A few traffic laws may surprise you

Drive sober or get pulled over. Click it or Ticket. You’ve heard these campaigns and because of them, you may be familiar with the laws. If you drink and drive, you get a DUI. If you don’t wear your seatbelt you receive a citation.

But have you heard about the new campaign “Speed in the left lane because everyone is doing it” (maybe they forgot to launch this one)? Or read the fine print of Georgia’s texting and driving laws?

You are responsible for following all of Georgia’s driving laws-even the lesser known driving ones.

Here are a few laws Georgia drivers could encounter:

• You may have heard about the man in Cobb County earlier this year who was pulled over and issued a citation for eating and driving. Although the man may not have thought so, the officer had the right to issue a ticket under the distracted driving law. This is the same law that covers texting and driving.

• It is very clear that you cannot text while driving, but what about when you are stopped at a traffic light? The statute has no provision that prohibits texting while moving, the statute prohibits texting while operating a motor vehicle. The take away: Put your phone away while you are behind the wheel.

• “I’m going 5 miles over the speed limit, what more do you want me to do?”The Georgia “Slowpoke law” wants you to get out of the way. Speeders claim victory with the “Slowpoke Law” that went into effect in 2014. This law requires slower cars to move over when a faster car in the left lane approaches you while driving. It doesn’t even matter if you are going the speed limit-turn on your blinker, move over, and let the Georgia State Patrol catch them a few miles ahead.

A few other laws to keep in mind: The center lane is for left hand turns only and cannot be used to merge into traffic. Moving over a lane for police vehicles is expected, but you must also give HERO vehicles and even garbage trucks a lane of space.

One other thing to remember: Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Teachers who resigned under pressure may have new opening to return to teaching

Layoffs during the recession. Low-paying positions. Fewer college students entering the profession. Political scrutiny. It’s a perfect storm for many metro Atlanta school districts, one that has created the highest number of teaching vacancies in recent years. That’s good news for some teachers who have left the profession, even those who resigned under pressure.

According to a recent article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, thousands of metro Atlanta students started the school year without a permanent certified teacher in the classroom. That’s partially due to fewer people entering the profession — about 12,500 people received teaching certificates in Georgia in 2008, and by 2010, that number had dropped to 8,520.

To this reduction in certificates we can add teacher layoffs during the recession, stagnant pay and education budget cuts. It’s a pattern repeated around the country in states like California, Oklahoma and Rhode Island.

In some cases, the shortage brings new opportunity to teachers who resigned under pressure. Even a voluntary resignation may not have been all that “voluntary.” Some teachers may have been in a position where they felt they had no choice but to resign.

In the past, situations like this were automatic black marks on good teachers who left for minor infractions. Breaking a contract or resignation is not the deal-breaker it might have been a few years ago.

For example, the Atlanta Public School District’s cheating scandal prompted a wave of zero-tolerance and occasionally rash decisions about teacher behavior related to test taking. While 11 APS educators were convicted in this scandal, it had a chilling effect on other school districts that affected many more teachers. In some cases, teachers resigned before they were fired because of what in another political climate might have been considered a minor infraction.

A few years ago, a teacher who resigned from one school district wouldn’t even consider applying for a certified position in another. That’s simply not the case anymore. Good teachers who want to get back into the classroom can use this current shortage to their advantage — and they should.

CNO’s Bettina Davies is a network attorney for PAGE, Professional Association of Georgia Educators. Call 770-528-0150 with questions about your rights as a teacher in Georgia.

No ‘wife bonus’? You can still document your value to the family

A recent book, “Primates of Park Avenue,” prompted a barrage of media coverage when it introduced the concept of a “wife bonus” — an annual bonus for a stay-at-home mom based on the corporate bonus of her husband. While media attention caused the author Wednesday Martin to backpedal on exactly how widespread this practice is on the Upper East Side of New York City, it raises an interesting question: How does a wife who doesn’t work outside of the home value her contribution and income? With no paycheck and no easily identifiable stream of income, divorcing women can hit a roadblock in court. But put divorce aside. Every woman needs to have intricate financial knowledge about her family’s income, and take deliberate steps to build her own net worth, separate and apart from her husband. 

Here are some ideas that will help:

Build a relationship with your financial advisor. Do you know all the details about your investments? IRAs? Accounts separate from your general checking and savings accounts? You should. Money travels many paths through a family’s financial network.

