Now the ATS is trying to turn their report into a call to action. the company is petitioning the state of Arizona to consider installing stop-arm cameras on all school buses in an effort to identify the drivers who carelessly speed past stopped buses. The system works similarly to the way traffic cameras work at intersections. They are set to trigger if a vehicle crosses a certain point. They snap a picture of the driver and license plate number of the vehicle which crosses that point and a citation is automatically generate for the registered owner of that vehicle. Only in the case of stop-arm cameras they would be positioned on the stop-arm deployed by the bus driver when the vehicle makes a stop to load or unload passengers. Also, instead of automatically issuing a ticket each photograph would be evaluated and then a citation mailed separately. The fine for passing a stopped school bus in Arizona ranges between $250-$500 depending on the offense.

Regardless of the fact there is a law preventing it, there certainly is no valid reason for a driver to pass a school buses which loading or unloading children. When it comes to driving hazards a child is perhaps the most unpredictable of all. They might cross behind the bus or in front of the; dart across the street without looking both ways (or either way) and are prone to doing unexpected things “just because.”

For drivers, the responsibility is theirs to be aware of the hazards represented by all things, but perhaps most especially children. Because striking a child at any speed could have deadly consequences.

It can be a time saver for many if they have a qualifying vehicle. Arizona BMV makes it easy to know whether or not you have a qualifying vehicle, so just drop by their web site to learn more about it!

Any vehicles not subject to emissions testing requirement for the entire five-year registration cycle, which include the following:

Most vehicles registered outside the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas
Vehicles with model year 1966 and older
New vehicles that have never been registered in Arizona or in any other state
Motorcycles located in emissions Nonattainment Area B (Tucson metro area)
Commercially registered trailers 10,000 lbs GVW and less
Solar, electric and hydrogen powered alternative fuel vehicles

And don’t forget to visit the My Improv Traffic School web site when you need an excellent online traffic school!

Arizona makes the rules for residency very clear. Essentially, if you are already a U.S. citizen you don’t have anything to worry about. The state is not conducting a witch hunt against legal immigrants or citizens, nor is trying to halt all emmigration to the state. They are trying to put an end to illegal immigration and ensure that everyone who is using state services has a legal right to do so.

However, if you are unaware of their state laws it is possible you could find yourself in violation of one or more of them, so it’s best to learn the facts before you make a move.

The Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles makes it very clear who qualifies as a resident of the state. In those cases the individuals must obtain proper license and identification if they want to stay on the right side of the law. Once you have determined your status (resident or not) then you can begin the process to make application for a state issued driver’s license or identification:

Identification and Proof of Age

Arizona state law requires that all applicants for an original driver license or identification card present two forms of identification – one must have your photo (or three forms of identification if no photo identification is available). See list of acceptable documents. All must be originals or copies certified by the issuing agency. All must be in English.
Social Security Number

You are required by ARS 28-3158(D)(5) and 42 USC 405(c)(2)(C) to provide your Social Security Number. It will be used to verify your identity and to comply with federal and state child support enforcement laws. It will not be used as your driver license number.
Parent/Guardian Approval

If you are under 18, your application for an instruction permit or driver license must be signed by at least one adult. The adult will be responsible for any negligence or willful misconduct when you are driving.

The application must be signed by:

One natural parent if married to the other natural parent or
Both natural parents if not married to each other, but share joint custody or,
One natural parent with sole custody

Or, if neither parent is living:

Legal guardian (proof required) or
Foster parent living with the minor (proof required) or
Employer of the minor (death certificates must be shown)

The signatures must be witnessed by an MVD agent or by a notary public. Signatures obtained for an instruction permit will be required again for a driver license.

In fact, according to Arizona state law you must register with the Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles “immediately” if you plan on driving there for any length of time for work, school or an extended stay longer than seven months. Arizona has very strict rules regarding driving privileges and identification, so if you think you might be spending some time there it is best to visit the Arizona DMV and find out how you can meet the state requirements before you start driving around.

State law requires that you obtain an Arizona vehicle registration and driver license, immediately if any of the following applies. If you:

Work in Arizona (other than for seasonal agricultural work) –or–
Are registered to vote in Arizona –or–
Place children in school without paying the tuition rate of a nonresident –or–
Have a business that has an office in Arizona, and that bases and operates vehicles in this state –or–
Obtain a state license or pay school tuition fees at the same rate as an Arizona resident –or–
Have a business that operates vehicles to transport goods or passengers within Arizona –or–
Remain in Arizona for a total of 7 months or more during any calendar year, regardless of your permanent residence.

