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Toll-Free (661) 859-1177 Se Habla Español www.bakersfieldtraffictickets.com HARMAN CALIFORNIA TRAFFIC DEFENSE ATTORNEYS THE DAILY DRIVER Attorneys Defending Your Right to the Road HIGHWAY HAZARDS RECKLESS DRIVERS POSE THREAT TO TRUCKERS JUNE 2024 , APC BIGGER
Many of the hard-working commercial truck drivers who are our clients do their best to drive safely but encounter all kinds of unsafe situations on the highway caused by other drivers. Other motorists often complain about sharing the highway with commercial truckers. In recognition of June as National Safety Month, this is a good time to take note of some of the ways drivers of autos, RVs, motorcycles, and other non-commercial vehicles put commercial truck drivers at risk. Summer vacation travelers hit the road in growing numbers this month. Here are a few safety rules truckers wish they would follow to make the roads safer for everyone. Change lanes safely. Commercial truckers face stiff penalties for lane violations. But if a car cuts in front of a truck when changing lanes, the truck driver may be forced out of a legal commercial-truck lane into an illegal lane, just to avoid tailgating or a collision. Changing lanes suddenly to avoid a crazy car driver may appear unsafe, but sometimes it’s actually the safest thing a trucker can do. Yet this safety-conscious behavior can be interpreted by law-enforcement officers as an unsafe lane change, netting the commercial truck driver a stiff fine, Negligent Operator Treatment System (NOTS) points on their commercial license, and a steep increase in insurance premiums. More than one of
these violations within a three-year period can result in a 60-day license suspension, leaving the driver unable to make a living.
Maintain a reasonable speed. Commercial truck drivers on two-lane highways must stay in the right lane unless they’re passing another vehicle. On some four-lane highways in California, truckers are never allowed to use the left two lanes. However, if a slow-moving car suddenly pulls in front of a truck in a truck lane, the truck driver must brake suddenly and may be forced into an illegal lane. Again, the trucker is subject to a lane-use violation, when the driver was actually taking steps to avoid tailgating or crashing into the slow-moving car. Give truckers some space. Slowing down takes longer for a semi because of its heavy weight and momentum. Also, trucks have large blind spots on both sides of the tractor and along the front of the trailer. That means a truck driver might not be able to slow down quickly enough to allow you to cut into their lane. They also may not see you trying to pass them on the right. This can cause near misses or collisions when other drivers fail to give commercial truckers the space they need. Amid rising holiday travel, truckers will face these challenges more often as they maneuver their vehicles through traffic. Many highway citations and collisions happen simply because someone failed to follow basic safety rules, and for truckers, the stakes of those mishaps are especially high. As summer gets underway, we wish all drivers an enjoyable holiday — and we hope they will keep these safety behaviors in mind. –Paul Harman
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A CAT’S NOSE KNOWS
Hero Husky Saves the Neighborhood
On Dec. 15, 2023, pet owner Chanell Bell of Philadelphia was taken aback when she noticed that Kobe, her 4-year-old miniature Alaskan husky, had dug a hole in her home’s front yard. This was a stark departure from Kobe’s usual behavior, which Bell initially dismissed as boredom and promptly refilled the hole. However, when Kobe began to dig again in the same spot, Chanell realized something was amiss. “We’ve been here at our home for a while now, and he never digs holes,” Bell told USA Today. “So, I knew something was up.” She investigated further, reviewing footage from the family home’s security camera overlooking Kobe’s newfound digspot. Then, she witnessed Kobe sniff the air around the area before digging the hole in the same spot again.
Thinking something Kobe smelled must have alarmed him, Bell phoned Philadelphia Gas Works, which sent a crew out to investigate. The engineers discovered that the gas lines beneath the Bell household were old, dilapidated, and beginning to leak. After fixing the issue, the company told Bell that if Kobe had not discovered the leak, the line would have posed significant health and safety concerns for the whole neighborhood. “They told me something as simple as a light switch turning on could’ve caused an explosion,” Bell told USA Today. After Bell shared Kobe’s story on social media, it caught the attention of PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who awarded the young husky the Heroic Dog Award. Inspired by Kobe’s efforts, Bell wrote a children’s book dedicated to him called “The Dog That Saved the Block Before Christmas.”
Dialing Disaster SECOND CELLPHONE CONVICTION DRAWS HEAVY PENALTIES
Commercial truck drivers may be tempted to take lightly the first citation they receive for using a mobile phone behind the wheel. Paying the fine and walking away seems like an easy solution. However, paying the fine is equivalent to pleading guilty and opens the door to far more serious consequences in the future. Some drivers are surprised to learn that penalties escalate quickly if they are convicted again. If a commercial truck driver is found guilty of a second cellphone violation within a three-year period, the California Department of Motor Vehicles will assess 1.5 Negligent Operator Treatment System (NOTS) points to the driver’s license. That’s not all. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) considers this type of distracted driving a serious offense. The agency will revoke a driver’s commercial license for 60 days following a second offense, jeopardizing their livelihood. A third conviction within the same time frame doubles the length of the suspension to 120 days.
