So, you got caught and received a traffic ticket. You are probably angry and frustrated about having to pay a fine and wondering if you have any options. Before you go to traffic court, let’s take a look at what those options may be. These options may differ from state to state but with the internet, you now have more choices than ever.

Going to court - The first question you have to ask yourself here is; were you actually guilty of the offense? Most drivers, although they hate to admit it, are actually guilty of the offense for which they received the ticket. There is a lot of rationalization such as: “I was just keeping up with the flow of traffic” or “Everyone else was doing the same thing”. If “everyone else was doing it”, it may not seem fair but the officer can only stop one person at a time and it was your turn. If you were actually guilty, then going to court probably isn’t a good idea. You may wind up with an even greater fine along with court costs.
If you weren’t guilty of the offense and you can provide photographic or some other type of evidence that supports your claim, then you may have a case. If it is just your word versus the officer’s, then the officer’s word will probably carry greater weight. Remember, the judge has heard it all before.

Just paying your fine and letting it go - This is the choice a lot of drivers make but it does have drawbacks. If you admit guilt and just pay the fine, in most states, there will be points assessed against your driving record. Those points can add up and, if you get too many, you may find yourself with a suspended license.

Attending traffic school - Most states have an option that allows you to attend a traffic school to avoid adjudication. Avoiding adjudication means that you are neither judged guilty nor innocent; there is simply no decision applied to this particular traffic offense. Points are not assessed against your driving record and, depending on the state, you may keep your safe driving record and your insurance company is not allowed to increase your insurance rates. If you were guilty of the offense, this is probably the best option for you. Remember though that most states place a limit on how many times you can attend a traffic school (usually no more than once a year) and place a time limit on completing the course. You will still have to pay your traffic fine but you may find that you receive a discount on your fine for electing traffic school. A couple of states actually allow you to attend traffic school voluntarily and bank points against a future ticket.

Options for traffic school – With the internet you now have two options for attending traffic school. Most states now allow you to attend traffic school online. This is a great option for people who lead busy lives and don’t want to devote a block of hours to attending a class. Online schools normally allow you to take the course at a time that is most convenient to you; completing it a little bit at a time as your schedule allows.
If you are like some and don’t want to spend time online or who have found that they don’t learn well from computer based courses, the classroom option is probably the best for you. Many drivers go into a classroom course expecting a dull discussion about traffic laws but find themselves pleasantly surprised at how interesting and beneficial the course can be.

Using the Clerk of the Court to explore your options – Many county Clerks of the Court are now online and allow you to pay your fine and choose a traffic school from a list of approved schools. A simple Google search can point you to your county clerk’s web site.

To learn more about driver safety and education please visit our Driver Safety Alerts at http://www.nationalsafetycommission.com.

Labels: speeding ticket, traffic school, traffic ticket

Next Year 16 States Will Make Ignition Locks the Law

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) recently released their 2007 State Progress Report ranking the progress of all 50 states toward eliminating drunk driving. This year's report also contains figures concerning the number of three-and-five time convicted drunk drivers in 22 states. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration collected the information in each state that tracked the data.

On U.S. roads today, it is estimated that there are
• 2 million drivers who have been convicted of drunk driving three or more times
• 400,00 of those drivers with five or more drunk driving convictions

These sobering statistics shed light on the catch-and-release nature of drunk driving laws and the need for greater use of alcohol ignition interlocks.

At the moment, 8 states mandate or offer incentives for the use of ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers, including first-time convicted offenders at .08 blood alcohol concentration. In 2009, New Mexico, Arizona, Illinois, Louisiana, Washington, Nebraska, Alaska and Colorado either have the law in place or see it go into effect. Even more states have taken steps toward the model law and have passed first-conviction, high-BAC legislation.

The steps each state can take to work toward reducing drunk driving deaths and passing interlock legislation are detailed in The State Progress Report. Though there's still more work to be done, through the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving, MADD is committed to making drunk driving a thing of the past.

Along with motor vehicle safety, driver education helps ensure the safety of Americans. Whether you're getting your Commercial Drivers License, your Learner's Permit, or your Motorcycle License, America's Driver's License Headquarters is TestQuestionsandAnswers.com.

