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The summer heat can increase the risk of Fort Lauderdale car accidents. There are many reasons for this:

1) Heat can harm drivers. High heat and bright sun can be a distraction for drivers and can even make it harder to see the road. In some cases, heat can also cause medical problems or can exacerbate fatigue, leading to Fort Lauderdale traffic accidents. If you will be driving in hot weather, it is important to wear sunscreen, carry a bottle of water, and keep the air conditioning on. If your vehicle does not have air conditioning, crack your windows before you drive. Use sunglasses to cut the glare. If you experience the symptoms of heat exhaustion or heat stroke – fatigue, cramps, headaches, dizziness, clammy skin – stop driving and get to a cool location. Drink water and get professional medical help if the symptoms are serious.

2) Heat is bad for cars and electronics. High temperatures can cause your car to overheat and can also wreak havoc with electronics in your car. If you need to drive in hot weather, be prepared to park in indoor parking garages or in the shade to give your car a break. Take mobile devices and electronics with you when you leave the car.

3) Summer weather causes tire problems. High heat can affect the air pressure in tires. In some cases, flats and blowouts can be caused by high temperatures, so it is important to check the wear and tear on your tires and inflate them correctly before a trip. If you ride a bicycle, pay extra attention to the tire condition and air pressure of your bicycle tires, too, to avoid a Fort Lauderdale bicycle accident.

4) High heat can cause problems with infrastructures. Pavement can expand in high heat, causing roadways to crack, buckle and even melt, all of which can lead to Fort Lauderdale truck accidents and car accidents. On railroad tracks, high temperatures can lead to heat kinks, which can cause derailments and Fort Lauderdale train accidents.

5) High temperatures can be deadly for children and pets left in a car. According to KidsAndCars.org, an average of 38 children die each year across the country because they are left or forgotten in a hot car. Even with the windows open a crack and even in the shade, a car can reach dangerous temperatures in just minutes on a hot day. In some cases, parents simply forget about a child in the car, leading to a tragedy. Make it a habit to quickly check front and back seats each time you exit the car to prevent this from happening to you.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

For all alcohol related fatalities not associated with automobiles, raising the drinking age to 21 has had no discernible effect on fatalities associated with alcohol. Alcohol-related suicides, accidents, drownings, murders, and alcohol poisoning rates have shown no decline associated with the drinking age. Death or injury from alcohol overdose has become a great concern to parents, teachers, high school and college administrators since the drinking age was raised to 21. This concern is particularly relevant, because college drinking deaths increased between 1999 and 2005. 

Choose Responsibility Blog

Positive advertising is telling what you will do if elected. Negative advertising is pointing out your opponent cheated on his cancerous wife and was kicked out as Speaker of the House after massive ethics violations.

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A local news station in Lee County, Florida recently ran an investigative series into Florida drunk driving accidents and DUI incidents. Reporters found that in many cases drivers caught on DUI charges are getting their licenses back and are being allowed to drive again quickly after being ticketed for DUI.

Under Florida law, drivers who have been accused of DUI are allowed to have an administrative hearing with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. This hearing occurs before the DUI trial and allows the defendants to argue for their license. While Florida law allows officers to immediately take away the license of someone who is accused of DUI, these hearings, according to investigative reporters, gave back licenses to hundreds of people in Southern Florida in just a three month period.

Someone who is accused of driving under the influence has ten days to request an administrative hearing. At the hearing, officers decide whether to invalidate the license suspension and return the driver’s license. According to investigative reports, in 2009 more than 5200 drivers in Florida received their licenses back due to these hearings. In some cases, drivers had been impaired and had been unable to pass a breathalyzer test but had their licenses reinstates because police officers failed to follow testing standards or guidelines when administering the tests.

In some cases, arresting officers did not appear at the administrative hearings, which also allowed the drivers to have their licenses reinstated. Florida is changing that particular law. After July 2010, a driver does not automatically have his or her license reinstated if the arresting officer does not show up at a DMV administrative hearing. As well, police authorities are cracking down on police officers who fail to show up for the hearings.

The investigative report does suggest the importance of good communication between the DMV and authorities. While DMV administrative hearings do not have a bearing on criminal DUI trials – that is, someone who has a license reinstated at a DMV hearing may still be found guilty at a criminal DUI trial – the case is troubling for motorists. This is because it does suggest that drivers who may cause Florida car accidents due to DUI may be back on the roads – legally – after drinking and driving. The DMV hearings are intended to give drivers a fair chance to get their licenses back but more studies need to be done to determine whether reinstatements are leading to more Florida car accidents.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Editor’s note: the blog is back after a short hiatus. We will resume our regular posting schedule this week.

Yesterday, the Maine Public Broadcasting Network alerted us to some new data from the Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey, which revealed a “large gap” between parents’ beliefs and teens’ behaviors in regard to alcohol consumption:

“According to a statewide phone survey, 26 percent of Maine parents believed that their high school-aged teens had never had more than a few sips of alcohol, while 65 percent of Maine high school teens said they’ve had at least one alcoholic drink.

More than 20 percent of teens acknowleged having had more than five drinks in a row, defined as binge drinking, while less than 2 percent of parents believed that their children had engaged in such behavior.”

Binge drinking is already happening at the high school level, and Legal Age 21 isn’t doing much to prevent this behavior. The full surveys are available here – let us know what you think in the comments.

Choose Responsibility Blog