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Toll-Free (661) 859-1177 Se Habla Español www.bakersfieldtraffictickets.com HARMAN CALIFORNIA TRAFFIC DEFENSE ATTORNEYS , APC BIGGER
THE DAILY DRIVER Attorneys Defending Your Right to the Road A Tale of Two Roads HOW ROAD TRIPS BRING UP OLD MEMORIES Two roads have special meaning to me. Interstate 5 is the road that provides much of the work for our firm defending truckers and other motorists, and I have also lived close to it most of my life. The Pacific Coast Highway is the place I love to drive and look at the ocean while unwinding a curvy road. Last month, one of my friends went with me on a road trip that I’ve wanted to do for a while. We drove up to Oregon mostly on Interstate 5, then made our way back home on the Pacific Coast Highway. I got this idea last year when I went on a jet boat tour of Southern Oregon. We started at Gold Beach, and it made me realize I wanted to see all of the Oregon Pacific Coast Highway. I started my trip on Interstate 5, an interstate that I have spent much of my life on. It’s also a road that’s a huge transportation hub for truck drivers on the West Coast. When traveling on this road up to Oregon, I can’t help but think of all the courts around me. I think about the different court cases I’ve participated in and who is handling truckers’ tickets in these areas I’m passing through. We cover many of these courts, but there are still so many we cannot cover. Whenever I make my way to the California and Oregon border, I think of the times when I used to work for state Sen. John Lim in Oregon, who wanted to put a sign up at the border as a message to all of the Californians moving in. He wanted the sign to say, “Welcome to Oregon. But please don’t stay!” Telling that story always brings a smile to my face, partly because Sen. Lim was actually an immigrant to Oregon and meant it good-naturedly. We then traveled to Medford, Oregon, which is the city I was born in. Just below the hospital where I was born is a hill; a sign there warns that speed and red-light photo tickets are used in this jurisdiction. I joke with my friend that this is a personal affront to me as a traffic attorney! Just north of Medford on I-5 is the town of Grants Pass. This is the location of the first Dutch Bros Coffee shop. Dutch Bros was originally headquartered in a barn and is now the fastest-growing coffee shop chain in the United States! My dad was driving an airport shuttle professionally between Corvallis and Portland and had a long conversation with one of the founding brothers. It’s nice to see people who are genuine and haven’t forgotten their roots do well. In the little town of Sutherlin, Dutch Bros has a 24-hour coffee shop right off the freeway that has kept many a truck driver or road-tripper awake over the last 25 years.
MAY 2022
Going through Eugene, Oregon, there is a small stretch of road where the speed limit for regular drivers goes from 55 to 60 mph. I’m always proud of this stretch of road because when I was a legislative aide, my boss, Sen. Gary George, was the sponsor of the bill that raised the speed limit from 55. This makes me feel that my time as a legislative assistant was not wasted. Our most northern stop was The Bridge to Nowhere from Astoria to Washington state. In Astoria, I was able to show my friend the house we lived in just below the Astoria Column. That was the seventh childhood house I drove by on the trip. After a quick drive over the bridge, we took a few days and drove down the Pacific Coast Highway all the way to the Bay Area. There are so many incredible places to see in the West, and a driver’s license and vehicle are all you need to visit them. Road trips are a great time to catch up with old friends and explore new things. But what I love most are the experiences. Whether you are driving for work or pleasure, may you be safe and enjoy the ride!
–Mark Bigger
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BLACK MAGIC How One Cat Saved His Owner’s Life
Black cats can have it rough. People associate them with Halloween and bad luck, they can be tricky to photograph, and they make up a full third of all cats surrendered to animal shelters. But one special black feline named Piran proved his worth when he led rescuers to his 83-year- old owner after she fell down a ravine. In August 2021, the woman went for a walk near her home in Cornwall, England. When she didn’t return, her neighbors started to
worry. They formed a search operation, but there was a lot of ground to cover in their rural surroundings. They had little luck in their investigation until they heeded the advice of her cat. While the search crew worked, Piran refused to move from one specific spot, and he meowed incessantly. That wasn’t like him, so eventually, Tamar Longmuir, a neighbor assisting in the search, decided to find out the reason for all the racket. Longmuir called to the woman while investigating the cat’s noises and heard a faint response. Piran had staked out his position where his owner had fallen — 70 feet down a ravine located at the edge of a cornfield. According to Longmuir, “She had gone through the barbed wire and was laying in the stream — we think she had been in there for hours.” Emergency services were
called and quickly rescued the woman. “Without the cat waiting at the gate to that field,” Longmuir added, “it could have been hours later that I or anyone else would have checked in there.” The injured woman was taken to the hospital in good spirits and stable condition, avoiding a potential tragedy. Meanwhile, the police posted a photograph of Piran’s handsome black face on social media and declared him a hero. Though he reportedly received many treats, Piran’s real reward was a job well done. “The cat is very attached to her,” Longmuir said. Cats may not generally be known for their loyalty, but maybe it’s time for the stereotype to get an update. Clearly, Piran the black cat was anything but bad luck. He proved it with the grandest act possible — saving his human’s life.
How Radar Guns Work for Measuring Speed I Didn’t Know I Was Speeding, Officer!
HOW FAR CAN THE RADAR GUN MEASURE? This is where math comes in handy — to calculate its distance; you need to divide the distance by the time it takes you to pass a specific point. Radar can detect you from almost a mile away if the conditions are perfect. But typically, a radar gun can determine if you’re speeding when you’re 300 meters (984 feet and 3.02 inches) away and with the radar’s signals measuring at a constant rate of 186,000-miles-per-second. But law enforcement has to take the distance it can travel due to traffic, weather, other vehicles involved, and the strength of the radar into consideration when determining if you are speeding. For example, radars can pick up other strong signals, so if a large tractor-trailer was on the road, it could interfere with police officers trying to capture another vehicle’s speed. If you received a speeding ticket in California, allow your friends at Bigger & Harman, APC to assist you. We have tons of experience with these cases and can resolve your speeding ticket. The circumstances surrounding a traffic ticket can vary, so give us a call, and we will see what we can do for you.
