Driving on Memorial Day can be hectic. These gadgets can help you out
Updated: 8:23 AM CDT May 5, 2024
The issues affecting you. Revealed, explained discussed now on WG Gail eight in focus. Hello, I’m Susan SHAPIRO. Summer travel season is about to kick into high gear. What are the rules of the road and what are your rights if you happen to get pulled over during your travels? And what should you bring along? We’re putting summer road travel in focus. Joining us now is Danny Lee SPIEGEL, who’s with triple-A Central Penn. Thanks so much for being here. Yes, thanks for having me. What kind of travel season does AA think it will be? Well, travel is booming right now, so spring break. We have been so busy. A lot of the cruises have been booked in for summer vacation. Same thing. We are finding a lot of people are booking their travel earlier this year than they have last year. Why do you think that is? I just think people are wanting to prepare. I think they’re looking for something to look forward to disappear, put on their calendar, know in a couple of months they’re going to have this great trip and make some wonderful memories. Do you think people are feeling more at ease with travel now? Most certainly, yes. This is showing that people are feeling more comfortable with travel. People are using travel agents more often. They’re booking more guided tours. So that’s telling us that people are looking for that expertise and the peace of mind when they travel. In terms of a travel agent, I think people think you have to pay for that. Yeah, that’s interesting. So when you book with triple J, we have a lot of amazing travel partners that we’ve been working with for so many years. You get a lot of extra perks and benefits when you book with triple J. And do you have to be a triple J member to do that? You don’t have to be a triple member to do anything. But there are added benefits when you have that membership in your pocket. So what about a road trip? I guess a lot of people will be planning that this summer. And you say that’s a really popular way to go. Of course, yes. A majority of the people are traveling by road. That doesn’t matter what holiday, as always, is the trend. So we remind people not to underestimate the power of sleep when you’re taking a road trip. So drowsy driving, unfortunately, can take over while you’re behind the wheel. And we just want to remind people that the dangers of that and of course, distracted driving, which we hear a lot about. You’re right. Yes, a distracted driving is really bad. So that’s always one of our things that we are trying to remind people to make sure you’re focusing on the road. Give yourself extra time. When you’re traveling on the road. Just allow for things like incidents on the side of the road or construction, things like that. Is there a best or worst time to travel on the road for travel and not if you’re going to work? Of course, yes. We we recommend you always leave as soon as possible just to give yourself as much daylight while you’re traveling. And you always want to make sure that you travel. Why go normally a week if you’re traveling while it’s dark out, your circadian rhythm may think it’s time for you to go to sleep and you can have these micro naps where you actually are unconscious behind the wheel for a couple of seconds at a time. Your body trying to catch up on that deprived sleep. Hmm. Wow. That’s a little scary. It is. But you make sure to have in the car or your vehicle. Yeah, sure. So there is a safety you should always have, including things. If you have an incident, maybe you need like, Band-Aids or antiseptic some tools in your car. In case you do break down. You want to make sure you have flares to alert drivers on the side of the road that you are there and for them to please slow down. And of course, move over, as is the law in all 50 states. Back to what 888 does that many people remember the triptych. Is that still a thing? Yes, our triptych. So our members who’ve been members for a long time do love our old paper map triptych. But of course, it’s tough to navigate while you drive where you have these big maps. So we also have it available online and on the triple AA mobile app. And how does that work too? Can you get an individualized mapping out of your trip? Oh, of course. From point A to point B and any stop in between, we recommend you plan out your trips ahead of time to make sure you allow to rest yourself. Let the kids out of the car. If you’re traveling with pets, they’re going to need brakes fueling up. And also, if you’re driving with an E vehicle, you want to make sure you know where to stop along the way to get those charges that you need. Yeah, that’s a good point, because a lot more people have those. What about this this new feature you have? Cause it’s called. Yes. We’re very excited to partner with Hawes now. So it is a safety cloud technique that is used across the United States, and it’s the most popular technology of its kind. There are thousands of tow trucks and roadside workers that are currently using it, and we’re so excited to be incorporating it here in Central Penn. So as soon as a driver pulls over and flips on his emergency flashers and his lights, that is going to alert navigation apps and vehicles with the technology up to 30 seconds ahead of time that they should slow down and move over. How does that work? Do you have to sign up for that? Oh, no. It just is automatically integrated. It’s just a matter of us getting it installed. And we are the first triple-A club to integrate it with our own truck audio