Combi USA Recalls More Than 33,000 Child Car Seats

Combi USA is recalling more than 33,000 child car seats made before January 2013 because the harnesses aren't strong enough to meet federal safety standards.
The Charlotte, N.C., company is recalling the Coccoro, Zeus Turn and Zeus 360.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the seat straps don't meet minimum strength requirements. If there's a crash, children may not be properly secured.

A company spokeswoman says the seats are still safe to use because the harness as a whole meets safety standards. She says one part of the harness that includes a plastic button failed strength tests. Seats made after January 2013 don't have the same problem.
Combi will notify registered owners and send out free harness replacement kits starting in February. Owners can contact Combi at 1-800-543-7734.

 

 

 

Copyright 2014 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Beware of Dangerous Interstates During the New Year

Take extra precautions during the New Year celebrations in Florida as it is home to three interstates that have made it into the 100 most dangerous roads in America. This list is compiled to rank the highways most likely to generate a fatal accident based on five years of accident data from the National Highway Safety Administration from nearly 250 stretches of interstate highways.

As a matter of fact, Florida Interstate 95 is ranked as the most dangerous in all of the USA! Interstate 4 is ranked at number 3 and Interstate 75 at number 15.

Besides No. 1-ranked Interstate 95 in Florida, the rest of the top 10 most dangerous interstates included, in ranking order, I-76 in New Jersey, I-4 in Florida, I-15 and I-10 in California, I-59 in Louisiana, I-94 in Illinois, I-93 in Massachusetts, I-95 in Delaware and I-55 in Tennessee.

Among the Florida interstates on the list, I-95 achieved the No. 1 ranking thanks to 662 fatal accidents between 2004-2008, which equated to one fatal accident for every 1.73 miles along I-95’s 382.15-mile stretch in the Sunshine State.

No. 3-ranked I-4 had 209 fatal accidents along its 132.39-mile stretch in Florida, which equated to one fatal accident every 1.58 miles.

No. 15-ranked Interstate 75 had 536 fatal accidents along its 470.88-mile stretch, which equated to one fatal accident every 1.14 miles.

Florida Texting While Driving Law

On October 1st the Texting While Driving Law will take effect statewide in Florida. Please be prepared to take the appropriate safety measures to ensure you obey the new law. Your text can wait!

Troopers to Target I-10 Over Labor Day Weekend

The Florida Highway Patrol is joining with other states to increase patrols along Interstate 10 during the Labor Day holiday weekend.
 
Starting on Friday and running through Monday additional troopers will roam the north Florida highway looking for drunk drivers, speeders and other law-breakers.

Troopers will also be checking for distracted drivers, motorists who don't use seat belts and drivers who make improper lane changes.
 
Law enforcement officials say the goal is to have the same level of traffic enforcement along the entire stretch of the 2,460 mile highway that runs from Florida to California.
    
Eight states have pledged increased traffic patrols over the holiday weekend as part of the "10-8 on 10, One Road, One Mission" project.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Back To School Driving Tips

Summer is practically over! Sadly it is time to hit the books and with that comes the dreadful school traffic. This may be the first school year actually driving for some of you, others may consider yourselves veterans behind the wheel - STILL -  here are a few tips we ALL should take into consideration:

• Always, always wear your seat belt.
• Remember to turn your headlights on when it’s raining.
• Don’t drive distracted. Texting, talking on the phone, changing the radio station, or chatting with your passengers are all distractions.
• Keep an eye out for pedestrians.
• Make sure you know what those road signs mean.
• Remember to use your turn signal.
• Make sure your tires are in good condition.
• Change your diving to match the weather.
• Don’t drink and drive.

Have a few more tips for your peers? Tell us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sign Typo Turns Traffic Sign Into Dangerous Distraction

A traffic sign installed outside a private preschool in Auburn, California, urging drivers to slow down is certainly getting noticed, but, ironically, is making the street less safe for kids.

An odd "typo" — which may or may not be intentionally — has resulted in the sign asking passing motorists to "please slow drively."

In its slow-news-day report on the sign, Sacramento's Fox40 got to the bottom of absolutely nothing, choosing instead to ask random people they bumped into what they thought of the sign.

One of the younger interviewees posited that perhaps the sign was installed by the preschoolers themselves.

Fox40 did note that sign appeared to be "confusing drivers," which is exactly what you want in a road sign.

Florida Texting and Driving Banned

After five years, on Tuesday  Gov. Rick Scott signed into law Florida's latest attempt to crack down on texting while driving vehicles.

The bill (SB 52) bans manual texting only while driving, but allows it for drivers stopped in traffic or at traffic lights. And it's a "secondary" offense, meaning a driver would have to be pulled over for some other violation, like careless driving, to get a texting ticket. Even then, a first offense is just $30 plus court costs, rising to $60 for a second offense.

After signing the bill at a Miami high school Gov. Scott said, "As a father and a grandfather, texting while driving is something that concerns me when my loved ones are on the road,". With Scott's signature, Florida becomes the 41st state to impose some sort of ban on texting while driving.

"The 100 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day are known as the deadliest days on the road for teenagers. We must do everything we can at the state level to keep our teenagers and everyone on our roads safe. I cannot think of a better time to officially sign this bill into law." -- Gov. Scott

But the new law is likely to prove difficult to enforce.

An amendment by the Florida House weakened enforcement by not allowing a driver's phone records to be used as evidence unless the texting ticket is from a crash that results in a death or injury.

Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, opposed the change but did not try to amend the bill when it was bounced back to the Senate because she had tried to get the law passed for five years and feared that sending it back to the House would cause it to fail. Rep. Doug Holder, R-Sarasota, sponsored the bill in the House, which previously had refused to consider a texting ban.

Holder said in a statement Tuesday that despite the compromise, the law "will teach our youngest drivers to put away their phones and concentrate on the road." It takes effect Oct. 1.