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Posted
Sep 28 2009, 11:26 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from James Limbach at partner site ConsumerAffairs.com.
The vast majority of U.S. drivers believes handheld texting while driving is very dangerous and should be banned nationwide, according to a new survey.
The survey, conducted by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates on behalf of the Ford Motor Co., found that 86% of U.S. drivers believe handheld texting while driving is "very dangerous" and 93% support a nationwide ban on it.
At the same time, only 42% of those asked think drivers would stop texting behind the wheel if the practice were banned. However, more than 75% say there would be more compliance if hands-free or voice-activated technologies were widely available.
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Posted
Jul 29 2009, 02:57 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Sorry, folks, but sometimes lawmakers do need to legislate against stupidity. Is there no better example than DWT -- driving while texting?
We weren't surprised that some of our readers found it difficult to believe that talking on a cell phone -- handheld or hands-free -- is more distracting to a driver than talking to a person who is sitting in the car. But could anyone really think that DWT is safe?
Common sense screams that it's not, and the newest evidence just confirms the obvious. Surely you've read about the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study that found that a driver who is texting is 23 times more likely to crash or have a near crash than drivers who are actually paying attention to the road. Also, according to The New York Times:
In the moments before a crash or near crash, drivers typically spent nearly five seconds looking at their devices -- enough time at typical highway speeds to cover more than the length of a football field.
Equipped with this new information, four U.S. senators have introduced a bill that would require states to ban driving while texting or e-mailing within two years or lose a quarter of their federal highway funds "each year until the money was depleted," The New York Times says.
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Posted
Jul 23 2009, 10:13 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Are you familiar with those companies that get paid to enforce traffic lights? Their cameras snap a picture as you drive through a red light, and a ticket arrives in the mail.
Now one of them, American Traffic Solutions, has ventured into another type of enforcement in Baton Rouge, La., TheNewspaper.com reports:
Under first-of-its-kind initiative, city workers will drive around photographing neighborhoods with special cameras hooked into a global positioning system (GPS) satellite tracking device. The workers will be looking to capture homes that might have litter, weeds or trash on their lawn so that a hefty fine can be imposed.
Wait! There's even more: "Residents will also be ticketed for putting out garbage cans before 4 p.m. or failing to retrieve them before 6 a.m."
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Posted
Jul 14 2009, 05:53 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Jim Wang at partner blog Bargaineering.
I had the great pleasure of going to traffic court recently. Yay!
I was there to contest a ticket for making an improper left turn through a red light. The ticket was for $90 and I'm unsure how many points it would've been, but an improper turn costs one point and failure to stop at a red is two points. Do I get both, or just the worse of the two? I wasn't sure, but I knew points usually mean my insurance would go up and I wanted to avoid that at all costs.
Note: Everything contained in this article is based on my experience in a Maryland courtroom and with Maryland procedures, specifically Howard County District Court. The process and rules may be different in your jurisdiction.
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Posted
Jan 27 2009, 06:05 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.
A few years ago, I was driving from one office building to another when a Dodge Durango ran a red light and totaled my car. I was fine, as the Durango hit me at a 45-degree angle, but my car was not.
The passenger door was dented, the front quarter-panel was crushed, the frame was bent, and the wheel was crooked on the axle. If that wasn't enough, both airbags deployed. My Acura Integra was kaput.
I was fortunate in that accident because I wasn't at fault, the other driver was calm, a witness stopped, and the police handled the situation expeditiously. The end result was that I got a check and needed a new car, but the process was as quick as could be expected.
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Posted
Apr 25 2008, 06:02 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
"Financegirl" at Finance Gets Personal admits that she's one of the chronically late. "You know that person who comes in to work 20 minutes late every day, keeps you waiting at the restaurant, and interrupts church by trying to find a seat during the prayer? That's me," she confesses in a post called "The costs of chronic lateness."
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