Suspected DUI Driver Hit the SUV of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Mom

Photo credit: dailymail.co.uk

 

In this day and age of the drunk driving laws implemented here in the United States, it is quite intriguing that there are still a number of drunk driving-related accidents on American roads. The US and the state of California for one, strictly implements these laws but still, it seems that some people still don’t know how dangerous driving the influence of either alcohol or illegal drugs are. Case in point: This latest accident that involved the mom of famous actor and former WWE superstar, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

The Johnson Family’s Account

While not much information was provided by the agencies concerned, Dwayne sent a photo of the crash site via micro-blogging page Twitter. The accident allegedly happened in Florida where the former’s mom was living in. Johnson said that his mom was driving when the defendant suddenly rammed her vehicle in front of Mrs. Johnson’s SUV. This has caused great damages not just in Mrs. Johnson’s vehicle, but also of the suspect. The accident has caused minor injuries to the victims and the intoxicated woman driver as well. All of them were said to be brought in hospitals where they were treated for their injuries and are currently recovering.

Making the Right Choice

According to Dwayne, his first reaction was to look for the driver of the other vehicle. However, he later realized that it is better to look at the situation positively than dwell on the negatives that such mishap brought. If anything he says, his family is okay and that they have lived for another day. Dwayne instead took to Twitter once more to reiterate the importance of making the right decision, that is to avoid drinking and driving or at least, letting someone drive for you, if you ever get to drink a little too much. This is not just for your own safety but of others on the road as well.

Dwayne’s cousin, WWE’s Lina Fenene also updated a photo on her Instagram account, documenting Dwayne’s visit to her. The members of the family were said to have even been goofing around in the pictures. Instead of dwelling on the negatives of the accident, Fenene also highlighted their luck that they are still very much alive and kicking.

Real Cause of the Accident

As of posting time, further details about the accident are still to be revealed. However, a Los Angeles car accident attorney reiterates that drunk driving can really put your, and other lives in danger. That is why one should make the right decision and avoid drinking and driving.

If you wish to read more about car accident, you can visit this website: http://www.personalinjurydefenders.com/car-accidents.html

DUI Officer Crashes Car into A McDonalds Outlet

Normally, you go to a McDonalds drive-thru station to get that badly-needed meal, whatever the time is. However, some locals or those who passed by Diamond Bar in California probably got disappointed when they went to their favorite McDonalds drive-thru station one early morning.

Crashing In

An officer of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) was arrested by his peers after his car flew off the 60 Freeway. The car ended in a McDonald’s drive-thru station in Diamond Bar causing damage to the restaurant. Investigators said that 29-year-old Officer Jonathan Chel of the LAPD was brought to the UCI Medical Center after sustaining traumatic injuries because of the car crash. In the medical facility, it is found that Chel was under the influence of alcohol which got him arrested.

Drunk Driving is Bad

Time and again, authorities have worked well to make sure that people knew how dangerous drunk driving is. Every year, the government through the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in its anti-drunk driving campaign. Through tri-media and new media advertisements and information campaigns, these different agencies, as well as concerned groups have put in a lot of effort to let everybody know how dangerous drunk driving is and why people should stop doing it. While some adhere to these calls by the government, others still go driving after drinking, making them learn things the hard way. That is why more and more campaigns are being formulated to better reach motorists to get the message across and make people stop putting their lives and others in danger by drinking and driving.

Law Enforcers Breaking Laws

Law enforcement is one of the biggest problems as far as drunk driving is concerned. Especially if the ones who should be enforcing it at the very people who break it. That is why the government is again reiterating its calls to make people drive safer by taking drunk people off the road. This way, streets would be a lot safer and accidents like these won’t happen again.

Toyota’s Recall Saga’s Not Over

Once considered as the maker of the most dependable cars, Japanese and for a time, World’s number one automaker Toyota’s reputation is once again on the line. After the holding the biggest recall of cars a couple of years ago, Toyota is once again recalling over a million units of its compact crossover RAV4, hybrid car Prius, and mid-size pick up Tacoma in the United States alone.

Total Recall Once More

260,000 Lexus RX350s, Tacomas, and RAV4s are being recalled for faulty electronics. According to Toyota’s website, this issue can possibly turn off the anti-lock brakes, traction control, as well as the Vehicle Stability Control. To fix these issues, the carmaker offers owners of the concerned models with free software updates. Owners of the affected vehicles will be receiving first class mail to notify them when the software updates are available at their local dealers.

Hybrid Problems

On the other hand, Toyota is recalling the Japan-made Toyota Prius as the car’s Electronic Control Unit (ECU) software. This problem, according to Toyota, may cause “higher thermal stress” in some of the ECU’s transistors, causing them to get damaged. This could lead to the illumination of various warning lights on the dashboard, making the vehicle go into a “failsafe” mode. Depending on the severity of the damage to the ECU, this could cause the hybrid system to suddenly shot down, making the vehicle lose power before eventually going to a complete stop. Around 713,000 units to be recalled are in North America, 130,000 from Europe, and 997,000 are in Japan.

Why Recalls Matter To You?

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, defects on the car’s various parts can cause problems that may affect one’s driving. Worse, such could lead to car accidents that would then get you hurt, injured, even dead. While you can file personal injury claims for such cases to get compensation for the pain and suffering it caused you, it would be a lot better to completely avoid these possible accidents by having your vehicle checked as soon as a recall order is released.

So be on the lookout for car recall announcements and make sure that you have your vehicle fixed as soon as these happen. This could very well make the difference and prevent you from having the need to ask for the help of a Los Angeles car accident lawyer to help you file claims for the accident that might happen.

