Distraction and the real price for it

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Now on to the post. Earlier this week the local news in our area brought a tragic story to air.(see video) Below is a part of the story as it read on the news stations website.

GLADEWATER, TX (KLTV) - A horrible wreck on Highway 271 took the life of four-year-old Jonathan King, Jr. Jonathan's family says it was all an accident - that the grandmother, who was driving, was looking back to tell the kids something, when she hit a culvert and lost control. According to DPS, none of the kids were wearing seat belts.....Jonathan's sister Kaila is recovering at Children's Hospital in Dallas. She and the other kids are expected to recover but some will have to undergo surgeries.....DPS is still investigating the crash and, at this time, no charges have been filed.

Posted below are excerpts from the follow up story from the website.

Family members describe the injuries that their young children are still having to deal with after Wednesday's wreck. "Kaila's through with surgery, she's home," said Robin Wright, the children's aunt. "Chloe has to have nose surgery, but they can't do it until the swelling goes down some more." Another of the children has an arm and a leg in casts. And the family knows how bad it could have been.
"The rest of the kids are intact," said Randy Bell, the children's great uncle. "And we hate that we lost that little boy...but we could have lost all of them."
DPS has reported that the children were not wearing seat belts. But the family says that's not the case. "She would never take those babies anywhere, and think that they may be hurt," Wright said. "So two of the bigger ones would always sit on the outsides of the seat towards the door. Then two smaller ones beside them. Each two would share a seat belt, and then the lap belt in the middle, the biggest one would sit there."

This story truly is tragic and we at Harmony send our prayers to this family. However, the truly sad thing about this event is that it was very preventable. Read the story excerpts again and this time write down the things that stand out to you that seem to be not quite right. Immediately, as a former traffic investigator, I notice that grandma had too many children in that vehicle. Meaning that there were not enough restraints for the number of occupants. Also, the size and age of the children warranted use of a minimum of a booster seat (per State law) and maybe even full child safety seats. The biggest stand out is that the driver took her focus off the task of driving. I know, we as parents, all do similar things when dealing with children in our vehicles but the proper thing to do is to pull over in a safe place and deal with the issue. One other mistake, that may have been made, was placing two children in one restraint. This is a bad practice, due the fact that restraints are made specifically for one individual and many have weight restrictions to guarantee proper function.

Harmony does not know the complete details of this event and we are only commenting on what has been released by the media. Again, we use these types of stories to improve our curriculum and to help keep the motoring public aware.

Harmony is deeply regretful at the loss of life and injury as a result of these types of incidents. We hope we can enlighten other drivers to take notice of the bad habits we fall victim to as a result of our daily routines. Complacency is no excuse for forgetting "how to drive", for losing focus or not respecting the other driver.

Please, when traveling with children, keep their best interest at the forefront of your driving task. Injury or death to your own child due to your own negligence is hardly something that heals.

Thanks for reading and remember, children are our future...Please protect them.

Yes officer, I was wrong in doing that.

One minute your cruising down the highway and the next, your the object of every passer-byes curiosity. You have those glaring red and blues behind you and that blinding spot light aimed in your mirrors. So what do you now, at that moment before the officer approaches your window and ask for your license and registration? Well Harmony has decided to help you out by giving some advice on the do's and don'ts of the traffic stop. We start by using a suggestion from a blog called Davidisms.
Davidism #7 – Accept Responsibility: Look, whenever we are caught doing something wrong it seems to upset our day. We spend the entire day nursing and rehearsing how when other people were doing the wrong they weren’t caught, but we were. We don’t spend nearly enough time admitting to our own wrong in the matter. Really, if we would just say, “yep, I did it” then we don’t have to ruin our day and try to convince other people to join our pity party… and frankly people who admit their mistakes look better in the character category.
As a former law officer myself I couldn't agree more. Accepting responsibility for our actions is less stressful than trying to cover for them. If many of you did this, especially when encountering the law, then your character is not in question and a simple acknowledgment of your infraction and verbal warning will satisfy the nice policeman.

In my law enforcement career I encountered many type of people during a traffic stop. The criers, the totally oblivious, the excuse makers, the dumbfounded, and the no-time for this type. I never encountered the guilty, even when the Judge said they were, they just wouldn't admit it. I know, not every person stopped for a traffic infraction, is guilty, but with so many tools to prove you are, it's about 90% fact that you committed a violation. So, how do you make the best of it and keep yourself off the evening news for a confrontation with a taser? Simple! THINK first. Common sense goes a long way to getting you back on your journey. Try these tactics instead of excuses and see if your driving record improves drastically.

1. Pull over as soon as possible and find a safe place for you and the officer to conduct business.
2. Always turn on your hazard lights and at night an interior light to let the officer know you are not a threat.
3. Have the required documentation ready (License and Proof of insurance). Fondling around in a glove box or storage space makes an officer nervous.
4. Be truthful when asked questions about your driving/criminal history. He's gonna know anyway and this is a small test of your character.
5. Use all the courtesies your mother taught you. Pleasant exchanges lessen your chance for a ticket. And remember most of these stops are recorded!
6. Never confront the officer. Being a good listener scores you points.
7. If asked to exit the vehicle do so in a timely and smooth manner. That taser "thingy" really does hurt.
8. Always keep in mind that the officer does not want to be on the side of the anymore than you do. It is very dangerous!
9. Always keep your hands where they can be seen! A nervous cop writes tickets and looks into your background more deeply.
10. Finally, keep your passengers quiet! What they say can hurt you. The smoother the exchange of the stop the sooner you are back on the road.

