Fort Pierce DMV Office closes May 29th
FORT PIERCE, Fla. – The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will close its Driver License Office at 3220 S. Federal Highway, Suite 6-7 in Fort Pierce at the close of business May 29. The St. Lucie County Tax Collector’s office in Fort Pierce will begin processing driver licenses June 4 at 2300 Virginia Avenue in Fort Pierce. Customers in the area who need to make driver license transactions in an office May 30 – June 1, may visit the St. Lucie County Tax Collector’s office at 1664 SE Walton Road in Port St. Lucie.
“Providing excellent customer service is our primary focus, and offering driver license services is another added convenience to the public,” St. Lucie County Tax Collector Bob Davis said. “We encourage customers to visit us online at http://www.tcslc.com or call us at 772-462-1650.”
“The Department is pleased to partner with St. Lucie County Tax Collector Bob Davis to ensure customers in Fort Pierce continue to receive driver license services in a convenient location,” said Division of Motorist Services Director Boyd Walden. “The Department is transitioning driver license services to county tax collectors across the state, and we are closing the office on Federal Highway as part of the transition.”
Read the Official Release dated 05/16/2012
FHP to ticket aggressive Cars & Trucks
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – When driving on the highway, motorists are at a serious disadvantage if involved in a crash with a larger vehicle. The Florida Highway Patrol announced today at a news conference in Jacksonville the third and final phase of Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks.
“In order to keep you and your family safe when driving around large trucks, motorists should be extra cautious. Sharing the road with larger vehicles can be dangerous if you are not aware of their limitations,” said FHP Director Col. David Brierton. “We are pleased to partner with the Florida Trucking Association on Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks to save lives on Florida’s roadways.”
On May 4 -11, troopers statewide will be on the lookout for car and truck drivers who commit violations attributed to aggressive driving such as: following too closely, unsafe lane change and speeding.
Read the Official Release dated 04/26/12
Driving Instructions are not for everybody
Law makers allowed nowadays driver training industry to degenerate into a cottage based industry by facilitating under qualified people, that are using 20-30 years old teaching and training methods and personally I regard most of the driving schools out there as providers of a temporary and insufficient “quick fix”.
90% of the parents choose driving instructor based on price and quantified number of years in business
It doesn’t cease to amaze me how most of the parents are choosing driving instructors for their children and what are the criterias of choosing their children’s first car.
Most of the time, both choices are based on the monetary values, which driving school has the lowest prices and which car is cheaper.
The end result is mirrored on official statistics that are telling the deadly story of teen drivers:
About 3,500 U.S. teens die every year in teen-driven vehicles: an average of about 10 a day. The crash rate per mile driven for 16-to-19-year-olds is still four times the rate for drivers 20 and older, according to a June 2007 report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
The driving license exam is merely a test of minimal, legal and car control skills.
Most of the time the entire road test is under 30 minutes. The present standards are arguably low and stricter classifications are also arguably vague.
Thing is, lower pass rates will lead the exclusion of large segments of the potential driving population, thus less consumers. Administrations around the world are reluctant to implement any changes in this system, that is certain to decrease mobility, due to the political/economical reasons and with no consideration for the public danger.
Despite all the active safety systems, ( ABS, TCS, VSC, SRS, EMS, BSD, RSC, etc, etc.) every year in US, close to 50,000 people are dying and 5 million getting hurt. Year after year, after year after year for the past 15 years.
Isn’t this a clear and loud message that the existing driving methods and approach DO NOT WORK?!?
When I ask drivers, old an new alike, to divide a circle in three, each section (pie) representing what is in their opinion the most important element out of the three, eyes, hands, feet is required in order to be a skilled driver, 98% of them indicate as follow:
* 55% hands
* 30% feet
* 15% eyes
I had people giving an even lower percentage of the eyes. My opinion is that 80% suppose to be eyes.
Does anyone care that human error was the sole cause in 57% of all accidents and was a contributing factor in over 90% in contrast, only 2.4% were due solely to mechanical fault and only 4.7% were caused only by environmental factors.
