Entry bubble Hit the Road, Not the Wildlife

By: Stephanie | April 28, 2008 | Category: Travel

Passing a dead armadillo on a road in Orlando last week, I began to wonder about roadkill. ants crossing signI mean, should I have reported the stiff little critter? Is there anything being done to prevent such accidents?

I learned later from USA.gov's FAQs that I could have contacted the police or the local, county, or state road commission to report the roadkill. And if an endangered species is injured or killed in traffic (not an issue in this situation), I should call the state fish and wildlife agency or the nearest FWS Ecological Service field office.

To avoid hitting the animal that we so often see dead on the side of the road—deer—the U.S. Forest Service suggests keeping a close watch for them at dawn and dusk; flashing your lights or honking your horn to frighten deer that are near the road; and looking for other deer after one has crossed the road. If you hit a deer, don't get near it, remove your vehicle from the roadway if you can, and call the police.

Some agencies are using innovative ways to make thoroughfares more wildlife friendly. The Federal Highway Admininstration's website, "Critter Crossings: Linking Habitats and Reducing Roadkill," presents strategies that range from goat bridges to salamander tunnels to help keep animals from being hit by vehicles.

And "Keeping It Simple: Easy Ways to Help Wildlife Along Roads" allows you to search for wildlife friendly road projects in your state. Iowa, for example, has put up a fence along a highway that protects threatened turtles, and Alabama has created a boardwalk to help keep the endangered Perdido Beach Mouse from being stepped on.

Even NASA has to deal with roadkill of a sort: apparently the Space Shuttle hits a few birds on its way up. The agency is looking at an avian radar detection system to solve the problem.

But in spite of an agency's best efforts, roadkill is inevitable sometimes. The results can still be dealt with in an environmentally friendly way, though. So talk about "going green": the Montana Department of Transportation offers a manual on composting roadkill such as deer, elk, bison, and moose. One of their better composting tips: "The more remote the site, the better."

| Comments [2] | envelope Email This Entry | Tags: accidents  animals  cars  endangered  roadkill  stephanie  threatened  vehicles  wildlife 

 

Entry bubble Buying A New Hot Rod

By: Sam | January 16, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

So long Charlie, hello, Big Al. That’s right, I finally took the plunge and parted ways with my old car, Charlie. And even though parting is such sweet sorrow, I couldn’t be happier with my new ride.

Before I could buy Al, I had to first figure out what to do with Charlie. I weighed the pros and cons of trading in vs. selling, which included looking up Charlie’s value (priceless, of course) in the Kelley Blue Book. And after reading Nancy’s post, I also considered purple cargoing the donation route. For me, selling Charlie was the best option, because it added some extra money to my down payment.

Since I had been shopping around for a couple of months, I had a pretty good idea of what make and model I wanted. And after a quick assessment of how energy efficient this new car would be, my next step was to figure out if I could really afford it. To do so, I used Consumer Reports’ online calculator, which enabled me to play with different figures, including my loan term and interest rate.

Speaking of, a key step to my car buying process was researching my financing options and finding the best loan. After comparing rates and terms from multiple finance sources like my bank, credit union, and potential car dealers, I decided to go with a loan from my credit union. I did a quick check of my credit report through annualcreditreport.com, just to make sure all my info was correct, and then applied for the loan online. It really was easy as pie!

With my financing in place, I was now ready for the fun part: wheelin’ and dealin’. Armed with advice from the pub “How to Get a Great Deal on a New Car” and my Dealer Visit worksheet I was ready for business. I checked a couple of car buying sites to see what the going sale price was in my area and then I stared negotiating for the price I wanted and could afford. And before I knew it, I was cruisin’ around town in Big Al.

All in all, the entire process wasn’t as bad as I imagined. Feel free to add any tips or stories you have for our readers who’re thinking about buying a car as well.

| Comments [3] | envelope Email This Entry | Tags: car  cars  credit  financing  loan  vehicle 

 

Entry bubble Smile! It's the DMV

By: Nancy | November 08, 2007 | Category: General

Every five years, around birthday time, my state's division of motor vehicles likes to connect with me--show me a little love in the form of a renewed driver's license. When I turn an age than ends with a "zero," like I did recently (40--ouch!) they want me to stop by, get my vision checked and smile for the camera. When I turn an age that ends with a "five," I can reuse my current picture and renew my license online. I like the "five" birthdays. The "zeroes," not so much.

But it was ok this year. For starters, I think the guy who took my picture must moonlight at the mall down the street from the DMV at one of those glamour photo places. My picture looked less "mug shot" and more "America's Next Top Model."model with photo shoot team

Really. Ok maybe I'm exaggerating a little. A lot. I am exaggerating a lot but I passed my license around the office and everybody said "Wow, you DO look better on your driver's license than you do in real life." Um, thanks.

It wasn't just the great picture that surprised me at the DMV, though. The amount of time I was there was a shocker too. I waited about 90 seconds before my name was called to begin the renewal process. My total time at the DMV, from entrance to exit and all paid up, vision-tested and photographed was a mere 11 minutes. On a Friday. At the end of the month. Incredible.

Turns out, it's a new era for state motor vehicle offices as they shift more and more of their services to the Internet. USA.gov has a page with links to motor vehicle offices in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. A majority of states let residents renew their licenses and/or vehicle registrations online. Many have even more online services that'll save you a trip to the motor vehicles office. Here's a quick sample of what I found:

Take a peek at your own state and find out what you can do online that'll save you the trouble of standing in line at your local DMV office.

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Entry bubble Shopping For A New Hot Rod

By: Sam | November 07, 2007 | Category: Home and Family

Breaking up is hard to do.  And after 10 years, I’m about to call it quits with Charlie, my car.  Though we’ve had some good times and unforgettable road trips, it’s time that we go our separate ways.

But deciding on my new ride has been harder than I thought it would be.  Do I want a coupe or sedan? Or how about a hybrid?  Should it be automatic or manual?  And what about the engine size?  The choices are endless.  To help me narrow my search, I checked out Consumer Reports and Edmunds.com.

These two sites gave me a wealth of information from price and owner satisfaction to ratings and reviews for both new and used cars.  They also helped me prioritize what features were important to me:  reliability, safety, and fuel economy.

I’ve also started to compile a “wish list” of other features that I would like.  These include trunk space, leather interior, moonroof, alloy wheels, and of course, an MP3 player plug-in.  A girl must be able to jam out to her entire John Mayer discography while driving.

After all this shopping around, I think I have finally found a couple of different cars that meet my needs.  And so now I’m ready for the fun part…test driving.  The Better Business Bureau has put together this great test drive checklist that will help me be a little less clueless at the dealership.

I’ll have another post (hopefully soon) about my car buying and financing experience.  Meanwhile, I’ll be reading up on how to maintain control over the sales process starting with this post from The Consumerist.  And I’ll be also be deciding whether Charlie gets donated or traded-in.  Does anyone have some helpful advice they would like to share?

 

| Comments [7] | envelope Email This Entry | Tags: better  bureau  business  car  cars  consumer  edmunds.com  john  mayer  reports  shopping