IMPROV Traffic School and Defensive Driving

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According to police, Robert Boudreaux, 31, of Deltona, walked into traffic to stop a vehicle and demanded the driver take him and his pregnant girlfriend to the hospital. The driver initially complied, but when Boudreaux demanded the driver run red lights he smartly refused. That’s when police Boudreaux told the driver to get out of the vehicle, threatening to shoot him (although the driver admitted he saw no weapon.) Boudreaux took control of the vehicle at the time and the driver, now left standing on the side of the road, called police.

A brief police chase ensued, with Boudreaux reportedly swerving in and out of traffic on his way to the hospital. Once at the hospital he refused to stop his vehicle until police actually blocked his progress with their vehicles. Boudreaux was taken into custody and charged with numerous traffic infractions, including carjacking.

So, here’s the deal: no matter what is going on you are not permitted to violated traffic laws. Having an emergency does not excuse speeding or reckless driving. It certainly does not excuse carjacking someone else’s vehicle. Even emergency vehicles, traveling to the scene of an emergency are not permitted to completely ignore all traffic safety devices (such as traffic lights and speed limits) and must travel to the emergency scene safely. If the law holds for police, fire and ambulance drivers you can bet it applies to you, too.

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The problem (and of course they had to be a problem) is that when a consumer chooses to switch insurance companies, even if the new company has a similar reward program, their safe driving discounts don’t always go with them. They get a fresh slate from their new insurer and have to start earning rewards all over again. This is problematic for many who have to face paying higher premiums until they ‘earn’ the discounts offered by their new insurer, and some say it is illegal-or should be.

Which brings us to California Proposition 33.

Under California Prop 33 insurers would be required to take a drivers existing safety record into consideration when setting their insurance premium rate. That means safe drivers would take their driving record with them if they switched insurance companies. No more having to start over just because you changed insurers. It’s a win for consumers and a bit of a loss for insurers, but the end result is that insurers would have to treat all customers equally. A good driving record is a good driving record regardless of who your insurer might be. If an insurance company wants to reward safe drivers in order to have more safe drivers as clients then accepting good drivers as they are would achieve the same thing, and possibly make it easier to convince people to switch to their company.

In a perfect world, insurers would be able to create whatever rating models they wished and would be free to compete for customers. California’s Insurance Commission, however, allows insurers to write policies based solely on 18 criteria. Prop. 33 would add another criteria – continuous driver history – and that would likely go a long way to lowering car insurance rates, as has been found in the 48 other states that allow continuous-driver discounts.

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The issue is that Nissan’s promise was the Nissan Leaf would have “80% remaining capacity after 5 years”, which would lead a Leaf owner to expect their car to have a 58.4 mile driving range after 5 years of ownership. However, many Nissan Leaf owners have reported a steeper than expected loss of driving range….The basic problem is that some Nissan Leaf owners (or lease holders) are suffering from range degradation, and battery capacity loss, at a faster rate than is implied by “80% remaining capacity after 5 years.” While the biggest problems are seen by Leaf owners in hot climates, like Phoenix, others who live in mild climates are having similar issues. The problems are being compounded by statements from Nissan over the last few months, as well as details of the Leaf battery warranty.

People who bought the Nissan ‘Leaf’ have been experiencing problems with the batteries and complaining that they believe the high temperatures in the state are to blame. To answer the question of whether or not this was happening a large scale test was conducted in Phoenix a couple weeks ago, the results of which indicated that indeed the hot weather is having a devastating effect on the life of the battery. So, Nissan is starting to buy back vehicles from consumers who are unhappy with them. So far, two ‘Leaf’ models have been re-purchased by Nissan.

‘Lemon Laws’ have been around for decades and exist in many forms in every state. They are intended to protect vehicle owners from unsavory business practices at some car dealerships. In this case, it is not so much a problem at the dealership or even the manufacturing of the vehicle. Nissan ‘Leaf’ vehicle owners in other cities are not reporting problems, including owners in other parts of Arizona. But in Phoenix, where temperatures during the summer months often exceed 100 degrees, the technology inside the ‘Leaf’ simply can’t take it.