and video recording system. So we’re very proud of that. Roadside safety is our number one concern, so we just want all drivers just to be aware. If you see everyone slowing down, even if you can’t see what’s going on, you know there’s a good reason. So just give yourself extra space and slow down. Yeah, just some of the things you should think about. Just the typical things of travel that happened. A lot of safety tips for sure. You know, everyone is looking for sunshine and beaches and pools, especially today on this rainy day. So South Florida is a top destination. Orlando is number one. Time and time again was interesting to see that cruise ports like Fort Lauderdale and Miami, they’re selling 60% more travel than they have this time last year. Are you hearing anything about the Baltimore port being closed to cruise travel right now? Of course. Yep. So people are changing plans to go to other cruise ports. All right. Well, thank you so much for sharing your information. We appreciate it. Coming up on WGL eight In Focus, we’ll talk with a state police trooper about the laws on the summer driving. This is WGBH eight in focus coverage you can count on. Joining us now is State Police Lieutenant Adam Reed. He’s the director of the communications office for the Pennsylvania State Police. Thank thanks so much for being here. Thanks for having me. Summer driving, I guess a big part of the problem is are there more cars on the road? There are. So it is getting warmer now. We see more cars out on the road When more cars are on the road, unfortunately, that means more crashes and more people potentially driving dangerously. Sharing the roads with you. When you say driving dangerously, what does that mean? Is that speeding or does that incorporate some other things? Yes. So speeding is probably the biggest one that we see. It’s the most common cause of crashes and our biggest citation that is issued out there. Additionally, you have folks driving fast. We have also folks driving distracted on the roads. Their mind is not on the task at hand and that’s getting to your destination safely. They might be on their phone. They might be doing something in the car or doing something like sending a text message. I’m always amazed that some of the things you see people doing in their vehicles. Absolutely. Yes. Yes, we are, too. We are, too. I’m sure you are. In terms of speed, how fast you have to be going to be pulled over by state police or local police. Yeah, that’s a good question. So here in Pennsylvania, state police is the only police agency that can use radar. So the way the law is written when it comes to our troopers using radar, you can’t get pulled over by radar unless you’re going six or more miles an hour over the speed limit. However, the law also says that if a police officer is behind you, you only have to be going one mile an hour over the speed limit to get pulled over. So, yes, absolutely. So it’s important for people to know and really important for people to pay attention how fast they’re going. Do you think that’s that some people sort of lose sight of that with maybe music going on or other things or conversation? Certainly, it could be easy to do. It’s something we see a lot, especially when there’s a lot of traffic on the road. For example, if there are a lot of cars and a group of cars is going over the speed limit, for example, when you’re kind of just going with the flow of traffic, it can happen. But again, it’s important to pay attention to how fast you’re going all the time. And that way you’re not going to get pulled over. What if you are traveling out of state in the summer? What should you be aware of? Certainly. So if you’re traveling out of state, have patience. You’re probably going on a road trip. Hopefully you’re going somewhere nice on a vacation. But we always tell everybody to be aware of the laws of the road of the states they’re traveling through. For example, our neighboring states, such as Maryland and Virginia, have laws in place where you can’t even have your phone in your hand while you’re driving. That in and of itself would be a reason to get a citation in those states while at the same time having your phone in your hand is legal here in Pennsylvania. And you can’t just say I’m from Pennsylvania. That’s right. Ignorance of the law isn’t really a legal excuse, so it’s important to be mindful of that. How much are phones and all that’s going on on the phones and these big screens that people have in their cars affecting people’s driving? Sure. Certainly. So with an increase in technology in the phones and an increase in technology with the vehicles like the large screens in the vehicles, you see, it’s much easier to become distracted. So we advise everybody to either use Bluetooth or do something as simple as putting your phone away until you arrive at your destination. What about road rage? How much of that is going on? And what do you classify as road rage? We hear that term thrown around a lot. Sure, Sure. Yeah. Road rage is definitely something that’s on our radar and something we get a lot of calls for. Unfortunately, road rage could take many forms. I mean, it could be something as simple as, you know, some you perceive somebody to cut you off, for example, where somebody is tailgating you and you slam your brakes on or you try to engage somebody verbally or use an inappropriate hand gesture. But unfortunately, we see it all too often. Road rage may evolve from something like that to a roadside physical confrontation with sometimes deadly consequences. We advise if you are a