Out-of-state students enrolled with 7 or more semester hours, are not considered Arizona residents, regardless of employment.

Active duty military personnel based in Arizona who qualify for exemption under the Service Members Civil Relief Act of 2003 are not considered Arizona residents.

Don’t forget, if you need an excellent online traffic school we have Arizona state specific classes open right now!

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Depending on your driving record this could negatively impact your insurance rates, causing insurance companies to charge you more each month for standards insurance. Rates for some drivers have ballooned in recent years, meaning any little blot on their record is going to cost them a whole lot more. It is also possible that an insurance provider will (or can) deny you coverage altogether because they consider you to be too high of a risk.

Remember, insurance companies are in business to make money. If they don’t think they can make a profit from you because you are an unsafe driver then it is not in their best interest to take your business. it’s as simple as that.

From Arizona Department of Transportation:

13) What traffic convictions will show if an insurance company runs my MVR?

Any convictions received and showing on your driving record within the past 39 months will be provided to an insurance company.

Among the things we can lose it is our personal documents which can cause the most problems. Cash can be replaced; family photographs are usually copied and secure, but our driver’s license, well, losing that is a real problem.

If you are an Arizona driver there is a quick and easy remedy that can you back on the safe side and make certain nobody else is using your license for nefarious purposes. If you suspect your license has been stolen, or perhaps just lost, your first step should be contacting the Arizona Department of Transportation. You can visit their web site or contact them by phone, or even drive down to the local offices. (Remember, this only works if your license is valid. Don’t drive on a revoked or suspended license.)

Once you contact ADOT they can walk you through the steps needed to get your license back and get you back on the road safely.

You may replace a lost or stolen driver license or identification card online, by phone, or at any MVD or authorized Third Party office. The fee for a duplicate license is $12.00. A duplicate ordered online can be sent by express delivery for an additional fee.

If you visit an office you must have two forms of identification, one of which contains your photo (or three forms of identification, if no photo). Management approval may be required. If your license has been lost or stolen and you have reason to believe someone else is using it, the incident should be reported to your local police department as an identity theft.

See Identification Requirements for a listing of acceptable proof of identification. One proof must be listed under Primary.

To learn more about traffic and driving safety, visit our web site.

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The Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles maintain a complete data base of vehicle registration information which is updated daily. Anything you do with your vehicle. If you receive a vehicle citation, speeding ticket or are involved in a vehicle accident, this information is stored as a part of your driving record.

So too are the records of your vehicle insurance. If you do not keep your vehicle insurance updated the insurance company will automatically notify the Arizona DMV (they are required by law to do this) and your vehicle registration and license plates will be automatically suspended.

This process is an automatic response kicked off when notification is received about the status of your insurance. If you want to keep driving legally in Arizona, make certain you know the status of your vehicle insurance and don’t drive a vehicle with suspended registration and license plates!

I received a notice that my plates and registration were suspended…why?

A suspension could have been generated for one of several reasons: 1) MVD has not received proof of Arizona insurance, 2) There was a lapse in insurance coverage, 3) There was an accident case opened, 4) A newly registered vehicle may not have been on system when insurance information was received, 5) There was a VIN (vehicle identification number) error, either entered into the system incorrectly or provided incorrectly by the insurance company.

So, what do you do if your plate and registration are suspended? You must file fees and future proof of financial responsibility with the Arizona Motor Vehicle Services (MVA). It is best to get your insurance reinstated as soon as you can, because police officers will ask for proof of insurance if they pull you over and driving without insurance could cost you up to $500 in fines. To clear a registration suspension, you must be able to provide proof that you had insurance at the time you were pulled over. If you can’t provide proof, then you will have to pay a $50 reinstatement fee after you eventually provide proof. But likely it doesn’t take long to be reinstated. You should only have to wait up to 24 hours for your plate and registration to be reinstated.

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You need to meet the mandatory state requirements for car insurance.

Arizona, like all states has set a minimum requirement for car insurance. This requirement is intended to protect you and everyone else you may encounter from paying out of pocket in the event of a vehicle collision. There are an abundance of costs to consider including property damage costs for repair to vehicles or structures you might collide with and medical costs in the event someone is injured as a result of a vehicle collision.

Fortunately, the Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles makes their requirements very clear and posts them at their web site:

Arizona requires that every motor vehicle operated on our roadways be covered by one of the statutory forms of financial responsibility, more commonly called liability insurance, through a company that is authorized to do business in Arizona. This includes golf carts, motorcycles and mopeds.

