When is law enforcement going to do something about the young drivers—it is getting dangerous out there?! Enforcement does change driving behavior but instruction needs to start long before a teen is pulled over, or worse, in a crash. Parents and guardians are responsible for spending the hours and hours needed driving, during the permit phase, with their teen. Only time spent can help them gain the experience in a vast variety of driving conditions and environments. A minimum of thirty hours driving is required while holding a permit and ten hours in the provisional phase, and it is often …

QUESTION: Why does State Patrol waste time writing speeding tickets when they could chase down more aggressive drivers like people who blow stop signs, cut you off or drive impaired? You are not alone in the way you perceive speeding violations, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s [NHTSA] website states that research is showing that the public erroneously believe that speeding is not a great risk to safety or is not as serious as other traffic violations. Looking at all crashes in Minnesota last year the most cited factors were, in order of frequency: inattentive or …

My mother just bought one of those electric wheelchairs. Can she drive on the walking paths at the nearby park? It says no motorized vehicles so I was wondering if her electric wheelchair is considered a motorized vehicle? Yes, your mother is legal. We are seeing a lot of them out and about, so I will get a little more detailed about their legal operation for you and anyone else concerned. M.S.S. 169.212 talks specifically about the operation of electric personal assistive mobility devices. Our law says that a person operating one of these has the rights and responsibilities of a pedestrian. …

A little history: The state’s first DWI Law enacted was in 1911. When baby boomers began to drive in the 1960’s more than 60% of traffic deaths were due to drinking and driving. This started to decrease in the 1980s. Currently about 30% of all fatalities are alcohol related. The earliest record of traffic deaths was in 1910, with 23 fatalities. Systematic record keeping on crashes started much later in the 1930s. Who and how many: Over 570,191 Minnesotans [10.7 %] have one or more DWIs on record. Of licensed drivers in the state, 1 in 7 have one or more incidents on record, 1 in 17 have two …

What do I do when an oncoming vehicle is in my lane and coming right at me?  Head-on crashes can be very deadly. The National Safety Council recommends “The four R’s”: Read the road ahead Right  - Drive to the Right Reduce your speed Ride off the road Read the road by scanning and staying aware of your surroundings so you can have the maximum amount of time for controlled evasive actions.  Look ahead for  hills, curves, overpasses or anything unusual, again, minimizing panic reactions. Drive to the right of your lane, on a two lane roadway, toward the fog line.  This will put you in a …