Federal Safety Officials Ask States To Pass Motorcycle Helmet Laws

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Posted on 26th November 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is urging all states to pass laws mandating that motorcycle riders wear helmets that meet federal safety standards.

The agency made that request earlier this month when it updated its Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements, which is directed at state governments. The NTSB added  motorcycle safety to its list.

http://www.ntsb.gov/Pressrel/2010/101116.html

“State governments are in a unique position to effect the most significant improvement in certain areas of transportation safety,” NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman said in a statement. “Our Most Wanted List spotlights those states that have made noteworthy progress in better protecting the traveling public – and those that have not.”

Federally approved helmets have a hard outer shell, an impact-absorbing lining and a retention system to protect the head.

From 1997 through 2008, the number of motorcycle fatalities more than doubled during a period when overall highway fatalities declined, according to the NTSB. Although the number of motorcycle fatalities fell in 2009, the 4,400 deaths still outnumber those in aviation, rail, marine and pipeline combined.

And according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, head injury is the leading cause of death in motorcycle crashes.

“The NTSB therefore recommends that everyone aboard a motorcycle be required to wear a helmet that complies with DOT’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218,” the agency said in a press release. “Currently, 20 states, the District of Columbia and four territories have universal helmet laws that apply to all riders. Twenty- seven states and one territory have partial laws the require minors and/or passengers to wear helmets. Three states – Iowa, Illinois and New Hampshire – have no helmet laws.”

Such a helmet law is apparently helping in at least one state, New Jersey. The New Jersey State Police just issued a report that said there has been a dramatic drop in deaths from motorcycle accidents, according to The Courier-Post of Camden.

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=201011220319

Last year 68 people died in motorcycle accidents in New Jersey. That is a drop from 82 deaths in 2008 and 87 fatalities in 2007. Those numbers mark a substantial drop from the 103 motorcycle deaths in 2006.

New Jersey also has a bill pending that would put additional strictures on motorcyclists. For example, a licensed rider would have to take another test before moving up to a bigger bike. It also mandates that those younger than 18 take a safety course in order to get a license.     

Dear Right Wing: Transportation Secretary Is Trying To Save, Not Contol, Lives

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Posted on 20th November 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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The right wing is blasting  U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for seeking to violate our rights.

What outrageous action has LaHood advocated? LaHood, a vocal opponent of distracted driving, last week said that someday the government may mandate that devices be installed in vehicles to block cellphones from working in cars, so that idiot motorists stop chatting, texting and killing innocent Americans.

http://www.popsci.com/cars/article/2010-11/thwart-distracted-drivers-government-considers-cell-phone-kill-switches-cars#

“There’s a lot of technology out there now that can disable phones, and we’re looking at that,” LaHood said in an interview.

That comment got Michelle Malkin, a conservative columnist for the conservative New York Post, all riled up on Saturday. 

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/now_they_re_after_your_car_cellphone_RweoH5n8MRR7NrNl4oP83N

“Will the cellphone banners outlaw radios, GPS devices, makeup and fast food in cars next?” Malkin asked. “They’re all also listed as causes of distracted driver-induced accidents.” 

She also griped about the 30 states that have passed texting or cellphone bans for drivers. Malkin then tried to bolster her case by citing a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which found that non-texting states had higher accident rates for young drivers than states with no bans.

I wonder how many other freedom-depriving Malkin objects to when it comes to vehicles. I wonder how she would have reacted when the idea of seatbelts being installed in cars was first broached. What, restrain a person in their own vehicle? After all, there are cases where a seat belt can injury a car passenger in a crash.       

And I assume she is against laws that mandate that motorcyclists wear helmets.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Your rights end when they put me, my family, my friends and the rest of America in danger. If some morons can’t get it through their thick heads that it’s dangerous to text and drive, I guess maybe it is a good idea to have mandatory devices that disable cellphones in cars.

And aside from the tragedy that distracted drivers cause, they also cost taxpayers money, raising our insurance rates, damaging public and private property, and putting people in hospitals.

