Recent Puerto Rico Shipping News

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Legal considerations
Customizations
Wrapping up
 

Legal considerations

Yet another thing the United States and Puerto Rico have in common is having to drive with a valid license plate attached to your car so that it is clearly visible. If you drive your car without a license plate, or an expired one, expect to get pulled over and get an expensive ticket or two. The three most common license plate violations and the corresponding fines in Puerto Rico are:

• Unreadable license plate – minimum $100 fine
• Driving with another vehicle’s plate – minimum $1,000 fine
• Driving without a license plate – (often just enforced for the rear of the vehicle) minimum $100 fine
• Altering a license plate – minimum $100 fine

So, you cannot drive with someone else’s license plate, whether they gave you permission or not. You cannot alter your plate, so this means you cannot paint it, draw on it or put decals/stickers on it. Your license plate must also be readable so you cannot have a tinted visor over it and your tag lights must be working so that it will be readable at night. These fines are all dependent upon the fact that you are an actual licensed driver with an insured and registered (up to date “marbete”) vehicle. If not, there will be additional fines and/or possible arrest.

If you need a new license plate in Puerto Rico you will have to go to the Department of Transportation and Public Works (Departamento de Transportación y Obras Públicas) which is often abbreviated as DTOP. The DTOP is the Puerto Rican version of the Department of Motor Vehicles. Make sure your car has been registered before you do this, otherwise you will be unable to get your plates. Once you have been approved for your plates you will be given temporary tags and then you will get your actual license plates via the mail about a week or two later.

In certain situations, the police may even choose to remove your license plate so that you will not be able to drive your car anywhere without being pulled over again. Having an expired inspection sticker or not having an inspection at all is an example of an offense where police in Puerto Rico can do this. In addition, you will receive fines and you will be without your plate for several days until you are able to pick it up.
 

Customizations

There are several different types of special license plates that are legal to drive with in Puerto Rico. However, not everyone can choose any plate. For example, only handicapped people can have a handicapped plate. Regardless, there are several types of non-standard license plates that you could see or possibly get yourself in Puerto Rico. They are:

• Personalized – Much like you often see in the United States, these are regular license plates with a customized message as the six characters on the plate rather than a typical license plate number.
• Government – Government plates in Puerto Rico have unique designs, list the title of the particular government official and often only have three numbers instead of six numbers or characters.
• Historical/Antique – Historical and antique license plates in Puerto Rico are only given to cars that are actual historical/antique vehicles and have that status officially registered. These plates are also have unique designs and typically pay homage to the particular style of car that they are affixed to.
• Handicapped – Handicapped plates and parking works the same in Puerto Rico as it does in the United States, if you do not have a handicapped plate or placard, you cannot use a handicapped space. If you have both either, you may use a handicapped space.

Wrapping up

Your license plate is obviously a tremendously important part of being able to drive legally in Puerto Rico. You must always have one affixed to the appropriate places on the front and the back of your vehicle. On top of that, they must be your plates, you cannot alter them, and they must always be completely visible. There are several types of non-standard license plates in Puerto Rico including government, historical or antique, and handicapped plates.

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Keeping a safe distance
Other precautions
Wrapping up
 

Keeping a safe distance

Driving correctly and safely around motorcycles is extremely important because of the potential for damage both to the bike and rider being exponentially worse than if you hit a typical passenger car. Even what would be a low-speed fender bender could cause a catastrophic injury to the motorcycle rider if they fall from their bike the right way.

Obviously, it is always quite important to keep a safe distance between you and the vehicle driving in front of you. However, with the increased risk of serious injury associated with getting into an accident with a motorcycle you must increase that distance. Also, motorcycles tend to travel at higher speeds than more orthodox vehicles. This means they will have less reaction time thus increasing the likelihood they might stop short in front of you. Motorcycle riders also tend not to brake in order to decrease speed but rather they shift gears in order to slow down more gradually because braking too hard or suddenly could put them at risk of being thrown from their bike. What this means for someone driving behind them is that they might be reducing speed without ever having their brake lights on.

These things won’t be an issue if you have the correct distance between you and them. It is recommended that you keep at least four seconds of space between you and them. To calculate this, all you need to do is pick a road marking that the motorcyclist travels over/past. As soon as they are at that point, start counting. If it takes less than four seconds for you to reach the same marking, you are too close.
 

