millerboycott.com

With Florida poised to potentially pass legislation which would allow police to charge drivers for texting behind the wheel, there is renewed interest in the issue of distracted driving. While motorists and experts agree that distracted driving is major issue leading to car collisions in Fort Lauderdale and other cities, however, there is some disagreement about how distracted driving can be defined. The media tends to focus on mobile devices and while these distractions can certainly be a danger on the roads and lead to many traffic accidents in Fort Lauderdale and other cities, most experts agree that distracted driving is a much bigger problem.

A recent study from Erie Insurance confirms this. The insurance companies reviewed data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and concluded that one in ten traffic collisions across the country are caused by distracted driving. According to the study, the most common causes of distraction were:

•Daydreaming or loss of focus (associated with 63% of fatal distraction-related car accidents between 2010 and 2011)
•Cell phone use (12%)
•Outside distraction (7%)
•Passengers (5%)
•Drinking or eating while driving (2%)
•Adjusting car controls or devices (2%)
•Moving items inside the car (1%)
•Smoking (1%)

The problem with these types of distractions is that it is impossible to pass legislation to target these types of behaviors. It is impossible to tell, for example, if a driver is daydreaming or simply not focused on the road – even though this appears to be the biggest danger behind the wheel. While a texting ban may help prevent some truck accidents in Fort Lauderdale and other cities, there is no legal way to address all the possible types of distractions that can lead to collisions.

Instead, it is up to motorists to take the steps necessary to prevent accidents caused by distraction. According to Erie Insurance and other experts, there are a number of things that drivers can do to avoid being in (or causing) a distracted-driving collision:

•Pull over to make phone calls or use mobile devices
•Keep your mobile devices turned off while you drive
•Do not drive when you are having trouble focusing or when you are fatigued
•Provide a good role model for your children by driving responsibly
•Never drink or eat while driving – pull over and eat in your car if you go through a drive-through
•Adjust your mirrors, radio, and other controls before you start to drive
•Secure pets in a cage or kennel while driving – this makes the drive safer for you and your pets
•Keep your windows rolled up on warm days to prevent debris and insects from flying in your car
•Wear sunglasses when driving on sunny days
•Keep the interior of your car tidy

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Car accidents cause serious injuries across South Florida. Each year, victims of car accidents are rushed to Fort Lauderdale and Florida emergency rooms with head injuries, spinal cord injuries, burns, fractures, and other serious injuries. However, it is not just the accident and impact of the crash itself that can cause serious injuries. In some cases, a secondary cause can cause serious and even fatal injuries.

Some car accidents in Fort Lauderdale and South Florida, for example, involve not only another car but also utility poles. Downed power lines can seriously injure a driver attempting to leave their car. In some cases, victims of traffic accidents in Fort Lauderdale and across South Florida sustain serious burn injuries or are even electrocuted because of downed power lines.

The safest place is in your car

If you are in a car or truck accident in Fort Lauderdale or anywhere in South Florida and the accident involves utility poles and downed power lines, the safest place for you to be is inside your car. If possible, remain in your vehicle and call 911 as well as the local power authority. Even if the downed power line is not close to your car, the area could be electrified and could harm you if you attempt to get out of your car or approach a car that has been in an accident near a downed power line. Verify with emergency dispatch and the power company that it is safe to get out of the car before you attempt to do so.

If you must leave your car after an accident, use caution

If you are in a traffic accident in Fort Lauderdale or South Florida involving a downed power line but cannot safely remain in your car, you can tuck your arms close to your body and try to leap free of your car. You can reduce the risk of electrocution if you try to avoid touching the car and the ground at the same time. However, it is best to call 911 first and try to get the power shut off before attempting this.

If you do leap from the car, experts suggest keeping your feet together and shuffling or hopping, avoiding placing one foot in front of the other or lifting one foot higher than the other. If one foot is placed in a higher voltage zone than the other, this could make your body a conduit for electricity and this can lead to serious injuries.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

According to a recent study, elderly pedestrians may be more at risk than elderly drivers. According to the study, conducted at the University of Plymouth, pedestrians over the age of 70 were five times more likely to suffer fatal injuries when they headed out to walk, when compared with pedestrians between the ages of 21 to 29. Jonathan Rolison, who led the study, said that making the roads safer for all pedestrians means not only creating safer roads for elderly drivers but also safer streets for elderly pedestrians.