Miss Malkin, you accuse LaHood of “controlling lives” rather than “saving lives.”

Call it whatever you like: Public safety trumps a CrackBerry’s sick addiction to their fancy phone. 

 

 

 

Disney Threatens To Fire Workers Who Text While Driving

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Posted on 15th November 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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The Walt Disney Co. is known for having strick rules for its employees, and now it is taking an extra hard line on texting.

The website Deadline Hollywood reported last week that Disney has told its workers it may fire anyone caught texting while driving.  

http://www.deadline.com/2010/11/disney-employees-face-termination-over-texting-and-emailing-while-driving/

The media giant sent out a companywide memo last week that said it was “enhancing its vehicle safety policy effective immediately.” To that end, Disney workers are banned from sending or reading texts or e-mails while driving a company vehicle or when driving their own car while doing work-related tasks.

According to Deadline Hollywood, the memo warned, “Failure to comply will lead to disciplinary actions up to and including termination.”

The show business website slyly noted that Disney was following in the shoes of the Obama administration, which has banned federal employees from texting and driving while on official business, and barred commercial bus and truck drivers from texting on the job as well.

Deadline Hollywood pointed out that this new Disney rule may put a crimp on dealmaking, since in car-centric L.A. lots of executives do business on their Blackberries while behind the wheel.

Posters to the Deadline Hollywood story suggested that Disney was imposing this texting-ban to avoid liability if any accidents take place.

Whether Disney’s motives are self-serving or not, it’s a good idea for a company to read the riot act, so to speak, to exmployees who tesxt.            

Two Of Five Motorists Asleep At the Wheel, Study Says, Citing Dangers Of Drowsy Driving

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Posted on 9th November 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Here  are some rather frightening statistics: Two out of every five drivers, or 41 percent, admit to having fallen asleep at the wheel at some point, with one in 10 saying they’ve done so in the past year, according to a new AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study.

http://www.aaafoundation.org/multimedia/index.cfm?button=pressreleases

“It is shocking to consider that one quarter of drivers admit to operating a vehicle in the last month in an incapacitated state,” said David Cloud, CEO of the National Sleep Foundation. 

Yes, sleep qualifies as an incapacitated state, akin to being drunk and on drugs, when it comes to driving. 

Here’s another sobering tidbit from the study, which was released this week: More than a quarter of those surveyed admitted they drove despite being so tired that they had difficulty keeping their eyes open in the previous month.

It is Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, which is hosted by the National Sleep Foundation, and AAA has gotten a lot of press in its bid to get drivers to recognize the  danger of driving while sleeping, and not underestimate it’s seriousness. 

“When you are behind the wheel of a car, being sleepy is very dangerous. Sleepiness decreases awareness, slows reaction time and impairs judgment, just like drugs or alcohol, contributing to the possibility of a crash,” AAA Foundation President and CEO Peter Kissinger said in a press release. “We need to change the culture so that not only will drivers recognize the dangers of driving while drowsy butwill stop doing it.”

How dangerous is driving while sleepy? Very.

A new analysis of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash data estimates that about one in six (or 16.5 percent) deadlycrashes; one in eight crashes resulting in occupant hospitalization; and one in 14 crashes in which a vehicle was towed involve a driver who is drowsy.

 These percentages are substantially higher than most previous estimates, suggesting that the contribution of drowsy driving to motor vehicle crashes, injuries, and deaths has not been fully appreciated.

“Many of us tend to underestimate the negative effects associated with fatigue and sleep deprivation and, conversely, overestimate our abilities to overcome them while driving,” Kathleen Marvaso, vice president, AAA Public Affairs, said in her statement. “This data underscores the importance of educating drivers on the simple, yet effective steps they can take to prevent a possible tragedy. Unfortunately, too many drivers have adopted the ‘I’m tired, but I can make it’ mentality, often to their own peril or to the peril of others.”

The National Sleep Foundation has been championing better drowsy driving awareness and education since 1991. Cloud adds, “We applaud AAA’s work to elevate this issue for public scrutiny and action.”

