Cozumel News August 13th, 2014

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Cozumel News August 13^th, 2014: The Perils of a Cozumel Traffic Accident,  Cozumel Bullet Proof Vests, “Gastón Cantarell Díaz ” Tourism Merit Award, Cozumel Human Rights Complaints,  Book and international Magazine Promote Cozumel and New Cozumel Sun Sections! Automobile Parts & Terms in Spanish, Three new Updates under Mexican Immigration Plus, “How to Move Money” added to the Bank Section.

The Perils of a Cozumel Traffic Accident

By Eileen Marshall & Aura Holguin-Resch

Just when you are starting to enjoy a beautiful day in Cozumel, wham everything goes crazy. You are driving down one of the Calles thinking you are doing the correct thing by stopping at a stop sign. Seeing no one coming, you proceed cautiously. Then, you see a Moto coming out of nowhere, and the worse of the worse happens, you make contact with the Moto.  The driver flips into the air and lands on the ground with his helmet rolling to the side of the road. There is instant panic and so many things going through your head at once. You instruct everyone to leave the person lay still until the ambulance arrives.

Then, this is where another story begins. Since you have insurance coverage, you think everything is going to work out ok. However, if there are injuries involved it takes matters to another level. The two insurance companies have to get together to discuss damages and come to an agreement. You are told this could take up to 48 hours.  (Or your insurance company and the uninsured driver of the other vehicle come to an agreement. If neither have insurance, all damages are negotiated by the two parties.)

In the interim, you are told you (the driver) have to go to jail until there is a resolution by the insurance companies. So while waiting for the resolutions, your license and your car are impounded, and you are put in a holding cell, not a pleasant place to spend time, let alone 48 hours.

Fortunately for us, the victim was doing well and it got resolved on the same day with insurance covering all hospital cost and damage to the Moto. We, in turn paid the wages due for the estimated time that the injured party will miss while recuperating from his injuries. We were told that insurance companies do not cover lost wages.

You can appeal their decision of who was at fault, but the driver stays in jail the 48 hours while waiting to get a hearing. You can refuse to pay the lost wages if you think they are exaggerated, but you must remain in jail the 48 hours while waiting for a hearing.  There is no release on a bond while you wait for a hearing during those 48 hours. The bottom line is that you, will remain in jail and your vehicle and license will not be returned until an agreement is reached, signed by all parties, and the money is paid.

Just the stress that went along with this whole episode is incredible. Fortunately we have some wonderful friends that helped us with the police and translation, whom we could not have done without.  So, I guess the moral of this story is you should never drive without insurance in this country; not having it would have made this accident a more horrible situation. No matter how cautiously you drive this can happen to you! I also want to make it CLEAR, no matter the situation, when having an accident with a Moto, you are always at FAULT!!!!

While trying to find a picture to attach to this story, I ran across this Cozumel Jail Horror Story.

Check it out: http://www.wadeburleson.org/2011/03/saved-from-hell-in-jail-cell-at-cozumel.html

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Cozumel Bulletproof Vests

By majority vote, the council of the City Council on Monday approved the destruction of 19 bulletproof vests, that have protection level of three described as “unsightly”.  They are valued at over 300 thousand pesos, and were acquired between the years 2009 and 2011. Councilman Ramón Humberto Escalante Cervera, cast his vote against this measure because he believes that the vests could be used for training the Public Safety Cadets. “According to companies specializing in the vests, they have a lifespan of over 10 years so I do not understand why they have to be discarded for aesthetic reasons, what matters is that they do what they were designed to do” The only cops who regularly use body armor in the town of Cozumel, are what make up the group of bodyguards public safety commissioner.

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“Gastón Cantarell Díaz “Tourism Merit Award

This week, the City council approved that the Tourism Merit Award be named after the late hotelier Gastón Cantarell Díaz.  As a posthumous tribute, on 27th September at the World Tourism Day a “Gastón Cantarell Díaz ” Tourism Merit Award will be awarded for the first time. A committee was approved and establish to review candidates nominate a winner for this year.

Gastón Cantarell Díaz was a renowned businessman in the tourism industry and left his private seal during his career spanning over three decades in front of the Hotel Association Cozumel. After his death, on August 19, 2013, Cantarell Diaz who left a great legacy in tourism, was given postmortem the award in three categories: “Tourism Person of the Year”, “Tourist Group of the Year “and” Post Mortem “.

