HELOISE: GPS devices have their limitations

Dear Heloise: I am a drug-interdiction officer and work a lot of traffic stops. I use speed-detection equipment (radar) in my work. Weekly, I encounter dozens of drivers using their GPS (Global Positioning System) to tell them the speed limit. There is the problem. GPS devices are not accurate when it comes to speed limits.

Recently, I encountered a lady who adamantly argued that the speed limit was 70 mph because that’s what her GPS said. In fact, she was stopped in a 55-mph speed zone and was about 100 feet away from a speed-limit sign increasing the speed limit to 65 mph. Her GPS was showing 70 as the speed limit. She got a speeding ticket.

The electronic-gadget age is great; however, some of it cannot be relied upon. It is just not that accurate or foolproof. If you want to save hundreds of dollars in traffic fines and even more on your car insurance, and keep your driver’s license clean, use the old-fashioned way. Observe the posted speed-limit signs on the highway. I will assure you that you will save money and, most of all, the frustration of receiving a speeding ticket.

A Thoughtful Police Officer in Texas

Dear Thoughtful Police Officer: You have done my readers a great service and just might save some from receiving an expensive ticket.

Heloise

Dear Heloise: Selling or trading your vehicle? Erase the memory of your built-in garage-door-opening system by pushing the two outside buttons until the indicator light begins to flash after 20 seconds.

Joe, via e-mail

Good point, and one most people probably don’t think about. Thanks so much for this important reminder. Check the owners manual for your vehicle to see how the memory can be erased if the above method doesn’t work.

Heloise

Dear Heloise: Sometimes when I fill up at the gas station, the fuel dispenser doesn’t provide a paper receipt. Rather than go inside and wait in line, I take a snapshot of the digital readout on the dispenser with my cell-phone camera. Within seconds, I’m on my way.

Tim in Texas

Dear Heloise: When using rolls of postage stamps, open the roll from the inside instead of the outside. The stamps will stay in neat and can be pulled out right side up for “righties” and from the bottom for “lefties.” No more need for a stamp dispenser.

Leona, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: Having been hospitalized too many times to count, I learned to simply tell people to stay away until I’m back home. My husband fully supports me in spreading that message. I am hospitalized because I am sick. I am not in the hospital to preside as hostess over a social occasion. Flowers and cards, however, are greatly appreciated.

Jennifer in Texas

Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to 210-HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise @Heloise.com.

King Features Syndicate