January 2017

Report: Takata Agrees To Plead Guilty, Pay $1B Penalty For Faulty Airbags

When something that is supposed to protect you has a recall, it can be a scary thing. Takata produces airbags that have led to deaths recently because of issues with deployment. This causes metal debris to shoot out when the airbag is deployed.

Takata has reached a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department for knowingly selling airbags with faulty inflators that resulted in 16 deaths.
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JonGReport: Takata Agrees To Plead Guilty, Pay $1B Penalty For Faulty Airbags
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Audi Cars Can Now Tell Their Drivers When Traffic Lights Will Turn Green

There are new advances every day in the technology for automated cars. Everything comes in baby steps to the public; you wouldn’t want to release something that wasn’t fully tested. The next baby step in self-driving cars seems to be traffic light prediction.

Serious consequences often result from this behavior–traffic deaths are soaring for the second consecutive year after a long decline. But often, this rampant cellphone use brings more mundane annoyances. Spend five minutes driving in any direction, and you’re sure to come across more than one motorist paying rapt attention to the device in his or her hands instead of the road ahead. Nowhere is this more infuriating than at traffic lights, when a text-obsessed motorist sits, oblivious to a green light, and foments a backup of surly fellow drivers. In certain Audi vehicles, this is no longer a problem, with the introduction of new “time to green” technology.
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JonGAudi Cars Can Now Tell Their Drivers When Traffic Lights Will Turn Green
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Should Dealers Be Selling Used Cars with Potentially Deadly Takata Airbags?

There are recalls for products all the time: dog food, kid’s toys, tools, the list goes on. Having a part recalled in your vehicle can be a scary reality. And when that recall is for a part that is meant to save your life, if the time comes, it becomes a bigger problem. How are you to know if you’re getting a used car with a defective part inside? Should this be legal for dealers to get away with?

There are about 29 million vehicles currently under a recall that has been linked to 11 deaths and 180 injuries. Still, most cars and trucks affected by the recall are actually considered by federal regulators to be safer with the potentially faulty airbags than without them, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is advising people not to deactivate the airbags in their cars or trucks.
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JonGShould Dealers Be Selling Used Cars with Potentially Deadly Takata Airbags?
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Back-to-School Driving Safety Tips

With regards to the wellbeing of your youngsters, no safeguard is too little. With back-to-school going all out, drivers should be additional careful and significantly more mindful than any time in recent memory. Not only do drivers should be careful and mindful of youthful kids crossing the road to enter school, they also need to be aware of pedestrians, cyclists, and safety personnel such as crossing guards, as well.

Moreover, there are kids who use their bikes to get to and from school and also the individuals who don’t get transport administration and need to walk to class. There are a few measures that you, as a driver, can take so as to guarantee the wellbeing of those returning back to class and for the individuals who are in charge of transporting them, too. From transport drivers to intersection guards, it’s basic to do all that you can with a specific end goal to guard everybody this school year.

There are a few standards we can follow keeping in mind the end goal to guarantee the sheltered and smooth move of our youngsters when they make a beeline for school. Security rules apply for every one of us, from experienced drivers to recently authorized high schoolers, and college students, too.

In addition, there are likewise wellbeing tips you may wish to impart to your kids with respect to strolling or bicycling to class every day. If everyone does their part, back-to-school can begin and end with a safe start.

Back-to-School Safety Driving Tips for Teens

If there is a new teen driver in your home who will be driving back and forth to school as a first-time driver, it is important to educate them long before the start of the new school year:

  • Get accustomed with the school course and wellbeing standards of your area. A few schools are determined to a primary street while others are set back somewhat off the street. On the off chance that you have any inquiries, ask well ahead of time. School staff are there to help you weeks before the beginning of the school year.
  • Take a ride or two to the school. Look at the traffic lights and their planning. Take a test run back and forth to the school at least once in order to get accustomed to the route.
  • Have your high schooler watch a video or read a news article with photographs of vehicles and lives that were crushed while messaging and driving. Indicate those case situations of grown-ups and additionally teenagers that were lethally harmed while messaging and driving – it can transpire at any age.
  • Strolling and messaging – have you ever seen what number of individuals (grown-ups and teenagers alike) have crossed an occupied, significant convergence while wearing earphones or messaging while crossing the road. If you cannot hear and if your eyes are on your cell phone, then how can you pay attention to the road? It just makes sense – common sense – to pay attention while crossing the street.
  • Begin your back-to-class routine weeks before school starts. By resetting your rest plan and getting used to rising early once more, you abstain from being excessively lethargic in the mornings. Legitimate rest compares to appropriate sharpness.

