Warming Up Your Car in the Cold Just Harms the Engine

(Click on the image for the Popular Mechanics article)

In the thick of winter, the common wisdom is that when you are gearing up to take your truck out in the cold and snow, you should step outside, start up your engine, and let it idle to warm up. But contrary to popular belief, this does not prolong the life of your engine; in fact, it decreases it by stripping oil away from the engine's cylinders and pistons.

Package Thief Caught on Home Surveillance Camera

(Click on the image for the video)

The holiday season is here. Many of us are buying presents and having them delivered to our homes. Unfortunately, this can be a busy time for thieves who steal packages from porches – often in broad daylight. In this home surveillance video, a suspect drives up, walks to the front door of a home and then helps himself to the box that had been delivered there. This happened on November 15th at a home on Westridge Place in Camp Springs.
Here are some suggestions to help stop these types of thieves:

• If possible, pick up the ordered item at the store
• Ship the item to your workplace
• Have a neighbor keep an eye out for the item if you know you won’t be home during the delivery window
• Have the item sent to a friend or family member who is home during normal delivery hours
• If possible, ship the item to an Amazon Locker, UPS Office, FedEx Office or Post Office
• Require a signature at the time of delivery

Anyone with information in the theft highlighted in the video is urged to call the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Regional Investigation Division at 301-794-5064. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477), or go online at www.pgcrimesolvers.com, or use the “P3 Tips” mobile app (search “P3 Tips” in the Apple Store or Google Play to download the app onto your mobile device.)

Tech Support Scams

(Click on the image for the Federal Trade Commission report)

Some scammers call and claim to be computer techs associated with well-known companies like Microsoft or Apple. Other scammers send pop-up messages that warn about computer problems. They say they’ve detected viruses or other malware on your computer. They claim to be “tech support” and will ask you to give them remote access to your computer. Eventually, they’ll diagnose a non-existent problem and ask you to pay for unnecessary – or even harmful – services.
If you get an unexpected pop-up, call, spam email or other urgent message about problems with your computer, stop. Don’t click on any links, don’t give control of your computer and don’t send any money.
Refund Scams
If you paid for tech support services, and you later get a call about a refund, that call is probably also a scam. Don’t give the person any personal or financial information.
The refund scam works like this: Several months after a purchase, someone calls to ask if you were happy with the service. If you say “No”, the scammer offers a refund. Or, the caller says the company is going out of business and giving refunds. The scammer eventually asks for your bank or credit card account number, or asks for access to your bank account to make a deposit. But instead of putting money in your account, the scammer takes money from your account.
Also see the FBI advice on ‘Ransomware’ Locks Computers, Demands Payment.

What to Know Before Signing Up for a Bundle Deal

(Click on the image for the News4 report)

You order phone, internet, and cable at a good price but when the bill arrives it's much higher.
Learn how you can prevent this from happening to you by watching the News4 report.
The FCC Consumer Complaint Center is here.

Still True

The minutes

Some folks

Save through speed

They never even

Live to need

Burma-Shave

Our Goal Is Zero Deaths on Indian Head Highway

Over the last 10 years an average of 6 lives are lost each year on the Prince George’s portion of MD-210. We aim to get that number down to zero. That’s a big challenge. We’ve had 1,466 crashes, six of them fatal in the first 8 months of this year.
Our government has a major effort working toward that goal. Commander Keleti and his State Police partner, Captain Pickett are using all the resources at their disposal to enforce the traffic laws. You see their effort every day you’re on MD-210. Greg Slater, Administrator of the State Highway Administration, is working on lighting and lane marking improvements.
But they can’t fix the real reason for these fatal crashes.
AAA’s John Townsend referred us to a classic Walt Kelly Pogo comic strip where Pogo says:

Pete Rahn, Maryland Secretary of Transportation, says his grandchild accused him of driving “like a Grandpa”. Safe driving is so unusual that even youngsters recognize that it is different.

