New 'Super Speeder Law' Starts New Year with New Fines

Georgia drivers should mark that date on their calendars and put a sticky note next to their keys.. January 1st, 2010. It’s the day the new state ‘Super Speeder Law’ goes into effect in Georgia. And any high-risk drivers who make a habit of ignoring posted speed limits will be the first to feel the pinch of higher state fines (called fees) on their wallets.

How much higher? The new law titled HB160 tacks-on another two-hundred-dollar state-fee for any driver convicted of speeding at 75-or-more on any two-lane roads.. OR convicted of speeding at 85-and-over anywhere in Georgia. Those new state fees will be in addition to any local fines already in effect in the jurisdiction where the speeding offense occurs.

Who is a SuperSpeeder? Under the provisions of this new Georgia law, any driver convicted of violating HB160 will now be classified by the state as a ‘Super Speeder’ and subject to an additional fee. The new ‘SuperSpeeder Law’ is designed to get tough on high-risk drivers who’ve been endangering other motorists and ignoring warnings to slow down. On average, there’s a speed-related death-a-day in Georgia!

The ‘SuperSpeeder Law’ established the new state fees to help police put the brakes on Georgia’s dangerous and illegal speeders. Failure to pay the ‘SuperSpeeder’ fee results in an additional $50.00 fee and the suspension of the offender’s driving privileges and license. ‘SuperSpeeder’ is a highway safety law designed to save lives on our roads by changing the way illegal speeders drive in Georgia.. By slowing them down within legal limits.

And these new fees will save lives another way. Fees collected under the new ‘SuperSpeeder Law’ will be used to help fund Georgia’s trauma care hospital system where approximately sixty-percent of all trauma-care-patients are crash-related. Now for the first time, ‘SuperSpeeders’ will help pay for the hospital beds where their crash-victims are being treated.

Drivers need to remember: There are safety reasons for posted speed limits. Any time motorists drive at illegal speeds they put themselves, their passengers and others at tremendous risk. Crash forces double on impact with every ten mph increase in speed above fifty. Speed reduces the amount of available time needed to avoid a crash. Georgia’s new ‘SuperSpeeder Law’ and fees go into effect January 1st, 2010. Learn more at www.superspeedergeorgia.org .

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Federal OSHA Issues Third Largest Fine in History Following Sugar Refinery Explosion

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today (July 25, 2008) issued citations proposing penalties totaling $8,777,500 against the Imperial Sugar Co. and its two affiliates alleging violations at their plants in Port Wentworth, Ga., and Gramercy, La. OSHA initiated the inspections following an explosion and fire on Feb. 7, 2008, at the Port Wentworth refinery that claimed the lives of 13 employees and hospitalized 40 others. Three employees still remain hospitalized. The proposed penalties against Imperial Sugar represent the third largest fine in the history of OSHA.

OSHA's inspections of both facilities found that there were large accumulations of combustible sugar dust in workrooms, on electrical motors and on other equipment. The investigation also determined that officials at the company were well aware of these conditions, but they took no action reasonably directed at reducing the obvious hazards.

"I am outraged that this company would show a complete disregard for its employees' safety by knowingly placing them in an extremely dangerous work environment," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Edwin G. Foulke Jr. He added, "What is even worse is that a month after the devastating catastrophe in Port Wentworth that claimed the lives of 13 people, this company had done little to ensure abatement of the combustible dust hazards at its other plant. If OSHA investigators had not inspected and posted an imminent danger notice regarding areas at the second plant, the same thing could have happened again."

OSHA proposed $5,062,000 in penalties for safety violations at the Port Wentworth refinery and $3,715,500 for safety violations found at the Gramercy refinery. The citations include 108 instances of willful violations related to the combustible dust hazard, including the failure to clean up dust and not using appropriate equipment or safeguards where combustible dust is present. OSHA also has issued 10 citations for other willful violations, 100 citations for serious violations and four citations for other-than-serious safety and health violations.

The company has 15 business days to contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. OSHA's Savannah, Ga., area office staff inspected the Port Wentworth site, while the agency's Baton Rouge, La., area office staff inspected the Gramercy, La., location.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to promote the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

Oxendine Revokes Life Company's License, Fines Insurer $214,000

Insurance Commissioner John W. Oxendine announced recently that he has
revoked the certificate of authority of Trans World Assurance to operate in Georgia, and
has fined the company $214,000. In addition, the Commissioner has ordered the
company to refund monies collected from active duty members of the United States
Armed Forces related to products it has sold in Georgia since September 2007.

“Due to multiple violations of the state insurance code, I feel I have no option but
to revoke Trans World’s license to operate in the state,” Oxendine said. “What makes
these violations particularly egregious is that they targeted our men and women in
uniform.”

The Commissioner held a hearing May 5 and 6 of this year to investigate
allegations that the company sold a life insurance policy containing an illegal component
to military personnel between September 2007 and March 2008. The product, called
“Flexible Dollar Builder,” includes a provision known as an accumulation fund.

The Commissioner found that provisions of the accumulation fund violated Georgia’s
Military Sales Practices Regulation and the Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The company further violated regulations by selling life policies to service
members already covered under Service Members Group Life Insurance (SGLI) without
making the required assessment to determine whether the service member needed
additional life insurance.

Although the company may not sell new policies in Georgia, it must continue to
service existing contracts which were sold before September, 2007. The company must
also honor the contracts issued subsequent to September 1, 2007, until it has made the
refunds required by the order.