Imagines Senseless Deaths as Thing of the Past

November 1991: A highly impaired drunk driver going the wrong way on a North Texas highway met a car head-on. A young couple, Laura and Mike Dean, were on the wrong end of that life-altering collision. The 32-year-old Mr. Dean was killed instantly - making Laura not only a grieving young widow, but a single mother.

Mr. and Mrs. Dean, both native Texans, were living in Colorado at the time. Mike was back home in Texas to see his family on the way home from a business trip to Oklahoma while Laura was home with their 8-month-old daughter. Practically newlyweds, the Deans were married just two and a half years, and dreamed of the experiences of life that would flow now that they were a family of three.

The nearly-unconscious drunk driver, going the wrong way on the Lone State highway, altered the Dean's dreams forever when he met the their car head-on. That offender, who died at the crash scene, had an incredulous BAC of .34, more than 8 times the legal limit of .08.

Mr. Dean would never experience his daughter's first Thanksgiving, first Christmas, first birthday. That first Thanksgiving came just one week after Mike's obviously preventable death. Yet in the sometimes-cruel symphony of fate, the idea of celebration or gratefulness was impossible for Laura.

Slowly, after a long, painful journey that unfortunately too many can relate, Laura awoke from her immobilizing grief. Over the next 15 years, through Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Laura became an advocate for stronger drunk driving laws. It's obvious to someone like Mrs. Dean that the implementation of ignition interlock technology for convicted DUI offenders would prevent another family from experiencing the reality-shattering pain caused by a drunk driver.

Today, as national president of MADD, it is Laura Dean-Mooney's indefatigable mission to work with lawmakers and sympathizers to bring the preventable tragedy of drunk driving to its deserved demise through the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving.

This December, you can make a difference in the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving by participating in MADD's Tie One On for Safety campaign, by tying a red MADD ribbon on your vehicle or affixing a red decal, and pledging to drive sober during the holiday season. While you're there, don’t forget to sign the Pledge to Eliminate Drunk Driving.

Did you know that courses are available to educate drivers on the rules of the road and the latest defensive driving techniques? Try one now!

It is such a shame when a soldier, sailor, marine, or airman returns safely from a deployment overseas only to die shortly after returning home in an incident that was so easily preventable. You've made it safely through your deployment by keeping your head on a swivel and paying attention to every possible threat. Unfortunately too many service members forget that a different set of survival skills are required while reorienting themselves to the home-front.

As a retired Chief Petty Officer, I certainly understand the emotions involved in returning home after a long deployment. During your deployment, your actions and freedoms were severely restricted and you are no doubt looking forward to quickly regaining those freedoms. Specifically the freedom to get on a motorcycle or behind the wheel of a car to go anywhere you want, for as long as you want.

That return to freedom has resulted in some shockingly high fatality rates due to motor vehicle collisions. Note that I say collision and not accidents. Accidents are something you have no control over. Motor vehicle (MV) collisions result from someone making a poor choice that sets in motion a chain of events that lead to a collision. MV collisions are preventable.

All of the military services have experienced a major increase in traffic fatalities since the beginning of the Iraq war. From FY 02 to FY08, the Navy and Marines have lost a combined total of 857 members in Privately Owned Vehicle (POV) collisions. In just the last three fiscal years, the Army has lost a total of 370 soldiers. More than half of these deaths were on motorcycles. The majority happened at night and on weekends. More than one third involved speed or alcohol. In more than half of the fatal collisions, seat belts were not used.

You probably had some training sessions with blood and guts videos before the end of your deployment to remind you to be careful when you return to driving. However a lot of those training sessions neglect to remind you of the behaviors you need for safe driving. Before returning home, it is important to stop and think about those driving behaviors that could get you into some real trouble. With that in mind, lets look at some of the tools you will need to survive at home.

