The Consumer Attorneys of California have created a video detailing just what the world would be like without lawyers. Sure, we’ve become an over lawyered society to a certain extent. But lawyers provide far more good than harm, and continue to fight for “the little guy” against corporations who have the resources to get legislation and public opinion on their side. Click through for the video.
Since this blog focuses mostly on consumer safety, there’s not much opportunity to write about legal humor. But there’s a lot to go around, and every once in a while (especially on a Friday), it’s nice to dive in and see what has made blawgers chuckle recently. This week, the “Battle of Television’s Greatest Lawyers,” outlawed eye-rolling, and toad lickers.
San Francisco isn’t the only region cracking down on distracted driving this month. Here in Contra Costa County, California Highway Patrol officers have cited more than 300 drivers this week for violating distracted driving laws which prohibit the use of handheld devices behind the wheel. On Wednesday, the CHP issued nearly 800 citations for the dangerous practice in the Bay Area as a whole, reports the Contra Costa Times.
Following the nationwide tidal wave recognizing the extreme dangers of distracted driving, San Francisco has launched a series of crack downs in recent weeks to enforce California’s laws against using handheld devices behind the wheel. Last week’s crackdown led to more than 900 tickets for cell phone users. Today, the California Highway Patrol has launched the second citywide bust in ten days, and expects to ticket at least that number.
“Click it or Ticket,” is the threat that has prompted thousands more Americans to buckle up since the punitive campaign launched two years ago. Since more than 15,000 people not wearing seat belts are killed each year, it’s considered irresponsible not to strap in while zooming along the highway. But when it comes to large commercial vehicles, seat belts are considered less essential. This week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched a campaign that could save dozens of lives each year by requiring commercial bus passengers to ‘click it’ as well.
As cell phones continue to become more advanced, enabling users to send text messages, emails, and even photographs from behind the wheel, the dangers of distracted driving have become more pronounced. The ‘epidemic’ has been cited as the cause of more than 500,000 accidents each year and is called the number one killer of teenagers. This week, New York City joined criticism of the dangerous practice with a report detailing distracted driving’s somber impact on pedestrians. Check out our state-by-state interactive map to see your state’s driving laws and how they compare to the rest of the country.
In what will become additional ammunition for Toyota supporters who say the company’s unintended acceleration problems were the result of driver error rather than electronic or mechanical errors, the NHTSA released initial findings this week showing that for many accidents studied so far, the brake was not activated at the time of collision.
In a major win for plaintiffs, the multidistrict litigation for wrongful death and economic damages victims of the BP oil spill will take place in New Orleans, Louisiana. Oil companies like BP and Transocean hoped the panel would send the lawsuits to Houston, Texas, the nation’s capital for oil interests, but plaintiffs kept pulling for New Orleans, which the MDL panel called the “geographic and psychological center of gravity” for the oil spill in its four-page opinion.
Part of the auto safety overhaul languishing in Congress would require the addition of black box recording devices that would indicate the cause of car accidents. While Senators try to find a way to get a workable safety bill passed, the state of Alabama has moved forward with an experimental eCrash data recording system designed to track the impact of distracted driving. Based on preliminary data, the University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Public Policy found that distracted driving was responsible for more than 1,400 accidents since June of 2009.
Pending lawsuits against Toyota are likely to result in compensation for victims of the company’s unintended acceleration problems that eventually led to the recall of more than eight million vehicles worldwide. But for some, like Koua Fong Lee, the lawsuits will have a much more pronounced impact, potentially leading to the acquittal of innocent drivers originally considered guilty of vehicular manslaughter.
Ben Buchwalter is Director of Client Outreach for GJEL Accident Attorneys. Before joining GJEL, he studied political science at Haverford College and worked as a writer and researcher for Mother Jones Magazine and Talking Points Memo. Ben enjoys skiing, public transportation, and television detective dramas.
