Districted Driving Awareness Month was enforced twice as heavily in 2013 as it was in 2012 in Santa Cruz County. Santa Cruz County CHP Officers gave no warnings during Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
From April 1-30, local CHP officers gave out 1,272 citations for either talking or texting on handheld phones behind the wheel, Officer Sarah Jackson said via email on Tuesday.
Eight people were arrested from the 1,272 stops made on top of the citations.
In the same month in 2012, Santa Cruz County CHP officers wrote 619 tickets, just 48 percent of the 2013 total.
Although the awareness month has ended, enforcement will not. Santa Cruz CHP urges drivers to continue driving safely, or for many, to start driving safely.
“When you consider the potential loss of life, injuries, property damage, or fines, the message should be clear — it’s not worth it,” Jackson said.
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A 100-car “naturalistic” driving study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute says that fatigue is a cause of 20 percent of car crashes, rather than the two or three percent previously estimated based on surveys, simulator studies and test tracks.
Also, the study found, 18- to 20-year-olds account for significantly more fatigue-related crashes than any other age group. Adolescents’ sleep patterns shift to later hours; however, the school day still tends to start early, resulting in daytime sleepiness. A driver at any age can also be fatigued.
“The study allowed us, for the first time, to observe driver behavior just prior to a crash. In 20 percent of all crashes and 16 percent of all near crashes, the driver was showing fatigue. We saw eye-lid closure, head bobbing, severe loss of facial musculature, micro-sleep – which is when your eyes drift shut and then pop up,” said Klauer. “This was not just yawning. The drivers were asleep.”
Applying the findings to the population at-large, these results suggest that drivers are at a four times greater risk of a crash or near-crash if they choose to drive while fatigued,” said Tom Dingus, director of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. “That suggests that about 12 percent of all crashes and near-crashes in the population are attributable to fatigue.”
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Financial responsibility is required on any vehicle operated or parked on California roadways.
You must carry evidence of financial responsibility in your vehicle at all times.
What Are the Minimum Liability Insurance Requirements for Private Passenger Vehicles?
$15,000 for injury/death to one person.
$30,000 for injury/death to more than one person.
$5,000 for damage to property.
While the minimum requirements are the law, most vehicles today are worth more than $5,000 and medical costs far exceed the minimum as well. Raising your liability limits is not only wise, but the cost is very reasonable. Also, did you know that by having the other policies you need for home and life insurance can give you a discount on your car insurance?Scurich Insurance Services can help you make the best decision for your circumstances. Contact them today! 800-320-3666
If you wanted to, you could build a panic room for protection from robbers or kidnappers. But what about protecting your belongings when you’re not home? Perhaps you really don’t want to install an alarm system — or maybe you do. Either way, here are some no-cost and low-cost tricks to make your protection more complete, and help keep your belongings away from thieves.
Outside Areas:
Begin with the landscaping, which is the first thing a burglar sees and the first thing he will assess. To make it harder for a burglar to hide and gain entry:
Prune lower limbs from any big trees.
Trim bushes so a person could not use one for cover.
Move any decorative trellises away from windows or porch roofs so they cannot be climbed for second-floor access.
Consider planting thorny bushes below first-floor windows, and be sure they are close enough to the house so that an adult could not wedge behind one to jimmy a window without getting scratched.
Remove any trees or bushes beside exterior doors. They can hide a burglar from passing cars and they can also hide intruders from your sight when you answer the door.
Make sure all ladders and tools are secure inside the house, not inside a garden shed.
If your yard is dim at night, install the biggest, brightest lights you can afford for all entries to your house. Use them. Turn them on when you leave the house at night; set up motion detectors to turn them on when you are away.
Inside the Home:
Windows generally provide easier access for criminals than doors. Here are some window tactics:
Buy special window locks at your hardware store for all first-floor windows and any second-floor windows accessible from a porch or garage roof. DO NOT hang the keys on clever little hooks or nails beside the window. Crooks know that one and will simply break a pane and reach around until they find the key (but be sure the whole family knows where the keys are in case of emergency).
Don’t demonstrate the easiest window to enter by climbing in it. If a family member regularly forgets his or her key, consider leaving keys with a trustworthy neighbor for emergency use. DON’T CLIMB IN THE WINDOW EVER. Even amateur burglars can figure that one out, especially if they’ve seen you do it and figure the neighbors won’t notice.
For sliding windows, use the same techniques as for sliding doors, below.
Some burglars like to enter like a guest, through the door. Here are some ways to discourage that sort of burglar:
Make every entry door solid core wood or metal; hollow-core doors are easily kicked in. The door should fit the frame snugly, with no more than 1/8 inch between door and jamb. If the gap is larger, replace the door, or install a heavy-gauge metal strip available at the hardware store.
Replace doors with decorative glass windows or panels. If that’s too expensive, install break-resistant plastic panes, or install a decorative grille over the glass.
It’s unlikely, but if an entry door has hinges on the outside, rehang it with hinges inside. If that’s impossible, re-install it with pin-less hinges. Burglars can pop pins and take off the door to enter.
Make sure locks on all sliding glass doors are sturdy. Then use a solid stick of wood or broom handle in the track of the closed door.
Overtime is highly popular among employees who want to squeeze those few extra dollars out of the week for a job well done. It’s far less popular among employers worried about longer work weeks stretching a skimpy budget even thinner. In many industries, overtime has become a way of life. However, eager employees and employers aren’t the only ones interested in the type of work being performed “after hours.” Workers Comp insurance companies and the IRS have developed their own standards for overtime pay — and these rules could mean trouble for companies that violate them.
Here’s an example of a company that decided to ignore the regulations set by Comp insurers and the IRS. The owner of a New Hampshire trucking business decided that instead of confusing himself and everyone else about overtime pay for some of his workers, he would “reward” them by paying the difference in cash under the table. To make a long story short, the owner got slapped with a slew of federal conspiracy charges from the IRS and the Transportation Department — not to mention an angry Workers Comp insurance company.
The bottom line: Creative schemes to cut Comp costs are never an acceptable alternative. Businesses buy this coverage to protect both themselves and their worker in the event of a workplace illness or injury, regardless of whether it occurred during the regular work week or while working overtime.
If you wanted to, you could build a panic room for protection from robbers or kidnappers. But what about protecting your belongings when you’re not home? Perhaps you really don’t want to install an alarm system — or maybe you do. Either way, here are some no-cost and low-cost tricks to make your protection more complete, and help keep your belongings away from thieves.