According to news sources, the state of Nevada will be the first in the nation to start awarding robotic driving permits to driverless vehicles, a major step towards a future where robots lead the way and distracted driving becomes largely a thing of the past.
Starting March 1, companies can begin applying for special permits to allow self driving vehicles to legally cruise around Nevada roads. “The test vehicles will be Nevada’s first red license plate since the 1940s,” said Bruce Breslow, director of the Nevada DMV. These red licenses will help alert other motorists that a “student robot” is in control the vehicle.
Google reportedly lobbied the state Legislature to make such driving activities explicitly legal. The company’s driverless vehicles had already registered over 200,000 miles of travel over California and Nevada highways and streets, albeit in a sort of a legal limbo. The testing of these driverless vehicles took place without permission, due to the lack of a legal framework regulating such practices.
Additional states are also soon likely to follow suit in creating a licensing system for these types of vehicles, with Hawaii, Florida, and Oklahoma already considering similar legislation.
As a San Bernardino car accident lawyer, I appreciate all efforts made to ensure higher safety standards to protect motorists and pedestrians. The objectives of this endeavor will hopefully help achieve increased safety. As a personal injury lawyer San Bernardino, I hope that supplying this information will help raise awareness about this exciting new technology.
One of the most interesting safety concepts being pushed in cities with eco-friendly reputations is the concept of a protected bike lane, and now Salt Lake City is looking to be tossed into that mix.
Protected bike lanes work by having cars park about a car’s length away from the curb, creating a bike lane that’s further away from speeding traffic. Because the area between parked cars and the curb is so large, it also helps to prevent collisions between bicycles and passengers opening their car door in the lane.
Salt Lake City has received a $25,000 grant from the Bikes Belong Foundation to create such a lane. A test of the new system is scheduled to run along a three-block stretch of road in the city. The measure is said to be cost-effective since all it really entails is painting the current roads in a different manner.
With their protected bike lane, Salt Lake joins the ranks of cities like San Francisco and Boulder, Colorado. Bike commutes increased 27% in the city, which helped contribute to the bestowal of the grant.
As a car accident attorney in San Bernardino, I’m glad to see any measures that help to keep people safe on the road. Bicycles aren’t afforded the same protections as motorists, so it’s my opinion as a San Bernardino personal injury lawyer that something like this could go a long way toward saving lives and promoting a healthy environment.
There are a number of hazards that teens face when getting into the car. Some are obvious, such as the danger that texting while driving can present. But not all obstacles are as readily apparent.
A new study by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm insurance has found that teenagers with friends riding in the car with them face a much greater risk of getting into an auto accident. Just one friend in the car can double the likelihood of being in a fatal crash, while the addition of three or more teenagers raises the risk more than four times what it would be with just a single occupant.
These aren’t the only startling findings of the study. Just 10% of teenagers admitted that they perceived other teenagers in the car as a potential danger. Of the teens involved in an accident who responded to the study, though, 71% of males and 47% of females indicated that their passengers’ distractions contributed to the crash.
As a car accident lawyer in Long Beach, I understand that the first thing teens want to do when they get their license is hop around town with their friends in tow. But it’s my opinion as a Long Beach personal injury lawyer that both parents and teens need to understand the risks of their actions when they get behind the wheel of a car.
Maserati has announced a recall of their GranTurismo and GranTurismo convertible automobiles manufactured between June 2008 and March 2010. The model years affected are the same as the manufacture dates mentioned.
1,768 units are included within this recall, which arose because of a defect in the lamp assembly. This defect can contribute to a failure of both the brake lights and the tail lights. Obviously, this makes it harder for other cars to see your vehicle, increasing the probability of a collision with the automobile.
The recall is scheduled to go into effect this month, with the company notifying affected owners of the problem. Consumers can bring their vehicles into a dealer to have the the tail lamp assemblies replaced for free.
Any number of flaws in the manufacturing process can endanger a driver’s safety, but to a car accident lawyer in Riverside like myself, this recall is particularly frightening. Tail lights and brake lights are integral in preventing a crash out on the road. In low visibility situations especially, lights on the back of the car signal that a vehicle is just ahead or that said vehicle is in the process of slowing down. As a Riverside personal injury lawyer, I hope this problem gets corrected before an accident can occur.
Ford has recalled 36 of its 2011 F-650 trucks due to a risk of losing steering control. The trucks, which were manufactured between February 2 and February 17 of last year, suffer from a problem in which the steering arm can shake loose of the steering knuckle and increase the possibility of a crash situation. The bolts attaching one to the other were not properly fastened.
Ford will be notifying purchasers of these trucks to have the vehicle brought in to have the problem fixed for free. This will involve an inspection of the steering arm and knuckle and, should a problem be found, the necessary repairs will be made by the dealer.
As a car accident attorney in San Francisco, I know how important it is for every part of an automobile to be working in unison to ensure the safety of the driver and his or her passengers. When this doesn’t happen, recall alerts are crucial in informing the consumer when a potential problem could present itself. As a San Francisco personal injury attorney, I might pay attention to these sorts of things a little more than the average consumer, but I think it would be wise if everyone out there checked on recall information on a regular basis.