Other precautions

Beyond keeping a safe distance when driving behind a motorcycle, you should also take a few other simple precautions when driving with motorcycles in your proximity on the road. You should pay extra close attention to your blind spots if you are going to change lanes or turn anywhere near a motorcycle as they are much smaller than regular cars and can be much harder to see. Be sure to always signal with the proper amount of time before performing a lane change because some motorcyclists will unsafely ride in between lanes. If you suddenly change lanes and a nearby rider is doing this the result could be a disaster.

Finally, make sure that you give even more distance in front of you than four seconds if you are driving on a rough road, near a construction zone or in bad weather. A motorcyclist faces much more uncertainty if they hit a pothole or a deep puddle than the driver of a traditional car does. Thus, they tend to make quick maneuvers to avoid such obstacles rather than driving over/through them. Giving them even more space will allow them the latitude to do so.
 

Wrapping up

In conclusion, driving near any motorcycles out on the road could possibly create an unsafe situation for yourself and anyone else in your car but it poses much more risk for the motorcyclists themselves. Unfortunately, some motorcycle riders put themselves in a bad position with unsafe driving habits like traveling at unsafe speeds and riding in between lanes. The upside is that you can minimize the potential effect these driving habits have on safety by choosing to drive even more cautiously than normal around motorcycles. This includes putting more distance between you and them as well as always using proper signaling.

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How idling increases pollution
How to avoid idling
Wrapping up
 

How idling increases pollution

Whenever you run a non-electric car’s engine, you are contributing to harmful pollution. If it is a pure gas run engine, it leads to the most pollution created by any type of engine. It is fine to drive whatever type of car you have whenever you need to. However, letting your car run while it is parked for any reason is an unnecessary contribution to the pollution of the earth’s atmosphere. This ends up hurting the environment and our health simultaneously.

To put things in a clearer perspective, every time that your car burns through a gallon of gas, it produces approximately twenty pounds of greenhouse gasses. This means that if you idle your car through just one gallon of gas per week, for the year you will be producing just over a thousand pounds of greenhouse gasses.
 

How to avoid idling

If the motivation for environmental safety and your health isn’t enough, consider that you are also needlessly burning through gas when you idle your vehicle’s engine so it can end up costing you quite a bit of money. So, if you want to avoid idling your car’s engine, there are several ways you can do so. This is especially true in Puerto Rico where you will never have the temptation to “warm up” your car in cold weather.

The first way for you to avoid idling your engine is to shut your engine off when you are stopped for twenty seconds or more unless you are currently in traffic. You can also do your best to merge your trips together which would result in less overall use of your car and less temptation to leave it idling. If you have passengers in your car and they do not want to sit in a hot parked car while you run into the store, ask them to come in with you rather than sitting in the car with the air conditioning on. Finally, you can always leave a reminder on your dashboard such as a post-it note which will ensure you do not forget to shut off your engine.
 

Wrapping up

When you idle your car’s engine you are doing completely avoidable yet irreversible damage to the environment and possibly even your health. It is quite important that you do whatever you can in order to avoid idling your vehicle’s engine. You can make this easier by combining the trips you take with your car, ensuring that you always shut your engine off after being stopped for twenty seconds plus, you can leave a reminder on your dash board near the ignition to shut your engine off and you can encourage passengers to leave your car with you when you need to run an errand. If you ever need to ship a vehicle to or from the port at San Juan, visit our homepage for a free instant quote!

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Protect your interior
Inexpensive replacement
Wrapping up
 

Protect your interior

You can look at seat covers for your vehicle’s seats like couch covers. They will help the interior of your car potentially last forever without stains or damage. However, seat covers for your car actually look good and can add to your car’s overall aesthetic unlike plastic couch covers. They are also very comfortable as well. They can even increase comfort and lessen tension and stress on your back as you drive.

Unless you are meticulous about not having food, drink and smoking in your car, your interior will likely incur some damage or stains over the years. Even if you are, dirt and other things from you or your passengers clothing can unknowingly stain or damage your car seats material. That is why car seat covers are the best option in terms of protecting your interior. Anything like a spill, tear or burn becomes much less of an issue when it affects just one car seat cover. Obviously, this will also save you a bunch of money in the process.
 

