Summer Means Outdoor Fun – But Keep Safety in Mind - SAV

August 2008
CONSUMER AWARENESS NEWSLETTER
Summer Means Outdoor Fun
– But Keep Safety in Mind
Now that the weather is warming up I just
on grilling this season make sure the grill,
can’t help thinking about getting out of town,
barbecue or propane tank is in an open area
enjoying the outdoors, and spending time
with no overhanging trees or branches. Rake
with friends and loved ones. One thing I never
leaves, twigs and other possibly flammable
forget though is to be safe. There are many
vegetation from around the barbecue. And,
hazards that could potentially ruin a beautiful
of course, if there are youngsters around keep
weekend or trip out
them away from the
of town. I wanted
grill, and make sure
to encourage you
any backyard games
to enjoy the warm
are conducted at a safe
weather, but be safe
distance from the grill.
too.
Hiking and camping
There are so many
are also popular at this
opportunities during
time of year. If you or
the summer to enjoy
someone you know
the water: water skiis planning on hiking
ing, boating, fishing,
this year the best adand of course swimvice is to be prepared.
ming!
Make sure they bring
Before you or your Barbeques can be dangerous, especially with children a hiking buddy and
playing nearby. Keep them away from the hot grill.
loved ones spend
know the route well
any time in the water
before heading out.
make sure that everyone is prepared. Life jackBe sure to bring some basic supplies like a
ets in appropriate sizes for everyone and plenty
compass, maps, and a first-aid kit. One good
of supervision for younger swimmers are vital
resource is the Forestry Department, so if you
to stay safe in and around any body of water,
need more information before you begin check
including backyard swimming pools.
out http://www.fs.fed.us/safety/.
Another popular activity at this time of year
SAV-ON Insurance Agencies wishes you and
is barbequing or cooking outside. If you plan
your loved ones a safe and wonderful summer!
HANDS
OFF!
New Cell
Phone Laws
Now in Effect
As of July 1, 2008, you can no longer
talk on a hand-held cell phone in Washington state while driving. Some other
cell phone-related information:
Five states, including Washington, have
enacted jurisdiction-wide cell phone laws
prohibiting driving while talking on handheld
cell phones.
n With the exception of Washington state,
these laws are all primary enforcement –an
officer may ticket a driver for using a handheld
cell phone while driving without any other traffic offense taking place.
n 17 states and the District of Columbia have
special cell phone driving laws for novice drivers.
n School bus drivers in 15 states and the District
of Columbia are prohibited from all cell phone
use when passengers are present, except for in
emergencies.
n Washington and New Jersey are the only
states to ban text messaging for all drivers, but
other states are expected to follow suit.
n New Jersey has primary enforcement—an
officer may ticket a driver for texting while
driving without any other traffic offense
taking place. Washington’s law is secondarily
enforced.
n
Summer Travel Tips: Avoiding the Risks and Keeping Thieves Away
Summer is vacation travel time. However,
whenever you travel there are risks. Although
most travel risks are long-shots, they are risks,
nonetheless.
Once you get to your hotel, you should do
the following:
1. Checking In When registering at the front
desk, don’t say your name loud enough for
others to hear.
2. Maintain control of your luggage. If you
give your bags to a bell person, get a receipt.
3. Going into Your Room After entering,
check behind the doors and the curtains, in
the closets and bathroom, and under the bed.
Make sure the telephone works.
4. Outside Accessibility Are the windows
to your room accessible to intruders? How
sturdy is the door to your room?
While sleeping, use a small wooden or
rubber wedge to keep the door closed. Prop a
glass or ashtray against the door to warn you
of someone trying to enter your room.
Ensure your safety on you next trip, and
have a blast! All of us at Sav-on Insurance
Agencies want you to have a safe and restful
vacation.
INSIDE THIS NEWSLETTER
The Accident That Changed My Life
A-Team Driving School
Salute to Flag Exchange
Phil Devitte, SAV-ON co-owner, recounts the terrible
car accident in 1985 that nearly killed him.
2
SAV-ON Insurance is sponsoring this school
in an effort to teach teens safe driving. 3
PEMCO Insurance’s flag exchange
program is a big success
4
The SAV-ON Difference
‘Smart Driver Plan’
Saves Top 10 Grads
Average of $246!
In June these 10 graduates of
our ‘Smart Driver’ program
saved an average of
$462 Off Their
Auto Insurance!!
Their Average
Savings was 30%*
Smart Driver
City
Savings
n Dean F.
Federal Way $858
n Dawn M. Monroe
$584
n Jessie W.
Lynnwood
$580
n Aleksander B. Maple Valley $448
n Catalina P.
Kent
$430
n Takashi T.
Lynnwood $408
n Jerry V.
Kent
$361
n Vilimaa W.
Tacoma
$348
n Cesar R.
Federal Way $331
n Wendy N.
Buckley
$272
*Cumulative average savings
The Lucky Winners in
Our TV Referral Contest
Monthly winners are entered in the
drawing for the LCD flat screen TV at
the end of this year.
Kevin Knowles Our lucky May winner
receives three lottery
tickets and a dinner
certificate. He’s also
entered in the grand
prize drawing for the LCD
flat screen color TV.