A truck driver in California doesn’t need to be holding a phone in their hand to get ticketed. Merely swiping the phone screen more than once can bring this penalty down on your head. The law defines cellphone use broadly, as holding it in one hand, dialing it by pressing more than one button, or reaching for it in a way that requires you to maneuver out of your seat. Another unpleasant surprise for many commercial truck drivers is that they can be cited for a mobile phone violation when driving into a weigh station. These entrances are still part of the highway, and they are monitored by California Highway Patrol cameras. If you have been ticketed for a cellphone violation or any other traffic offense, don’t hesitate to call our firm to review your options. We have assisted many professional drivers with citations in our area, which includes Kern, Tulare, Fresno, Inyo, and Mono counties. We will be happy to offer you an appointment at your convenience for a no-obligation consultation free of charge.
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Your Referrals Make a Difference! Thanks to your 76 referrals in May, we were able to donate $1,020 to help fight human trafficking and lead medical missions. INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION To learn more about International Justice Mission and their mission to protect half a billion vulnerable people from exploitation, please go to IJM.org . MEDICAL MISSIONS OUTREACH To learn more about showing God’s love by providing quality medical treatment to some of the poorest people in the world, visit the Medical Missions Outreach home page at Medical-Outreach.com .
Any commercial truck driver in California is likely to spend at least some time on a well-known stretch of I-5 between Kern County and Los Angeles County — the Grapevine. More speeding tickets are probably handed out to commercial truckers on this major Los Angeles traffic outlet than on any other stretch of highway in our area. Speed limits on the long 6% grade up and over the Fort Tejon Pass set many drivers up for citations. Commercial trucks moving north out of Los Angeles County are limited to a speed of 35 mph while other drivers zip along at 65 mph. California’s tough lane restrictions for commercial trucks also make the Grapevine especially difficult to navigate. The Grapevine gained new notoriety as a speed trap after the California Highway Patrol issued 500 speeding and lane-violation tickets to commercial drivers during a single nine-day period in 2022. Some drivers may assume a commercial truck driver who is ticketed for speeding can simply pay the ticket, go to traffic violator’s school, and be done with it. This widespread misconception ignores the fact that commercial motor vehicle operators are not eligible for traffic school. Pleading guilty to a speeding ticket can cause them to lose their job. Employing drivers with speeding violations can send fleet managers’ already-high insurance premiums to untenable levels. If you have been ticketed for a speeding or lane violation on the Grapevine or any roadway in Kern, Tulare, Fresno, Inyo, or Mono counties, you can count on expert help from our firm. We have assisted many professional truck drivers with citations for these and other alleged traffic offenses. Don’t hesitate to call us for a no-obligation, free consultation. We will be happy to assist you. SPEED TRAP Truck Drivers Face Challenges on the Grapevine
“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
PSALM 27:1
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, APC HARMAN CALIFORNIA TRAFFIC DEFENSE ATTORNEYS BIGGER
Toll-Free (661) 859-1177 Se Habla Español www.bakersfieldtraffictickets.com
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
1701 Westwind Drive Suite 203 Bakersfield, CA 93301
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Holiday Drivers Heighten Road Risks for Truckers............................................................ PAGE 1
How a Pet Husky Prevented Disaster.............. PAGE 2
Mobile Phone Use Endangers Truck Drivers’ Careers.................................................... PAGE 2
Hazards for Truckers Driving the Grapevine..... PAGE 3
The Appeal and Evolution of Scrabble............ PAGE 4
Have a ticket in California? Give us a call, and we’ll help you out! Regardless of the location, we can point you in the right direction free of charge!
EXPLORING THE RICH HISTORY OF SCRABBLE
In 1931, the Great Depression — the worst economic crisis in American history — had thoroughly dampened the country’s spirit. Amidst the crisis, Alfred M. Butts, an out-of- work New York architect, decided to create a game to take his mind off the economy. Aspiring to develop a classic to join the ranks of other timeless card and board games, Butts came up with the idea for a board-and- tile game he non-committedly named “Criss Cross,” which we now know as Scrabble. THE ARCHITECT’S PLAN At its core, Scrabble was inspired by crossword puzzles and always featured the iconic lettered tiles, each with separate quantities and point values. Butts determined the point values by surfing through his collection of local newspapers and counting how often each letter appeared. To prevent
players from creating too many cheap plurals, he included only four “S” tiles in each box and assigned the letter a measly 1 point. Butts was eager to share his idea with the world, but the world was not as eager to receive it. He pitched the game to several publishers and retailers, but all rejected it. Butts had to retail it on a small scale, and the game did not become the surefire hit he expected it to be. It wasn’t until fellow New Yorker James Brunot discovered the game that things changed for the better. Brunot offered to mass-produce the game and, in exchange, would provide Butts with a portion of the profits, which Butts happily agreed to. BRUNOT’S BARGAIN As soon as Brunot secured the rights to the game, he began making significant changes
to it. These included redesigning the board, its color, players’ starting position, and the location of various score multiplier tiles. But his most important contribution was changing its name to Scrabble! The owner of Macy’s then discovered the game and offered to carry it in his stores. Brunot went from creating 12 copies of the game an hour when he first acquired the rights to 2,000 sets per week by 1952. By 1954, millions of copies were sold. Today, the game has been translated into over 20 languages and has sold over 100 million copies. People play the game worldwide, in tournaments and living rooms alike, and it has allowed millions to share in the joy initially envisioned by a down-on-his- luck architect in a time when hope was a distant prospect.
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