Jacksonville, FL

Young professionals may rely on a cell phone as a primary phone.

If you don’t have the NOAA Weather radio receiver or scanner, you do what I did once when a late night tornado warning was issued. You stay up. But now that the Duval County Emergency Operations Center has implemented a telephone emergency notification system, I can go to bed. The system is capable of automatically contacting residents in the event of a potential or pending emergency. Local officials now have the ability to deliver a pre-recorded message to residents in targeted areas of the city, or to the entire county, if necessary, at a rate of up to 60,000 calls per hour.

There’s an added advantage to this new system. It’s common for the under-forty crowd to use a cell phone as a primary number. This money-saving option traditionally would keep a cell phone number off an emergency notification list. There’s good news for these residents, and for business owners and those with unpublished numbers. (more…)

A new weekend sport is developing on Loretto Road in Jacksonville. Wall-crashing is the new pastime for careless or impaired drivers zooming from San Jose Blvd. to St. Augustine Road on weekends. Record insurance claims for property damage must have been filed for traffic crashes on this stretch of road. Drivers are typical, or may be impaired, and they are usually speeding. Where’s a traffic ticket when you really need one?

In the five years I’ve lived here, walls and/or fences have been crashed five times. I could also add there have been quite a few fender-benders when the cars didn’t crash into a neighborhood. There have also been about half a dozen occasions where cars mowed down the ornamental trees planted in medians along Loretto Road. I’d tell you what kinds of trees they were, but they didn’t live long enough for me to identify them.

The latest crash happened at Red’s Gait. That’s a new gated community where a large horse sculpture sits at the entrance. Legend has it the horse art represents a steed beloved by the property’s previous owner. These homes are pricey, so it’s hard for me to figure out why the wall is some sort of Styrofoam-like substance with a thin brick-like covering. The fairly large homes sit on small lots, close to the road. The developer cut most of the old growth trees, so there’s nothing of substance creating a barrier for a wayward motorist. The car in the latest incident came perilously close to the house. A couple months ago, when a driver crashed his SUV through our own neighborhood fence, at least there were sturdy trees stopping his progress.

I recently received an email from the Florida Times Union, asking me what I’d like our city council to do.

I’d like to see less wall-crashing. Only the drivers have been hurt so far, but if something isn’t done, some homeowner may wake up to find an SUV in his bedroom.

Loretto Road is one of the only direct routes from San Jose Blvd. to St. Augustine Road. All I can say is city planners surely didn’t plan for the current traffic. Almost every neighborhood along this road is gated. That means one way in and out. Try driving down Loretto Road when schools are in session, around 8 a.m. Traffic is so slow you could catch up on your email or maybe patch your makeup as I have seen other drivers do when I’m taking my morning walk. And when the traffic eases up, well, there’s your opportunity to break the speed limit and crash a wall.

I’d like to see less wall-crashing. The latest example, just like the last example, happened near a school bus stop.

And I’d like to stop paying insurance premiums that help cover people who crash walls.

How’s the traffic in your neighborhood?

Word Press, Technorati, Tags, Traffic crash, insurance premiums, Jacksonville City Council, neighborhoods, Traffic and Safety

Recently a car crashed through the back fence of my neighbor’s yard. The driver appeared to have injuries, with glass shards in his face and bruises. I’ve often wondered who picked up the tab for the fence he destroyed, the outbuilding he leveled, and damages to shrubbery and trees. Cars routinely speed down Loretto Road. Speeding incidents increase dramatically late at night.

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I’ve received letters and notices in the mail about Personal Injury Protection. The Florida Association of Insurance Agents sums it up tidily. “Originally enacted in 1971, Automobile No-Fault Insurance, also known as PIP (Personal Injury Protection), is a required coverage under Florida law. It covers the insured driver and passengers for accident-related injuries, regardless of fault, with payment made directly to the insured(s) by his/her own insurer. Unless reenacted, the No-Fault system will cease to exist (sunset) October 1, 2007.”

The Florida Times-Union reports area hospitals are upset about the expiration of PIP, noting, “Hospitals rely on the mandatory medical coverage provided by auto insurers to help pay for care provided to accident victims, especially those without health insurance.”

Health insurance companies probably won’t be too happy if the No-Fault insurance sunsets, because that will increase their own claims.

Right now, there’s a lot of room for improvement in PIP. I am required to buy this insurance, even if I don’t need it, since I have health insurance. But in general, PIP is viewed as an opportunity for fraud and inflated billings. Everyone is familiar with the whiplash scenario. You have a minor scrape in traffic and suddenly the very healthy person you bumped into has a slew of medical problems.

Here’s a really intriguing aspect of PIP, pointed out by the Times-Union: If the PIP law is allowed to sunset, Florida motorists who are considered “safe drivers” will not be required to buy auto insurance, said Julie Baker, spokeswoman with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. A safe driver is a motorist who has had no driving convictions (such as speeding fines) in the past three years, or had his license revoked or suspended in the past seven years.

I’d say this is a pretty important issue. Legislators need to address it. (Text and Photo by Kay B. Day)

Word Press, Technorati, Tags, Personal Injury Protection, Florida insurance, Florida drivers, accident, legislation, insurance injury, health insurance

Jacksonville distributor Omni United USA Inc. is on the list of companies who sold allegedly faulty tires manufactured in China.

Global trade creates complex relationships. Jacksonville Business Journal says Omni United USA Inc. is a subsidiary of a Singapore-based company, Omni United Pte. Ltd. The company sold tires manufactured by China-based Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. and imported by Foreign Tire Sales.

The tires are light truck radials that could fall apart on the road.

Consumer Affairs reports a lawsuit has been filed against FTS over a fatal traffic accident in Pennsylvania in 2006:

The suit says tread separation caused a cargo van carrying four passengers to crash, killing two passengers and injuring the other two. The light truck tires were sold under the names Westlake, Telluride, Compass and YKS.

FTS has filed an $80 million lawsuit against the Hangzhou Rubber Company and notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TSA of the defect. FTS had conducted testing after warranty requests increased. Consumer Affairs says, “Visual analysis revealed that some tires seemed to have an insufficient or missing gum strip — a key safety feature to preserve the integrity of the belts.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told Fox News, “We want a full tire recall to take place.” The agency has notified Foreign Tire Sales. The Hangzhou tires were sold to the following distributors: Tireco, in Compton, Calif.; Strategic Import Supply, in Wayzata, Minn.; Omni United USA Inc., in Jacksonville, Fla.; Orteck International Inc., in Gaithersburg, Md.; K&D Tire Wholesalers LLC, in Carlsbad, Calif.; and Robinson Tire, in Laurel, Miss.

NHTSA is a great resource for safety and performance information about tires. For more information, visit the tire information pages at the NHTSA Web site.

(text by Kay B. Day; photo from NHTSA Web site (safercar.gov); photo is not representative of recalled tires.)

Word Press, Technorati, Tags, Chinese Tires Recall, Jacksonville, imported tires, tire distributor, lawsuit faulty tires, Kay Day