Author: Jenny Chiem

Our condolences go out to the family and friends of Sapphire Thomas.

Speeding is more than just breaking the law. The consequences are far-ranging:

• Greater potential for loss of vehicle control;
• Reduced effectiveness of occupant protection equipment;
• Increased stopping distance after the driver perceives a danger;
• Increased degree of crash severity leading to more severe injuries;
• Economic implications of a speed-related crash; and
• Increased fuel consumption/cost.

Speeding behavior and aggressive drivers may not only affect the speeder—it can also affect other drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Here are some tips for encountering speeders on the road: 

• Give speeding drivers plenty of space. Speeding drivers may lose control of their vehicles more easily.
• Adjust your driving accordingly. Speeding is tied to aggressive driving. If a speeding driver is tailgating you or trying to engage you in risky driving, use judgment to safely steer your vehicle out of the way.
• Call the police if you believe a driver is following you or harassing you.

To stay safe on the road consider taking a defensive driving class. A-1 offers classes at 19 locations where you can learn more tricks and tips such as these!

When New Jersey lawmakers debated earlier this year whether to legalize recreational use of marijuana, the Garden State’s police organizations were adamantly against it.

The cops said that legal weed might lead to an explosion in the numbers of impaired drivers operating under the influence. And the police would be caught flatfooted trying to tell whether drivers they pulled over were high or not.

“With alcohol, if you have over 0.08% in your blood, there’s the presumption that you’re intoxicated,” said Christopher Leusner, head of the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police.

“There hasn’t been a blood test or a breath test that can determine if you’re impaired by marijuana.”

Now there is.

It’s a breathalyzer device developed by Hound Labs in Northern California. It’s portable and can run tests for both alcohol and marijuana. It just may change the minds of many of those reluctant police officers, including in Pennsylvania as lawmakers consider several proposals to legalize recreational marijuana use.

Intrinsic Capital Partners, a Philadelphia growth equity fund, is so convinced of a “potential massive market” for the device that it led a $30 million Series D financing round to bring it to market in 2020.

Mike Lynn, a veteran emergency department physician from Oakland, Calif., developed the Hound in collaboration with researchers from the University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco.

Lynn also happens to be a reserve deputy sheriff.

“It’s about creating a balance of public safety and fairness,” Lynn said. “I’ve seen the tragedies resulting from impaired driving up close. And I have a good idea how challenging it is at the roadside to know whether someone smoked pot recently. But I believe if someone is not stoned, they shouldn’t be arrested.”

Blood tests for marijuana can return a positive result even if someone has used cannabis within the last three weeks.

Lynn claims that his device can detect whether someone has smoked or ingested a marijuana edible within the last three hours.

Police have depended on the skunky stench of burnt marijuana to provide probable cause to search a car or conduct a field sobriety test on a driver. But a recent court ruling in Pennsylvania maintained that the smell alone isn’t sufficient reason to initiate an arrest.

In addition, cannabis consumers in many states are slowly trending toward edibles — from pot brownies to infused beverages and lozenges — and, until the recent scare, vaping.

So the breath analyzers appear to be arriving at the perfect moment.

In about eight months, Lynn’s team was able to detect THC in the breath of smokers. It took five more years to consistently and accurately measure levels with a machine with a cost in reach of most police departments and employers.

DUI Laws | What You Need to Know

The laws make it illegal for drivers of all ages to operate motor vehicles if they have BAC percentages of:

• 0.08% or higher, if they’re 21 years old or older operating regular passenger vehicles.
• 0.04% or higher, if they’re operating commercial vehicles.
• 0.02% or higher, if they’re younger than 21 years old.

Georgia State law also requires a clinical evaluation and the attendance of a DUI / Risk Reduction Program that’s certified/licensed by the Georgia Department of Driver’s Services before your driver’s license can be reinstated if you have been charged with any of the following:

1. DUI
2. Drug Possession
3. Other drug offenses
4. Under-age possession of drugs or alcohol

Before getting behind the wheel after having a few, consider the many reasons why you should not.

For more information about DUI School visit www.a1drivingschools.com or call (770) 962-9555!

The student, identified as 20-year-old junior Drury Anderson Shierling, was killed about 6 a.m. on Timothy Road when the other driver took a curve too fast and crossed into his lane, according to a crash report.

The driver who caused the wreck, identified by police as 51-year-old Edward Lee Stowers, was traveling north from the Inner Loop to Timothy Road when his rented 2018 Ford Fusion crossed the raised median and entered the southbound lanes, authorities said.

Our thoughts and prayers go to the family and friends of Drury Shierling.

Tips And Techniques For Safe Curve Driving

1. Obey Posted Speed Limits: Speeding is at the top of the list for driving in general and if you don’t obey the rules of the roads; you’ll end up killing you or someone else. If there isn’t a speed limit sign near a curve, use good judgment and decrease your speed.
2. Stay In Your Lane: When approaching curves always scan ahead and stay between the lane-lines. Do not hug the curve too closely while driving in the outer lane. If you’re driving in the inner lane, try not to drift outward, which will cause an accident.
3. Decrease In/Accelerate Out: After the midway point of the curve it is good to speed up just a bit. This way you can begin to catch up with the posted speed limit of the area. The opposite is to slow down when entering, which gives you a safer approach by giving the driver more control of the vehicle. Straighten the steering wheel as you come out of the curve.

Tips for regaining control in a skid

If the vehicle does begin to skid on a winding road, drivers mustn’t react with panic when they find that the brakes, accelerator, and steering wheel aren’t working as usual.

Instead, they should take their feet off the brake and accelerator. Both hands should remain loose on the steering wheel, but not make any sudden movements.

The critical thing is to avoid oversteering and hitting the brakes too hard. After the vehicle has had time to slow down, regain control safely; gently apply the brake and begin steering again.

To stay safe on the road consider taking a defensive driving class. A-1 offers classes at 19 locations where you can learn more tricks and tips such as these!

According to police, when they chased the driver, he accelerated even faster and his car went airborne across McFarland Parkway, struck a median and flipped over a guardrail.

Below is the information about the incident from the Alpharetta department’s Facebook page:

“While this driver is facing several charges, we’re so very thankful we didn’t have to deliver a fatality notification to his, or anyone else’s family.

“One of our DUI Officers clocked this Volvo traveling 131 mph, heading north on GA 400 through Alpharetta near Haynes Bridge Road. Our officer tried to catch up and stop the car, but once the driver saw the blue lights, he accelerated faster and per our officer, “He tried to exit at McFarland Pkwy but was going too fast, went airborne across McFarland, hit the concrete median, and flipped over the guardrail. He was able to walk out”.

Charges include DUI, Open Container of Alcohol, Reckless Driving, Speeding, Fleeing and Eluding from Law Enforcement.

How do you keep a car from going airborne? The true answer is that you have to slow down!

Georgia State law also requires clinical evaluation and the attendance of a DUI / Risk Reduction Program that’s certified/licensed by the Georgia Department of Driver’s Services before your driver’s license can be reinstated if you have been charged with any of the following:

1. DUI
2. Drug Possession
3. Other drug offenses
4. Under-age possession of drugs or alcohol

Before getting behind the wheel after having a few, consider the many reasons why you should not.

For more information about DUI School visit www.a1drivingschools.com or call (770) 962-9555!