For all those long months you have lived a daily existence in a high stress, adrenaline rush environment. It takes time to readjust to the “laid back” civilian environment. Those of you who have deployed before can probably relate to the odd feeling of being in a combat or shipboard environment one day and a safe, comfortable home environment the next. While it is a good kind of stress, the return home puts us in a different kind of stressful environment. Remember that “good stress” is still stress and that stress takes a toll on our bodies. Depending on the environment you left behind, it could take days, weeks, or months to decompress from your deployment. The adrenaline rush you have lived on combined with the adrenaline rush of returning home can lead to impulsive behaviors or cause you to be easily distracted from the important task of concentrating on driving. Becoming aware of that fact is the first step in overcoming it. It may not be possible, at first, for you to get down from that adrenaline rush and relax enough to concentrate on your driving, so, even though it may not square with your take charge personality, it may be wise to let your significant other take the wheel for a while.

During your deployment you probably encountered the fight or flight response on a regular basis. That life saving reflex allows us to respond to an emergency situation by redirecting blood flow to the large muscles and giving us a big boost of adrenaline to either fight or run away. After the emergency was over that you probably shook like a leaf. That wasn’t fear but rather the excess adrenaline in your body having no where else to go. Driving on an American expressway is nothing compared to driving in Baghdad, but you still have to make emergency decisions and, when you do, the body’s fight or flight response automatically kicks in. All these little adrenaline rushes can quickly lead to fatigue and that can lead to a case of Driving While Drowsy. If you are going on a long trip, remember to take rest breaks at least every two hours or every 100 miles.

For those of you who drove in Iraq, you stayed alive by driving very fast down the center of the road and looking for every suspicious object that could disguise an IED. That way of driving became a reflex action. In other words, you did it without thinking about it. That reflex action is not an easy thing to turn off when you get home and it may take you a while to realize that the piece of trash next to the curb is just that; a piece of trash and not an IED. Those very important reflexes that kept you alive in Iraq could lead to a collision here at home. Again, let someone else drive until you can learn to relax and feel safe again.

Obviously alcohol is a major contributor to MV collisions and fatalities. When you get home, relax, have a few drinks. You deserve it. Just make sure you use a designated driver or have an alternate means of transportation.

Remember that the freedom from all the restrictions doesn’t mean freedom from the need to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle or a seat belt in your car.

To learn more about driver safety and education please visit our Driver Safety Alerts at http://www.nationalsafetycommission.com.

Welcome home. We are grateful for your service and we don’t want to lose you now; especially when it can be so easily prevented.

Labels: driving, military, post deployment, safety

One of the many things I have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving is that, after changing jobs last year, I won’t have to drive by the local mall during my daily commute this Christmas season. If traffic wasn’t bad enough during my commute, the Christmas shopping season turned it into an absolute nightmare. If I had one Christmas wish each year, I would wish that drivers would gain a little common sense and understand what the real meaning of the season is all about. Since that probably isn’t going to happen, I thought a few reminders might be in order to get us safely through the holiday season.

Planning - One benefit of the recent spike in gasoline prices is that it taught us that we need to consolidate trips to save gas. Trying to consolidate all your holiday shopping into one or two trips can help save your sanity and some money.
• Before going out, create a shopping list for all the folks on your gift giving list.
• Use the internet, newspaper ads and mail flyers to find who has the best bargains.
• If you can, devote a single day or two to get all your shopping done.
• Shop early. With the economy so bad this year, retailers aren’t waiting until the end of the season to start their sales.
• Map out your trip and go in a clockwise direction to all your stops. Doing that will ensure you are making more right hand turns rather than waiting for left turn lights.

Dealing with Other Drivers – The frantic pace of the holiday shopping season can bring out the worst in drivers. This is where you really have to keep your cool. When another driver cuts us off, steals "our" parking space or blocks an intersection, we just feel like we have to do something about it. That usually means honking horns, flashing lights, creative sign language, or, worst of all, verbal exchanges. Doing something like that can lead, and has led, to pushing another driver over the edge into a road rage situation. Road rage isn’t aggressive driving. Road rage comes about when one driver, who feels he or she has been pushed just too hard, uses his or her car or some other type of weapon to physically attack an offending driver. You don’t want to be the person who pushes that person over the edge. When you feel like another driver has been rude or dangerous, remember the F.I.D.O. principle. Forget It and Drive On. There is nothing you can do to change that other driver’s behavior. Just let it go and keep out of their way.

