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Auto Insurance Fraud Ring Busted in Westchester, Bronx: DA? by Michael Wayton, Patch
ine people have been accused of committing insurance fraud using auto bod shops in southern estchester and the ron in ew or estchester ount istrict Attorney Anth ony A. S carp ino J r announced ec the ta edown of peration Sledgehammer, an enterprise insurance fraud scheme that operated in ew ochelle, others parts of estchester ount and the ron ive registered businesses and nine people were charged with felo-
n enterprise corruption for defrauding insurance companies b ma ing damage to cars worse and falsif ing insurance claims, resulting from a two ear investgation J osep h S . C ermele, of Scarsdale; Rang ee J aw ah ir, of obbs Ferry; Georg ette S . S loley ; of Mount ernon, and W ay ne M. S cott, of ridgeport were arrested ec and arraigned in ew ochelle it ourt, authorities said Ronnie Lee- Andro J aw ah ir, of ew ochelle Allan Ramdeo Ramiah , of ew ochelle RonSee Fraud Ring Busted, Page 11
Collision Repair Industry Associations Make 2021 New Year’s Resolutions by Chasidy Rae Sisk
n ew ear s Eve, people t picall en o re ecting on the ending ear, but has been a little chaotic, to sa the least
hile no one seems particularl sad to sa goodb e to , there s still e citement and hope for the incoming ear, e pressed b ma ing
ew ear s resolutions ollision repair industr associations are optimistic about the upcoming ear and graciousl agreed to share their ew ear s resolutions with Autobod ews
ecause has contained so man unprecedented events and situations, man associations resolutions See New Year’s Resolutions, Page 16
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AUTOBODYNEWS.COM Vol. 11 / Issue 10 / January 2021
After Historic Turnaround in Q3, U.S. Auto Dealer Current Market Sentiment Fades in Q4 S automobile dealer sentiment dropped in returning to its pre pandemic levels, according to the latest o Automotive ealer Sentiment nde A S he overall current mar et inde dropped below into negative territor with a score of , a statisticall significant point decrease from last uarter s ear over ear, the current mar et inde was up b points he A S research was underta en from ov to ov , immediatel after Election a and at a time when cases were surging in the S onversel ,
research was conducted in late ul and earl August, when vehicle sales were improving and dealerships were open for business, with some restrictions ealer sentiment declined in the fourth uarter as cases increased and mar et conditions became less than perfect compared to the third uarter, said C ox Aut om ot i v e hief Economist J onath an S mok e t is not all bad news, though As Smo e notes, elative to a ear ago, sentiment remains marginalSee Sentiment Fades, Page 22
Distracted Driving Skyrocketing During the Pandemic by Kea Wilson, StreetsBlog USA
A new study of COVID-era car crashes finds that a shoc ing of all drivers were using their cell phones within seconds of impact—and transaportation safet leaders are doing almost nothing to stop it, despite a preponderance of proven strategies that can compel us to put down our devices when we re behind the wheel n an anal sis of , collisions that too place on S roads in , mobilit anal sis firm endrive found our countr s record setting crash rates in the loc down months usuall involved dangerous distracted driving behaviors li e te ting behind the wheel, which is illegal in states Alarmingl , of drivers the compan studied were using their cell phones in the five seconds immediatel prior to impact—and the problem got increasingl worse as the ear wore on, and more and more cars returned to the road and rates of other dangerous behaviors,
li e speeding, dropped endrive s technolog wor s in the bac ground of a wide range of cell phone apps, from e ta i software to navigation services countless Americans use ever da , so the dangerous phenomenon cuts across both commercial and civilian driving hose earl da s of , of course, were an e ceptional time for S transportation ut e perts reiterated that distracted driving long predates the pandemic, and the recent upheaval in travel patterns onl underscores a long standing problem istracted driving is a needless crisis, and now as we navigate increased health ris s in our da to da , we need to prioriti e safet on the road, said J onath an Matus, endrive E and co founder e hope that sharing this data demonstrates the urgenc here, and sheds light on a e to eeping our communities safer f course, we now e actl how to stop drivers from scrollSee Distracted Driving, Page 18
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