You’re driving down the road, trying to get to your next destination, and suddenly, you see police lights flashing behind you. You find yourself being pulled over and asked, “Do you know why I pulled you over? or “Do you know how fast you were going?” These two questions can be a daunting feeling. Police officers can track your speed using a radar gun. Here is everything you need to know about these devices.
WHAT IS A RADAR GUN? A radar gun is a legal device used to track how fast a vehicle is going. It emits radio-frequency signals to measure your speed when the radio waves return to the radar gun.
Speed is calculated by how much the received signal has changed after reflecting off the moving object. This movement is called the Doppler effect . Law enforcement officers need to be trained on using a radar gun because if it’s not calibrated correctly, the radar will give a false reading. This is one of the reasons why radar guns are not 100% accurate.
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When you’re driving on a highway, you may notice weigh stations along the way. These stations weigh big trucks while they’re on the road. Trucking companies are responsible for ensuring trucks are sent out under the legal weight limit. However, sometimes the weight on the bed of a truck can be overlooked, which makes weighing stations necessary. Overloaded trucks on the road can be dangerous because the weight can make the truck difficult to control. The CA Vehicle Code (CVC) Section 2813 states that every truck driver must have their truck weighed at a weigh station. Anyone who fails or refuses to stop is guilty of a misdemeanor. If a truck driver is pulled over because they failed to get weighed, they could face up to 90 days in Kern County Jail, a fine of $1,000, with state and county fines and penalties. DO ALL TRUCKS NEED TO STOP AT A WEIGH STATION? Typically, trucks with a gross vehicle weight of less than 11,500 pounds and a bed less than 9 feet do not need to stop. But if you are transporting commercial goods for compensation, either in a commercial vehicle or rental, you may need to stop. You can call the California Highway Patrol at 916-843-3400 if you’re unsure if you need to stop at the weigh station. It’s better to ask because if you get pulled over, it’s too late. Have you found yourself with a ticket for passing a weighing station? Allow your friends at Bigger & Harman, APC to assist you. We offer CDL holders a free initial consultation and provide representation using a flat flee. We will be happy to look at your case and see what we can do for you. What Are Weigh Stations? What Are the Penalties for Not Getting Weighed?
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION Thanks to your 59 referrals, we were able to donate $1180 to fight human trafficking. To learn more about International Justice Mission, please go to IJM.org. MISSION: To protect the poor from violence by rescuing victims, bringing the criminals to justice, restoring survivors to safety and strength, and helping local law enforcement build a safe future that lasts. Our long-term vision is to rescue millions, protect half a billion, and make justice for the poor unstoppable.
“I’ve said these things to you so that you will have peace in me. In the world you have distress. But be encouraged! I have conquered the world.”
–JOHN 16:33
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, APC HARMAN CALIFORNIA TRAFFIC DEFENSE ATTORNEYS BIGGER
Toll-Free (661) 859-1177 Se Habla Español www.bakersfieldtraffictickets.com
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1701 Westwind Drive Suite 203 Bakersfield, CA 93301
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
I’ve Always Wanted to Do This Road Trip....... PAGE 1
Cat Saves 83-Year-Old From Potentially Fatal Tumble........................................................... PAGE 2
How Far Can a Radar Gun Shoot?..................... PAGE 2
Do Rental Trucks Need To Be Weighed?......... PAGE 3
Stretching Preserves Flexibility......................... 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!
STRETCHING PRESERVES YOUR FLEXIBILITY FOR LIFE A NOT-SO-SECRET FOR YOUR LONGEVITY
Engineers and doctors can agree on one thing: Lubrication is often necessary for joints to function and move properly, including human joints. Every day, your joints create fluid that allows your arms, legs, neck, and back to move properly. But did you know that by stretching and using your full range of motion once a day, you can help those joint fluids preserve your flexibility and balance? Many people are worried about their independence later in life, and an improper sense of balance can be a big part of that. Stretching keeps muscles flexible, strong, and healthy, but the “flexible” part is more important than most people think. Without flexibility, our muscles shorten and become tight — and even with the fluids that our joints create, without regularly stretching, we’ll still be unable to use our full range of motion.
By the time you need your muscles for activity, they’re weak and unable to extend fully. This puts you at risk for joint pain, strains, and muscle damage. CAN STRETCHING EXTEND MY LIFE? Not only does stretching improve your independence, but it might also help you live longer. Studies show that stretching is linked to improved circulation, and better blood flow can lead to improved heart health and cardiovascular function. Considering that heart disease is the leading cause of death among adults in the U.S., that’s a huge bonus!
stretching is the first step before exercise, it’s now becoming more commonly understood that light activity is better for preventing injuries from overstretching. Physical therapist David Nolan of Massachusetts General Hospital told Harvard Health, “All it takes to warm up the muscles before stretching is 5–10 minutes of light activity, such as a quick walk. You can also stretch after an aerobic or weight-training workout.” If you’re worried about joint pain, it’s smart to stretch as well as build stronger muscles to carry your body weight more effectively — especially around your spine, hips, and knees, which do most of the heavy lifting. Proper stretching and joint care can take years of effort, but as research shows, it pays off over many decades.
The benefits of stretching are best enjoyed without injury, however,
and that’s why it’s important to warm yourself up before stretching. Although
it used to be thought that
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