Red Light Cameras: Yay or Nay?
As citizens of this country, there is a certain amount of blind faith that we put in our government to protect us. But what if some of the laws and regulations that are in effect actually end up doing more harm than good? Here is a scenario to ponder: you are pulling out of Brandon Chevrolet Dealer after just buying your new car and get pulled over by the police for speeding. They then find that you don’t have current registration and hassle you about that, but you just got the car and you haven’t gotten your registration in the mail yet. This is a mild scenario, but still it happens and is frustrating for consumers. What about those pesky red light offense cameras that several cities have installed? You are driving in your new car from Nissan New York when the light changes quickly to red and then you receive a ticket in the mail. Maybe you did or didn’t run the red light, but in this economy is it right for cities to be scraping every cent out of their citizens in this manner?
Having recently gotten one of these red light tickets, I can tell you first hand how infuriating the process was. The traffic court was full of other drivers there to contest their tickets, some driving cars from Acura Pittsburgh. One woman was contesting her ticket because she stopped at the red light but then inched out to see if she could safely make a right turn; the camera interpreted this as running the light. She contested and won, but the judge cautioned her to stop at the line next time and stay there.
What is even more interesting is that some cities have begun removing their red light cameras because the revenue from tickets decreased as people became more aware of their locations and thus changed their driving habits. We can all appreciate efforts to make the streets safer for all, but is this really the right way to do it?
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Electric Cars Will Keep Trying!
Chevrolet Sarasota has likely been busy fielding calls and inquiries from anxious consumers regarding the release of the electric car, Chevy Volt. As our nation continues to acknowledge our dependency on oil, catastrophes like the Gulf oil spill make us a bit more anxious to find a solution to our need for fossil fuels. VW Arizona dealerships have their popular diesel engine to offer as an alternative, and their hybrid Jetta has yet to be released to the public. Good thing for Fort Lauderdale Cascadia Dealers, whose primary inventory is commercial grade trucks, they won’t have to worry about hybrid competition because that concept hasn’t even been toyed around with yet!
The main electric cars dominating the news headlines recently include the Nissan Leaf, Tesla Roadster, and aforementioned Chevy Volt. With all the hype about these vehicles, how come we don’t see more of them driving around yet? If America is trying so hard to go green and stop our oil dependency, why aren’t these vehicles more available to the general public?
Since opening shop in 2008, only 1,000 of the Tesla Roadsters are out on the road today. That could be in part because of its high sticker price of around $105,000. Some consumers are concerned about buying an electric car because what happens when their battery dies? Is there going to be a charging station nearby or are they going to have to call AAA for a tow? Until a product is tried and true tested, American consumers remain cautious.
Tesla boasts that its Roadster can drive about 245 miles before needing a charge. Just like estimated fuel economy, these figures are totally dependent on road and weather conditions, as well as how the driver drives and maintains their vehicle. Nissan Leaf drivers can expect a smaller ticket price and will get about 100 miles to a charge.
Some third party companies have talked about installing major networks along major routes to offer drivers a place to quickly recharge their vehicles. Government agencies have proposed numerous bills about how to make electric cars a reality, but nothing has been finalized yet. Talks include tax credits for people who have charging stations in their homes and large grants to install facilities on well-traveled routes.
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California: New HOV Restrictions
The California State Government is taking an interesting approach at trying to persuade car shoppers to buy certain low emission vehicles. There is not one model that you can find at Peoria Volkswagen that will let you drive solo in the carpool lanes in that state. And while for years and years, solo drivers of the Prius which is sold at Toyota Lexington for example were welcomed in the HOV lanes. Now, one of the most expensive and crowded states to live in the whole country is changing the legislature regarding solo drivers in the HOV lane. No longer will hybrid vehicle drivers be allowed in the carpool lanes unless they are legitimately carpooling. That means more business for Kansas City used car loans as people are likely to trade in their hybrids and opt for one of the newer electric car models with record low emission rates.
California has plenty of traffic and bumper-to-bumper rush-hour congestion records! Thus, the state has over 1,300 miles of carpool lanes. Legislation has recently been extended for four years so that solo drivers of ultra-low emission vehicles are rewarded by using the carpool lane until January 1, 2015. This law is going to help electric vehicles get a sales boost, as having access to the carpool lane is a huge selling tactic. There are five other states currently with similar legislation.
The new legislation is termed Assembly Bill 1500 and approved vehicles receive a white sticker that says “Clean Air Vehicle.” This new white sticker replaces the previously yellow sticker that was part of previous legislation. That previous legislation also allowed solo drivers of the Honda Civic hybrid, the Honda Insight, and the Toyota Prius to use carpool lanes. Approximately 85,000 vehicle owners will have to use the regular lanes while driving as of December 31, 2010; unless they do what is anticipated and slightly expected of them and they upgrade an electric vehicle, such as the Honda FCX Clarity. There is currently a bill on the table that would extend the solo privilege to plug-in charging vehicles, like the Chevrolet Volt, but it has yet to be approved and finalized.
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Businesses Mocked by the Glynn County Board of Commsioners
By: Paul Rushing
“Say it ain’t so, say it ain’t so” cried Glynn County Commissioner Tony Thaw, when given the floor to address the citizens and businesses of Glynn County Georgia. This was an attempt to show outrage and to mock local press releases issued by an Automobile Dealer for calling the commission out on passing an unconstitutional law restricting the number of US Flags that can be flown in Glynn County, which he spearheaded.
He was not the only commissioner that took the opportunity to denigrate freedoms Read more
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Glynn County Electrician Causing Static
By: Paul Rushing
A prominent business man and county commisioner in Glynn County Georgia, Tony Thaw, owner of Thaw’s Electric Service has come forward to decry all of the recent hoopla about Glynn County’s unconstitutional flag ordinance.
In statements made to the Brunswick News he claims that the public outcry of recent Glynn County Code Enforcement Division citations is just a publicity stunt by the affected businesses to attract more customers. Having first hand knowledge of of the situation I know for a fact that is not the case.
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Presidential Wannabe Turns Hypocrite
By: Paul Rushing
Cap Fendig came to the defense of the Glynn County Code Enforcement Division for issuing tickets to local businesses for flying the US Flag.
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Businessman Ticketed for Flying the US Flag
In our volatile political environment with the upcoming elections, an unpopular war, rising fuel prices and turbulent economy you would think that local government would encourage such activities as displaying our National Symbol of Patriotism, the Flag of the United States of America. Well that is not the case in Glynn County Georgia.
Local businessman, Gary Hudgins president of Carl Gregory Chrysler Dodge in Brunswick Georgia, was ticketed on 2-1-2008 for displaying the US Flag on automobiles in inventory by the Glynn County Code Enforcement Division. The types of flags used were of the style that slid over automobile antennas, this was in addition to a very predominate flag display that many businesses would envy, and were full representations of our National symbol not mere pendants or tacky stringer displays.