A local pastor put it this way (I am paraphrasing): Where drivers need to go is more important to them than other people’s safety. We put our neighbors and friends at jeopardy when we speed. As adults, we should be able to discipline ourselves. Speed cameras are better than for a parent getting a knock on the door to be told their child is never coming home. If you don’t like speed cameras, don’t speed.
Adult drivers: don't speed, are not aggressive, don't drink and drive, and are not distracted drivers.

Please help re-balance the priority placed on life. Drive like a “Grandpa”. You’ll get used to it and it will help reduce your blood pressure.

Zero Deaths on Indian Head Highway and we will all get home safely.

Interested in improving MD-210 safety? Please attend the MD-210 Traffic Safety Meeting  next Monday, Nov. 20, 7 pm at the District VII Police Station.

Buckle Up!

The Dangers of Driving While Distracted

(Click on the image for the Consumer Reports article)

• Five-year-old Moriah Modisette died one Christmas Eve after a distracted driver plowed into the back of her family’s car on a Texas highway, according to police reports.
  Garrett Wilhelm, 20 at the time, was accused of video chatting on his smartphone when traffic ahead of him slowed. The police say he didn’t notice and slammed into the Modisettes’ car at full speed. The force of the collision caused the car to spin, coming to rest facing the wrong direction in traffic.
• Does enforcement make a difference? The police conducted high-visibility enforcement campaigns in Syracuse, N.Y., and Hartford, Conn., in 2010 and 2011. These efforts were paid for, in part, by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The police in Syracuse used roving patrols to spot offenders, and Hartford police used a spotter technique with two patrol cars working together. The percentage of drivers observed to be texting or dialing in Hartford fell to 1.1 percent from 3.9 percent in a little more than a year. Drivers cited for texting tended to commit other violations, such as drifting across lanes or weaving, as a result of their distraction.
  But the final report concluded that motorists were willing to continue texting while driving even while agreeing in surveys that the police should enforce texting restrictions.

Your Life Is Fragile

(Click on the image to see the Nov. Issue of the 'Dispatch' from DPW&T)

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Safety improvements coming to Indian Head Highway, officials say

(Click on the image for Dick Uliano's WTOP report)

• 1,466 crashes, six of them fatal, along the 21-mile long highway in the first eight months of this year.
• Safety improvements are coming, to reduce the high number of collisions and fatalities along the speed-plagued, crash-prone roadway.
• Speed cameras between Kerby Hill and Palmer Rd (north and south bound) starting Nov 9 with a 21-day warning period.

Toward Zero Deaths

(Click on the image for more information)

Maryland’s traffic safety community has a clear, unified mission – to move the state Toward Zero Deaths. There have been many strides made toward achieving this goal, but there have also been challenges that need to be faced in order to continue making progress.

• Cell phone use is a leading cause of distraction. More than 28,000 people in Maryland are injured each year as a result of distracted driving-related crashes.
• Crashes involving impaired drivers claimed the lives of 856 people over the last five years – 34% of all fatalities in Maryland during that time. Click below for more information.
• One of the most dangerous problems on our roads today is speeding and aggressive driving, which contributes to one-third of all crashes, injuries, and fatalities in Maryland.

Police team up to fight speeding, fatalities on Md. Route 210

(Click on the image for John Domen's WTOP report)

• Since the program started nearly two months ago, “we’ve issued 3,468 citations along the 210 corridor,” said Major James Keleti, acting major In Prince George’s County Police District 7. State Police have also conducted over 175 commercial vehicle inspections.
• “Most of the violations are for excessive speed,” says Keleti. “That and drivers not paying attention.”
• “We’re using officers in the overtime capacity,” says Keleti. “We’re using our on-duty resources. Of course we’re using Maryland State Police to team up with.”
• “Right now we’re going to do it indefinitely,” said Keleti about the enforcement program. “We’re going to continue to target 210 just like we’re going to target all our highways.”

Adam Tuss mentions Saturday's IHHAAC meeting about MD 210 safety in his News4 report, "Thousands of Tickets Issued in Crackdown Along Indian Head Highway"