In 2008 6,000 people were killed in car crashes that involved a distracted or inattentive driver and over half a million were injured. These looming statistics have caused the US to create guidelines for states to create laws that will ban texting while driving.
Back in January a nationwide ban was issued by the Transportation Department for any commercial driver; including truckers and bus drivers to engage in texting while driving. Nineteen states including the District of Colombia have already banned texting while driving. California and New York are two of the seven states that have banned the use of handheld devices for any reason. Massachusetts is on its way to banning texting while driving right now. The bill was approved unanimously by the Massachusetts House and is waiting on approval by the Senate. The US has encouraged all states to enact laws that prohibit texting while driving.
Drivers pulled over for texting in states where it is banned could face a minimum fine of $75 and possible action against their driving privileges. In cases that result in serious injury or death the offender could be charged with a felony. Commercial drivers caught texting while driving could be subject to civil or criminal charges of up to $2,750.
According to the results of one study a driver’s reaction time is better when they’re drunk and driving (0.46seconds) versus when texting and driving (0.52 seconds) and both are better then when the driver is reading a text and driving (0.57). In other words; if a car is traveling at 35 mphs it will travel an extra 21 feet before the driver applies the brakes if he is reading a text and an extra 16 feet before applying the brakes if the driver is writing a text. The faster the car is going the more distance the car will cover before the brakes are applied.
There’s no question about it; texting while driving can be a very dangerous choice. If you must text; pull over. Some even recommend just turning your phone off when you get in the car so you will not be distracted by others texting or calling you and you won’t be tempted to text yourself. Texting and driving is joining the horrible ranks of driving under the influence (DUI) and drinking while intoxicated (DWI); it is now known as DWT.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Electric Car Rebates and Incentives Being Offered By California
California is taking the lead in the push to get consumers to buy and drive more environmentally friendly vehicles. They are offering numerous incentives to consumers to go out and purchase electric vehicles including generous rebates. Along with the tax rebate of $7,500 from the government to owners of low-emissions vehicles the state of California is offering an added rebate of $3,000 to $5,000 more; or $20,000 to buyers of low-emission commercial vehicles. Their goal is to have 7,500 all-electric and 25,000 plug-in hybrids on its roads by 2014 with an increase to 60,000 electrics and 85,000 plug-in hybrids by 2017.
In order to reach this goal and persuade buyers to purchase these new concept vehicles they plan on putting $200 million a year through 2015 into low-emission vehicles. They are going to be subsidizing charging stations that should be in operation by 2012. They’re intention is to ease the consumers biggest concern about electric cars- will I run out of power before I reach a place to recharge the batteries? With a range of only about 100 miles in most electric cars this is a very real concern for consumers. Major shopping centers or malls, movie theaters, hotels and restaurants are being considered as great locations for charge stations. The stations need to be in places where people are willing to spend a few hours waiting for their vehicle to recharge. New charging stations are being designed to give 220- to 240-volt electricity which will charge cars in about two to four hours, half the time needed with standard 110-volt current. Once businesses learn that they can give away a few dollars worth of electricity to capture consumers for a few hours they become very interested in installing charge stations in their parking lots.
With electric cars becoming more mainstream added incentives are great ways to get consumers to purchase these low-emission vehicles. About two dozen car companies are coming up with ideas and new models of electric cars. The Nissan Leaf coming out sometime at the end of this year is a pure electric car with a driving range of about 100 miles. The Chevy Volt is another type of electric car known as a plug-in hybrid. This vehicle runs on electric battery until it runs out of power, then the gas engine turns on. Currently the only mass-produced electric car is the Tesla sports car which came out a few years ago, and has produced over 1,500 vehicles. However, at a price tag of over $100,000 this car is not for the everyday driver. The new electric cars to hit the market will carry a much lower base sticker price.
The question remains though, are consumers ready for electric cars? With California’s incentive rebates along with the governments rebates these cars won’t cost more than a standard gas powered car; but will the limited range of the vehicle deter potential buyers? And what about the rest of the country, California is known for its push to be environmentally friendly, but is the rest of country as concerned? We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
In order to reach this goal and persuade buyers to purchase these new concept vehicles they plan on putting $200 million a year through 2015 into low-emission vehicles. They are going to be subsidizing charging stations that should be in operation by 2012. They’re intention is to ease the consumers biggest concern about electric cars- will I run out of power before I reach a place to recharge the batteries? With a range of only about 100 miles in most electric cars this is a very real concern for consumers. Major shopping centers or malls, movie theaters, hotels and restaurants are being considered as great locations for charge stations. The stations need to be in places where people are willing to spend a few hours waiting for their vehicle to recharge. New charging stations are being designed to give 220- to 240-volt electricity which will charge cars in about two to four hours, half the time needed with standard 110-volt current. Once businesses learn that they can give away a few dollars worth of electricity to capture consumers for a few hours they become very interested in installing charge stations in their parking lots.
With electric cars becoming more mainstream added incentives are great ways to get consumers to purchase these low-emission vehicles. About two dozen car companies are coming up with ideas and new models of electric cars. The Nissan Leaf coming out sometime at the end of this year is a pure electric car with a driving range of about 100 miles. The Chevy Volt is another type of electric car known as a plug-in hybrid. This vehicle runs on electric battery until it runs out of power, then the gas engine turns on. Currently the only mass-produced electric car is the Tesla sports car which came out a few years ago, and has produced over 1,500 vehicles. However, at a price tag of over $100,000 this car is not for the everyday driver. The new electric cars to hit the market will carry a much lower base sticker price.
The question remains though, are consumers ready for electric cars? With California’s incentive rebates along with the governments rebates these cars won’t cost more than a standard gas powered car; but will the limited range of the vehicle deter potential buyers? And what about the rest of the country, California is known for its push to be environmentally friendly, but is the rest of country as concerned? We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
The New CAFE Standards
The United States has some of the weakest standards in terms of fuel economy ratings among first world nations; with an estimated average 25 mpg in the US versus 45 mpg in the European Union. However, the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations are getting their biggest change since 1975 starting in 2011. Auto makers will be required to progressively increase their fleet's fuel economy, reaching the new standards by 2016. New cars must meet a standard of 37.8 average miles per gallon, an increase from 27.5 mpgs. Light truck standards will increase from 23.5 to 28.8 miles per gallon. This will be a total increase of 37% for cars and 23% for trucks. The CAFE regulations will allow auto makers to average their miles per gallon across all models. Companies like Ford and Chevrolet may have trucks that do not meet the CAFE standards, but their coupes and sedans do which will cancel out the “guzzlers.” The new standards will also take into consideration the vehicles footprint when figuring out its fuel economy must be. The footprint will be measured as the product of the vehicles wheelbase and its track, in square feet. For example, the Ford Focus will be required to have a much better fuel economy then the Mercedes S-Class due to the difference in size of the vehicle.
In the past many manufacturers have found it easier to just pay the CAFE penalties instead of trying to meet the standards. Then there are other automakers which produce a large fleet of subcompact cars and gain many fuel-economy surpluses. With the new regulations the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been instructed to establish a credit trading and transferring system. Manufacturers can now transfer their credits between categories or choose to sell them to other manufacturers who may not meet the standards with their fleet.
These new standards are estimated to increase the cost of a 2016 model compared to a 2011 model by about $1000. These new regulations are not making the automakers too happy, but with the rising cost of gas at the pump and the consumers interest in saving the planet these new "greener" cars will be a welcome addition for the customers.
Friday, June 11, 2010
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