Inexpensive replacement

Seat covers can save you money in a couple of ways, not just by protecting your interior. By keeping your interior in mint condition, they prevent unnecessary depreciation which helps keep the resale value of your car high. Even if you do damage your car’s interior and then get it reupholstered, it will likely not recover the full depreciation of having to make that repair. They also can spare you the cost of getting your car detailed as you can hand wash or machine wash them on a gentle cycle. As was previously stated, seat covers can save you a ton of money when you can avoid reupholstering a seat. The cost of reupholstering a seat can be five hundred dollars or even more while a car seat cover typically costs between one or two hundred dollars.
 

Wrapping up

Car seat covers can actually save you a bunch of time and money. They will potentially protect your seats from stains, tears and burns. Seat covers can also be easily washed. The expenses that they can spare you are depreciation of your car’s value, having to get it detailed and/or having to get one or more seats reupholstered. If you need any sort of car or vehicle transported to or from Puerto Rico, get a free quote by calling Puerto Rico Car Transport now at (904) 322-7644!

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What the car shipping company does to protect your car
What you can do to protect your car
Final Word
 

What the car shipping company does to protect your car

Keeping your car safe during transport is the top priority of your shipping company while it ships. Getting your vehicle to its destination on time is obviously also a priority but making sure your car does not incur damage during shipment is paramount. Your shipping company will do several things in order to ensure your car’s safety as it ships.

First, your car gets carefully driven onto and placed on the car carrier. The placement of the cars matters, so the fact is that your driver is experienced and meticulously careful when getting your car onto the carrier. Next, your car transport driver will secure your car to the transport carrier truck through a series of tightly secured straps and chains. These straps and chains will ensure that your vehicle does not move while it is being shipped. However, the chains and straps themselves are attached in such a way that makes certain they will not damage your car.

Finally, your car shipping company will offer insurance for your shipment. In a general sense, this will work like other forms of insurance in that it will prevent you from being financially liable in the rare case that an accident of some sort does occur. Specifically, if something does happen to your car during transport, it is quite likely that the shipping insurance will cover any damage.
 

What you can do to protect your car

The two easiest things you can do to increase the safety of your car during shipping is to choose to ship in an enclosed carrier and/or choose to top-load your vehicle. Shipping in an enclosed carrier will prevent any rain or snow as well as road debris from making contact with your car while it is in transit. Top-loading will place your car on the top deck of an open or enclosed carrier. Doing that will prevent the rare possibility of a car above yours from leaking fluid on it. It will also give you the benefit of not having any small road debris such as pebbles possibly hitting your car during transport.

You can also take a few additional steps such as getting seat covers and floor mats. Your driver will be driving many miles and in and out of several cars throughout the entirety of transport. So, sometimes they can track some dirt into your car. This is rare, so taking this step is not necessary but it is a step you have the option of taking.
 

Final Word

Protecting your car while it ships is the most important part of car shipping. That is why any reputable car shipping company will do their absolute best to make sure your car arrives at its destination in the same shape as it was in when it was picked up. You can even take some steps to ensure an extra level of safety for your car while it ships. These include shipping it in an enclosed carrier, top-loading it and getting seat covers and/or floor mats.

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Avoiding bug impacts
Reacting to bug impacts
Wrapping up
 

Avoiding bug impacts

Over the years, bug impacts with people’s windshields have actually decreased but it still occurs. In areas with year-round warm climates like Puerto Rico, it still occurs fairly frequently. The best solution to any problem is a proactive and preventative approach because preventing a problem is always better and easier than fixing one. Thus, you should do what you can in order to minimize the number of insect impacts and splatters on your windshield.

The first thing that you can do is to is to get a bug deflecting guard for the front of your car. These are placed near the front of your hood and are a few angled inches in height. It will not hinder your view at all but it will send bugs over your windshield rather than at it. You should also try avoiding driving near heavily wooded areas with lots of tress and vegetation such as near El Yunque. These areas have a much higher concentration of insects flying around. Finally, do your best to drive at night rather than during the day. Bugs tend to be much less active at night.
 

