Tag: teen safety

Car Accidents and Teens: When the Law Becomes Personal

teen car accident lawyerThe headlines are often grim:

  • Three Teens Hurt in Long Island Car Crash
  • Two Teens Killed In Long Island Car Crash
  • Four Teens Dead in Long Island Car Crash

No wonder we have mixed emotions when our teen gets a driver’s license. As parents, we understand our children are on the cusp of adulthood, but we also know they do not yet think like an adult. The granting of a driver’s license leaves parents walking a tightrope.

But the law makes no allowances for age. Though teens are more prone to underestimating dangers, they are still held to the same … Read the rest

National Teen Driver Safety Week Provides High Schools With Chance to Win Private Kelly Clarkson Concert and Cash

This week, October 18 – 26, is National Teen Driver Safety Week, which was established by Congress in 2007 after a series of tragic motor vehicle accidents involving Pennsylvania high school students.  As part of the event, State Farm sponsors a competition called “Celebrate My Drive,” where teens are encouraged to practice safe habits on the roadways.  All residents, whether they have a driver’s license or not, are encouraged to log on to the site, www.celebratemydrive.com, and make a commitment to safe driving. The more commitments in a particular school’s name, the better that school’s chances for winning cash prizes.… Read the rest

Bill to Set Minimum Safety Standards for Concussion Management in Schools Reintroduced in Congress

On January 26, 2011, Democratic lawmakers reintroduced legislation, Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act, that would set minimum safety standards for concussion management in public schools across the country.

The legislation would, for the first time, ask school districts to implement a concussion safety and management plan. It would require schools to post information about concussions on school grounds and on school websites. It would also support when in doubt, sit it out policies for students suspected of sustaining a concussion during a school-sponsored athletic activity.

The National Football League (NFL) has endorsed the legislation and is working on similar … Read the rest

Homeowner/Parents’ Duty to Supervise Departure of Underage Guest Who Became Intoxicated at House Party Extended to Ride Home in Car Driven by Son

Sometimes parents can try to do the right thing but end up liable for someone’s injuries anyway. In Aquino v. Higgins, 891 N.Y.S.2d 853 (4th Dept. 2009), reversed 2010 N.Y. Slip Op. 08386, 2010 WL 4642476 (November 18, 2010), the defendant parents permitted their daughter to host a party at their residence following a high school dinner dance.

Defendant father expressly told his daughter that alcohol would not be permitted to be served. Although defendant parents were home, they were not aware that there was alcohol present at the party until defendant mother entered the basement at the end … Read the rest

Four Loko to Stop Shipping Alcoholic Energy Drinks to New York; FDA May Ban the Drinks Altogether

Controversy has surrounded alcohol energy drinks such as Red Bull for their unhealthy concentration of caffeine. But rather than backing off, the beverage industry has come up with yet more potent and dangerous drinks. One such drink is Four Loko, an alcoholic energy drink combining alcohol and caffeine.

To combat the danger, the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) announced that the SLA has reached a voluntary agreement with Four Loko producer Phusion Products to stop shipping alcoholic beverages that contain caffeine and other stimulants to New York State by this Friday, November 19, 2010. Phusion Products has also agreed … Read the rest

Accident Injuring 4 Herricks High School Students Underscores Importance of Having Substantial Uninsured Motorists Coverage

New York State mandates that every policy of liability insurance issued to a motor vehicle provide Supplementary Uninsured Motorists (SUM) coverage. This coverage protects policyholders and residents of their household when a negligent party is either uninsured or has a smaller amount of liability coverage than the amount of SUM coverage.

One of the advantages of SUM coverage is that it affords coverage to the policyholder and his or her household members even if the insured vehicle is not involved in the motor vehicle accident. Unfortunately, a prime example of this kind of situation where SUM coverage comes into play … Read the rest

Parents Matter When It Comes to Teen Driving

Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, killing more than 5,000 each year. More than 7,000 people nationwide were killed in crashes involving teen drivers in 2007, government data show. More than 3,000 of these deaths were teen drivers, and more than 250,000 teen drivers were injured. Two articles in the October 2009 edition of Pediatrics magazine offer advice to parents to help reduce teen driving accidents.

First, do not give your teen his or own car. Second, be involved and authoritative; give clear driving safety rules and offer support. The studies show that it’s not … Read the rest

Study Finds Cell Phones Distract Preadolescent Children While Crossing Streets

Cell phones are known to distract motor vehicle drivers to the point that their safety is jeopardized and an accident may occur. But what about whether cell phones might also distract child pedestrians? A study of effect of cell phone use on pediatric pedestrian injury risk suggests that cell phones distract pre-adolescent children while crossing streets. While distracted, children were less attentive to traffic; left less safe time between their crossing and the next arriving vehicle; experienced more collisions and close calls with oncoming traffic; and waited longer before beginning to cross the street.

Seventy-seven children aged 10 to … Read the rest

New Federal Rule to Make School Buses Safer

New federal rules will make the nations 474,000 school buses safer by requiring higher seat backs, mandating lap and shoulder belts on small school buses and setting safety standards for seat belts on large school buses, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters announced this past October.

Secretary Peters said the new rule requires all new school buses to be equipped with 24-inch-high seat backs, instead of the 20-inch-high seat backs required today. Higher seat backs will help prevent taller and heavier children from being thrown over the seat in a crash, decreasing the chance of injury to them and … Read the rest

Woman Convicted of Computer Fraud After MySpace Taunts Leads to Young Girl’s Suicide

The woman accused of using MySpace to bully a vulnerable teenage girl who subsequently killed herself has been found guilty of three misdemeanor charges. Lori Drew created a fake MySpace profile in the name of Josh Evans and used the persona to flirt with a thirteen year old girl named Megan Meier, who her daughter had previously fallen out with.

After weeks of flirting Drew then sent her message which said: “You’re a shitty person, and the world would be a better place without you in it.” About 20 minutes later, Tina Meier found her daughter hanging from her belt … Read the rest