Intersections – Trying to get through busy intersections is probably the biggest headache holiday drivers face. My biggest pet peeve is those drivers who, when traffic ahead is backed up to the intersection, pull into the intersection instead of waiting at the stop line until traffic ahead clears. The usual result of that is, when my light turns green, I am stuck because of the other driver blocking the intersection. When that happens, I sometimes fantasize that, if I were prone to road rage and had a gun …… Well, you get the picture. Believe it or not, traffic would flow much more smoothly if everyone would obey the traffic signs and drive at the speed limit. At intersections, remember the following rules:
• When traffic is backed up to the intersection, resist that temptation to pull up. Wait at the stop line. It only costs you a just a couple of minutes to wait for the next light. Doing that will keep you safe and keep you from getting a ticket for blocking the intersection.
• Trying to make it through a yellow light at the last second often results in actually running a red light. Yellow lights mean prepare to stop. I can’t tell you the number of times I have had to wait through a green light for other drivers who are running the red light. Their excuse to the police will be that the light was yellow and they didn’t have time to stop but the police aren’t going to buy it. You can get a ticket for running a yellow light if the officer felt you had time to stop.
• Don’t assume that the car ahead will continue moving and try to stay on his tail to get through the light. Assume that he may stop for no apparent reason and keep your distance.
• Remember that you can’t take the right-of-way. You can only give it up to someone else. If there is a conflict over who has the right-of-way, give it to the other driver.

Pedestrians – There is probably no time of year where we encounter more pedestrians. Remember that pedestrians in a crosswalk, whether marked or not, always have the right-of-way. Pedestrians can’t move as fast as a car can especially when they are burdened down with packages, so don’t expect them to jump out of your way. Remember also that pedestrians may not hear you coming. Their minds are occupied just like yours. Their ears may be wrapped in a muffler or a hat or the pedestrian could be totally deaf.

Stay Off Your Cell Phone – Driving, especially at this time of year, requires your full attention. If you must make a call, pull off the road.

Following these simple rules will allow you to keep your hard earned money to buy Christmas presents instead of paying for traffic fines, court costs, or auto body repairs.

To learn more about driver safety and education please visit our Driver Safety Alerts at http://www.nationalsafetycommission.com.

Here’s wishing you a safe and happy holiday period.

Labels: driving, holiday, safety

University of Florida Implements "Gator Watch" Initiative

To crack down on drunk driving, the University of Florida has increased arrests of intoxicated drivers and is penalizing students who drive drunk off campus.

However, they recently tried a softer approach.

As part of the Gator Watch initiative, students are asked to use taxis, look out for their friends, and take further action to prevent alcohol-related injuries in the 96 hours surrounding their big football game versus the University of South Carolina.

Chris Machen, wife of UF President Bernie Machen, said, "We wanted to take the angle that you can prevent this by making the right choices."

In the nearly five years that President Machen has been the figurehead of UF, his tenure has been marked by high-profile deaths involving alcohol. In his first 15 months as president, five UF students died in drinking-related deaths.

During UF's 2006 national basketball championship celebration, a drunk driver struck and killed Gainesville Police Lt. Corey Dahlem.

The scope of the problem was revealed by UF research studies. In a series of studies, In Gainesville bars, UF health researchers surveyed patrons and gave them Breathalyzer tests. Roughly one-third to one-half of the patrons who reported they were driving tested above the legal limit for alcohol.

Virginia Dodd, an assistant professor in UF's department of health education and behavior, said patrons often still got behind the wheel after hearing the results.

"They weren't deterred by being told they had a high level of alcohol in their systems," she said.

According to another study by a criminology doctoral student, roughly 1 in 20 of the UF undergraduates who began attending the university in 2004 have been cited or criminally charged. Nearly all of the violations were alcohol-related.

To address the problem, the university is using a variety of approaches, including advertising campaigns, educational endeavors, and punitive measures, including both UF law enforcement and academic officials.