The research study reviewed U.K. police data for fatal traffic accidents that took place from 1989 to 2009. According to researchers, the results suggested that the risk of fatal injuries was similar for younger drivers and older drivers. For drivers under the age of 29, 13 in 100 million drives resulted in a fatality. For drivers over 70, the rate was 14 in 100 million driving trips. It was when researchers looked fatality rates among pedestrians that they saw a significant difference based on age. For elderly pedestrians, 23 in 100 million walking trips were fatal, a rate that was five times higher than the rate of pedestrian fatalities for younger walkers.

While a great deal has been written about the risk of Miami car accidents for elderly drivers, this latest research suggests that Miami pedestrian accidents may be an even greater concern. Many experts believe that the elderly are more at risk for Miami traffic accidents due to such conditions as dementia, eye problems, and other health conditions which can affect an elderly person’s ability to drive safely. However, some of the same health conditions that the elderly have a disproportionately high risk for also make the elderly vulnerable to pedestrian accidents. Moreover, since many elderly residents of Miami decide to take walks in order to maintain their health and in order to get around, Miami pedestrian accidents can be a significant issue – even when an elderly driver decides to give up their keys and stop driving.

It is everyone’s responsibility to make the streets of Miami as safe as possible, and that does mean making streets safer for pedestrians. Of course, there many things that elderly pedestrians and their families can do in order to keep elderly pedestrians safer. For example, elderly pedestrians can wear visible clothing and sturdy shoes in order to prevent pedestrian accidents. They can also take good care of their health in order to ensure that Miami slip and fall accidents are less of a risk. However, it is also up to legislators and the city to ensure that sidewalks and public spaces are safe for all pedestrians.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

According to a new research study led by Joanne Brady of Columbia University, more than half of drivers in the US involved in fatal car collisions had drugs or alcohol in their system at the time of their accidents. According to Brady and her researchers, men and those driving at night were the most likely to have controlled substances in their system.

The study, which appeared in the journal Addiction, was based on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Researchers looking over the data found that between 2005 and 2008, 20 150 drivers were fatally injured in car accidents in fourteen states. Of these, 57 percent tested positive for alcohol of drugs. About 20 percent had multiple drugs or controlled substances in their system. The most common controlled substance found in these drivers was alcohol, but marijuana, amphetamines, and other stimulants were also found in some drivers.

According to researchers, men were more likely than women to be driving with drugs or alcohol in their system. Less than half of women fatally killed in car accidents had controlled substances in their system at the time of their traffic accident, compared to sixty percent of men. The records did not show how much of a drug drivers had in their system, so according to researchers it is impossible to tell how impaired by drugs the drivers were, and whether any prescription drugs found in drivers were being taken correctly.

In Florida, since the 1980s, groups such as MADD and law enforcement agencies have launched enforcement and education initiatives aimed at reducing the number of Miami drunk driving accidents on the roads. Drivers are well aware of the risks of drugs and alcohol in increasing the risk of a Miami car accident. Nevertheless, as the newest study suggests, many drivers are still making poor choices when it comes to controlled substances and driving.

More can be done to prevent Miami traffic accidents caused by substance abuse. While Brady and her research team did not make specific recommendations based on the findings, the study itself does suggest a number of possibilities. For example, since impaired driving collisions seem more likely at night, perhaps more can be done to provide low-cost and accessible transportation options for drivers in the evenings and at night. In addition, since men are more likely than women to drive impaired, perhaps education and prevention campaigns aimed at reducing Miami truck accidents and car accidents can be tailored at men.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

The right to fight for your country, to enlist, serve, and potentially die, is an oft-cited justification for an 18 year-old drinking age. “If you are old enough to die for your country,” so the maxim goes, “then you are old enough to sit down and buy a beer.” It’s a powerful argument, and a common one at that. But it is only a part of something far greater that is often over-looked when used to rationalize an 18 year-old drinking age argument. There is great injustice in the fact that you can die for a country against your will (to be drafted) that doesn’t grant you with the fullest privileges of adulthood. But in some way I think it means more that you can voluntarily join the military and risk your life, yet still be denied a mug of beer.

