Ask Deputy Joe

Q: I moved to Florida from the North about five years ago and I cannot understand why so many drivers in this area remain in the passing lane for miles without making a turn. This is one of my pet peeves; in your opinion am I right?

A: St. Johns County does not have specific lanes for passing other than the designated travel lanes on Interstate 95. Checking with several of our traffic personnel I was told there is no Florida State Statue prohibiting vehicles from traveling in the left lane unless posted “Slower Traffic Stay to the Right.”

Q: Recently at one of your presentations you mentioned the word ICE pertaining to a cell phone. What does that mean?

A: ICE is acronym for “In Case Of Emergency” these are numbers stored in your cell phone’s electronic address book that should be called in an emergency situation. Example “ICE Dad Jones” or “ICE Alison Smith” also, you can use numerical designator, such as “ICE 1 Dad Jones”, or “ICE 2 Alison Smith,” etc. to depict an order of those who should be called. Paramedics, police, deputies and firefighters often waste valuable time to figure out which name in a cell phone to call when disaster / emergency has occurred.

Many people identify their spouse by name in their cell phone, making them indistinguishable from other entries, always be specific relationship and last name (as stated example “ICE Dad Jones”). Sometimes dialing the number for “Mom or Dad” might not be appropriate, particularly if they are elderly, or suffer from ill health. By utilizing “ICE,” precious time would be saved by allowing rescue workers to reach the appropriate person in a few seconds. Most everyone has a cell phone today and they do carry it with them we have this technology let’s use it.

Q: If there is a sign at a stand alone restaurant or other business that says “Patron Only Parking” does that include the designated handicap parking?

A: Restaurant or other business located on private property will designate spaces for handicap parking for their customers.

Individuals in need of a handicap parking permit can go to the St. Johns Count Tax Collector’s Office right off Lewis Speedway in the rear of the courthouse and pick-up an application for the permit. The permit must be completed by the applicant or authorized person and the physician certifying the disability. You must have a Florida License Number or Florida Identification Card Number to complete the form. The form has two pages the first page for the information and the second page explaining the provision of the law.

Reminder: I will be at the Senior Expo on April 12 at the Ponce De Leon Mall between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to answer questions.

DEPUTY JOE BOWEN
St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office
David B. Shoar Sheriff

Bi-monthly Question and Answer Column, “Ask Deputy Joe” is available to anyone interested in asking him question. Call Deputy Joe Bowen at the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, 810-6668 and please leave your question on the answering machine or E-mail jbowen@sjso.org.