It Figures

45

The number of ATV-related deaths in West Virginia in 2007, prompting Huntington’s City Council’s vote to ban all-terrain vehicles from public roads and property. The unanimous vote on April 28 modifies a 2004 law banning ATVs from roads with center lines. Sixty percent of last year’s deaths occurred on paved roads. The state set a record in 2006 when at least 54 people died in ATV-related accidents.

61

The miles of rail line the Florida Department of Transportation wanted to buy from rail giant CSX to implement commuter service in Central Florida. Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink warned legislators that Florida taxpayers would be on the hook for losses due to train accidents in the proposed deal. Sink said the liability would rest on a no-fault principle, meaning taxpayers would be responsible for paying the bill in several accident scenarios, even if CSX is completely at fault. The deal did not come to fruition.

$5 Million

The amount of a grant the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded to West Virginia’s highway safety program on April 30 because the state has one of the highest seat belt usage rates in the nation. Vice Admiral Thomas J. Barrett, deputy secretary of Transportation, says West Virginia was among five states with a seat belt usage rate of at least 85 percent for two years. The grant will be used to buy electronic reporting equipment and to fund driver behavior programs and impaired driving prevention efforts.

150

The number of sandbag structures protecting North Carolina beach property from coastal erosion that officials plan to remove after inspection. As part of the process, state Division of Coastal Management regulators will inspect all the state’s 370 known sandbag structures. Those that are covered with sand and natural vegetation will be allowed to remain in place, but the state will order property owners to remove exposed sandbags.

120

The number of pages comprising Florida’s Senate Bill 2860 and passed by the House on April 30 that will more tightly regulate private property insurers and provide incentives to attract new companies to enter the state’s marketplace. The bill also extends a rate freeze for hundreds of thousands of Citizens Insurance policy holders for another year and prevents companies from raising rates while awaiting state approval for the increase.