The university has suspended 94 students from school for drunken driving since 2005. Fueled by a controversial crackdown on intoxicated drivers off campus, university police arrests for drunken driving quadrupled from 2004 to 2007.

University Police Chief Linda Stump said, "We recognize it's a huge problem out there and we need to make sure to protect our campus."

Florida state law allows officers to patrol within 1,000 feet of university properties and make stops while they're driving between disconnected university properties, Stump said. The department also cites its mutual aid agreements with local law enforcement agencies in allowing off-campus stops.

Opposing the practice are local defense attorneys, leading to two separate lawsuits before the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee about the legitimacy of UFPD making off-campus stops.

Gainesville attorney Tom Copeland asked, "If you allow them to overstep their borders by an inch, what's to say they won't take a mile?"

Students caught driving drunk on and off campus are punished by the university. Chris Loschiavo, UF's director of student conduct and conflict resolution, said that since fall 2005, the university has reviewed 214 DUI cases and suspended 94 students.

Loschiavo said, "Generally speaking, we tell students you can expect to be suspended for a minimum of one semester."

Educational activities that can include counseling, seminars and community service are required of students.

Loschiavo said that another 177 students were required to do those types of activities and given probation. The remaining cases are either pending or involved students who left the university before their cases were resolved.

UF research studies illustrate the extent of drunk driving. In a summer 2007 study, researchers surveying 477 Gainesville bar patrons found one-quarter said they intended to drive. Over half of the group was above the legal limit for alcohol, as proven by breathalyzer tests. According to saliva samples, 16 percent tested positive for marijuana or other drugs.

Another study discovered that most patrons who drove to the bars also drove home. Almost one third of them tested higher than the legal limit for alcohol that would have allowed them to drive. According to researchers, a lack of public transportation and the early morning towing of cars can influence the decision on whether to drive.

"They're faced with driving while intoxicated or leaving this valued property," Dodd said.

The legal consequences of drinking were illuminated by another study.

When David Khey, a criminology doctoral student, compared a list of students who started UF in 2004 with law enforcement records, he found that about 1 in 20 were cited or arrested during their time in Gainesville.

Khey said that while the vast majority of the cases were for underage drinking or open containers, there were more than 20 drunken driving cases. He found alcohol-related cases peaked during the fall football season.

Khey said, "The culture of a university in the fall just seems to enhance drinking arrests.”

According to Loschiavo, DUI cases involving students were actually higher during the spring semester. Some involve students nearing graduation whose longer experience in the drinking scene might lead them to take risks, he said.

The aim of the Gator Watch campaign is to get students to make responsible decisions and watch out for their friends.

The effort is loosely based on UF's student safety zone that was employed during the UF-University of Georgia football game, which had been marred by alcohol-related deaths of students in 2004 and 2005.

For the campaign, Chris Machen and other university representatives were addressing students groups. The effort seeks a shift in attitudes among students.

"We don't want to come down on these kids," she said. "We want them to think."

Is your teen a safe driver? The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has developed a new Teen Injury Prevention course to emphasize driving safety for teenagers. For more information, including a Driver Education a Driver Education Book for Parents, visit www.safedriver.com.

New Technology to Link States' Databases

Robert Hood, 44, was recently arrested for fourth DUI arrest in three states in less than two weeks…. yet posted a $200 bond and walked out of a Nebraska without facing a judge. Under Nebraska law the Caldwell, Texas resident was charged as a first-time offender and allowed to pay 10 percent of the $2,000 bond because officials were unaware of the other pending dues.

The FBI-run national computer system that states use shows only those people who have been fingerprinted at the time of arrest. Some suspects' arrests, such as Hood, can go undetected if the information is delayed getting into the system or they are not fingerprinted.

The system did not show Hood's recent DUI arrest in Wyoming, and two more in South Dakota. Because of this lack of information, repeat DUI offenders across the country are allowed to easily post low bonds and go on their way.

Court officials are becoming increasingly alarmed at this egregious error.

"If judges are made aware of other pending charges, it could justify a higher bond to (ensure) the person appears in court," said Sarpy County Judge Todd Hutton, who sits on the bench in suburban Omaha. "The judges make their decisions based on the information they are provided. They can't act on information that is not brought to their attention."

