Future Auto Technicians Prepare for Lucrative Jobs
There is a lot of confusion in today’s economy, with many people lacking the necessary skills to get a job due to unemployment. So what can you do? The answer is simple; educate yourself and prepare for the long term. Tomorrow’s economy will be driven by technology and automation, and it will become increasingly harder for manual workers to find jobs. Here are some helpful resources that will help you learn today so in the future, you are prepared to follow in your parents’ footsteps or start your own auto body shop.
Automotive Technology Schools - Automotive Technology Schools provide students with training on how to work on cars inside an auto shop. Courses can be taken for credit at technical schools or for job preparation. The training covers things like auto body repair and painting.
The Auto Body Institute (TABI) - TABI is a trade organization for the advancement of the profession of auto body repair and pre-paint technology. Students are taught to become technicians, communication specialists, sales representatives, consultants and instructors.
Mobile Auto Repair Schools - Learn the necessary skills to be a mobile auto repair technician, which includes diesel and petroleum engine technology.
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2013 [ARTICLE START]
Signs warn drivers about speed traps using invisible radar guns. "You're ticketed for doing 43 in a 35 mph zone," says the sign at one of the 37 camera traps on the road. It's not surprising that these places are so heavily used. The Idaho Department of Transportation alone has $1 million in budgeted revenue from tickets issued to drivers who speed through intersections or stop signs to get past cameras or patrol officers on the street.
Statewide, the fines are up to $100 and they don't have to be paid until after the trial - if you go to court. "Consumers tend to squelch those tickets because the amount of the fine is so minimal," said Brian Plushke, a senior traffic engineer for IDOT.
The cameras are supposed to catch too fast drivers, although studies show that going 36 mph in a 25 mph zone can also get you a ticket. Some police officers also will give warnings for first-time offenders who run stop signs or red lights. They figure that's better than everyone getting a citation anyway, Plushke said.
Administrative traffic fines for speeding in Idaho range from $25 to $125, plus suspension of a driver's license for up to one year. The state doesn't set the fine amount; instead, it leaves that up to cities and counties, which also can add additional penalties. Cameras can cost around $3,000 each; that's how many were installed statewide, Plushke said.
Idaho lawmakers during the 2009 General Assembly session removed a requirement that police departments consider all traffic violations when setting speed limits and instead ordered the use of cameras and other traffic safety technologies as they are deemed "cost-effective.
"This is all about safety," Plushke said. "Safety for the motorist and safety for the motoring public. … We're very fortunate in Illinois to have relatively low fatality rates each year and we have been able to keep that trend going."
Rural areas are most likely to use photo enforcement, but the cameras can be found in Chicago-area school zones and suburban stretches with a history of speeding such as Lake Shore Drive and Cumberland Avenue, according to an AAA survey released last fall. The top three locales for speed cameras in Illinois were at Harlem Ave. on North Avenue; near North Chicago's Metra station; and at Montrose-Lee Sts. on the Near North Side.
Radar traps are first used to catch speeding drivers. Then, cameras are aimed at the spots where speeding is believed to be a problem.
If you believe that you were unfairly ticketed by driver-tracking cameras, contact the Illinois Attorney General's office for free legal help at www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov or 1-866-630-0020.
To obtain a copy of the videotape from any speed camera, go to: http://www.idotrevenuecorps.org/Automatic_Traffic_Safety_Cameras/Cameras_Videos/Default.aspx
DRIVER ATTENTION: For the past month, we've been talking about how Lisle pays $100 per ticket and that is the lowest fine they collect, while in Chicago and other areas they will pay up to $1,000. The reason we hear that is because of the settlement with the city of Chicago that was agreed upon. They were getting a raise and it was to settle a lawsuit filed by several plaintiffs for $9 million for someone suing them when he received a ticket in Chicago, which resulted in him having to have surgery and having his medical bills being paid.
The lawsuit was settled out of court and Lisle got 14 percent of what was paid out. The rest was divided between the city of Chicago and the 32 states that went after them. The money from Lisle was added to other money from other surrounding municipalities. It wasn't exactly $100.
It's come to our attention that people have received tickets because they were speeding to get somewhere in a hurry, like they might be late for work or an appointment, and they draw the conclusion that perhaps a person had time to speed if they weren't rushing somewhere.
This isn't true because everyone knows that when you are driving on the expressway, packs of cars tend to drive fast even when no one is in a hurry to get somewhere. It's like they are just driving fast to show off. They have time to slow down if they need to and that is why many have tickets.
As far as speeding, this is a very popular excuse, because people think that they've slowed down before the camera flashes and it doesn't matter that they sped up before the flash. This is incorrect because those cameras are set up on the expressway in a way that not only catches drivers who speed right before the flash, but also drivers who are speeding when passing another car or if you accelerate quickly for no reason. If you are going about 80 mph on a 70 mph expressway and suddenly slow down to 55 mph…that indicates you were speeding prior to slowing down.
If you do receive a ticket and believe it to be unjust, you have the right to ask for a re-evaluation. This means that if you feel it is unfair, the city can [compare] the camera photos against your car's license plate number and registered owner.
If they match up, they can still say that the photo is not a true depiction of what your speed was, making you liable for this ticket. If that happens, then you will have 30 days to send written proof to dispute this ticket.
The letter needs to clearly state why this ticket should be invalidated.
Conclusion: In cases like these, a certified letter would be the best way to go.
This is according to an AAA spokesman for Illinois. "That was the recommendation of our legal advisor," said Willard. "They felt that would be a good way to go."
In cases like these, you want to be careful with your wording and make it clear that you are disputing the validity of this ticket. If you just write a letter talking about what happened and state that the ticket is unfair…it will not have any effect on making your case valid because those people need proof of why this was done in error.