As long as the driving instructors do not understand that is imperative to gear (pun intended) their teaching methods and programs towards a cognitive and behavioral driving approach, we are going to have the same carnage 15 years from now.
In simpler terms, a driving program will have to educate the trainee/student in a way of approaching and dealing with all hazards that is methodical and safe, and leaves absolutely nothing to chance, and where the overriding aim is to give a driver time to react and to deal safely with the situation, whatever the circumstances.
Choosing the Right Seat for Children in Cars
Transportation Secretary LaHood Urges Parents to ‘Choose the Right Seat’ for Children in Cars
New public service announcements and website encourage caregivers to learn how to select, install, and use the correct child safety seat
WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced the launch of new public service announcements (PSAs) to raise awareness about the importance of choosing the right child safety seat and making sure it is installed properly. The ads, released in partnership with the Ad Council, promote car seat safety among parents of children up to age 12. Data from the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show an estimated 8,959 lives were saved by child restraint systems from 1975 to 2008.
“Safety is our top priority for everyone on our roadways, and we’re calling on parents to do everything they can to protect our most vulnerable passengers,” said Secretary LaHood. “Together, the new public service announcement and website will help parents understand the differences in child safety seats, make sure they choose the right seat for their child, and properly secure them every time they get behind the wheel.”
Working with the Ad Council as part of an ongoing campaign to ensure child car safety, NHTSA unveiled new PSAs this morning that will air on television, radio, online and in outdoor advertising nationwide. “The Right Seat” effort aims to make sure all parents and caregivers are properly securing children ages 12 and under in the right car restraint (rear-facing, forward-facing, booster, seat belt) for their age and size. Targeting parents and caregivers who already use car seats, the key message of the PSAs is to remind parents to “make sure their child is in the right car seat.”
For more information: The Right Seat
Pandemonium about traffic signs
I believe a lot of drivers have the inability to scan to the sides of the roads. In other words they have a “tunnel vision” concern. No matter how clear the next speed sign is a new driver in particular tends to look straight down the road into oblivion. I would question the pupil what was the last sign we went through and it sometimes turns into a guessing game.
It is very easy to forget the last speed sign that past the car. Fortunately we do use repeater signs (in the case of 30 mph limits where there are no street lights). Without repeater speed signs, there could be a lot of confusion amongst drivers who are not familiar with the roads in a particular area.
Some speed signs I think are wrong in some areas. Especailly, where the roads are more open and wider where it could be 40 instead of 30. But I do criticise the local authorities for making roads with unecessary variable speeds limits. I see a national sign and then within a short distance it becomes a 40 or even a 30 then back up to national. When you have such variation you are going to make a driver confused and resulting in a more eractic style of driving or; “hell with it I am going to stick to 40″ attitude.
In these places they should perhaps make the road continuously at 40 and avoid putting in the national speed limits for such short distances. Surely that is making drivers entering a potential accident zone?
The trouble is that our signs are put in place by road engineers and not getting any advice from driver educationist.
There are some really good signs preparing you to reduce speed and these are signs alerting you of a 30 mph looming up. They would prepare you to slow down with a 3 bar count down marker beneath the number 30, then another sign with 2 bars and finally a single bar sign before you actually see the mandatory sign.
I like the solar powered speed warning signs that are becoming more common to see. I think they are very effective indeed because of the flashing mode feature to show your speed, and this can just make you ease off the gas if you have just brushed over the limit by mistake.
St. Petersburg DMV in AAA closes April 25
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will close its driver license office in the AAA location at 800 2nd Avenue North in St. Petersburg at the close of business April 25. Seven driver license offices continue to serve area residents, and two are located in St. Petersburg.
“The Department is pleased to continue our ongoing partnership with Pinellas County Tax Collector Diane Nelson, who provides driver license services at six locations throughout the county,” said Division of Motorist Services Director Boyd Walden.
“The tax collector’s office is pleased to offer driver license services to ensure customers have convenient locations to make all their motor vehicle transactions in one stop,” Nelson added. “We encourage customers to visit our website at www.taxcollect.com to find out more about the services we provide.”
Read Official Release dated 04/11/2012
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