There seems to be no shortage today of stories involving a product posing a danger due to an electric shock hazard.
Next up, Williams Sonoma, whose West Elm division has announced a recall of nearly 6,000 Overarching Floor Lamps, a six and a half foot tall lamp with a curved arm that allows the lamp to hang five feet wide of the base.
West Elm has already received 39 reports of the item short circuiting. Of these, three people have gotten a shock, two people had their property damaged, and one person even suffered a minor burn injury.
The lamp, which was sold at West Elm stores all across the country between March and November of last year for $250, should be unplugged at once. It can be returned to a West Elm store for store credit.
As a personal injury attorney in San Diego, I’m used to seeing recalls take affect after a small amount of incidents have occurred. 39, though, seems like an unusually high amount of short circuit reports to occur before a recall. I hope as a Long Beach personal injury attorney that the issue can get straightened out before yet another person can become injured due to this faulty product.
Earlier today I brought you news of a recall of certain HP fax machines, and now comes word that a similar piece of office equipment from a different company could pose a danger.
Konica Minolta has announced a recall of select models of its Magicolor and Bizhub printers. The affected units are Magicolor 4750 DN and 3730 DN, and Bizhub C35 and C35P. 8,430 of the units are at risk of catching fire due to issues with overheating and short circuiting.
Already two accidents have been reported, but luckily no injuries have occurred. If you use the Magicolor printers, the company is asking that you cease usage at once and contact them for a replacement. Konica Minolta has stated that Bizhub users will be visited by a service technician shortly.
The affected units were sold at various electronics stores nationwide between June 2010 and March 2011 and retailed for between $900 and $3500.
As a personal injury lawyer in Riverside, I know that because we use so much electronic equipment on a daily basis, it’s easy to take those machines for granted. But every so often, those same machines we rely on to make our lives easier can pose a hazard. That’s why it’s my belief as a Los Angeles personal injury attorney that consumers should pay close attention to recall information.
The Food and Drug Administration’s ability to police new medical products might be strengthened if Democrats get their way.
They are in the process of trying to pass a bill that would disallow companies from manufacturing products that are substantially similar from previous items that were recalled or if they are in the process of being taken off the market.
Democrats point to reports of women sustaining internal injuries due to the usage of transvaginal implants that resulted in an alert put out by the FDA. Bloomberg News was able to trace those items’ history all the way back to 1989, when a similar mesh was recalled due to safety issues.
Currently, the FDA has a system in place called the 510(k) system, which lets companies bypass the human testing phase of a product if a similar item is already available. The new bill aims to close this loophole, with supporters likening the new rules to how subsequent models of automobiles aren’t allowed to arrive on the market with a previously discovered defect.
As a car accident attorney in San Francisco, I think this comparison is apt. If a product has a flaw and is recalled, it’s important that the problem is fixed before subsequent items reach consumers. I’ll be watching what transpires closely as a San Francisco personal injury attorney.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has reported that Hewlett Packard has recalled over one million fax machines due to a fire hazard.
The problem involves the failure of defective internal components. This failure causes the fax machines to overheat and subsequently catch fire.
Already seven reports have reached HP of fires breaking out in the fax machines. Of these reports, one resulted in a large amount of damage to surrounding property and another left a person’s finger with minor burns.
The affected units are the HP Fax 1040 and HP Fax 1050 machines. They were sold all across the country at various electronics stores between November 2004 and December 2011. They retailed anywhere from $90 to $120. Ironically, some of these items were replacements for a previous recall of a similar product that occurred in June 2008. Consumers can contact the company for a rebate that’s good for a replacement fax.
As a personal injury attorney in Ventura, I think it’s a shame that a handful of these fires broke out before the recall could be announced, especially considering the nature of that similar recall in 2008. I hope that consumers take my advice as a San Bernardino personal injury lawyer and heed the recall.
Glaval buses, model year 2006 to 2011, may contain defective fuses in the air conditioner unit and are being recalled for this reason. The fuses may loosen over time and cause damage to the vehicular structure, possibly resulting in a fire. The fuses are reportedly affected by the passage of time, vibrations resulting from use and other factors such as temperature.
The transit buses affected by the recall were built on chassis from Ford, Chevrolet, GMC and Freightliner and contain Carrier GenV EM-1 Evaporator Units.
Glaval will contact all owners of these models and inform them of the fault. They will attempt to rectify the situation by providing a free retrofit kit and repair instructions.
As a personal injury attorney in Long Beach, I’ve seen a number of recalls due to a faulty part. Vehicles are quite often some of the most serious forms of recall that can be had. The road can be a dangerous place, and we rely on our automobiles to get us to a destination safely. I hope that vehicles affected by this recall get fixed before damage can be done. As a Long Beach car accident attorney, I advise everyone to stay cautious on the roads, because you never know who’s driving around in a car with a part that’s been recalled.