Here are the AAA’ s tips for remaining alert and avoiding drowsiness:

 Getting plenty of sleep (at least six hours) the night before a long trip;
 Scheduling a break every two hours or every 100 miles;
 Traveling at times when you are normally awake, and staying overnight rather than driving straight through; and
 Stop driving if you become sleepy; someone who is tired could fall asleep at any time.

Symptoms of sleepiness include but are not limited to:

 Having trouble keeping your eyes open and focused;
 The inability to keep your head up;
 Daydreaming or having wandering, disconnected thoughts; and
 Drifting from your lane or off the road, or tailgating

U.S. Supreme Court Is Mulling Seat-Belt Case

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Posted on 8th November 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing a seat-belt case that could have wide ramifications for consumer lawsuits filed on safety issues.

The nation’s highest court heard arguments last week in the case involving Mazda Motor Corp., and the panel may split in its opinion. 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-03/mazda-seatbelt-case-may-divide-u-s-supreme-court-justices.html

 The issue is whether or not accident victims should have the right to sue even when a car maker has met the minimum federal safety standards required by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA. 

During the session, Justice Sonia Sotomayer said that these minimum standards still give car makers many options, while Justice John Roberts suggested that the ability to sue should remain limited. 

According to Bloomberg News, the automakers want the high court to essentially reaffirm a 2000 ruling that found that “federal law shields automakers from state law claims that manufacturers didn’t move quickly enough to install air bags in the years before they became mandatory in new cars.”

The genesis of the Mazda case was the 2002 death of Thahn Williamson, 32, who was killed while riding in the rear aisle seat in the second row of a 1993 minivan in Utah. Her family sued Mazda because Williamson only had a lap seat belt without a shoulder harnass when the van hit a motor home that broke free from the Jeep that was towing it.

It wasn’t until 2007 that a law took effect that mandated that new cars be equipped with shoulder restraints in all forward-facing seats.

 

Cuban Plane Crash Kills All 68 People Onboard

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Posted on 5th November 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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In the country’s worse plane crash since 1989, all 68 people aboard a Cuban airliner were killed Thursday when the aircraft crashed in the island’s central mountains, according to AOL News.

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/no-survivors-in-cuba-plane-crash/19704213?icid=maing%7Cmain5%7C1%7Clink2%7C23663

The AeroCaribbean Flight 883 was flying from Santiago de Cuba to the capital Havana when it lost contact with flight controllers. The pilot had made an emergency call before the plane landed in a fiery explosion near Guisimal, a village.

There were no survivors among the 61 passengers and seven crew members. The passenger list had 40 Cubans and 28 foreigners, none Americans. The crew was all Cuban.

The fallen jet was a Russan-made ATR-72-212, and it is part of Cuba’s state airine fleet. Flight 883 originated in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and had a stop at Santiago de Cuba before going on to Havana.

The doomed flight was the last one to take off from Haiti before Tropical Storm Tomas, which is looming in the Caribbean. But Cuban officals are investigating and don’t now if the weather played a part in the accident. 

According to AOL News, this is Cuba’s worse plane crash since 1989, when 126 people onboard a Soviet-made jet were killed.

 

 

Wyoming Plane Crash Kills Four Family Members

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Posted on 3rd November 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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The bodies of four family members have been recovered from the wreckage of a small plane that crashed a week ago in a Wyoming mountain range, according to the Associated Press.   

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jss3k1zjRLhwUpbgpWoqsXf18vmA?docId=d6c574825b6c48cd91be5285cbe0c451

A search team found the single-engine Mooney 20J Monday in Lander, Wyo., in the Wind River range. The plane had left Jackston Hole Airport Oct. 25 during a snowstorm.

The plane was owned by Luke Bucklin, 40, who was piloting the aircraft. He was killed, as were his twins  Nick and Nate, 14, and Noah, 12, according to AP.

Bucklin was president and a co-founder of Sierra Bravo Corp. in Bloomington, Minn. He and his family came to Wyoming for a wedding, and Bucklin’s wife and youngest son had taken a commercial flight home.