conditions or limitations your policy might have that would affect your social liability risk.
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Protect yourself and your guestsRemember that a good host is a responsible host. If you plan to serve alcohol at a party, promote safe alcohol consumption and take these steps to reduce your social host liability exposure:

• Make sure you understand your state laws. These laws vary widely from state to state (see final chart). Some states do not impose any liability on social hosts. Others limit liability to injuries that occur on the host’s premises. Some extend the host’s liability to injuries that occur anywhere a guest who has consumed alcohol goes. Many states have laws that pertain specifically to furnishing alcohol to minors.
• Consider venues other than your home for the party. Hosting your party at a restaurant or bar with a liquor license, rather than at your home, will help minimize liquor liability risks. 
• Hire a professional bartender. Most bartenders are trained to recognize signs of intoxication and are better able to limit consumption by partygoers.
• Encourage guests to pick a designated driver who will refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages so that he or she can drive other guests home. 
• Limit your own alcohol intake as a responsible host/hostess, so that you will be better able to judge your guests’ sobriety. 
• Offer non-alcoholic beverages and always serve food. Eating and drinking plenty of water, or other non-alcoholic beverages, can help counter the effects of alcohol. 
• Do not pressure guests to drink or rush to refill their glasses when empty. And never serve alcohol to guests who are visibly intoxicated. 
• Stop serving liquor toward the end of the evening. Switch to coffee, tea and soft drinks. 
• If guests drink too much or seem too tired to drive home, call a cab, arrange a ride with a sober guest or have them sleep at your home. 
• Encourage all your guests to wear seatbelts as they drive home. Studies show that seatbelts save lives.

Courtesy: Insurance Institute Information