Federal Government to Focus More on Car Safety System Research

A lot of cars today have been equipped with safety technology that is smart enough to prevent potential crashes that might injure or kill drivers and passengers. For the past few years, automakers have already been including systems in the cars that they manufacture that would generally ensure driver and passenger safety. However, these are only available in some high-end vehicles.

But the federal government, led by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), apparently wants to research more on car safety systems. Officials are expected to decide on how they can convince top automakers to include already-existing car safety systems in more cars. Here, the focus of their research is on certain safety systems, particularly those that automatically prevent drivers from driving their cars when they’re drunk or are not wearing their seat belts.

For the federal agency, topnotch safety systems, which include systems that avoid collisions, seat belt interlocks, and systems that detect blood-alcohol concentrations (BACs), are very helpful in potentially decreasing the number of motor vehicle accident deaths in the nation. Officials are also looking at the possibility of changing safety standards to pave the way for automakers to use the safety system devices to comply with the current government requirements for occupant protection in crash tests.

Leaving the Scene of the Accident Can Get You Into Trouble

As a Los Angeles motorist, it is a must that you are aware of the steps that you need to do in case you get involved in a car accident. First, you must move your vehicle out of the traffic flow and, if possible, contact the California Highway Patrol (CHP) or law enforcement and wait for them to get to the scene.

While at the accident scene, it is important that you take photographs of any debris or dents on your vehicle using your cell phone or camera, if you have one. If there are witnesses present at the scene, obtain their contact information, and provide them yours. After the accident, don’t forget to contact your insurance provider and explain to your agent of what happened. Never agree to provide a recorded statement to your insurance provider without first seeking legal advice from a Los Angeles car accident attorney.

Such unfortunate events often involve damage to property, as well as occurrence of injury or death to another person. In any of these circumstances, the one thing that you need to do is stay at the scene. Doing otherwise may cause you to face either a misdemeanor or a felony charge.

You may face a misdemeanor charge if you leave the accident scene which involved property damage. As stated by the California Vehicle Code section 20002, you are only allowed to stop at the scene and provide your contact information (name, home address, vehicle registration, contact number) to the owner of the damaged property. You may also provide the other party your driver’s license.

Meanwhile, you may face a felony charge if you do the same thing; this time if there is either personal injury or death involved. As stated by the California Vehicle Code section 20001, aside from stopping at the scene, you must also provide either the injured person/s or police officers your contact and vehicle information. If the vehicle you were driving is not yours, the name and address of the car owner must be provided.

It is important that you also assist any injured person involved in the accident. Within 24 hours of the accident, you must file an accident report at the police department near the area where the accident or with the CHP.


To know more information about Vehicle Accident, you can visit this website: http://www.personalinjurydefenders.com/vehicle-accidents.html

Enjoying Your Favorite Sporting Event Minus the Hassles

Almost every individual has a sport that they follow and play. Other than very popular ones like basketball, tennis, soccer, and football, softball is also one of those that Americans love. It is one of the leading sporting events that are being followed. This is also one of the more popular events played in schools.

Athletes playing softball use safety gears to help prevent injuries while playing the sport. First, a player should wear a helmet. These helmets have ear flaps on each side. Batters and runners are usually the ones that wear these. This will prevent the ball from hitting your face or head. There are also optional throat protectors, shin guards, and body protectors that help keep players from getting hurt while playing the sport.

Avoiding the Truck’s Blind Spots While Driving

Truck accidents in the United States are nothing uncommon. In fact, in 2011, there were some 635 fatalities recorded in which large trucks were involved. Said figure was a 20-percent increase from the previous year. Incidentally, a large drop in large truck accident deaths happened from 2008 to 2009. Nearly 23,000 more were injured, which was a 15-percent increase from the previous year.

Such road occurrences happen mostly because of fatigue, especially on the part of truck drivers. With truck drivers feeling lethargic behind the wheel, it increases the risk of other motorists of getting entangled with those large vehicles, therefore resulting in serious injuries and untimely death.

However, there are other reasons why truck accidents happen, and one of them is the occurrence of so-called “blind spots.” Basically, every vehicle has its own blind spots. But where are they located? Imagine you are seated on the driver’s side of a sedan and your friend is standing behind it. You can see him on the rear-view mirror, but you will not see him anymore as he moves towards the side-view mirror. The vehicle’s blind spot is where you cannot see a moving object with your peripheral vision glued straight ahead on the road.

Large trucks have the same blind spot as the one example above, only it is much larger. Not only does it apply on the left side of the truck, but also on the right side. Since trucks are huge, drivers are unable to see if there are smaller vehicles passing through that blind spot. When that happens, any maneuver going to the left or to the right may catch the smaller vehicle off guard, therefore causing an accident.

About the Possibility of Self-driving Cars in the Next Few Years

Since time immemorial, many people have been thinking of what the future would look like. Movies, such as the “Back to the Future” trilogy, have showcased the possibility of going back through time.

Although science is yet to close in on discovering a possible time-space portal, the thought of it fascinates people nonetheless.

Now, have you ever heard of driverless cars?

Before, many people thought it was just a product of science fiction. But with the recent developments in technology from the past few decades up to the present time, it is not impossible that this generation is nearing the turning point in which cars won’t require drivers anymore.

Indeed, the realm of motoring today is on the verge of an innovation.

In recent years, automakers have been working on what is called “autonomous car technology.” Carmakers such as Audi AG, BMW AG, Ford Motor Co., and Volvo have been slowly developing certain features that would allow drivers to sit back and relax as such cars operate on their own. One of these features includes the “autopilot” function.

Aside from these carmakers, Google, the giant web company known for providing Internet-related products and services, has also took on the path to autonomous car technology. In fact, it has already developed a dozen computer-controlled Toyota Prius units equipped with such technology. Surprisingly, after running some tests, these cars have already logged more than 300,000 miles without any accidents.