Hutton said a higher bond could be justified if prosecutors know a defendant has other pending charges.

In Deadwood, S.D., one of the places Hood was arrested, a state attorney said the same problem exists in his state.

"The more (DUIs) you get the higher the bond," John Fitzgerald said. "When you see someone who repeats something so dangerous, the bond can get pretty high even if it's a misdemeanor." What's worse, officials in most states are often unaware of other pending charges against a defendant within their own borders.

According to Nebraska Deputy Otoe County Attorney Tim Noerrlinger, people charged with a first-offense DUI do not have to have a formal hearing, but can instead pay bond according to a schedule.

Although still in the pilot stage, the FBI is hoping a new national system will alert law enforcement officials when a defendant has multiple DUI offenses pending in other states.

Tom Bush, assistant director of the FBI's criminal justice information services, said the National Data Exchange or N-DEx, is designed to link local, state and federal records.

On July 4, Hood was arrested in Mitchell, S.D. when an officer found him passed out in his car. A test showed Hood tested 0.260 percent - over three times the legal limit. Davison County Circuit Court clerk said he was released on 10 percent of a $5,000 bail. Three days later, Hood's second DUI arrest occurred in Deadwood, S.D., a town in northwest South Dakota. Hood's blood-alcohol content was 0.184 percent, according to Chief Kelly Fuller of the Deadwood Police Department. Hood's arrest in Mitchell did not show up in state records at the time of arrest, so he was charged with a first-offense DUI and released on another $500 bond.

A Platte County circuit court official said that the very next day, Hood was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Platte County, Wyo., and charged with first-offense DUI. A test showed his blood-alcohol content was 0.160 percent. Hood was found guilty of a first offense DUI in Wyoming on July 10, and sentenced to six months unsupervised probation and a $580 fine.

On July 13, Hood was then arrested on suspicion of drunken driving at 8:30 a.m. in Otoe County, Neb., about 50 miles south of Omaha. According to court records, his blood-alcohol content was 0.081, just over the legal limit of 0.08. Otoe County Jail officials said he was released after posting $200 bond.

The executive director of the Nebraska chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Simara Reynolds, said Hood's case was disturbing.

"It is frightening to see someone charged so frequently in such a short period of time," she said. Authorities are now searching for Hood after he failed to appear to multiple court dates. Warrants have been issued for his arrest.

Laura Dean-Mooney, national president of MADD, said that offenders with multiple DUI arrests are more common than most people think. Dean-Mooney says changes are needed to the current "catch and release" program. She said over 2.8 million people on the road today have three or more DUI convictions.

Kevin Quinlan, chief of safety advocacy division at the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington D.C. said, "Hard-core drunk drivers are clearly more dangerous."

As defined by National Transportation Safety Board, hard-core drunken drivers are those with a prior drunken-driving arrest or conviction within the past 10 years, or offenders with a blood-alcohol content of 0.150 percent or greater.

N-DEx was designed to search, link, analyze, and share criminal justice information including arrest and incident reports, incarceration data, and probation data nationwide.

"Anything (agencies) put in it will be available nationally," he said, but the data gold mine will depend on how each jurisdiction or state collects the data and what they want to report.

N-DEx takes 360 data elements seen in incident reports today and puts them into a master form, said Kevin Reid, N-DEx program manager. Agencies can then search individual or multiple elements.

Participation by all states will be gradual, Bush said, with the goal of having the nationwide system in place by 2010.

Submitting and receiving information from N-DEx is voluntary, Bush continued, but the FBI is convinced that such voluntary programs will work, citing NCIC and a fingerprint database.
Bush said he believes agencies will start using N-DEx once they start to see the benefits.
Oregon State Police Maj. Chris Brown said that his state was one of the first states to test N-DEx.

"It works very well and is very robust," Brown said.

Along with motor vehicle safety, driver education helps ensure the safety of Americans. Whether you're getting your Commercial Drivers License, your Learner's Permit, or your Motorcycle License, America's Driver's License Headquarters is TestQuestionsandAnswers.com.