Good News For Our Huntsville High School Friends

We are happy to inform that we have met our goal for our Huntsville High School friends! Take a look at what the Drive One 4 UR School committed said to us in their recent letter.

Hello!

We hope this note finds you well!

We wanted to inform you that we have completed the validation process for the waivers and surveys from your Drive One 4 UR School event. For your background, we use a computerized system that is set up to recognize duplicate and/or fraudulent addresses, invalid vehicle test-drives as well as remove incomplete forms. After completing this process, the total donation will be $1,220 for 61 valid test-drives. Congratulations on raising these much-needed funds for your participating school!

We will be requesting your check this week. Requests take up to 10 business days to process, at which time checks are overnighted to their final destination.

Did you attend the event? Let us know by commenting on this post.

Want to Avoid a Traffic Ticket?

We came across this article by the National Motorists Association and they’ve got some pretty good tips on how to avoid traffic tickets.

Here’s the list:

1.) Try not to drive faster than 9 mph over the posted limit on the highway and about 5-6 mph above the posted limit on secondary roads.
In most places, most cops will not ticket you if you’re within this range. Part of the reason is simply that most car speedometers are not perfectly calibrated and so it’s easier to challenge such a trivial ticket in court. Exceptions to this include 25 mph/school zones — where you should never drive even a single mph faster than the posted limit.

2.) Don’t drive significantly faster (or slower) than the traffic around you.
If you do, you’ll stick out — and if there’s a cop around, he will notice and focus on you. Learn from the prey animals of the African savannah: There is safety in numbers. Even if you are driving faster than the speed limit, if you’re one of a dozen cars in a pack, there’s only a one in twelve chance the cop will target you.

3.) Never speed at night, especially after midnight.
There are more cops on the road during these hours — and fewer cars. You will stand out. And the cops are looking for any excuse to pull you over, because night-time is DWI time and every car a cop comes across will be closely scrutinized. Give him a reason — any reason — to pull you over and he will pull you over.

4.) Make sure your car’s registration, license plates and state inspection are always up to date.
Cops are trained to look for passed-due inspection stickers (and also things like cracked windshields and dead headlights/brake lights, etc.)

5.) Pay attention to the behavior of other drivers, especially if you’re driving in an unfamiliar area.
If you see cars ahead suddenly slowing down for no apparent reason (or oncoming cars are flashing their lights at you) it’s likely there’s a radar trap up ahead. Slow down now.

6.) Be on guard driving through small towns you don’t know, especially small towns just off an Interstate or when a major road goes directly through a small town.
Speed traps are a reality of life and you’re most likely to encounter one when driving through a small town in the middle of nowhere. Some towns get a large percentage of their budget from traffic tickets and the local yokel cops are on the lookout for cars with out of state plates because they know the driver is not likely to come all the way back there to try to fight the ticket in court — no matter how trumped-up the ticket might be. It’s unfair, but it’s the reality on the ground.

7.) Be on the alert for sudden (and often poorly indicated) reductions in the posted speed limit.
On many roads, the maximum will drop from say 55 to 45 for no obvious reason — and sometimes, there’ll be a cop just after the sign change, waiting for you with his radar gun. Watch for work zones — where the limit may drop by half (and the fines double).

8.) Educate yourself about photo radar, or automated tickets.
If you’re traveling to say Phoenix, AZ or Washington, DC — be forewarned that these areas use automated cameras to ticket people for both red light running and speeding. You may get no warning — and have no idea you just got a ticket — until it arrives in the mail a few weeks later.

9.) Familiarize yourself with the makes/models of cars that cops tend to drive.
The most commonly used cop cars (marked and unmarked) are the Ford Crown Victoria, the Chevy Impala and the Dodge Charger. The nice thing about the Vic is that it’s very easy to pick out because it’s very large and pretty much only cops and older people drive them. The Impala’s harder to sniff out because they are anonymous-looking and really blend into the crowd. The Charger’s even worse because it’s a popular car and also a car that younger, sporty drivers favor. But in general, be on the alert whenever one of these cars is around; be extra wary if you see telltale signs such as multiple low-profile antennas, large tires with inexpensive-looking trim rims/hub caps and a spotlight on the driver’s side door.

10.) Don’t exceed the posted in adverse weather such as heavy rain or when it’s snowy.
Not only is it unsafe, it may also be a moving violation even though you may not have been driving faster than the posted maximum. Keep in mind that the speed limit is just that — the lawful maximum — under ideal conditions. If a cop sees you driving faster than he deems safe for conditions, he can still pull you over and give you a ticket. And besides, this is a case where slower really is safer. Even if you have a 4WD vehicle, it takes longer to stop (and the vehicle is more prone to skidding out) if the roads are wet or slicked from snow/ice. - Thanks to National Motorists Association for this list.

Make sure if you decide to drive to Hillcrest Ford for a new vehicle to listen to all your local laws. We want you to be safe.

Local Story From Huntsville

HUNTSVILLE — The City of Huntsville recently purchased two new, fuel-efficient vehicles through a Houston-Galveston Area Council Cooperative Contract including a 2011 Ford Fusion Hybrid and a 2011 Ford Escape Hybrid.

On Thursday, City of Huntsville Fleet Manager Michael Clouds received the keys for the veh...icles, which will now be utilized in part by the Huntsville Police Department.

“I am excited to add the two new hybrids to the City’s fleet,” Clouds said. “With the increasing costs of fuel, the City needs to move to a more efficient fleet. The Ford Fusion Hybrid is expected to get approximately 41 miles per gallon in city mileage and 36 mpg highway mileage ratings, and the Ford Escape Hybrid is expected to get approximately 34 mpg city/31 mpg highway.”

According to Huntsville Police Chief Kevin Lunsford, the new vehicles will be used in part by the department’s non-uniformed personnel.

“We’re taking this opportunity to go into test and evaluation mode of these vehicles,” Lunsford said. “We’ll develop a rotation for evaluation purposes through our non-uniformed people, which will include our detectives, certain administrative staff and myself. The vehicles will be evaluated in various functions in the department to see where they will be best suited.”

Lunsford said HPD is very excited about the opportunity to test the new vehicles.

“I think we, as part of the City, have a duty to be as fiscally responsible as possible, and if we can do that with more fuel-efficient vehicles in certain areas of the department, we definitely want to do that,” he said.

The vehicles, purchased for a combined total of $56,767.87, will be used and monitored during the 2010-11 fiscal year in order to determine their effect on overall City spending.

“The City fleet is reviewed on a yearly basis to determine what the current and future operational needs of the departments,” Clouds said. “The fleet composition is determined as part of that fleet review process so that the departments and the City can strategically plan using fiscal responsibility.”

Hillcrest Ford Set To Help Out Local School

Hillcrest Ford is set to help out local schools this weekend with Ford's Drive One 4 UR School challenge.

The Drive One 4 UR School program was developed as a fun, engaging way to help schools raise money to support their sports and extracurricular activities. Ford and Lincoln-Mercury Dealerships partner with a local high school to conduct a test-drive fundraising event. For every valid test-drive completed, Ford Motor Company will donate $20 to the participating high school, up to $6,000!

So, the more people who test-drive a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle at the event, the more money can be raised!

So stop by Hillcrest Ford in Huntsville this weekend between the hours of 9 and 1 and test drive a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury car for your local schools.