It’s about justice. For better or worse, the United States has determined that at age 18 you become an adult. By the widest of definitions, this means that you are now legally responsible for your actions. You can buy and smoke cigarettes even though you know that, with time, they’ll probably give you lung cancer. You may even purchase property, strike binding legal contracts, or go into debt. But most importantly (for the sake of this argument), is the fact that, at 18, you can vote and hold office. 18 is the age of majority, the age at which one finally becomes part of the ruling faction, the democracy’s people. Sure, you can die for your country and not be allowed to buy a beer, and that is a travesty, but it is the over-arching disenfranchisement of responsibility for those who are in all respects legally responsible that is abhorrent.

Critics are quick to point out that 18 is not an Age of Majority, but one age amongst many that together mark the gradual path to adulthood. This argument notes that young adults cannot drink until 21, rent cars until 25, run for the U.S. Senate until they are 30, and run for President until 35. This is evidence of a graduated adulthood. But this argument is simply not sound. First and foremost, rental car companies are not legally kept from renting cars to those under 25, it is a decision made by insurance companies. In fact, some rental companies do rent to those under 25, and higher rates compensate for the potential liability. In short, 25 is not an age of increased adultness.

Neither is 30. Article II Section 3 of the US Constitution mandates that: “No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years.” But strangely enough this clause has not preemptively kept individuals from running for Senate. Indeed, the man who John F. Kennedy called one of the 5 best senators in the history of the Republic, Henry Clay, was first elected to the Senate at age 28. While no one has yet to challenge the legitimacy of the Presidential Age Requirement, it is clear that the Constitutional age requirements are something quite different than graduated adulthood markers. As the lone mentions of age in all of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, the are requirements are more appropriately seen as exceptions to full adulthood, rather than benchmarks of adulthood.

So as it stands now when you turn 18 you are legal to engage in all things other adults do except drink alcohol and run for President. It’s bizarre but accurate. Somewhere along the line, our society failed to remember that individuals, by becoming an adult, become responsible for their actions. Whether you are 18, 19, 20, 38, 39, or 40, you are an adult, and when you drink and drive, just as when you smoke in public areas or ignore traffic laws, you are responsible . By maintaining a drinking age different than 18, our society sends a signal that drinking and driving (the original target of the 21 MLDA) is worse in consequence for young adults than it is for older adults. This opens up a Pandora’s box when it comes to expanding the logic against real and perceived public health threats. Targeting groups by age beyond some measure of adulthood validates the fears raised in the Federalist Papers that a democratic system of government offers too little protection for the rights of minority factions against the will of the masses. Above and beyond its deleterious consequences, the 21 year-old drinking age threatens the integrity of egalitarianism in an otherwise representative democracy. 18 year-old drinking age is an act of justice.

Choose Responsibility Blog

Law enforcement agencies statewide added extra patrols, used saturation patrols and set up sobriety checkpoints over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The holiday fell on a Saturday this year–something that has not happened since 2007. The weekend law enforcement “Booze it and Lose it” campaign brought, not only a high number of arrests for driving while impaired, but also resulted in more than 23,000 overall traffic citations.

The North Carolina Transportation office says that 819 drivers were cited for some level of DWI during the weekend DWI enforcement campaign, which ran from March 15 to March 18. The DWI crackdown involved a total of 2,122 DWI checkpoints and DWI saturation patrol details across North Carolina. In addition to the 819 DWI arrests, law enforcement agencies issued 23, 222 traffic and criminal citations during the weekend campaign.

Pitt County law enforcement agencies set up 4 DWI checkpoints and an additional 4 DWI saturations patrols during the St. Patrick’s Day “Booze it and Lose it” campaign, according to the Governor’s Highway Safety Program.