victim of road rage, to simply take a deep breath back off, get in the other lane and let that aggrieved driver go on their way. What about reporting that kind of incident? Certainly. So we urge if we urge anyone who’s a victim of road rage to collect as much information as they can that might include the registration of the vehicle, make and model of the vehicle and a description of the driver. And to call 911 to report that we commonly receive calls about aggressive drivers and road rage drivers. And certainly if we have a trooper nearby in the area, we’re going to try to find that individual and obviously want to talk to them and want to talk to the victim as well. I imagine that’s sometimes hard to track down. It could be, yes, because oftentimes, you know, in a in a high stress situation, a lot of traffic on the road, it might be hard to collect that information that we might need to to solve that case or to find that individual. But again, we urge anybody who’s a victim of that to gather as much information as they can about that car, about that person, what they did and give us a call. But I think your advice, don’t engage if you can. Absolutely. Don’t engage is the big one. You know, it’s simply not worth it. It’s not worth getting getting charged, getting arrested or getting injured or injuring somebody else. Take a deep breath, as hard as that might be. Absolutely. Well, we’re going to talk more about if you do get pulled over, what you should do in that situation. This is WGBH eight in Focus coverage. You can count on we continue our conversation about summer driving with state Police Lieutenant Adam Reed. Thanks again for being here. Thanks for having me. There’s nothing probably more nerve wracking than maybe seeing some of those flashing lights in your rearview mirror or seeing a state police trooper on the side of the road and you’ve gone by. So if someone is attempting to a law enforcement officer is attempting to pull you over, what should you do? Certainly. So, yes, it’s going to be a nerve wracking situation. Nobody wants to get pulled over. That’s why it’s really important to focus on getting to your destination safely and driving very carefully. However, if you do find yourself in that situation where you’re getting pulled over, there are a few important things to remember. One, always pull over to the right side of the road, especially with the busy interstates around here. Sometimes we’ll see a driver that decides to stop in the lane of travel or pull off to the left. But it’s important to remember always pull over to the right. Additionally, the officer, a trooper, is going to find a safe place, hopefully for you to pull over. You know, they’re not going to put themselves in a dangerous situation by pulling over into a dangerous part of the roadway. However, if you have doubts or, for example, sometimes at night, if you’re getting pulled over and you just want to pull over into a well-lit, safe area, put your four ways on, slow down, go slow, and then pull over into that safe area, because we have seen instances of impostors of law enforcement. So I guess that could be on your mind. We’ve also heard, can you drive to a police station or somewhere else like that? Unless you’re really close, we probably don’t advise that. I mean, the last thing you want to have happen is the officer or a trooper perceive you as possibly trying to flee from that stop. That’s why it’s good advice. If you have doubts, put your four ways on. Pull over to a safe, well-lit area. If you really have your doubts, you could always call 911 because the trooper officer is most likely going to be calling that traffic stop in to dispatch as they’re making it. So the dispatcher will be able to say, yes, you are in the process of being pulled over right now. So we advise you to stop. And I imagine the trooper or the the officer wants the driver to stay in the vehicle. Absolutely. That’s another really big one. Certainly, our guard is going to go up if the first thing that that driver does when they stop is open the door up. We’re just unfortunately going to assume that perhaps they’re trying to confront us or unfortunately come out with a firearm or something like that. So we certainly advise you to stay in your vehicle. Find your window down. You could do something like turn the interior light on and even something like turn your music down. If you have your radio on, have your documents at the ready. Instead of trying to fumble through your car or reaching to the glove box on the floor or something like that. I imagine it might be a little stressful for the officer who’s doing the pulling over, too. Yes, certainly. I mean, that’s one of the most dangerous routine parts about our job. And we like to say no traffic stop is ever routine. So we are we’re going to be on guard because we might not know if we are stopping a person on their way home from the grocery store or stopping a person. Worst case scenario, they just committed some kind of serious crime and maybe trying to get away from us or engages in some sort of a confrontation. Generally, as you said, speeding is the number one reason people are getting pulled over. It is speeding is the number one vehicle code violation that we see and the biggest citation that we write regularly. So speeding and other things like tailgating, improper passing, stop sign violation and forms of distracted driving are some of the most common citations that we issue. And what can be the fines for that? It depends on how fast you’re going when it comes to speeding. But if you’re going fast