Now this obviously does not cover every scenario, but these are the basics to keeping you and your driving/criminal record clean. You must also understand that there are policeman that write tickets no matter what. Keeping your cool keeps them from missing dinner and maybe the next time he stops you he will have mercy on you.

Really it's basic human interaction and common courtesy. You have somewhere to be and the police have a job to do. When your paths cross, make it a short and pleasant encounter rather than ending up in the clink for a very silly misunderstanding.


Thanks for reading and remember this? K-I-S-S. Practice it!

Legal Today, Illegal Tomorrow

September is new legislation month. Several states will be implementing tougher laws for hand-held electronic devices, DUI/DWI, Teen Licensing and insuring teens. This should not come as any surprise to you. We have been posting for several weeks about the attention being drawn to distracted drivers. We have even posted about the teen driver problem and our views of DUI/DWI. Harmony stays up to date on these issues and many others. We pass this on to our site visitors and blog followers to keep you informed and educated. Driving is a hot topic with our current administration and each state has began implementing legislation to deter bad driving habits. Loss of life and property is becoming an all to frequent occurrence, due to bad drivers. Twelve states are upping the severity of fines and consequences for hand-held device use. To get more info on which states these are click here.


DUI/DWI has always been a severe problem on the highways. With an estimated 48% of all traffic fatalities being related to an impaired driver, the laws have got be stricter overall and more severe if the impaired person is underage. Drinking and driving is absolutely an unacceptable practice and violators should be punished severely. Twenty-one states are tightening up in this area. Is your state one? click here.

The next topic the law addresses is the teen driver. Graduated Drivers Licenses (GDL)
have been in place in some states for many years, but recently more have come on board. Seventeen states have made changes to their laws regarding the teen driver and how they are to be licensed and insured. Click here to see which ones. Teen drivers pose a certain risk simply because of their inexperience and "bulletproof" attitude. Teens who chose to drive impaired by either drugs or alcohol, increase their chances of being involved in a fatality collision, by 105%!! Parents are, the ultimate responsible party, in these situations and should do whatever it takes to ensure their young drivers are properly trained to get behind the wheel. Teens dying in auto collisions is a sad and in most cases a preventable event. Proper instruction and parental guidance are key to reducing the risk.

When states implement new laws, they sometimes have, what are known as, enforcement periods. States may give violators 90-120 days before they begin prosecuting the changes to the laws. This does NOT mean, you will NOT be stopped for the violation, but you may only receive a warning citation. After the "grace period", be prepared to explain yourself. Law enforcement usually needs this period also to acclimate themselves to the changes and become more familiar with the new laws. Courts also need this time to update their systems and hold council meetings to decide fine amounts for the new violations. Even Judges appreciate the chance to brush up.

Harmony will continue to keep you informed of the changes in laws. It's our goal to have all drivers aware of the things affecting their everyday commutes. We hope you review the changes for your state and learn the implementation process for them. It would be a simple summary to say that if you are new driver you're affected, a poor decision maker and drive impaired you're affected and if you use a hand-held communicator you are the hot target! So, learn to drive safely, DON'T DRINK and DRIVE and pull over or wait till you ARE NOT in a car to make that phone call or send that message.

Thanks for reading and please use good common sense when driving. You don't want to be the one that triggers a change in the law.

In your pocket in the name of safety

Image via Wikipedia

The red light cameras, being used by many municipalities today, are coming under fire by some states. Texas, Virginia and California are the leaders in reviewing their use of the devices. This is significant, since these states are law "trend setters." Many motorist have been disgusted with these devices since their inception as an enforcement tool. The majority of drivers believe that these devices are strictly used for revenue rather than the advertised improved safety claims. Well, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has been keeping a close eye on this and have released results of an on-going study in Virginia and California that has some interesting findings. (More info here) Here are a few issues and subjects under current reviews by the states government.

Issue 1- Devices being used as a source of revenue.

ARGUMENT-The objective of photo enforcement is to deter violators, not to catch them. Signs and publicity campaigns typically warn drivers that photo enforcement is in use. Revenue is generated from fines paid by drivers who continue to run red lights, but this is a fundamental component of all traffic enforcement programs. Independent audits of red light camera enforcement have found that these programs generally do not generate excess revenue.

Issue 2- Do they increase safety?

ARGUMENT- Cameras have been shown to substantially reduce red light violations. In addition to reducing red light violations, cameras have been shown to reduce intersection crashes, indicating community-wide changes in driver behavior. Some studies have reported that while red light cameras reduce front-into-side collisions and overall injury crashes, they can increase rear-end crashes.

Issue 3- Are they enforceable infractions?

ARGUMENT- Before cameras may be used for law enforcement, laws must authorize enforcement agencies to cite red light violators by mail. The legislation must make the vehicle owner responsible for the ticket, establishing a presumption that the registered owner is the vehicle driver at the time of the offense. Depending on state law, violations photographed by red light cameras are commonly treated in one of two ways — as traffic violations or as the equivalent of parking tickets. The law can make registered vehicle owners responsible without regard to who was driving at the time of the offense.

Harmony on the Highways wanted you, the motoring public, to know this because of the reality that red light cameras are the rising cause of rear-end, with injury, collisions. This is because drivers are slamming on brakes to avoid a ticket! if you are aware of this happening then you can adjust your driving habits. Get to know your driving environment and pay closer attention to the red light camera locations in your city. Until the legislation is changed or amended, the probability of increased, enforced intersection collisions, will continue to rise. Harmony has our points of view to both sides of the argument but believes the best solution to all of it is becoming a more AWARE driver. To get more perspectives on this topic visit these links.

National Motorist Association
Ride Lust
ARS


Thanks for reading and SMILE you may have just had your photo taken!