Minimum levels of financial responsibility are:

$15,000 bodily injury liability for one person and $30,000 for two or more persons
$10,000 property damage liability

Failure to maintain proper insurance could lead to the suspension of your vehicle registration and/or driver license. To reinstate these privileges, fees and future proof of financial responsibility must be filed with MVD. The future proof requirement is most commonly an SR22 form from an insurance company. This can be expensive to the vehicle owner, especially since the law requires the owner to carry the SR22 for three years from the date of suspension.

Not only must you notify them of your name change, you must also bring the proper proof of identification including all the proper documentation which goes along with it.

It is important the department of motor vehicles has your proper name and address in the event they need to make contact with you for something. Plus, in many cases the postal service will not forward mail from the department of motor vehicle so if you do not let them know what your correct address is, you simply will not get the license and registration renewal information from them; or the notice that your driving privileges have been suspended.

You are required by law to notify MVD of a name or address change within 10 days. We are required to verify your Social Security Number before your record can be updated, therefore you must first contact the Social Security Administration online or at 800-772-1213 for information on how to change your name on their records. After you have changed your name with SSA, wait two days for their computer system to be updated. You should then visit an MVD office to present identification in both your new and previous names. This must be an original or certified copy (must be certified by the issuing agency) of one of the following: Marriage Certificate/License, Divorce Decree, Certificate of Citizenship/Naturalization or a court order.

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If your driving privileges have been revoked or restricted as a result of a drug or alcohol related violation you will be required to install and maintain an ignition interlock device. This device prevents a car from starting until a self-administered breathalyzer test has been cleared. Drivers with these devices installed are required to submit to the breathalyzer test every time they want to start their car and go any where.

The interlock requirement is effective immediately. Failure to have the device installed and to provide verification to MVD within 30 days, may result in immediate suspension of your Arizona driving privilege and possible extension of the original interlock requirement.

Upon conviction of driving without an interlock device as required by ARS 28-1464 your requirement to maintain an interlock will be extended for one additional year after your original requirement would have ended.

The interlock installer is required to electronically send periodic reports of your interlock usage to MVD. If those reports indicate a failure to comply with interlock requirements, tampering, circumvention, or certain other violations, you will receive notification from MVD extending your original interlock requirement for an additional 6 to 12 months.

For someone unfamiliar with the changing driving conditions in Arizona the fix might seem as simple as turning on your headlights, but the reality is headlights will not cut through the swirling dust and high winds of a haboob (the miles wide dust storms which the state gets every year) or the heavy smoke of a wildfire. And there is no remedy for sun glare.

To counter the myths and help raise awareness of these dangers the Arizona Department of Transportation is constantly reminding drivers of what they should be wary of and how best to keep themselves and everyone they share the road with, safe from harm.

Haboobs (giant dust storms) occur in dry desert climates such as the Sahara and desert areas of Arizona. While they can be awesome when viewed from afar, they can make driving quite hazardous. These giant dust storms often precede a thunderstorm. An Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) website provides guidance on what to do when encountering a storm while driving :

Avoid driving into or through a dust storm.
Do not wait until poor visibility makes it difficult to safely pull off the roadway – do it as soon as possible. Completely exit the highway if you can.
If you encounter a dust storm, check traffic immediately around your vehicle (front, back and to the side) and begin slowing down.
Do not stop in a travel lane or in the emergency lane; look for a safe place to pull completely off the paved portion of the roadway.
Stop the vehicle in a position ensuring it is a safe distance from the main roadway and away from where other vehicles may travel.
Turn off all vehicle lights, including your emergency flashers.
Set your emergency brake and take your foot off the brake.
Stay in the vehicle with your seatbelts buckled and wait for the storm to pass.
Drivers of high-profile vehicles should be especially aware of changing weather conditions and travel at reduced speeds.
A driver’s alertness and safe driving ability is still the number one factor to prevent crashes.

Police in many states have begun asking legislators to empower them to test drivers who they believe may be under the influence of marijuana. They say that although marijuana usage has become more common it is no less dangerous then ever before. In fact, because the potency of some marijuana plants is much more powerful than ever before, it is even more dangerous today than it was a decade ago.

So far, there are no adequately effective on-the-spot tests which police can use, such as a breathalyzer for alcohol, which can determine how ‘high’ someone is, but they don’t need it to bust a driver they seeing driving poorly, regardless of why they might be doing it.

Eric Caviness, 32, failed to use a turn signal and made several wide turns when he was pulled over at about 2:45 p.m. Friday near Extension Road and Southern Avenue in Mesa, police said.

Caviness told police he smoked marijuana about an hour earlier in Tempe and gave officers a brown cigarette that later tested positive for the drug, according to police.