Reacting to bug impacts

Sometimes, having bugs splatter on your windshield will be unavoidable. If this happens and you cannot stop, yet the splatter is not hindering your view too badly, just leave it alone until you can get to a gas station and use the window tool to manually clean it off. You can try your wipers, but this will often just spread the mess and/or make it worse. If you try to use your wipers, do so with wiper fluid. If you end up with multiple bug splatters, it might be best to make a quick trip to the car wash.
 

Wrapping up

You will almost certainly encounter a few bug impacts on your windshield if you drive enough in Puerto Rico. In order to lower the number of insect splatters on your windshield, get a bug deflector guard, try to drive at night and try to avoid driving near areas with lots of insects such as the rainforest. If you do end up with one or more bug impacts on your vehicle’s windshield, it is best to clean it off manually at the gas station or to get your car washed. However, you can try using your wipers as long as you do so in conjunction with windshield wiper fluid. If you need any type of car transported to Puerto Rico call Puerto Rico Car Transport at (904) 322-7644 for a free quote today.

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Why you should get an undercoating treatment
Advice for getting the most out of your undercoating
Conclusion
 

Why you should get an undercoating treatment

An undercoating treatment is essentially a wax treatment for the underside of your car to prevent damage such as rust and corrosion which can result from water, ice, snow, dirt and salt out on the road. In the case of Puerto Rico, there will likely also be a considerable amount of sand out on the road. So, getting an undercoating treatment for your vehicle is definitely a good idea in Puerto Rico.

Getting an undercoating can help extend the overall life of your vehicle, keep its value up and prevent the need for getting costly repairs. It can also make your ride much quieter by muffling the sound of debris hitting the underside of your car. In Puerto Rico, there is a considerable number of micro debris out on the road, so an undercoating borders on a necessity if you want to get the most life out of your vehicle.
 

Advice for getting the most out of your undercoating

If you do end up getting an undercoating, you will certainly want to get the most out of it and make it last as long as possible. One tip for getting the most out of an undercoating is to get it as soon as possible. An undercoating can only protect your car from future damage so the sooner you get it the better. If possible, get it as soon as you get a new or used car.

You should also make sure that you get the underside of your car washed on a regular basis. This will ease the job the undercoating has to do and will help it last longer. Undercoatings typically last for well over five years. In many cases, as long as you get the underside of your car washed, they can last for ten plus years.
 

Conclusion

Getting an undercoating for your car in Puerto Rico is a great idea and investment because it will protect the underside of your car from rust and corrosion. In Puerto Rico, your vehicle is at a higher risk of these things occurring because there is higher than normal amounts of sand, dirt and pebbles on the road which kick up and can cause micro abrasions. Then, moisture sticks to this damage and starts the rust/corrosion process. If you have an undercoating, you will be protected from this. Finally, remember you can always have your car shipped to Puerto Rico with ease by calling Puerto Rico Car Transport at (904) 322-7644.

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Cleaning a mess that’s already there
Preventing messes in the future
Wrapping up
 

Cleaning a mess that’s already there

Many of us can be guilty at times of letting the cleanliness of the interiors of our cars go. Once you actually decide to clean everything up it can be a daunting task. That is why you should do whatever is in your power to prevent it from getting to that point. However, if the inside of your car is already a mess in Puerto Rico, you still have some great options for getting it clean.

You can get the interior of your vehicle cleaned by taking it to a reliable and established car wash. There you can ask for your car to be detailed. When you get this service for your car, it will be meticulously cleaned both inside and out. This will likely cost you over a hundred dollars, but it will be well worth it. You can also clean it yourself. You can start by getting rid of any trash. After that, you can take your car to a gas station and use their air vacuum to get rid of any dirt and/or crumbs. Finally, you can scrub out any stains with car upholstery cleaning products which you can find at many auto stores such as Pep Boys.
 

Preventing messes in the future

As we already mentioned, your best option will be to keep the interior of your car clean in the first place. There are several easy ways for you to achieve this. First, you should keep a trash bag in the car and somewhere within reach. This way you will be able to keep yourself from throwing any garbage on the floor of your car.