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However, a recent study of the situation seems to show that parent taught driver education might not be the best decision.

According to the “Parent Taught Driver Education in Texas: A Comparative Evaluation,” a study published in by the Texas Transportation Agency for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, parent-taught students are in more accidents and serious crashes, have poorer driving knowledge and are more likely to fail the drivers license test on their first attempt, compared to students who took a commercial or school-taught course.

There certainly is something to be said for students who are taught safe driving habits by their parents, or even how to operate a motor vehicle. There is also something to be said for parents who help their preschooler learn their alphabet and numbers and how to say “please” and “thank you.” However, just as education does not end once a child learns to read neither should their driving education stop once they learn how to operate a motor vehicle.

As the study shows, students who receive a more comprehensive driver’s education do better once they get behind the wheel of an automobile on their own. This is likely because a parent simply cannot be expected to cover every eventuality with their beginning driver, and neither can a driving instructor. it takes a combination of both forces working together (and the hormones and other biological processes churning inside every teenager) to help instil in them the importance and habits of safe drivers.

In a perfect world every student would receive a complete and thorough education in how to safely operate a motor vehicle. Until we have a perfect world, however, everyone should do everything they can to help keeps kids, and everyone who shares the road with them, safe.

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Warren Thomas Michael, 23, was driving on Fleming Island when police received a report from a pedestrian that someone driving a vehicle matching Michael’s car nearly struck them. Police arrived at the scene and found Michael after a short search. They then observed him driving erratically and made a traffic stop.

When Michael exited his vehicle police say his speech was slurred and he smelled of alcohol. H was able was reportedly unable to answer simple questions asked of him by police, but he was able to attempt to tell police that the reason he was driving erratically was because his pet squirrel, which was in his shirt at the time, was “eating him.”

Warren Thomas Michael, 23, said “he had a squirrel eating him” when officers pulled him over on Saturday night in Fleming Island, Fla., according to the arrest report.

“The defendant pointed out a small squirrel he had wrapped under his shirt,” Officer JC Saunders wrote.

Michael talked about his squirrel with slurred, mumbled and profanity-laden speech. His bloodshot eyes appeared glassy above his red cheeks, the report describes.

Unfortunately for Michael whether or not he had a squirrel “eating him” he is still responsible for every action he takes in his vehicle. Regardless of whether or not he was under the influence of alcohol, allowing his vehicle to leave his proper lane, or the roadway (as officers claimed) was his fault and had nothing to do with the squirrel.

If you are driving your vehicle you are responsible for everything that vehicle does. If you have a deer in the backseat and it kicks you in the head and you collided with an oncoming car, that’s your fault.

Next time you drive a vehicle with your pet inside do yourself a favor and put it in a cage, not your shirt. And never, ever, drink and drive.

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California is now the second state, after Nevada, to legalize the use of driverless, or automated, cars. Nevada too requires these cars to have a passenger seated behind the wheel at all times in case they need to take control of the vehicle. And the vehicles themselves must be engineered in such a way as to make the transition from automated to manual mode simple and instantaneous.

The recent legislation in California clears the way for Google, manufacturers and dealerships to begin offering these vehicles as an option to consumers within the next five years.

The cars, being tested by Google for two years now, combine different technologies including radar sensors in front, video cameras scanning the surroundings, plus various sensors and artificial-intelligence software to assist in steering.

Google has already been testing the cars in Nevada, where a law for driverless automobile was approved last year. As with California, the state requires the cars to have a human behind the wheel who could take over at any time.

Google said that the cars have accumulated more than 300,000 driving miles. Around 50,000 of those miles were without aid from human drivers. The car’s only documented accident was a fender bender that happened with a human in control.

