November 30, 2012 (Press-News.org) In Alaska and across the country, distracted driving has been receiving considerable attention. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation, has been trying to address the problem of distracted driving by educating drivers about the dangers of using a cellphone or texting while operating a motor vehicle.
The agency's efforts are certainly needed. NHTSA data shows that in 2010, 3,092 people died in car accidents where a distracted driver was involved. About 416,000 more people were injured that year in distracted driving accidents.
Distracted driving is more dangerous than most people realize. The NHTSA also points out that in the time it takes a driver to send or review a text, a car going 40 miles per hour would travel the length of a football field -- essentially blindfolded. A driver who is texting is at 23 times greater risk for crashing than drivers who are not distracted.
The evolution of Alaska distracted driving laws
Alaska responded to concerns about distracted driving after an Anchorage couple died in a fatal car accident in 2002. The driver who hit them was accused of watching a movie while driving. The legislature enacted a law that went into effect in 2008, specifically prohibiting drivers from using portable computers, monitors, televisions and any video screens in a driver's field of vision. During the first six months after the law went into effect, only three drivers were cited for violations.
Then, law enforcement agencies attempted a campaign to educate drivers about the risks of texting. At that point, lawmakers were not willing to go further and place any outright bans on using cellphones while driving, largely out of a fear that such a proposal would be very unpopular with Alaska voters.
The 2009 and 2010 legislatures considered banning teenage drivers from using cellphones, but no law resulted. Legislators debated whether cellphone use should be a primary offense, giving a reason by itself for police to pull a driver over and issue a ticket, or a secondary offense requiring that the police stop the driver for some other reason.
In the 2011 and 2012 legislative session, several cellphone bills were considered, including the teen cellphone use ban, but none have been enacted. What the legislature did do in that recent session was to clarify the 2008 law, after a judge noted that the law did not specifically rule out the use of a cellphone to send and receive texts. The bill to revise the law to forbid texting cleared the legislature and has been signed into law by the governor.
Whether or not Alaska law forbids cell phone use, a driver who operates a vehicle negligently and injures someone should be held liable for their actions. An experienced personal injury attorney can pursue a claim to recover medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering damages for someone who is hurt by a negligent driver.
Article provided by Law Office of Gregory J. Grebe
Visit us at www.grebelaw.com/
Alaska Clarifies Law Against Texting and Driving
Alaska motorists are now specifically forbidden to text and view videos while driving, though no other bans on cell phone use have been put into effect.
2012-11-30
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
How Do Custody Arrangements Affect Child Support Obligations?
2012-11-30
The Pennsylvania child support guidelines presume that a non-custodial parent will have custody of the children for 30 percent of the overnights in a calendar year. This 30 percent presumption is built into the child support formula and applies even if the non-custodial parent has the children for less than 30 percent of the overnights. In fact, even a non-custodial parent who has been denied visitation to the children is required to pay child support, as calculated pursuant to the PA child support guidelines. In this respect, child custody and the obligation to pay child ...
Social Security Administration Announces 2013 Cost-of-Living Adjustments
2012-11-30
People who receive for Social Security retirement and disability benefits all have one thing in common: they are generally among those Americans who must get by on a fixed income. Nonetheless, Social Security benefits are subject to annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), and increases for 2013 have been announced by the Social Security Administration (SSA).
The SSA revealed in October that the more than 60 million Americans who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and retirement benefits will see a 1.7 percent boost ...
Disputes Over Inheritance Can be Avoided with Proper Estate Planning
2012-11-30
Over the course of your lifetime, you've likely accumulated a broad array of possessions. When your time comes, your property will be distributed to your heirs.
But will it go where you want it to? "Probate" is the court supervised administration of a person's "estate" (everything you own at the time of your death). If you die in the state of Nevada without a will, you are said to have died "intestate." If you do have a will, a probate court will do its best to respect your wishes, albeit with a degree of discretion and interpretive power.
With ...
Grandparents' Rights in Texas
2012-11-30
Of course, grandparents and grandchildren can form extremely tight emotional bonds. Grandparents can be as important as parents for some kids, depending on the family situation. When divorce or separation happens, or other circumstances prevent contact between grandchildren and their grandparents, it can naturally be hard on both the children and grandparents.
In these types of situations, many states have laws governing what kinds of rights grandparents have to having their grandchildren live with them or to being able to visit with them.
The Texas Practice Guide ...
Lien Stripping Process Available to Debtors Facing Bankruptcy
2012-11-30
Ohio homeowners know that today's housing market has diminished the equity in their most important investment. As a result of the housing crisis, many Ohio homeowners are "under water" on their homes, meaning they owe more on their home than it's worth. Still more people with second mortgages or home equity lines of credit have such severe negative equity that their homes are worth less than the amount owed on their primary mortgages.
If a homeowner files for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, money owed on a junior mortgage can be treated as unsecured debt. In that ...
