Making Drivers Realize Just How Dangerous Texting and Driving Really Is
Due to driving distractions, 424,000 individuals were injured and 3,154 lost their lives in 2013 ( in 2012, those who got injured due to distracted driving numbered only to 387,000). In 2014, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said there were 3,179 deaths and 431,000 injuries that resulted from 297,000 distraction-affected car crashes. Unlike drunk-driving, driving recklessly and overspeeding, which many drivers would not risk committing, distracted driving can happen to anyone – even to the most careful of drivers who are always concerned about road safety.
While there have been accidents which were due to factors that are beyond the control of drivers, such as defective car or car parts or defective or poorly maintained roads, highways and bridges, both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) of the NHTSA hold that 90% of all road crashes can be blamed on drivers.
Since 2012, texting and using a phone (whether hands free or hand held) while driving have always been the worst form of driving distraction in the United States and around the world. In the continues effort to show drivers, most especially young drivers whose age fall between 16 and 24, a non-profit organization in Belgium, called Responsible Young Drivers, for example, thought of a way to give new drivers a first-hand lesson on how dangerous texting and driving really is. By taking new drivers a driving instructor tells them that a new law required that Belgian drivers must first prove they can text messages (all in correct spelling and punctuation marks) while driving before they can obtain a license. What resulted in the actual texting and driving tests were lots of braking, swerving, swearing and crying for fear of not being able to obtain a license, and plenty of mangled orange cones along the driving course.
Hopefully the student drivers have seen and learned the effects of using a cell phone while behind the wheel and that it was enough to make them realize that, like drinking and driving, texting and driving is equally dangerous and can, indeed, result to road injuries and deaths.
Unfortunately, many other young drivers saw another thing from the posted videos (in Youtube) of the need to text and drive test in Belgium. Instead of realizing the dangers of distracted driving, one driver criticized those who took the tests instead, saying that they were texting the wrong way. They should hold up the phone above the steering wheel (like he always does) so they can keep their eyes on the road at the same time.
As explained by the law firm Evans Moore, LLC, one thing that can make car accidents so scary and so potentially dangerous is their unpredictability; you can be driving with the utmost attention and care, and still be unable to react to a distracted driver quickly enough to avoid an accident.
Car accidents can change your life in the blink of an eye and, wiith no way to prepare for such an event, families are often left without a way to address the considerable resulting financial damages, especially in the wake of the physical and emotional trauma you’ve sustained. Fortunately, you can pursue a legal action for compensation for the losses you’ve been forced to incur so that you can get back on your feet.
Read MoreSection 2422 (a) and (b) of Title 18 of the United States Code: On Solicitation of a Minor
Section 2422 (a) and (b) of Title 18 of the United States Code says:
a) “Whoever knowingly persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any individual to travel in interstate or foreign commerce, or in any Territory or Possession of the United States, to engage in prostitution, or in any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both;” and,
b) “Whoever, using the mail or any facility or means of interstate or foreign commerce, or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States knowingly persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any individual who has not attained the age of 18 years, to engage in prostitution or any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not less than 10 years or for life.”
Once a convicted felon is release from federal prison, he/she is required under the law to register as a sex offender for the rest of his/her life. Failure to comply with this mandate would result to a new felony offense that carries up to 10 years in prison and considerable fines.
The crime of solicitation of a minor, which is defined as the deliberate persuasion or enticement of a child under the age of 16, to enter any form of dwelling for purposes that include engaging in a sexual activity, can be committed by anyone despite not actually carrying out the sexual activity that he/she intended to commit. The mere attempt to solicit or entice a child is enough for one to be pronounced guilty of this sex crime.
As explained by the Nashville sex offense lawyers at Horst Law, this offense can also be committed electronically, through emails or text messages a computer a cell phone or any other electronic device.
Read MoreBenefits of Shopping Insurance Quotes
Accidents can happen anytime, whether you are driving responsibly or not. For motorcycle riders, it is doubly important to have motorcycle liability insurance to help cover costs of damages should they be involved in an accident. Just as with other states, motorists should comply with at least the minimum amount of insurance coverage to ensure that everyone involved in the accident is covered. Likewise, those who don’t have insurance may even face penalties and imprisonment after they are in a motorcycle accident.
Getting insurance quotes is just one of the many ways that you can have the best insurance coverage that you really need. Aside from complying with the minimum insurance coverage, it might help to add optional insurance coverages to ensure that everything is properly covered and financial issues can be solved easily when an accident happens. According to the website of Karlin, Fleisher & Falkenberg, when you have your insurance coverage, it is important to always keep your insurance ID in your vehicle. This ID is important and should be presented to law enforcement when they request for it, because it not proves you have insurance, but also that you are financially responsibly should an accident occur.
If you are unable to provide proof of your motorcycle insurance coverage or financial responsibility, then you might get legally penalized. This is a particularly serious offense following an accident; when you are unable to provide proof of your motorcycle insurance after an accident or a traffic violation, you might have your license plate suspended. After being in a traffic violation or accident, or after receiving an insurance verification letter, you are given a specific time frame (specified by your state) to provide your proof of insurance. If you are unable to show such proof, you will have to pay for a fine and reinstatement fee in order for your suspension to be lifted. Repeat offenders may have to wait for four months for their suspension to be lifted. Nevertheless, even with the plate suspension, the state still allows you drive other vehicles as long as they are covered.
Read MoreIs It a Birth Injury or Medical Malpractice?
It is difficult to draw the line between two branches from the same trunk—where does one start and where does the other begin?
Birth injury and medical malpractice are both subsets of a specific branch of the law that deals with situations wherein a person is suffering from consequences that were due to the negligence of another party. This branch of the law is called personal injury and, no, the injury does not need to be physical in order to be considered legitimate. The injury need only be harmful and debilitating to the point that compensation for the medical expenses (including a possible need for prolonged therapy) as well as the loss of wages during the time that the survivor was incapacitated.
However, the thing about the subsets of personal injury is that it is difficult to decide on what your case constitutes as. If your child was born with the movement disorder called cerebral palsy and say that the disorder was a direct result of the negligence of the practicing physician. Does the situation then constitute as medical malpractice or birth injury—and is there really a difference between the two?
It can be difficult to navigate through the process due to not only the legal procedures and necessities but also the medical knowledge that one would have in order to take a case like this to the table. The situation requires critical thought as well as thorough investigation, which one may not exactly be prepared to do, after being through an ordeal so difficult.
Read MoreForeign Investors and EB-5 Visas
Foreign investors asking for a permanent resident status in the United States has the option of applying for an EB-5 Visa. In order to acquire the EB-5 visa, foreign investors should be able to meet with the requirements placed by the United States Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS) particularly the required amount for capital investment, prerequisites for job creation, and make sure that the invested business qualified for the EB-5 program. After all the requirements from the USCIS have been met and approved, the EB-5 applicant, their spouse and children (under the age of 21) will be awarded with permanent residency green card.
In order for EB-5 applicants to qualify, they should invest in a new commercial enterprise, which can be any for-profit enterprise for an ongoing legal business like a corporation, partnership, joint venture, a holding company, or even a sole proprietorship. The legal definition for new commercial enterprise is those which were established after November 29, 1990 or those on or before that date provided that (1) it was purchased and already existing and restructured/ reorganized that can qualify it as a new commercial business or (2) it was expanded through investment which resulted in a 40-percent increase in net worth or number or employees.
There are other investments that an EB-5 applicant can choose in order to get a green card. It is common for the USCIS to reject more applicants than it accepts.
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