enough, they could certainly be hefty. The fine is dictated by how many miles an hour you’re going over the speed limit. But by the time you add in associated fees like court costs and other citation costs that you’ll see, you’re looking at upwards of 150 plus dollars. That’s a lot. Lieutenant Reed, any advice as people head out this summer on traveling in Pennsylvania and elsewhere? Sure. So if you’re traveling this summer, we advise everyone not to drive impaired. Certainly that’s not worth it. But also, if you’re going on a road trip from vacation or with your family, have patience. All right. Pack your patience. All right. Thank you very much for being here. Coming up on WGL eight In Focus, we’ll speak with an attorney about your rights If you’re pulled over. This is WG eight in focus coverage. You can count on. Welcome back. And we’re talking about the summer travel season. And joining us now is attorney Stephen Bright. Thank you so much for being here. It’s my pleasure, Suzanne. So a lot of people are putting a lot of miles on their vehicles during the summer months. What if you are pulled over by state or local police? So what should you do? Well, generally, if you’re in your vehicle, which you are, you’re being pulled over for some reason. Under the Pennsylvania statutes, you have a duty to produce two things upon demand your driver’s license and your registration. The issue becomes, what if you don’t have those two items? How can the police identify you as the driver? Generally, the driver will identify themselves and give them their name, address. They might not know their driver’s license number, but it gives the officer an idea to go back to his car to investigate further to get some of the information he may need to either issue a citation or a warning or just to give the motorist some friendly advice. State police prefer that you stay in your car. Is that something you have to do? I believe you do for safety reasons. The first thing some motorists want to do is jump out of the car, not necessarily to confront the police officer, but to really just get out and and sort of keep themselves away from the vehicle for some reason. But from a safety concern, it’s better to remain in your vehicle at all times unless directed outside by the officer. Now, is that a law enforcement officer allowed to search your car or look for anything else? What he can do is initially upon coming up to the car, he can look in the vehicle he maybe can’t stick his head in. He can use a flashlight to look in the vehicle. Those would be he’s looking for items that might be in plain view items of an incriminating nature. What happened to be viewed to the public? So he would be authorized to do it. He would need independent probable cause to be able to search the vehicle. It could be the odor of marijuana, perhaps. It could be evasive questions that might reveal criminal activity or he might be concerned for his safety. So he is allowed to direct the motorist to exit the vehicle. Should you say anything when you say say anything? I think it’s always better to to be forthright and provide, at least at a minimum. Your name and address. You certainly don’t have to provide any other information. But that and in fact, in our Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, we have a routine booking exception where an individual is supposed to provide all of that information to the arresting officer at the time they’re being photographed and fingerprinted. And what if you are traveling out of state, What should you be aware of? I believe that cooperation is key. Generally, if you’re being pulled over for a motor vehicle violation, you don’t want to be loud, boisterous, obnoxious. I believe some comply. It is necessary. Compliance of the officer has reason to believe you’re going to act appropriately, and also because he’s going to be investigating further for any type of potential criminal activity. And what if you’re on vacation? You mentioned earlier to me that you could a police officer might come up to you not in your vehicle, but possibly on the street. Well, if you’re on the street, there’s a there’s a big distinction with a different if it’s just merely an encounter, let’s say at a Terry stop with a police officer, just stops you for no reason and asks for your information, your identification. You’re under no compulsion to turn that information to him. You can politely and firmly walk away without any fear of criminal charges. I’ve never heard of that. Terry, stop. It’s called a Terry. Stop it. It comes in Pennsylvania with three types of stops. You have investigative detention, you have an arrest, and then you have a mere encounter that would be called a mere encounter where the police officer has no reason to really approach you other than perhaps to find out why you’re there. That flows from the colonial times where we were investigating vagrancy laws and the police officer in their caretaking function wanted to know what individuals were in their particular jurisdiction. So back in the colonial days, you had a duty to provide that information. Interesting enough, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, we don’t have a duty to identify yourself. 