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New information from the AAA shows that teen drivers are more likely to be in deadly car collisions when they drive with passengers who are under 21 years of age. According to the statistics, having one young passenger and no adult in a passenger vehicle with a teen driver increases a teen driver’s risk of a fatal car accident by 44% when compared with driving without passengers. As each additional young passenger is added, the risk of being involved in a fatal car accident increases. The same research, however, finds that when a passenger in the car is an adult over the age of 35, a teen driver’s risk of being in a fatal car collision is actually decreased by 62%

According to the AAA and other experts, these statistics show what has already been known anecdotally; younger passengers distract teen drivers and may encourage risky behaviors while having an adult in the car can encourage teen drivers to drive more cautiously. According to experts, even when younger passengers are quiet, they can be a distraction for a young driver. Distracted drivers may experience what is known as “inattention blindness.” This occurs when a driver is looking at the roadway but is distracted enough to not process everything in front of them. When this occurs, the driver cannot react in time to obstacles, in many cases, and this can result in Miami pedestrian accidents and traffic accidents.

The implications of the research is clear: if parents want to ensure that they teens are not involved in Miami traffic accidents, it is important to place limits on passengers. Parents may also want to restrict other distraction in the car and even ask teens to drive with an adult passenger during the first few months after being licensed.

Another study, out of Melbourne’s Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, shows that road accidents are the leading cause of teen deaths around the world. International research showed that injuries were the result of 40% of fatalities to young people between the ages of 10 and 24. The single leading cause of death in this age group, according to researchers, was car accidents. Researchers in the study also found an alarming trend: while fatality rates for young children under the age of five have declined over 80% internationally in the past five decades, teen fatalities have not significantly declined in the same time period. Worse, the US has the highest teen fatality rates of 27 developed countries, in part due to the rate of car accidents and violence across the country.

Some countries, including Australia, have reduced teen mortality rates by reducing road speeds, improving licensing programs, and improving road and vehicle quality. It may be time to get more serious about preventing Miami car accidents so that the rate of teen fatalities can be reduced.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Are there still people on your holiday shopping list? If you are looking for some great presents that can also help your loved ones avoid Miami traffic accidents, consider:

1) A hand-held breathalyzer. These are available at many department stores, and can help prevent Miami drunk driving accidents. There are even key chains with small breathalyzers on them. Although not as accurate as the systems used by authorities, these small items can help a loved one re-consider driving after they have been drinking.

2) A GPS system. GPS systems are more affordable than ever before – and more accurate. They can help a loved one find their way to various destinations without the distraction of maps. They can guide a driver to a destination without requiring the driver to take their eyes off the road, and this can help prevent Miami car accidents.

3) A rear-view camera system. Miami rollover accidents are tragic, but there are small cameras which can be mounted on the back of a car to allow drovers to see exactly what is behind them before they start backing up. In some cases, these systems are combined with GPS systems in one device.

4) A winter safety kit or emergency kit. Emergency kits and winter driving kits are very affordable but contain the various items that someone might need after a Miami traffic accident or after a car breaking down.

5) A gift certificate for a tune-up. Many mechanics offer gift cards and gift certificates. This can be a great gift for anyone, as it can ensure that a driver’s car is in great shape and ready to avoid a Miami truck accident or traffic accident.

6) Driving lessons. If you have a new driver in your life, consider giving the gift of additional private driving lessons. These can help a new driver hone their driving skills and their confidence behind the wheel, putting them less at risk for a Miami car accident. Refresher courses are a great gift for drivers of any age, as are racing lessons. Racing lessons are fun and help teach driving skills and confidence that can help any driver drive more safely.

7) Reflective clothing for the joggers and pedestrians on your list. Miami pedestrian accidents are a major cause of concern, and Miami bicycle accidents are all too common. If you have friends and family who enjoy biking or walking, get them reflective clothing, hats, or accessories, so that they can stay safer while exercising.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Manitoba, start thinking about what to spend your money on.

Winnipeg Sun – Manitoba

When the police administer a breathalyzer, the suspect’s breath sample is analyzed — and then destroyed by purging it into the air. Although it is easy and inexpensive to save the sample so that it could later be independently analyzed by the defense, the U.S. Supreme Court in California v. Trombetta ruled that there is no right to this. (See "Why Do Police Destroy the Evidence in DUI Cases?".)