Back-to-School Safety Driving Tips for Adults

On the off chance that you don’t have a clue about the security principles and rules of your specific school, make a point to discover them ahead of time. You don’t want to be faced with the excitement and nervousness of a first day of school transporting your child at the same time as learning the rules of the road, especially if you are a new resident in the area.

Whether you have youngsters that you are transporting or a driver that goes by a secondary school on your approach to work, it is vital to realize which rules apply to your school zone.

Make certain to become acclimated to your school safety rules. Some school areas are set on main strips and have flashing yellow lights; make certain that you and your teen know that it is necessary to slow down to the expected speed when passing these flashing lights.

If you have a new teen driver, it is your responsibility to make certain that he/she knows the rules of safety when approaching a school that has students either entering or exiting to start or finish their days. It is in their best interest, as well as yours, and everyone else’s to reiterate these safety rules, even if driver’s education was taken and passed. It’s never a bad idea to reiterate these rules.

While this might not sound like a road rule, it just makes sense – common sense – we all have days when we run late and things happen for which we were not prepared. Even on those days, it is important to be mindful that it is better to be late than to speed in a school zone. It could prove dangerous or even worse – deadly.

Keep the crosswalk clear for walking pedestrians, especially students at all times.

Never pass a school bus. While it might seem tempting to go around a school bus when you’ve been sitting still for two consecutive green light cycles, again – it’s better to be late than to be part of an accident. If and when at all possible, set your alarm for a few minutes earlier in order to arrive at your destination on time.

By taking responsibility, modeling appropriate driver safety, and going over the rules of the road, you team up with safety for back-to-school driving.

JonGBack-to-School Driving Safety Tips
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Feds Want V2V Communication in New Cars Starting in 2021

With self-driving cars being tested, new technology on how to keep everyone on the road safe is starting to come into play. Will these technologies aid in the safety of the surrounding people and if so how? Everything in this field is so new, it’s still a lot of trial and error.

In Washington, D.C., federal Department of Transportation (DOT) officials unveiled a long-awaited notice of proposed rulemaking. If a final rule reaches fruition, it will mandate that all new vehicles contain equipment that permits vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications. Regulators say this connected-car technology could one day prevent thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of crashes every year by offering drivers real-time alerts of imminent dangers ahead.
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JonGFeds Want V2V Communication in New Cars Starting in 2021
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Self-Driving Ubers in San Francisco Hit Roadblock on Day One

Self-driving cars have been in development for a number of years. Now they are being tested on roads with other drivers. This is bringing up a lot of discussion about the safety and future for self-driving cars.

On Wednesday morning, executives with the ride-hailing service announced they would expand a pilot program for testing autonomous Volvo XC90s to include operations in its home city. By the afternoon, a top official in California’s Department of Motor Vehicles had issued a warning that Uber did not possess the proper permits for autonomous testing.
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JonGSelf-Driving Ubers in San Francisco Hit Roadblock on Day One
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Making Your Move

Moving is already a chore, moving long distance only adds more hassle to your already long list. That’s because a long-distance move requires more thought, more organization and more paperwork than a move to the other side of town. Especially if you’re moving to a different state, renewing your personal information like your driver’s license and ID can be such a headache. But once the busy move is over, you’ll hopefully be able to settle and enjoy the weather, culture and scenery your new home offers.

Suncoast Auto Transport is located in Port Saint Lucie, meaning we’re in the best spot to help you in your move to or from the Sunshine State and any other state in the nation. In particularly, we help make your move easier by taking care of moving your car to your new home. That way you have the option of buying a plane ticket so you can easily fly to your new location. There are many reasons why moving your car with auto transport is easier and more cost effective than driving it down. Not only will you save on gas and accommodation bookings, you won’t have to worry about flat tires, adding mileage or the exhausting trip to drive your car all the way.

Once you start to plan your long-distance move, you’ll soon see the benefit of shipping your car instead of driving it, but there are many other things to consider during your more to make the transition and easy one for you and your family.