24 states have a duty to stop an ID where in not in those states upon request of a police officer. You have to provide that information even when the officer is just merely approaching you for no reason at all. Now, what if you’re traveling and you pull over because you’re tired or maybe you are impaired? What are the rights there? Well, generally, if you’re pulling over and you’re safely on the side of the road and let’s say you have your hazard lights off is an indication that you don’t want to be struck or there might be something amiss. A police officer, as long as he’s investigating for your welfare, has a reason to approach the vehicle to check on the motorist and make sure they’re okay. That would fall under the community caregiver function, which is an exception to the rights that you may or may not have during a stop. Interesting. Well, thank you so much. Appreciate your information. My pleasure. Thank you. Thank you for joining us for w JL eight in Focus. For all of us at WGL, I’m Susan SHAPIRO and join us again next Saturday night at 7:00 for W JL eight in Focus. Right after NBC Nightly News. And you can watch each episode of In Focus plus w Gail’s latest newscasts, original programing and more. Just download the very local app and stream for free on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
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Driving on Memorial Day can be hectic. These gadgets can help you out
Updated: 8:23 AM CDT May 5, 2024
Hitting the road this Memorial Day weekend? Whether you’re driving two hours to a local lake or 10 hours to the nearest shoreline, the traveling will be busy with holiday weekend congestion.Related video above — WGAL In Focus: Here’s what you need to know about summer road tripsYou’ll need some travel essentials to get you through the trip — we’ve rounded up some of our favorite car gadgets to help you out. If you’re traveling with friends, kids or pets, many of these products are perfect for you:acemend Retractable Car Charger: This gadget is a must for traveling with friends — multiple phones can be charged with this retractable car charger. This is also great for the kiddos’ tablets. Check out this product on Amazon today.Drop Stop – The Original Patented Car Seat Gap Filler: Never lose your phone, snacks, wallet or keys in the crack between your seat and the center console again. This Shark Tank gadget has 4.6 out of 5 stars on Amazon and will save you from having to pull over to grab your fallen item. Get yours on Amazon today.ELONGRIVER Car Trash Can Bin: Keep your car neat and tidy after a snack break or a coffee run with this nifty trash can. It’s useful for day-to-day use and for road trips as well. This trash can comes in two-gallon and 3-gallon options and 12 different colors. It’s available on Amazon, click here to check it out.ULEEKA Car Backseat Organizer: Keep the little ones entertained for the whole road trip with this nine-pocket organizer. There are slots for snacks, tablets, small toys and books. Even if you’re traveling with a group of friends this could be useful for all ages. It could hold travel coffee mugs and laptops as well. Click here to head to Amazon and learn more.RUBOT Car Vacuum Cleaner: Clean up the inevitable crumbs that come from traveling with this simple but useful tool. It’s great for messes from kids, pet hair, sand from the beach and dirt from the trail, making it a must-have for summer travel. Get yours on Amazon now, it’s available in four fun colors!For more coverage of summer travel essentials, click here.
Hitting the road this Memorial Day weekend? Whether you’re driving two hours to a local lake or 10 hours to the nearest shoreline, the traveling will be busy with holiday weekend congestion.
Related video above — WGAL In Focus: Here’s what you need to know about summer road trips
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You’ll need some travel essentials to get you through the trip — we’ve rounded up some of our favorite car gadgets to help you out. If you’re traveling with friends, kids or pets, many of these products are perfect for you:
acemend Retractable Car Charger
acemend
amazon.com
$25.99
acemend Retractable Car Charger: This gadget is a must for traveling with friends — multiple phones can be charged with this retractable car charger. This is also great for the kiddos’ tablets. Check out this product on Amazon today.
Drop Stop – The Original Patented Car Seat Gap Filler (AS SEEN ON Shark Tank)
Drop Stop
amazon.com
$24.99
Drop Stop – The Original Patented Car Seat Gap Filler: Never lose your phone, snacks, wallet or keys in the crack between your seat and the center console again. This Shark Tank gadget has 4.6 out of 5 stars on Amazon and will save you from having to pull over to grab your fallen item. Get yours on Amazon today.
ELONGRIVER Car Trash Can Bin
ELONGRIVER
amazon.com
$6.99
ELONGRIVER Car Trash Can Bin: Keep your car neat and tidy after a snack break or a coffee run with this nifty trash can. It’s useful for day-to-day use and for road trips as well. This trash can comes in two-gallon and 3-gallon options and 12 different colors. It’s available on Amazon, click here to check it out.
ULEEKA Car Backseat Organizer
ULEEKA
amazon.com
$19.99
ULEEKA Car Backseat Organizer: Keep the little ones entertained for the whole road trip with this nine-pocket organizer. There are slots for snacks, tablets, small toys and books. Even if you’re traveling with a group of friends this could be useful for all ages. It could hold travel coffee mugs and laptops as well. Click here to head to Amazon and learn more.
RUBOT Car Vacuum Cleaner
RUBOT
amazon.com
$25.49
RUBOT Car Vacuum Cleaner: Clean up the inevitable crumbs that come from traveling with this simple but useful tool. It’s great for messes from kids, pet hair, sand from the beach and dirt from the trail, making it a must-have for summer travel. Get yours on Amazon now, it’s available in four fun colors!