There are still some problems to be worked out, such as who is liable if the vehicle does indeed become involved in a crash and what, if any, information Google will collect about where the vehicle travels and who is riding in it. It seems that these issues will be worked out soon, however, because some consumers, especially senior drivers and those who care for people with special needs, have expressed a great deal of interest in them, meaning the market is ripe for this new technology.

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It all started when Contreras pulled up behind a stopped Pinal County deputy in a H2 Hummer and revved his engine while blocking traffic on the roadway behind him. After several minutes of this Contreras fled the scene in his vehicle with the deputy giving chase. At one point Contreras pulled into a blocked parking lot and deputies thought they had him trapped. But no sooner did they attempt to get him than he fled the scene in his H2 Hummer again.

The pursuit went another five miles down the road with Contreras sometimes reaching speeds in access of 80 mph. Deputies used traffic spikes to flatten two tires on the H2 Hummer but Contreras continued on, driving on the raw rims of his vehicle. Finally, Contreras entered an intersection where he rammed into a pursuing deputies vehicle, bringing his own vehicle to a stop. When he refused to exit his vehicle deputies were forced to use a tazer on him before placing him under arrest.

Not surprisingly, deputies suspect Contreras may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol. As it is was taken to Pinal County jail and held on $50,000 bond in connection with two counts each of aggravated assault on a police officer with a weapon, criminal damage, felony flight, resisting arrest and endangerment, and one count of reckless driving. Additional charges seem likely.

If you drive a H2 Hummer, or even a Sherman Tank, don’t think you can evade police. They are patient. Eventually you will run out of road, run out of gas or run out of luck. And they you will pay heavily.

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Part of the efforts involves partnering with local police departments for public awareness and public safety campaigns.

Every year, thousands of drivers are arrested for drunken driving incidents. The problem is of particular importance to the state of Texas as it has the second-highest amount of yearly alcohol-related accidents, according to MADD.org.

“Last year, the staff assisted more than 4,000 victims of drunken driving incidents,” said Jeff Miracle, MADD Dallas executive director.

Police have responded positively to the efforts of MADD with some seeking to improve not only public awareness but also departmental procedures. So it is that the Carrollton Police Department decided to issue a “no refusal” policy when it comes to blood draws of those arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in their region. Starting next year the jailer will draw blood from anyone arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, no matter what time of day or what the suspect has to say about it.

According to Sergeant Andy Horn of the Carrollton Police Department: “Sometime around the new year, Carrollton will be going ‘no refusal’ on blood specimen samples only, 24/7. We will train our jailers to draw blood this October. The entire arrest, blood draw and book-in will occur here at our jail. We already do electronic search warrants, so the entire process will go quite quickly. We anticipate this will increase our enforcement ability, save time, reduce budget and most importantly, ensure much more effective prosecution. We will also be providing this service to Coppell PD, as they will house their arrestees at our facility.”

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As you might imagine not everyone is happy about supplying this type of personal information so they opt to may cash. Unfortunately for them, the Florida Department of Transportation put a new policy in place which forces toll plaza operators to complete a “Bill Detection Report” any time they received large denomination bills. How large? Well, drivers who use a $50 bill have been stopped, and detained and so have drovers who used a $5 bill, so it is unclear what the exact terms of requirement were.

Not only were these drivers delayed while the toll plaza operator completed the “Bill Detection Report” but they were also forced to hand over personal information such as where they were coming from, where they were going, who they were; their license plate, make and model of their vehicle and the names of all persons in their vehicle.

This week the Florida Supreme Court ruled that since no driver was forced to use any specific type of bill or amount of currency to pay the toll the state could not be held liable for detaining them for completion of the “Bill Detection Report.” This will likely clear the way for more such limitations to be placed on those who use toll roads.

Whether this us an attempt to convince drivers to use the electronic transponder or an effort to crack down on those transporting and using illegal currency is unclear, but it’s a sure bet we’ll be bringing exact change with us next time we plan to use the Florida Toll Road.

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