wsbtv.com

wsbtv.com

 

When the British Sailors and Marines were captured motoring about in their inflatable boat in the northern Persian Gulf, the cost to public consumers is being felt around the nation in the two weeks after their release. The Iranians, besides being able to give the stiff upper lip of the British a bloody lip are enjoying an estimated profit of $167 million dollars.

I would have to say that is a nice tidy profit for thumbing their noses at the West. Is there anything we do in the future to make Iran pay for this profit later? Perhaps by asking oil companies to help fund the installation of E-85 fuel pumps at all their company owned stations and curtailing the need for mid-grade gas in many areas. The more ethanol we can wsbtv.com the less oil we will have to use which in turn would have ramifications for the OPEC nations.

Take away a weapon they can use and (yes oil is a weapon) the 1973 oil embargo put a serious crimp on things. Cut back on the amount we import from Iran directly, is first and foremost important. Sure they can sell to China, but if they make a mistake and do something silly; they will not have the option of negotiations. The Chinese are less forgiving and they will react far differently.

Now to local problems here in Georgia, besides the cost of gas rising; those who drive the Toyota Prius Hybrid are having their tempers flaring thanks to the difficulty in getting the cars to clear the state emission test in Georgia. The quirky nature of the Prius to shut off the gas engine while still moving on its electric motor is tripping up the test equipment causing numerous failures.

A local television station WSB-TV Channel 2 (www.wsbtv.com) reporting on the problems with the 2004 Toyota Prius taped several tests that ended in failure. Apparently for the moment the only way for the Toyota Prius owners to get their emissions passed is to abort the procedure which will in turn generate a special code that they then call the main testing stations who will then notify the Georgia Department of Motor Vehicles they can get their tags.

The Clean Air group is attempting to figure out a way around the Priuss gas saving engine shut down so they can pass the emissions test. Surely Toyota knows a way to keep the engine running for such a test, so if any Toyota folks can help the State of Georgia with their requirement to test the emissions I sure they will appreciate it. By the way, the cost for the test is $25, but the Georgia Clean Air group only gets 95 cents of that.

Driving down the road and having your car break down can be a costly mistake if the original cause was a simple mechanical failure or just plain running out of gas. During the Easter weekend, the Atlanta Police made three arrests after discovering the less than bright criminals in broad daylight cutting off catalytic converters from disabled vehicles sitting wsbtv.com the side of the interstate.

Catalytic converters besides being part of the emissions systems of every wsbtv.com and truck that is currently made, have one common metal that is now making them attractive for theft. Inside each and every catalytic wsbtv.com is platinum, and current salvage prices for the metal are rather high at the moment. Some thieves have also hit new car dealerships, and following the same M.O. have sawed off the convertors from brand wsbtv.com cars. You can imagine the surprise of a shopper when the salesman starts the new car for them and it sounds like a NASCAR race car.

The price of having an accident can be hard on both the wallet and your insurance premiums. Several weeks ago, while on my way to work at the cop shop I discovered an unreported accident involving a single car. The battered Honda Accord sans front bumper sat parked in the post office parking lot while nearby a broken telephone pole told the rest of the story.

Fast forward a couple of weeks later and the owner of the car calls the station saying she needed to make a report about the accident because her insurance company demanded that a police report be made. Her excuse was that she thought she only needed to report an accident if she hit another car. Here are some guide wsbtv.com for reporting accidents. hit a car: Yes. You hit a telephone pole: Yes. You hit a building. Yes. wsbtv.com drive into a swimming pool. Yes. You run off road and hit a tree, or any other fixed object. Yes. Bump a car in a private parking lot. Please be considerate and do report it. In Georgia, private property accidents are kept on file at the local police department and are not reported to the state unless of course there are fatalities. It is best to swallow the pride and exchange information with the other driver and do make a police report.

One thing to remember, if the offender offers to pay for damage do not accept instead make a police report and take all their information including the tag number and the vehicle identification number to protect wsbtv.com legal requirements. If wsbtv.com suddenly flee the scene, DO NOT pursue as it could cause an even more serious accident. Let the cops do their job. The accident investigator at my cop shop is very good at tracking down hit and run suspects and putting where they belong and that is behind bars.

Have a safe week.

Stephen E Sauls

Chamblee, GA USA

Popular topics today: steve harvey, steveharvey.com, steve harvey morning show, www.steveharvey.com, news 14, news14.com, wbtv, wsoc, wcnc, jet magazine, buynowbe

Post je objavljen 17.01.2008. u 15:43 sati.