Track expenses. This means ALL expenses. Little details can make a big difference. From daycare to annual couple’s vacations, you need a true understanding of how much it costs to be you.

Review insurance. Your life insurance should be separate from your husband’s, and you will want to understand how much insurance both or you have for the future. Insurance also has a bearing on your net worth.

Have access to cash. Yes, cash is king. You should have a readily available stream of cash in case of emergency — or in case your access to joint accounts becomes limited.

Need help negotiating delicate family issues? We can help with estate planning, divorce, custody and more.

Do you have the right legal documents ready for your college student?

If you have a child leaving for college soon, here is one more item to add to your to-do list: Execute an advance directive for health care. Sure, you want your young adult to gradually accept personal responsibility. And surely you want to avoid the dreaded label-helicopter mom. But push the pause button long enough to ensure that if the unmentionable happens and your child becomes incapacitated, you are the one carrying out the health care decisions your child has decided are best for him or her.

Executing a Georgia Advanced Directive for Healthcare authorizes the person designated to carry out the medical decisions on behalf of another person. If your child has not signed this document, and he or she becomes incapacitated, you may need court approval to act on his or her behalf.

This health care directive can be established so that it becomes effective the moment your child signs it, or you your child can specify that it becomes active by a specific event — for instance, if he or she becomes unable to make health care decisions.

Own a vacation home? Know your responsibilities.

Tis the season for beach vacations. If you are a vacation homeowner, you’re wearing the hat of landlord whether you want to or not. Whether you own a vacation home along Florida’s 30A beaches, on St. Simons Island, or somewhere in between, understanding your responsibilities as a homeowner can make vacation season a success. The laws governing home ownership vary from state-to-state. You need personal advice relating to your specific situation, but here are some general tips for you to consider:

Spell out your cancellation clause in writing. It should cover not only the period leading up to the rental, but also include other situations when the renter may want to terminate a stay, including during the vacation week itself. Ants in the bedroom? Broken air conditioner? Barking dog next door? A clearly spelled out cancellation clause can walk the traveler through the protocol of cancellation— including how, if, and how much — money will be returned.

Understand premises liability. Laws covering premises liability focus a great deal on the status of the person on the property. Were they an invited guest? Social guest? Trespasser? As a homeowner you can be liable for certain events that take place on your property. It is important that you understand the scope of your insurance. For example, in many cases, your homeowner’s policy will not cover acts on the property that pertain to “business activity.” Talk to your insurance agent to be clear whether “business activity” includes paying guests who stay in your home.

Require damage insurance. Many vacation homeowners today forego a cash or credit card security deposit, opting instead to require guests to purchase an independent third-party damage protection. One example is the damage protection policy promoted by CSA. Policies priced between $49 and $89 — a one-time fee, paid by the traveler direct to the insurer — can cover up to $5,000 in damage to your property.

Do you have a question about your responsibilities as a vacation homeowner? Contact members of the CNO team at 770-528-0150.

Have a young football player? Know the risks.

Football is a great sport, but it can be risky. Since 1997, approximately 50 teen-age players in high school and youth leagues have died or sustained serious head injuries on the field. For every 10,000 games or practices, 11 high school aged or younger players suffer concussions. The rate for college players is about 6.3 for every 10,000.

Why is there a difference? Traditionally, college sports are more closely supervised from a medical standpoint. Especially in recent years as professional players have brought the issue forward in lawsuits.

So what is a parent of a young player to do? The first step is to decide whether you want your child to play football. Some parents have voted “no.” Although thousands of children play the game without long-term harm, many parents don’t believe the risk of serious injury is worth the joy of the game.

If you do choose to let your son (or, occasionally these days, daughter) play, here are some tips to follow:

• Be aware of the quality of medical supervision on the team. School districts across Georgia have increased their vigilance about injuries, but some schools commit more resources to safety than others. Learn if your team is taking all precautions and employing qualified personnel.
• Stay current on developments in equipment. Recently, a brand of popular lacrosse helmets was found to be below standards. You can’t keep up pressure on those governing your child’s sport if you don’t arm yourself with data about safety and equipment.

The topic of concussions is all over the news these days, so there is no excuse for sport’s supervisors not to be aware of their responsibilities. If school or youth league personnel show reckless disregard for safety, then legal action could be justified. Let’s hope it never comes to that. Football is more popular than ever, but it won’t remain so if it becomes intolerably dangerous.