New hands-free cell phone law now being enforced

Washington State drivers have been gearing up for this change for some time now. The ban on driving while holding a cell phone to your ear was passed into law a little over one year ago along with a ban on texting while driving.

The texting ban began on January 1st this year, but authorities could not enforce the hands-free-driving law until the 1st of July. Officers have been handing out warnings to drivers all over Washington state who continue to drive while talking on their cell phones, but the warnings are over!

As of the first of this month you may be fined for breaking this new law.

Here’s what you should know:

The law makes it illegal to drive while holding a cell phone to your ear.

You can still talk on the phone if you use a bluetooth device like the ones found in some newer cars or the ones you wear on your ear.

There are a few exceptions to the new law.

The prohibition against operating a moving vehicle while holding a wireless communications device to one’s ear does not apply to:

1. A person operating an authorized emergency vehicle, or a tow truck driver responding to a disabled vehicle;
2. A person using a wireless communications device in hands-free mode;
3. A person using the device to report illegal activity, summon emergency help, or prevent injury to a person or property;
4. A person using a hearing aid;
5. The operation of an amateur radio station by a person who holds a valid amateur radio operator license issued by the Federal Communications Commission.

While we should see fewer drivers on their phones with this new law, police may only ticket you for it as a secondary offense. This means they can not pull you over because they see you talking on the phone. They must catch you violating some other law in order to pull you over.

Take care on the road and stay off the phone!

Check out this commercial. It is like the unrated version of the one that really made it on the air where we live.

A profitable quarter? Quality equal to Toyota? Ford’s turnaround plan is working.

I just saw on the news last night that Washington State has been toying with the idea of charging drivers for each mile they drive on busy roads as a means of collecting needed funds for road maintenance and improvements and to cut back on congestion. They figured if drivers had to pay a premium to use a certain stretch of road during high traffic times of day more people would find alternative routes or opt not to make unnecessary trips resulting in fewer cars on the road at a time. The fees would be adjusted based on demand for specific road space.

With gas prices over $4 I was wondering if we could find some way to make it more expensive to get around. Although If it were to replace the gas tax I could go for that. I don’t travel congested highways and rarely venture into the Seattle Metro area.

What does the government do when the economy slows down during an election year? Give money back to the hard working people of the country. Car Loans are not the only thing we could think of to spend the money on. With only a couple of weeks or so until the money starts going out, many people have already started to think about what they will do with the money. The staff at WashingtonAutoCredit.com has outlined some great ways you can spend your “free money”.

Some people think of a Bankruptcy as a last resort. I talk to customers all the time who are a few months behind on every bill they have (including their mortgage or rent) and still want to try to buy a car. It baffles my mind that someone can think that it might be a good time to get a loan that will have a $300-400/month payment when they have not paid the $25 minimum payment on their credit cards for 3 months. Better still, trying to trade in a car (that you owe money on) when you are so past due, the bank has let you know that the repo man is coming.

If you have found yourself in a situation like this, or if you simply have so much debt that you do not know where to start. You might consider talking to a professional about your bankruptcy options. Filing for bankruptcy can be just what your credit needs. CLICK HERE FOR FREE BANKRUPTCY CONSULTATION.

Did you know it is much easier for most people with really bad credit to buy a car with a recent bankruptcy filing than without a bankruptcy at all? It is really simple once you think about it. Most people that file bankruptcy have had a period in their life that they paid all of their bills on time. More often then not, people that are filing for bankruptcy are good people that want to pay their bills, but some unexpected circumstances put them in this situation. Now that you have no other bills, it is a great time to buy a car or truck because you probably have some extra money each month to afford the car payment.

In addition, there are several lenders with car loan programs specifically designed to help people that have recent bankruptcies. With bankruptcy car loan programs, your credit core does not matter. Things that do matter include: proven ability to make a car or mortgage payment in the past, steady PROVABLE monthly income (using pay stubs), and a good debt to income ratio. With those 3 things, almost all people with recent bankruptcies can be approved to buy a car through WashingtonAutoCredit.com.

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It happened again. We had a couple apply for an auto loan at www.WashingtonAutoCredit.com exactly 2-months ago. We were honest with them about their vehicle options, and they decided that they wanted to try other dealers because we let them know that a seven passenger SUV was not going to be possible for them without A LOT of money down. You see these customers, we will call them Mr. and Mrs. Unrealistic, failed to realize that with their credit (they had recently filed for bankruptcy) their options will be limited by the lenders that would actually consider them for a loan.

A funny thing happened yesterday, the Unrealistics called us to let us know they were ready to look at their REAL vehicle options again. You see, another dealership had told the Unrealistics that they could buy a certain SUV. The other dealer even contracted the Unrealistics on the SUV, and even let the customers think they owned it for about 3-days. Then the dealer called the Unrealistics to let them know the car needed to be returned. The other dealer was not able to get the Unrealistics approved for an auto loan. By the time the dealer called to tell the customers the bad news, the Unrealistics had shown their friends, neighbors, and relatives the new car. Pretty embarrassing, huh?

I hate to say it, but a lot of the time it is better for customers like the Unrealistics to go through this. For many people, it takes this type of frustration, and embarrassment to appreciate the honest, straight forward technique we use at www.WashingtonAutoCredit.com.

When you have bad credit, you do not have all of the options that people with good credit do. It is important that you deal with someone that is willing to explain all of your options, and that you are willing to consider them. Even if the options are not what you were hoping for.