Bogdan Koval -He’s our
lucky June winner. He
wins three lottery tickets
and a dinner certificate.
He’s also entered in the
grand prize drawing
for the LCD flat screen
color TV.
Win an TV !
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LCD Flat Sferral program that
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It ’s that
The Split Second That Changed My Life Forever
SAV-ON Insurance co-owner Phil Devitte suffered a severe spinal cord injury in a 1985 car accident that left him with a disability for the rest of his life, all because he wasn’t wearing a seat
belt. He is now a crusader for safe driving habits, from the use of seat belts and reckless driving to the use of cell phones and text messaging while driving. Here is his story.
J
anuary 2, 1985 started out like most week- Phil suffered a massive Pulminary Embolism,
days in Phil Devitte’s life, with a commute a blood clot in his lung that caused him to lose
down I-5 to his job in Des Moines. That
consciousness. His heart stopped. Luckily,
morning it was very cold, but clear, and as
he was in the hospital, and the staff feverPhil was nearing the South 188th Street exit he ously worked on him, trying to save his life.
started moving over toward the exit lane. Sud- Fortunately, they succeeded. Phil remembers
denly he hit a patch of “black
coming to with people in a
ice”, and in a split second his
frenzy all around him, and
car was spinning out of control.
someone saying “Should we
Phil, who was not wearing his
shock him again?” Seeing Phil
seat belt, held tightly onto the
coming out of it, the doctor
steering wheel, hoping to regain
stopped the procedure. Phil
control of the car. Instead, the
was alive again!
car hit something that caused
Phil spent more than three
it to flip violently end-over-end
weeks in that hospital, and
through the air. Phil was ejected
was determined to walk again,
through his closed sunroof, and
even though he was still pararemembers tumbling through
lyzed. To his dismay, his atthe air.
tending physician told him to
He recalls regaining constop hoping, that he was never
Phil Devitte
sciousness while lying on the
going to walk again. He told
ground, and someone asking if
Phil that he would be there to
he was OK. “Yeah, I’m OK,” was his reply.
pick him up when he failed, and would help
But, when he tried to get up, he couldn’t move him back in his wheelchair. Late one night,
his legs. In fact, he had no feeling whatsoever
alone in the hospital room with his thoughts,
from the waist down! While someone called
he wondered how he was going to achieve his
an ambulance, he laid there in disbelief. This
goal of walking again when the doctors were
couldn’t be happening to HIM. This was
telling him it couldn’t happen. He wanted
something that happened to OTHER people.
to die. Suddenly he heard a voice say to him,
When he arrived at Valley General Hospital, “Do you believe?” Phil answered “Yes, I do!”
they whisked him into the emergency room,
Phil felt a strength and determination he had
took x-rays and ran a battery of tests. The renever experienced before. Phil became more
sults were shocking: Phil had broken his back
determined than ever.
and damaged his spinal cord, and the doctors
The first step was firing his doctor, the
told him he
one who had
would never
dashed his
walk again.
hopes. The
One simple
second was
lane change
transferring to
and he faced
the University
the prospect
of Washington
of life in a
Hospitals, one
wheelchair!
of the forePhil struggled
most spinal
to grasp the
injury facilities
What was left of Phil’s BMW after the crash. The sunroof, through
gravity of the
in the counwhich Phil was thrown, was placed back on the top of the car for
situation as he this wrecking yard photo.
try. Once at
lay in Valthe UW, Phil
ley General, with a devastating injury. After
was given a battery of tests to determine the
a few days, he was wheeled into surgery and
extent of his injuries and the therapy he would
had rods and wires inserted in his damaged
require. One morning, the doctor came in
spine. A week later, as he was convalescing,
and, as he always did, asked Phil to move his
big toe. After a few seconds he said, “Now,
move it again.” Phil said incredulously, “What
did you say?” He had moved his big toe! There
was hope.
From that day, it would take 2 ½ years for
Phil to learn to walk again without the aid
of crutches. It was a slow, agonizing journey
that was literally one step at a time. At one
point, with the aid of arm crutches, Phil had
struggled down the hall of the hospital, almost
dragging his uncooperative feet with him.
He turned around and looked back at where
he’d been. “The pools of sweat were pools of
success to me,” recalls Phil. “I was focused on
overcoming this with an intensity that became
SAV-ON and PEMCO
Join The A-Team
SAV-ON Insurance Agencies and
PEMCO Insurance Company are proud
to partner with A-Team Driving School
to help students understand insurance
laws and coverages, but more importantly
to understand that driving safely is what
will drive down
their medical and
property damage
costs. As Philip
Devitte often tells
the students, “If
everyone would
take safety seriously, they would protect themselves from suffering terrible
injuries such as mine, or worse, dying.”
The owner of A-Team, Bill Kellogg,
has a great staff who make a high level
of safety a big part of their curriculum.
A-Team has three classes scheduled a
month. He is offering any SAV-ON client
young drivers who attends his driving
school a $10.00 discount.
We thank Bill and his staff for helping us
protect our most important assets, our
kids!
