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Mini Coopers didn't fare well in the report on cost of crash repairs.
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Bridge near Lake Anna prompts concerns about safety

Can anyone do anything about signs that pop up along the sign of the road?

Date published: 6/15/2009


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By Kelly Hannon

DO YOU DRIVE a minicar, such as a Chevrolet Aveo, Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio, Mini Cooper, Smart Fortwo or Toyota Yaris? Leave a lot of distance between your car and the vehicle in front of you--or following behind.

A new Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study found that even fender-benders at low speeds could stick you with a big repair bill,

Only the Smart Fortwo wound up with a bill the IIHS found "acceptable." The Chevrolet Aveo performed marginally. Every other minicar performed poorly. For instance, repairs for a front full bumper crash in a Kia Rio cost $3,701 to fix.

IIHS says the steep bills are notable given the reasons people often buy minicars: to save money on gas and other expenses.

Read the full study at iihs.org, where you can watch crash-test videos.

Dear Kelly: State Route 601 (Lawyers Road) north and east of Lake Anna State Park has been closed for almost two years due to a small bridge requiring repairs. The detour around the closed bridge is over a very narrow unmarked road with large trees just a couple of feet from the pavement edge--an accident waiting to happen. Why can't VDOT or the county fix the bridge? The bridge is very small and would require very little money to repair. None of my friends and neighbors will drive the detour at night due to the dangerous situation.

--B.E. Madden, Spotsylvania

A bridge inspection found the bridge was unsafe to use, due to age and deterioration. Unfortunately, the needed repairs are not small--the bridge needs to be completely reconstructed, at a cost estimated at $570,000.

The Virginia Department of Transportation is preparing to advertise the project for construction in July, said Tina Bundy, VDOT spokeswoman for the Fredericksburg District. If the project is advertised then, a bid may be awarded as soon as October. Construction would begin immediately, with work wrapping up in mid- to late December, Bundy said. "We do realize the detour is difficult to maneuver, but it is the only detour that's available in that area," Bundy said.

A number of small bridge repairs in the Fredericksburg area were recently funded with federal stimulus funds, but this project wasn't one of them. This money is coming from the state's road construction fund.


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Date published: 6/15/2009


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Sign Police? (posted by GaryShorts , June 15, 2009 12:02 pm)   
Should there be a sign police? Well if we can find an extra $1.5 million in the budget after high priorities like drug enforcement and traffic duty are meet then we could have a sign police. Or maybe if people would stop murdering, robbing, and raping then police could handle the real crimes like yard sale signs.

UNAUTHORIZED MAINTENANCE (posted by Wasp52 , June 15, 2009 11:27 am)   
I don't agree with it, but it Is the terminolgy used if you get arrested for pulling up signs that are illegally placed on the right of way. I can't cite when it happened, but it did occur sometime in NOVA, when a couple of guys cleaned up a bunch of real estate signs. That, instead of a handshake or pat on the back. It probably got dismissed before trial.

Signs (posted by TPKeller , June 15, 2009 10:10 am)   
I've seen folks in the act of posting these signs, if I snap a picture of them in the process, who can I send it to for prosecution? Are citizens generally allowed to clean this litter from the side of the road on their own? If you decide to remove the litter yourself, you should probably keep an eye over your shoulder for the litterer who no doubt believes they have the "right" to litter in this manner, and would view your clean-up a threat to their livelihood, and very well may threaten you for doing it.

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