The CarGurus Blog

Speeding is bad. Don’t do it.

That said, I know we all have been guilty of pushing the speedometer’s needle a few ticks above the posted legal limit. Most of us have even been caught and felt the adrenaline rush that comes with seeing the flashing red and blue in the rear-view mirror.

Sometimes people panic and try to talk the officer out of writing a ticket. In the few times I’ve been pulled over, I just cooperate, admit guilt, and take whatever the friendly officer decides to dish out. That strategy has worked out pretty well, as I have gotten only one ticket in my life for speeding.

The topic of speeding came up in conversation with a cop friend the other night, and he shared some funny, and common, excuses he heard during his time as a traffic cop. Learn from these, friends, and never utter the words you’re about to read.

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A friend of mine recently had his 1989 Mazda B2200 stolen for the second time in 3 years. That’s an unfortunate streak of bad luck, but on the flip side, at least he was lucky enough to get the truck back once. For most people, once a car is stolen, it lives on only in memory. If recovered, it is usually only a sad shell of its former self. (Please share a moment of silence for my beloved 1984 Toyota 4X4, stolen in its prime and recovered a week later, completely destroyed.)

I certainly have empathy for those who have to deal with a car theft and understand the desire to do almost anything to get the car back. Sometimes, though, the immediate decision to act isn’t the smartest choice.

Unless it works out.

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It’s not enough to be safe *inside* a Volvo.

Maybe the interior safety threshold has been met, or maybe engineers just wanted a challenging new project. Whatever the case, it seems pedestrians who might end up on the unfortunate end of a Volvo’s grille will be protected, too.

Yes, starting with the new V40, Volvo will introduce the first pedestrian airbags.

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My parents recently leased a new 2012 Subaru Legacy. They wanted a vehicle to replace their 2000 Honda CR-V, which served them well through many harsh Pacific Northwest winters.

This being their first winter with the car, they were interested to see how it did once the snow started piling up. Well, this week, they got their wish. With temps well below freezing and hard-packed snow covering many city streets, my mom approached the first incline of the season. She made it up the slope, stopped at the intersection and immediately slid to the curb. Like hot butter on a cold plate.

The AWD system of the Subaru wasn’t the issue here… it was obviously the tires. Which raised the question: Shouldn’t AWD cars sold in markets that get snow come equipped with proper tires?

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Imagine walking toward the entrance of your local grocery store when, as you pass the row of parked cars, you hear the clip-clop of an approaching horse.

Surprised, you stand still and wait, not wanting to get run over by a Clydesdale.

But instead of a majestic animal, a diminutive Nissan Leaf glides by, emanating the sound of hooves on pavement.

It seems ridiculous, but something similar could soon become law.

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The average driver drives drunk 87 times before his or her first arrest.

So for the people out there who believe they simply have good luck when driving after a few too many, please remember that your time could be about up and an arrest looms just around the next corner.

With celebrations carrying on into today, please remember that New Year’s Day is one of the deadliest on American roads. Avoid a DUI arrest, or worse, by simply not driving. While an arrest could mean a lot of things, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommends ignition interlocks for all people convicted of a DUI. That means every first-time offender couldn’t start his or her car until completing a breathalyzer test attached to the ignition.

Try impressing a date with that little process hanging over your head.

There are already 17 states that mandate ignition interlock devices for those convicted of DUI, and the NTSB has asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to speed up research into manufacturer-installed interlock devices.

Ideally, individual drivers would control their own destiny by not drinking and driving, but once judgment is clouded an on-board breathalyzer is probably a good idea.

For me, I don’t want the indignity of having an interlock device on my car, so I choose to celebrate in a spot that doesn’t require car keys.

Happy 2013, fellow CarGurus!

Should breathalyzer interlock devices be mandated on all new cars? 

-tgriffith

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Car Industry News, Car Minded, Car Politics, Car Safety, General Chat Driving Under the Influence, driving while intoxicated, dui, dwi, fatalities, ignition interlock, national highway traffic safety administration, National Transportation Safety Board, new years day, new years eve, nhtsa, ntsb, traffic fatalities

Volvo’s head of government affairs, Anders Eugensson, thinks cars should be more like horses: incapable of crashing into stuff.

Eugensson said,

The car of the future will be just like the farmer’s horse. The farmer can steer the horse and carriage but if he falls asleep the horse can still take him back home…. And if the farmer tries to steer the carriage against a tree or off a cliff, the horse will refuse.

Seems like logical inspiration for a car, right? Lots of farmers I know fall asleep in their carriages after trying to steer them off cliffs. Hmmm, maybe it’s a Swedish thing.

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Next to drinking and driving, texting while driving is the surest way to cause impairment in a driver’s ability to control a car and react to quickly changing traffic conditions.

Now that smart phones have infiltrated nearly every section of humanity (hey, I just got one, which is a sure sign everyone else in the world already did), they are wreaking havoc on the focus of drivers everywhere. With Facebook updates, NFL scores and email access just a thumb-swipe away, it’s easier and more tempting than ever to take eyes off the road and lose them in the all-too-familiar comfort of the retina display touchscreen.

A USA Today report cites a study that recently polled 4,000 drivers aged 18 and up. The study discovered a truly alarming amount of people surf the web while driving, which apparently is now known as “webbing.” (No comment on the lameness of that new word!)

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2012 Audi TT RS

At yesterday’s Thanksgiving festivities, my sister-in-law discreetly pulled me aside saying she had a question. In a tone of voice just beyond a whisper, she said, “I really like the new Subaru BRZ. It must be all-wheel-drive, because it’s a Subaru, right?”

She looked hopefully at me, as though confirming her inquiry would result in a trip to the dealer for a Black Friday shopping extravaganza. Of course, I had to let her down gently.

“Well, actually, the BRZ was developed as a sports car project with Toyota and comes only in rear-wheel-drive….”

I could see her hopes deflate before my eyes, the visions of Northwest winters in a Subaru sports car fading from her mind. I tried to offer some hope, though, with a list of some other fun sports cars that would be suitable for one of our typical snow and ice-filled winters.

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Water enters a parking garage in New York City

The devastation of Hurricane Sandy is hard to witness. Lost lives and destroyed property put into perspective what is important in life, but they also force us to deal with the effects and consequences of natural disasters.

After we make sure people are safe and the basic infrastructure of our cities is up and running again, we’re eventually going to have to deal with lost and damaged vehicles. A lot of them.

The issue of flooded cars has been covered here before, but after this storm the problem needs to be addressed again. We don’t know how many vehicles were lost in the massive storm, but it’s safe to say more than we can even estimate right now will be totalled out by insurance companies. Unfortunately, many of these flooded cars will be shipped across the country and re-sold. In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma damaged over 600,000 cars. Many of those still come up for sale today.

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