A-Team Driving School
21705 Highway 99 Ste 7
Lynnwood, WA 98036
Phone: 425-776-1242
Web: http://ateamdrivingschoolinc.com/
an obsession.” Every
day he would spend
8-10 hours working
on his rehabilitation.
There was no let-up.
After more than a
year of this, he was
able to walk without support, get his
driver’s license back
and went back to
work. He continued Phil, in tan jacket, moves with the aid of a walker in this photo taken in the
to feverishly work on summer of 1985, about six months after his accident.
his therapy, exercise
virtues of seat belts and safety first. His dream
constantly and atis to keep all the students he talks to from
tempt to get stronger. Then, in 1990, five years
having an accident that will forever change
after his accident, he decided to ease up. He
their lives, as his accident did to him.
was walking again, although not without some
Phil and SAV-ON Insurance want to help
stiffness (he told his kids he walked like the
not only teen drivers, but also their parents,
tin man from The Wizard of Oz), but realized
understand and avoid the perils that can
that he had accomplished his goal of walkhappen when a young person gets behind the
ing again, and now he wanted to work with
wheel of a vehicle. One of their latest offers is
organizations to counsel young people on the
a free GPS unit for your teen’s car. If you are
dangers of driving.
a teen driver, or the parent of one, please conHe was now a firm believer in seat belts,
tact SAV-ON at 206-878-1404 and speak to
since the chances are he would be OK today
Nichole, or go to www.sav-on.com for more
if he had worn one that fateful morning. But,
information on this offer.
in addition to that, he wanted to educate them
Phil has beaten the odds and is walking
that it only takes one mistake while driving to
again. Now he wants to keep other young
forever change (or end) your life. He began
drivers from ever facing the living nightmare
working with an organization called “Think
that he had to face years ago.
First”, an outreach program that deals with
the dangers of driving while on drugs or alcoE
hol, driving without using seat belts, speeding
FRE
and reckless driving, and other dangerous
activities.
In 1998, Phil moved to the Palm Springs
area to open a “Think First” chapter there,
and volunteered at a trauma center where he
counseled victims of brain and spinal cord
GPS Tracking Unit
injuries. He was able to bring his message of
All
SAV-ON teen driver members are
hope to thousands of young drivers during
eligible for this incredible offer! Just sign
that time.
up for your FREE membership at
In 2000, he came back to the Seattle area
www.sav-on.com and receive your
and returned to SAV-ON Insurance, deterdiscount code, or call our SAV-ON GPS
expert Nichole at 878-1404, ext. 119.
mined to make a difference here, knowing
that 39% of all accidents happen to drivers
Roadside Assistance
who have been driving 10 months or less! He
Your teen can also receive FREE roadhas spoken to students at driving schools, and
side assistance through SAV-ON’s
now SAV-ON Insurance is affiliated with the
Teensurance Program. Call us at
“A-Team Driving School”. He regularly speaks
(206) 878-1404 to sign-up.
at driver’s education seminars, extolling the
The Most Talked
About Safety Device
Since the Seat Belt!
PEMCO Flag Exchange Program a Big Hit
This year, SAV-ON Insurance
Agencies was proud to be chosen to
participate in PEMCO’s Flag Exchange
program.
This program has been going on for
many years, and allows
people to come in and
exchange a worn-out or
tattered American flag for
a brand new flag, courtesy
of PEMCO Insurance.
June 12th is Flag Day,
so between Saturday, June 9th and
Tuesday, June 12th this year, PEMCO
Insurance encouraged anyone, whether
a PEMCO client or not, to come in and
turn in their old flag and get a new one
at no cost to them.
SAV-ON’s Des Moines office had
approximately 50 people come in to
exchange their flag , with some people
bringing in multiple flags
to exchange. SAV-ON
agents collected the old
flags, and on Friday, June
13th, the American Legion came in, picked up
the old flags and disposed
of them in the proper way.
Many thanks to both PEMCO
Insurance and the many people who
participated in this great program!
Nichole Devitte poses with one of the PEMCO flag
exchange participants at the Des Moines SAV-ON Insurance Agencies office.
Catholic Radio Gets Boost From SAV-ON Support
I am writing this letter to thank you on
behalf of our entire family of 14 Catholic
churches on the Eastside. Your support
of Radio Emaus 1680 and the ministry of
Jorge Cartegena is a gift beyond measure.
Without your support, we would not be
able to reach out to the Catholic Spanishspeaking population here. Many of them
rely on the radio for inspiration, news and
announcements of Catholic events in the
area. Your support provides a lifeline to
the community and offers hope to so many
who are struggling.
We hope that, with your continued
support, we can grow even stronger as a
centerpoint for Catholic information in the
rapidly expanding Latino community and
its rising group of leaders.
Many thanks and may God continue to
bless you abundantly for your generosity.
– Dr. Patricia C. Repikoff
SAV-ON Insurance Agencies are
pleased to partner with
PEMCO Insurance to provide
our customers with superlow preferred insurance rates.
Coordinator of Hispanic Ministry for the Eastside Catholic Community
Corporate Office
22815 Pacific Highway S.
Des Moines, WA 98198
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