Thursday, September 23, 2010

Texting Leads to Increase in Distracted Driving Fatalities

Texting while driving likely caused more than 16,000 road fatalities between 2002 and 2007, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Public Health.  "After declining from 1999 to 2005, fatalities from distracted driving increased 28% after 2005, rising from 4572 fatalities to 5870 in 2008."    The authors concluded that distracted driving "is a growing public safety hazard. Specifically, the dramatic rise in texting volume since 2005 appeared to be contributing to an alarming rise in distracted driving fatalities."

Friday, September 3, 2010

$8M Settlement for Sledding Accident

The Courant reported:

"A Connecticut woman paralyzed in a sledding accident in Waterbury in 2007 has received an $8 million settlement from the city.  Rose Marie Deschesnes, now 24, crashed into a metal bench at the bottom of a hill near a ball field while snow tubing at Fulton Park. She suffered a spinal cord injury that left her a quadriplegic. She filed a lawsuit last year alleging the city should never have put a bench at the base of such a popular sledding spot and failed to take safety precautions.  Deschesnes' lawyer says the settlement money will be put into a trust to pay for her medical and living expenses for the rest of her life.

An aide to the mayor says he believes the bench has been removed."