Police said Caviness’ license was suspended and he was arrested on suspicion of aggravated DUI.

Once collected, the haiku will be posted on signs and used as part of a ADOT public service program.

In Arizona these dust storms, or haboobs, happen mostly during the dry summer months. They sometimes cover hundreds of miles, blanketing everything in a thick coat of sand and completely blocking out the sun for hours. Drivers will find themselves quickly overtaken by the fast moving storms, unable to see or navigate and without any sense of direction. These storms also block telecommunications networks, so drivers who are relying on a GPS device will soon discover they have no connection at all.

This is not the first time a department of transportation has used poetry to get a message across to drivers. The state of New York and New York City in particular have each effectively used poetry to remind drivers about various traffic and driving safety concerns.

The haiku challenge — part of ADOT’s “Pull Aside Stay Alive” campaign on safe driving in monsoon season, which officially starts today — represents a departure from the dry public-service ads of the past.

“We’ve never done anything like this before, so we weren’t sure what to expect, and this is something different from the government,” said Timothy Tait, ADOT’s assistant communication director and self-proclaimed “Twittermaster.” His team came up with the idea.

“It’s taking a humorous, lighthearted approach for a serious topic,” Tait said.

This is a difficult predicament for state authorities who could see a mass increase in the number of illegal immigrants applying for state issued driving licenses. It is estimated there are approximately 50,000 such persons currently living in the state of Arizona. It is also a difficult situation for police who might find themselves having to handle drivers who are unable to speak or read English, or might fear prosecution and therefore are more likely to flee from police.

So far all of this is simply conjecture as states begin to receive the new federal regulations as outlined i the executive order. Until the dust settles it remains unclear how this issue will impact the issuance of state driving licenses, but it seems a guarantee they will be effected somehow.

Tim Tait, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said Wednesday his agency is studying last week’s directive that allows many who were brought to the country as children to seek to defer being prosecuted for being in this country illegally and to avoid being deported.

Under a 1996 Arizona law, anyone seeking a driver’s license must prove both identity and legal presence in this country. The same requirement exists for non-operator identification cards issued by ADOT.

Technically speaking, Friday’s move does not grant legal status anyone who entered the country illegally or overstayed a visa. But the order does say those who qualify will be issued permits by the federal government entitling them to work in this country legally.

Distracted driving is now the single most likely cause of a traffic fatality in the United States. This puts distracted driving ahead of driving while intoxicated when it comes to cause of death. This has forced many states to take a good hard look at the most common cause of distracted driving: those ubiquitous digital gadgets everyone is so fond of.

But those are hardly the only reasons why people get distracted behind the wheel. Distractions range from digital devices to changing channels on the radio to talking with passengers. They also include allowing pets to wander around the cabin of the vehicle freely. Several states have already passed laws limiting the ability of drivers to allow their pets to wander free, although some similar efforts have failed to garner enough votes after pet advocacy groups rise up and complain.

Arizona has circumvented this problem by creating a blanket law to prevent drivers from being distracted by anything, pets include. And so far, it has been working as planned.

Research shows a 10-pound dog, propelled forward by a collision, can hit you with the force of 500 pounds.

Impact will most certainly kill the dog and could severely injure or kill you.

Arizona is one of three states with a blanket distracted driving law.

If an officer saw you reaching in the back seat to interact with Fido, you could be stopped and cited.

It’s difficult to enforce, but certainly possible.

Pet experts recommend using a harness to secure your pet to a seatbelt while in the vehicle, preferably in the rear seat.

An airbag can kill a dog.

Big dogs riding in an SUV should be confined to the rear cargo area, and a divide should be used to keep them from moving forward in the cabin.

Arizona deputies reported they could smell alcohol emanating from his vehicle as they approached and that Jarc admitted to them he had been drinking.

Arizona is one of a hand full of states which provide stiffer penalties for those charged with driving under the influence of alcohol depending on how high their blood concentrations are. These penalties range from increased fines to the increased possibility the driver will be facing jail time following a conviction.

Despite a recent emphasis on the dangers of distracted driving, driving under the influence of alcohol remains a danger to drivers in all states and greatly increases the likelihood that an accident will result in a fatality.

Scott Jarc, 52, was booked into a county jail Monday on several DUI charges.

According to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office, deputies stopped Jarc after seeing him speeding on County Route 1 at about 4:20 a.m.

Deputies said they smelled alcohol when they contacted Jarc and he admitted to drinking earlier.

Jarc was taken into custody and his blood-alcohol concentration was found to be .328 percent.

Jarc faces DUI counts that include extreme DUI and super extreme DUI with a blood-alcohol level above .20 percent.