Twenty four adult motorists were charged with DWI in Pitt County. Generally, a motorist can face DWI charges based upon an officer’s observations of impairment or based upon a chemical test showing a test result of 0.08 percent or more alcohol concentration under North Carolina law.

A different standard exists for drivers under the age of 21. North Carolina has a zero tolerance policy for underage DUI. Any evidence of alcohol consumption before driving, including any measurable alcohol level in a DWI chemical test is sufficient to lead to underage drunk driving charges in the state.

Pitt County law enforcement agencies cited six drivers for underage drunk driving charges over the weekend. Among the 819 overall DWI charges filed over the weekend statewide, 103 of those overall North Carolina DWI charges involved an underage motorist.

Source: Mountain Times, “St. Patrick’s Day ‘Booze It & Lose It’ nets 819 DWI arrests,” Mar. 22, 2012

Greenville DUI Attorney Blog | North Carolina Underage Drinking Lawyer | Pitt County First DUI Law Firm

The province said in its flood update Sunday that communities including Emerson, Letellier, Ste. Agathe and St. Adolphe may see crests equal to 2009 or slightly higher.
Manitoba stories

Law enforcement was out in full force last week during a statewide St. Patrick’s Day “Booze it and Lose it” campaign. The “Booze it and Lose It” campaign ran between March, 11 and 17. According to Department of Transportation statistics more than 1000 North Carolina DWI citations were issued. The North Carolina DOT says that state and local law enforcement agencies conducted 662 sobriety checkpoints during the campaign and utilized a total of 1956 saturation patrols across the state.

In addition to the 1,013 DWI cases, law enforcement across North Carolina issued 32,579 traffic and criminal citations during the stepped-up enforcement campaign. The week long campaign was part of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program campaign.

In Pitt County, law enforcement set up a total of four checkpoints during the campaign and used 28 saturation patrols. Pitt County law enforcement brought a total of 15 DWI related charges. Thirteen of the cases were brought against people who are age 21 or over. Two of the cases that arose during the “Booze it or Lose it” campaign in Pitt County were brought against drivers under the age of 21.

An underage DWI in North Carolina can be brought based upon any evidence of alcohol. An adult DWI requires either evidence of impairment or an alcohol content measurement of .08 or greater. Any measurable amount of alcohol in a driver under age 21 is sufficient for law enforcement to bring an underage DWI charge in the state.

North Carolina’s most populous counties saw the highest number of DWI related charges issued during the week. Mecklenburg County topped the list with 124 DWI charges filed.

Source: WECT, “Booze it & Lose it campaign yields more than 1,000 DWI citations,” 24 Mar 2011

Greenville DUI Attorney Blog | North Carolina Underage Drinking Lawyer | Pitt County First DUI Law Firm

Since the Flood of the Century 14 springs ago, things have changed substantially.

Winnipeg Sun – Manitoba

We expected good things from The University of Alabama when we gave the green light to the students behind the Less Than U Think campaign, but once we started seeing their campaign in action, we were blown away. The students had a clear, convincing and novel message, and made sure that everyone saw it.

That’s why we were excited to hear that the campaign has been getting some love from the American Advertising Federation– Tuscallosa.

• Gold Addy: Public Service Poster LessThanUThink Posters for The Century Council
• Gold Addy: Public Service Television LessThanUThink “Good Pick Up Lines” for The Century Council
• Gold Addy: Public Service Non-Traditional LessThanUThink Flashmob for The Century Council
• Gold Addy: Public Service Mixed Media Campaign LessThanUThink Campaign for The Century Council
• Silver Addy: Public Service Interactive LessThanUThink Website for The Century Council
• Silver Student Addy: Newspaper Campaign LessThanUThink GameDay Newspaper Campaign for The Century Council
• Best Collective Body of Work LessThanUThink Campaign for The Century Council

The team will go on to the regional Addy Awards for the categories in which they won gold awards. Should they win those as well, they’ll go on to the national competition!

We’d like to congratulate the Less Than U Think team for all their success. It’s very well deserved.

Century Council Blog