Planning Your Long-distance Move

To start planning your long-distance move, there are a few basic things you should know. These things will help you plan your move better so that everything can simply fall into place once you arrive at your new home. Of course you don’t want to spend the first few months it your new home trying to sort out unforeseen problems. That’s why you have to prevent certain problems from popping up to begin with. Here are some basics to keep in mind with your move.

Get to know your new space

Before you move, you should know exactly what your new space will look like. When you’re just moving to another house in the same town, this isn’t usually a problem – you’ve probably seen your new place, so you know exactly what you’re working with. Long-Distance moves, however, aren’t as simple. You might be moving to a place you’ve never even seen.

To make the move easier, you should know exactly what rooms your new home will have, as well as the measurements of each room. If you’re renting, ask the landlord or real estate agents to send you all the measurements with as many pictures as possible. You could also ask for the floor plan of your new home. While getting the floor plan might not be possible, but it would help you to plan exactly where you’ll put all of your furniture once you get in your new home.

To plan where you’ll put your furniture, you can measure all of your pieces with a measuring tape. Draw the floor plan on a piece of paper, making sure everything is proportionately in scale. On a separate piece of paper, draw rectangles that represent you furniture pieces, these should also be proportionately in scale with your floor plan. Write the name of each piece in its rectangle (like “Bedroom wardrobe” or “Dining room table”). After this, cut out the rectangles and arrange them on your floor plan to get a realistic sense of the space you have.

You’ll soon see that spaces can be deceptive. You’ll likely find places where you thought you had a lot of space, but they can’t take a lot of furniture, as well as spaces that seemed small that could take surprisingly more that you thought.

Only Move Things You Really Want

Start planning your move well in advance. Don’t procrastinate sorting through your things. If you putt off sorting through your things before a big move, you’ll end up throwing everything into boxes at the last minute.

To make your move easier, you should go through all your stuff and throw away or donate the things you don’t want anymore. Not only will you need less boxes to pack your stuff, using less space in a moving truck could save you some money.

When going through your things, you have to be realistic about what you’ll take with you and what you’ll get rid of. Remember, the less things you have to move, there more money you’ll save. Things that you should get rid of include old clothes and toys that your kids have outgrown, clothing that you never wear and potted plants.

If you have extra household supplies, like pet food, kitty litter, toilet paper, cleaning products or foods like rice, pasta and canned foods in your home, consider donating them instead of packing everything. Only keep enough so you’ll have everything you need at your new home the first week or two after you’ve moved.

If there are any furniture pieces you won’t be able to fit in your new home, getting rid of them before you move will save you time, money and hassle. After all, what’s the point of paying to have a piece moved only to sell it once you arrive at your new place? Selling it before you move will save you money.

We hope you move goes down smoothly and that your new home will be everything you’ve ever dreamed of!

JonGMaking Your Move
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3 Questions to Ask Your Car Shipping Company

Are you moving soon? Or for some other reason need car transport? How do you know who to choose? This post goes over things to ask your car shipper to make sure you’re choosing the best.

Choosing the right car shipping company can be a highly confusing and exasperating task, which is why we feel that it is important for you to know exactly what to ask them. This is going to help you in making a more informed decision when choosing from the various Abu Dhabi based car shipping companies.
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JonG3 Questions to Ask Your Car Shipping Company
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OPEN OR ENCLOSED CARRIER – ANSWERS TO THE AGE OLD QUESTION

Should you ship your car in an open or enclosed carrier? Why should one be used over the other? Knowing all your options will help you make a fully informed decision, which is what your vehicle deserves.

Before you can make your decision it helps to understand the basic fundamentals behind each option, and what they mean to you. In this post we explore both types of auto transporters and explain what makes each of them unique. Read here to learn more.
JonGOPEN OR ENCLOSED CARRIER – ANSWERS TO THE AGE OLD QUESTION
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CAN I PUT THINGS IN MY CAR…OR SHOULD I?

Feel like you should pack your car full when you have it shipped? May as well right? You were going to load you car up to drive it, why not have it that way when you shipt it? Or maybe not.

One of the more common questions when it comes to shipping a vehicle is, “Can I put personal items in my car?” After all, you’re moving to another state, maybe even across the country and you have literally TONS of stuff to take with you.
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JonGCAN I PUT THINGS IN MY CAR…OR SHOULD I?
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