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Cozumel Human Rights Complaints

Normally I do not get into these topics, but I can’t resist this one. The State Human Rights Commission reports that people  no longer fear filing complaints. They can tell because of the number of complaints have risen this year. This was an interview in Novedades with the person in charge of Human Rights in Cozumel.

“After ensuring that people are no longer afraid to make complaints to the State Human Rights Commission of the State of Quintana Roo (EHRC), the Deputy Inspector of the agency on the island, Ángel Moisés Pacheco Forbes acknowledged that there are people who take advantage of this commission.

The Deputy Inspector explained that he found some cases where people complained in order to harm an officer.  They received the complaint, but the investigation uncovers it is all about revenge and because of this evidence it is decided not to act on the complaint.  It is important to make it clear that the Commission on Human Rights is not a coercive authority, so you cannot get a certain officer fired.

Pacheco Forbes said he did not feel used, because his intention is to address and solve problems and always be in a position to receive complaints against officers. But to determine whether they are bad public servants an investigation is carried out in each and every one of the matters that are received at the local office.

He stated that so far they have received more than 40 complaints against various officials or public servants, while last year there was a total of approximately 68 complaints. At this trend, by the end of 2014 the figure could exceed 80 complaints, which means that people have lost their fear and now confidently report complaints.

The Deputy Inspector of the EHRC on the island said that one of the differences is that “not all claims are against police forces, there are now complaints against various sectors, but in all cases the relevant research is done to serve the community and issue, if necessary, the relevant comments to the appropriate party “.

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Book and international Magazine Promote Cozumel

Through print and digital media, such as the magazine “Endless Vacation” and the book “For 91 Days” the Municipal Government and the Tourism Promotion Trust Cozumel- Riviera Maya continue to promote the island as a tourist destination overnight.

It was reported through a press release that the municipal Tourism Director   Juan González Castelán spoke of the combined efforts to strengthen the promotion of the island to attract tourists to stay overnight. The strategy is to disseminate the activities and invite visitors to extend their stay on the island.

Meanwhile  Mayor, Fredy Marrufo Martín  said that besides spreading the word on attractions that are  in Cozumel, tourists are warned that one day “is not enough” to enjoy the natural beauty of this destination.

The book “For 91 Days” is the publication of descriptions of visits to different destinations in the world in 91 days.  In this case, it is a journey to the Yucatan Peninsula, where Cozumel has an entire chapter. . The magazine “Endless Vacation” also has an application for IPad.

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New in “The Cozumel Sun” Living in Cozumel

These are new updates and additions to the Living in Cozumel Guide in the Cozumel Sun Website. I am constantly searching the news and the web to add topics I think might be of importance and update the information in The Sun!

Automobile Parts & Terms English-Spanish

Name Change from Mexican Immigration to Mexican Immigration Plus to add;

–Mexican consulate requirement for lost Visa cards at home

–Mexican Real Estate 2014 Update

–Shipping Goods into Mexico / transporting goods into Mexico

Name Change from Banks to Banks & Money to include:

–How to move Money from the US to Mexico

 Volunteer & Donate

Remember to give back, Volunteer & Donate Section of The Cozumel Sun has information on Volunteer opportunities for you:  Juan Pablo II Senior Home, Friends of Cozumel Cozumel CAM School for Disabled Children, The Cozumel Sea Turtle Rescue Program, The Humane Society of Cozumel, Rancho Universo Horse Sanctuary and Horse Therapy Centre, The Cozumel Blood Drive, and the Three Kings Day Toy Drive.

Note:  If you are headed to Cozumel on vacation, or are returning to Cozumel from vacationing in the United States, check out the wish lists of the various non-profit organizations. Many of the items are not available in Cozumel and almost always, the items that are available are extremely expensive here due to the high cost of transporting goods to the island.

If you are already part of one of these wonderful organizations, please proof the information that I have taken from your website and Facebook page. Please contact me with any changes and updates. I am a one-woman operation and really need your help in order to provide my readers with the most current information available. Thank you for your assistance!

Welcome NEW Sponsors:  Panagakos Development