“Would you drive the length of a football field at 55 mph with your eyes closed?
That question was posed by TimesDaily.com. According to the online publication, the National Highway Safety Administration states that is what it is like to take your eyes off the road for five seconds.

Hand-Held Versus Hands-Free

Cell phone technology is expanding at a rapid rate. Android and Apple smart-phones have the capability to surf Facebook, the internet, read emails, stream news, watch movies and videos, and take pictures at the touch of a finger. The technology is expected to expand to screens that bend, self-charging phones, and NFC chips that allow people to use their phones as boarding passes, hotel room keys, and payment cards.

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Everyone in Florida is required by law to have Personal Injury Protection (PIP) automobile insurance. PIP is your personal policy for medical coverage for up to $10,000, whether you are at fault or not. Seems simple, but is it?

Not really. If your injuries are not reported by a medical doctor to be emergency-related medical condition, PIP only pays up to $2,500. To make matters worse, if you do not see a medical doctor or go to a medical facility within 14 days of your accident, your PIP claim can be completely denied. We are fighting to repeal this law, but until we succeed, this is Florida Law.

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By 2012, new automobiles will be required to have anti-rollover technology installed in their vehicles, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. According to industry analysts, the new technology will save thousands of lives annually as well as reduce healthcare costs. Ford Motor Co. said earlier this week that it would put stability control on its entire lineup by the end of 2009 and General Motors Corp. is planning to have the technology on all vehicles by 2010. Several automakers have made it standard equipment on SUVs.

It’s bad enough the company has been accused of manufacturing defective tires that have led to serious injury and fatalities. It’s quite another when that same company uses deceptive practices to hide such information to protect itself from a lawsuit. According to an article published in the St. Petersburg Times
At least 21 lawsuits involving 12 deaths have been filed against Cooper Tire in Florida since 2000. They are among dozens nationwide that claim Cooper tires separated at high speeds.
Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiated a defect investigation into one line of Cooper tires – the Dominator Sport A/T. (The Florida lawsuits involve other models.)
But it’s Cooper Tire’s tactics to win lawsuits that have drawn attention: hiring private investigators to pick up tire tread evidence at accident scenes; aggressively pursuing gag orders and sanctions against attorneys; and sealing documents, claiming they contain trade secrets.
A South Carolina judge wrote in one case that Cooper had engaged in “misrepresentations, concealment, and disobedience” in the discovery process.

A research group has called into question the 2000-01 Firestone tire recall. Safety Research & Strategies has noted instances in which some defective tires may still be in circulation. The group has asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to investigate the effectiveness of the recall in the wake of four serious auto accidents caused by defective tires. Thus far, the NHTSA has not commented whether or not it will conduct such an investigation.

While Orlando ranks 30th nationally in metro population, it has climbed into the top ten list in serious motorcycle crashes, according to Progressive Corp. The dense population and heavy tourism are leading factors in the ranking.

Summertime is usually a period when families go on vacation, kids are out of school, and adults re-charge their worn batteries. Yet, it can also be a time when accidents happen. As more people take to the streets and highways, be careful for kids playing in nearby yards and parks. As the rains fall in the afternoon, be wary of slippery roads while operating your vehicle. Keep the summer a safe one by remembering the safety tips you’ve heard repeated so often.

When you think about it, that’s a staggering number of deaths related to auto accidents. During the entire Vietnam War 58,000 Americans died. Auto deaths in 2004 come close to that tragic number! Age, gender, and alcohol use play a significant role in these statistics. Approximately 2 out of every three teen auto fatalities involved males. Teen auto fatality rates in the USA are higher than most other countries because of the lack of restrictions on these drivers coupled with their inexperience and immaturity.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 1/3 of all fatal car crashes could be avoided and rollovers could be reduced by 80% if more cars were equipped with electric stability control. ESC brakes individual wheels automatically to keep the vehicle under control.
When a driver makes a sudden emergency maneuver or, for example, enters a curve too fast, the vehicle may spin out of control. Then ESC’s automatic braking is applied and in some cases throttle reduced to help keep the vehicle under control. ESC is relatively new. Only in the last few years have researchers had sufficient data to analyze its effects on real-world crashes. The new Institute study is based on data from the federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System and police reports of crashes in 10 states during 2001-04. Researchers compared crash rates for cars and SUVs without ESC and the same models in subsequent years when ESC was standard (note: some vehicles with optional ESC were included in the no-ESC group because so few buyers choose this option).

Today’s St. Petersburg Times featured a provocative editorial concerning the repeal of the motorcycle helmet law by Gov. Jeb Bush in 2000. Since that repeal, motorcycle deaths in Florida have soared. The paper’s editorial points out that if people choose to act foolishly, they should pay more in insurance so that the average taxpayer isn’t saddled with the consequences of such foolishness. Not a bad idea.