Recognizing that an accused should have some minimal rights even in a DUI case, many states have enacted laws requiring the police to advise the suspect that he has the right to have an independent blood sample drawn so that it may be later analyzed and compared to the breath test results. California’s Vehicle Code Section 23614 is an example:

(a) ….a person who chooses to submit to a breath test shall be advised before or after the test that the breath testing equipment does not retain any sample of the breath and that no breath sample will be available after the test which could be analyzed later…

(b) The person shall also be advised that, because no breath sample is retained, the person will be given an opportunity to provide a blood or urine sample that will be retained at no cost to the person so that there will be something retained that may be subsequently analyzed for the alcohol content of the person’s blood. If the person completes a breath test and wishes to provide a blood or urine sample to be retained, the sample shall be collected and retained in the same manner as if the person had chosen a blood or urine test initially. [italics added]

Sounds fair. Except officers don’t like handling a suspect’s urine or spending an hour or so finding a blood technician to draw a sample. Result: this law is commonly ignored by the police. (Some DUI report forms contain a place for the officer to indicate that he advised the suspect of the right to an independent test, and it is commonly checked off — and ignored.)

So what can a defendant do if this legal right is violated? Well, the statute clearly says "shall" advise and collect: it is mandatory, not optional. It would seem to follow that there would be some legal sanction for a willful refusal to follow this law — the only meaningful one being suppression of the breath test.

Wrong. Remember: this is a DUI case we’re dealing with. If you look closely, another little provision at the end of California’s statute adds the following:

(d) No failure or omission to advise pursuant to this section shall affect the admissibility of any evidence of the alcohol content of the blood of the person arrested.

Cute, no? The law gives you a "right", and then makes it unenforceable. It is, as we lawyers say, "a right without a remedy". And, of course, since there are no consequences for ignoring this advisement of the right to an independent test, most officers continue to ignore the law. Practically speaking, then, officers do not have to follow the law and advise the suspect of his right to an independent test.

There are some court decisions, however, which seem to say that interfering with attempts by the arrested person to have blood drawn may be grounds for suppression of the breath test. See, e.g., In re Martin, 58 Cal.2d 509. And many states will suppress breath test results if the police refuse to permit the suspect to obtain a blood sample. In State v. George, 754 P.2d 460, for example, the Kansas court ruled that breath results should have been suppressed where the arresting officer refused a suspect’s request for an independent test because of the time required to transport him to a hospital and find a physician.

Bottom line:  yes, you have an absolute legal right to a blood sample…except, well, you don’t. 
  

DUI BLOG

Here are my ideas.
1. Outlaw lobbyist, any public official found receiving any gift, monetary or other item, are immediately suspended from office, put on trial and if convicted, barred from any public office in the future, all funds or gifts are then surrendered and goes into the public coffers, and the individual will be given a jail sentence equal to the jail term for theft of the value of the gift.

2. Campaign finance reform. A limit will be set for the amount to be spent on ANY and ALL campaigns. Each candidate will be alloted the same amount of money, and an auditor from the IRS will work with the campaign for each camp reporting their findings in the newsmedia each week.

3. Ban TV and Radio campaign advertising. A set number of debates will be televised in which each candidate will be given equal time.

4. TERM LIMITS 2 Terms max for any elected position no exceptions and no grandfather clauses.

There’s much more that could be done but tell me what you think.

The problem with all but the first of those suggestions is that they take power AWAY from the people: If I want to exercise my freedom of speech to tell people what I think about a candidate by buying advertising using money that I earned honestly you think it should be illegal? Or if I’m not that rich I can’t get together with a bunch of other people who think similarly and pool our money to do the same thing? How is that giving me power?

The real solution is to start holding government power to the limits set up for it in the constitution. When it can’t buy votes with tax money, most of the reasons for corruption will disappear. Of course this is unlikely to happen because most people like it when the government taxes other people to buy them goodies, so they’ll never tell their representatives "No, don’t send money taken from tax payers by force to help us build our city a pork barrel project, pay for health care for the poor, run our schools, etc. If enough people want the project then it can be built with private funds; if not, then we shouldn’t build it. Charity should be funded by voluntary charitable contribution, not money taken by force. etc."

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Does the Constitution stand for people or business?
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments today attempting to overturn the restrictions on Campaign Financing by Corporations and Unions as a Free Speech issue.

Absolutley not! Our founding Fathers would never have considered giving free speech rights to non humans. This should be stopped.

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