What would help get your storm-damaged trees picked up?

I have had several questions from my last article referencing downed trees and insurance coverage, so I thought I would write a follow up and include some ramblings to fill out the column.

First, a downed tree must hit a covered structure to be a claim on a home or auto policy. A tree that just falls on the ground hitting nothing but the earth is not a covered claim. Either you or a tree service need to cut up and remove the tree. Now if you live in Bibb County, the solid waste folks in the government have issued directives that any large tree should be cut up into 4-foot lengths or less to facilitate pickup by the county employees.

These folks cannot remove a 10-foot-long tree 18 inches in diameter. Maybe that had to be left that way just to get it off the driveway or something else, but it needs to be cut up for collection. Also, you should remove small debris from around the tree(s) and put that in large plastic bags for easier pickup. Not only will your yard waste get picked up faster, but it poses less of a liability risk on your property.

If you have large downed trees in your yard, out by the street and live in an area with young kids, think of the fun they could have walking and balancing on those logs. What happens if the pile shifts and the child is trapped under a pile of debris and large tree trunks?

While fewer and fewer kids actually play outside now due to video games and other devices, a pile of logs is still an attractive nuisance that can result in significant harm to a young child. Be a good neighbor and do what you can to facilitate yard waste pickup.

On another subject, this continues to be the season of auto rate increases. Certainly the cost of fixing cars has increased due to all the technology including backup cameras, but the most significant increase in frequency and severity of auto accidents is driver’s behavior.

Anywhere you go, drivers make a right on red without even stopping. This occurs even if there are clear signs that prohibit right on red due to prior accidents at that intersection. This is blatantly true at Tucker to Forsyth roads and Forest Hill Road to Northside Drive. Whether a driver is distracted or just doesn’t care, the result is the same.

Then people call and wonder why auto rates are going up. The answer from my perspective is simple. People are in too much of a hurry and do not pay attention to the traffic and the traffic signs around them.

This story was originally published October 10, 2017 at 2:09 PM with the headline "What would help get your storm-damaged trees picked up?."