Electronic Health Records Enhance Patient Care and Reduce Errors
2012-11-30
Medication errors cause serious problems for many people every year. Medication errors include combining medications that cannot mix together, being prescribed the wrong medication or taking the wrong dose of a medication. These errors can have major effects on patient health and can make a sick person even sicker. The medical profession sometimes tries to come up with ways to prevent medication errors, and one of these ways is to use electronic medication checklists.
New study shows electronic records enhance medication reconciliation
Some doctors handwrite medication ...
Number of Teens Driving Under the Influence of Drugs Increasing
2012-11-30
Many Illinois communities take very aggressive approaches to dealing with the issue of drunk driving. Law enforcement will often publicize DUI campaigns in advance, so that the public is aware of increased patrols in the region. Officials then use this arrest information to determine where to look for drunk drivers in the future, hoping that certain trends can be discovered that can lead to safer roadways.
Young motorists often learn about drunk driving laws as soon as they begin to learn how to drive. Illinois, like many other jurisdictions, is a zero tolerance state. ...
Massachusetts Monitors Injured Workers and Prescribed Opioid Use
2012-11-30
Addiction has a crippling effect on one's life. A study performed by a research group based out of Cambridge, Massachusetts, found that many physicians do not properly monitor injured workers after prescribing painkillers. By ignoring treatment guidelines, many injured workers become addicted to drugs such as Oxycontin or Vicodin after long-term use.
Another study done by the Workers Compensation Research Institute has shown that one in 12 injured workers that are prescribed painkillers were still using these opioids three to six months after their injury and many of ...
Yosemite-Area Resort Settles Sexual Harassment and Retaliation Charges
2012-11-30
The operating company of Tenaya Lodge near California's Yosemite National Park settled an employee complaint of sexual harassment and retaliation, according to a November 2012 news release by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, called the EEOC.
Following an investigation by the Fresno Local Office of the EEOC, the company settled the complaint for $195,000 without admitting any liability.
Role of the EEOC
The EEOC is the federal agency charged with enforcing federal discrimination in employment laws. With more than 50 field offices across the country ...
Fatal Crashes Involving Commercial Trucks Decrease in Louisiana
2012-11-30
Crashes between cars and commercial trucks are particularly devastating because of the sheer size differences between the vehicles. These crashes often involve serious injury or even death.
In an attempt to address the problem, Louisiana has put the Department of Public Safety in charge of truck safety. The issue used to be the responsibility of the Department of Transportation. Since the change, fatal truck accidents in Louisiana have dropped by 44 percent.
In addition, a new federal law has spurred truck companies to pay more attention to their safety requirements. ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
No evidence that maternal sickness during pregnancy causes autism
Healthy gut bacteria that feed on sugar analyzed for the first time
240-year-old drug could save UK National Health Service £100 million a year treating common heart rhythm disorder
Detections of poliovirus in sewage samples require enhanced routine and catch-up vaccination and increased surveillance, according to ECDC report
Scientists unlock ice-repelling secrets of polar bear fur for sustainable anti-freezing solutions
Ear muscle we thought humans didn’t use — except for wiggling our ears — actually activates when people listen hard
COVID-19 pandemic drove significant rise in patients choosing to leave ERs before medically recommended
Burn grasslands to maintain them: What is good for biodiversity?
Ventilation in hospitals could cause viruses to spread further
New study finds high concentrations of plastics in the placentae of infants born prematurely
New robotic surgical systems revolutionizing patient care
New MSK research a step toward off-the-shelf CAR T cell therapy for cancer
UTEP professor wins prestigious research award from American Psychological Association
New national study finds homicide and suicide is the #1 cause of maternal death in the U.S.
Women’s pelvic tissue tears during childbirth unstudied, until now
Earth scientists study Sikkim flood in India to help others prepare for similar disasters
Leveraging data to improve health equity and care
Why you shouldn’t scratch an itchy rash: New study explains
Linking citation and retraction data aids in responsible research evaluation
Antibody treatment prevents severe bird flu in monkeys
Polar bear energetic model reveals drivers of polar bear population decline
Socioeconomic and political stability bolstered wild tiger recovery in India
Scratching an itch promotes antibacterial inflammation
Drivers, causes and impacts of the 2023 Sikkim flood in India
Most engineered human cells created for studying disease
Polar bear population decline the direct result of extended ‘energy deficit’ due to lack of food
Lifecycle Journal launches: A new vision for scholarly publishing
Ancient DNA analyses bring to life the 11,000-year intertwined genomic history of sheep and humans
Climate change increases risk of successive natural hazards in the Himalayas
From bowling balls to hip joints: Chemists create recyclable alternative to durable plastics
[Press-News.org] Alaska Clarifies Law Against Texting and DrivingAlaska motorists are now specifically forbidden to text and view videos while driving, though no other bans on cell phone use have been put into effect.