News tagged with 'Motor Vehicle Accidents'

The National Safety Council is advocating a total ban on cell phone use while driving, saying it is dangerous and leads to fatalities. A study by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis estimates cell phone use while driving accounts for 6 percent or 636,000 of all automobile crashes, 330,000 injuries and 2,600 deaths in the U.S. every year.

In a federal lawsuit filed on December 1, Public Citizen claims that records showing the connection of driver cell phone use and traffic fatalities are being withheld from the public by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Making antilock brakes standard on motorcycles could save thousands of lives a year, concludes the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in this report. 

Days before the first anniversary of the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, that killed 13 people, a new report titled "Bridging the Gap" was released by the AASHTO that says the nations 600,000 bridges are in bad shape and in need of repair.

On July 1, Washington State becomes the sixth state to ban the use of hand-held cellular phones while driving. However in this case, a driver must first be cited for some other motor vehicle violation such as speeding, before an officer can pull him over to issue a $124 ticket.

A recent insurance industry study shows teens are not heeding laws banning the use of cell phones while driving. The study concludes that parents should take a more active role in helping to curb this unsettling trend, as auto accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers. 

Countless thousands of Americans may be driving on tires prone to fall apart, especially in hot climates and at high speeds, due to a widely unknown danger—the age of tire. 

The FDA is sorting through hundreds of adverse reports on Chantix, the smoking cessation drug blamed for everything from psychotic episodes to fainting and depression. The underfunded agency admits the search is slow while the drug remains on the market. 

Operators of heavy machinery, including airplanes and now tractor-trailers as well as air traffic controllers, are all banned from using the smoking cessation drug, Chantix.   Included in the many adverse reports are accidents involving drivers who become psychotic, dizzy or unconscious.

The state of Illinois and a state trooper are facing a $24 million wrongful death lawsuit after the trooper collided with a car killing two sisters while he reportedly talked on  the cellphone driving over 100 mph.  This is his third collision.  

Across the country at least 400 people are killed every year bystanders of police pursuits. Now in two seperate cases, officers are being charged in connection with the deaths of innocents while public advocacy groups are asking for a more rational approach to apprehending the bad guy. 

Florida insurance regulators would love to their their hands on secret internal documents that show how Allstate Insurance makes rates and settles claims.

A faulty design, a half inch metal gusset that holds girders together, apparently was not thick enough to do its job leading to the Minneapolis bridge collapse last August that killed 13 and injured 145.

The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) has begun its investigation into the foggy and smoky conditions that led 70 cars to pileup on Interstate 4, and four dead. Lawsuits have already been filed and more are expected. 

Whether your 2007 was a good year or a bad one - many don’t need much of an excuse to throw back a few glasses of bubbly, Scotch, wine, or whatever your preference to wave goodbye to the old and ring in the new.