You should also stomp out your shoes or sneakers each time before you get into your car. Be sure to keep some wipes in your car too. Doing so will allow you to wipe up any minor spills or dirt on the plastic surfaces of your car as it occurs rather than letting it build up. Finally, be sure to vacuum in your car at least once each month.
 

Wrapping up

Keeping the interior of your car clean in Puerto Rico will end up being a much easier task than cleaning it up after it gets messy. However, you obviously still do have options in terms of getting it clean if it has already become a mess. Those options include cleaning the car yourself or getting it detailed. In terms of preventing a mess, you should keep trash bags and wipes in your car, vacuum in it regularly and knock the dirt off of your shoes before you enter your vehicle.

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The dangers of driving at night
How to drive safely at night
Wrapping up
 

The dangers of driving at night

There are a bunch of dangers that exist when you drive at night. These dangers include lower visibility, drunk drivers, fatigued drivers, construction activity and the potential for more traffic because of rush hour. In terms of not being able to see as well when driving at night, this is due to low light, glare from headlights and other lights on vehicles as well as the potential for poorly lit areas and roads.

When visibility is lowered, so is the amount of time you have to react to a hazard. This means that when you finally see an object, person, or vehicle in the road that you need to avoid, you might not have enough time left to avoid it. Fatigued or impaired drivers are a big danger on the road at night as well. People tend to get tired much more easily at night and people also tend to consume alcohol at night rather than during the day. Overall, traffic accident-related death rates are three times higher at night than they are during the day.
 

How to drive safely at night

Thankfully, you will be able to mitigate and avoid these risks as long as you take a few precautions in order to drive with the most safety possible at night. First and foremost, you should position yourself for success and safety before you even start driving. This means you should do things like keeping your windshield perfectly clean and making certain that your headlights and high beams are always working properly.

Next, you should be sure that you always look past oncoming driver’s headlights rather than at them. You could end up momentarily blinded if you do not. You should also take extra care to do obvious things like not using your phone while driving. Finally, keep extra distance in between you and the vehicle in front of you and be sure to keep your speed low as well.
 

Wrapping up

Driving in Puerto Rico at night is just as dangerous if not more dangerous than it is driving at night anywhere else. The fatality rate related to driving accidents at night is three times higher than it is during the day. That is exactly why you must take extra caution when you are driving at night which includes keeping extra distance between you and other vehicles, driving at a lower speed and avoiding looking directly into an oncoming car’s lights.

Jump to section:
Maintaining visibility
Maintaining reaction time
Wrapping up
 

Maintaining visibility

When you are driving through an area in San Juan where there is a high level of foot traffic such as a marketplace, park or beach, you need to make sure that you are doing everything you can to avoid hitting a pedestrian. You will be criminally and civilly liable and the consequences from both of those will pale in comparison to the guilt of having hit someone with your car. So, in order to avoid this, you must be sure you keep your car as visible to pedestrians as possible as well as being sure you have the highest visibility of pedestrians.

You can keep your car visible to pedestrians by avoiding driving too closely behind other vehicles and/or in what would be a blind spot to a pedestrian to the side of a vehicle. If conditions are dark or low light such as at night or on an overcast day, make sure your lights are on at all times. In terms of maintaining your own visibility of pedestrians, make sure that you keep your windshield clean and defogged at all times. You must also keep your other windows clean and make sure that your mirrors are always in the proper position.
 

Maintaining reaction time

Once you have ensured that you can always see pedestrians and that they can always see you, you must now ensure that your reaction time is always at its peak. This will always start with making sure you are in a proper physical condition to drive. Never drive if you are too tired or if you are under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. You must also make sure you eliminate all distractions while you drive. This will include turning your cell phone off, limiting distractions from passengers and avoiding activity such as eating while driving. Finally, be sure that when your view gets obstructed by another vehicle or an object to the side of the road that you slow down and be ready to brake in case any pedestrians walk into the road at the same time your view is obstructed.
 

Wrapping up

Making sure the pedestrians that are around you are safe while you drive is a top priority. Hitting someone with your car can land you in jail, cost you your life savings and can haunt you forever. You must always make sure that you have a clear view of all pedestrians and that they always have a clear view of you. When your view gets obstructed slow down, prepare to brake and maintain your high level of focus.