from WRAL.com

Ah…the “Drivers’ Ed” memories:  The movies designed to scare teenagers into becoming more cautious… the drill-sergeant instructors constantly reminding us to keep our hands at “10 and 2.” It was good advice then, but as car and their safety features have evolved, so have drivers’ ed guidelines.

According to an article on WRAL.com the American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association, a national group of driving instructors, is issuing new guidelines that change age-old driving techniques and take into account vehicles’ newer safety features, including the advice to hold your hands in the 10-and-2 position.

“If there’s a collision and an air bag deploys, that puts your fingers and hands in the way,” William Powell, a driver education instructor in Garner, said.

The new recommendations keep hands and arms away from the path of airbag deployment. Now, experts recommend keeping hands lower on the steering wheel, at the 8-and-4 or 9-and-3 position. In addition, experts no longer recommend crossing arms when turning. Instead, they are telling drivers not to cross arms over the airbag, and to push and pull the wheel around during a turn.

“You want the air bag to be able to do its job if it’s ever deployed,” Powell said. “That means it comes out at 250 mph, and it won’t hit you in the face.”

To read the full article on WRAL.com, click here:  New car safety features make some driving techniques unsafe

And we have a video about why airbags sometimes don’t deploy. Check it out here: Why didn’t my air bag deploy?

With the summer months approaching, motorists need to start being vigilant of the increased number of motorcycles on the road, because inattentive driving could end with catastrophic results.

The Hurt Report, an independent study of motorcycle accidents, concluded that in nearly two-thirds of the accidents, another driver failed to detect or recognize the motorcyclist and was to blame for causing the crash. The study also found that a large majority of crashes happened when motorists were entering a highway where the motorcyclist had the right of way.

One such accident recently happened in Raleigh, North Carolina, and left the biker seriously injured. According to WRAL News, the crash happened at around 5:30 p.m. Saturday evening, at the intersection of Glenwood and Cole Street, near Wade Avenue.

Reports from the Raleigh Police Department indicate that the driver of a car pulled out onto the road in front of the motorcyclist and did not allow the bike enough time to stop, causing the two to collide. The biker was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, where doctors are still deciding if they are going to have to amputate his foot. The driver of the vehicle was also taken to the hospital for treatment.

North Carolina Motorcycle Accidents often result in serious head injuries. That’s why the North Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers with HensonFuerst Injury Lawyers suggest bikers always wear a DOT approved helmet any time you ride.

Now, for the third year in a row, HensonFuerst attorney Thomas Henson Jr. is serving as chair of the North Carolina’s Tour de Cure, which will take place June 2 and 3 in Cary, North Carolina.

“Thomas’s leadership and professionalism are key to the success of our event,” said Katie-Rose Darby, an associate manager of the American Diabetes Association. “He puts his words into action, and we’re inspired to surpass our goals.”

The ADA is expecting approximately 700 participants in the North Carolina Tour this year, up from 525 cyclists last year. In addition to chairing the Tour, Henson will be leading the HensonFuerst Cycling Team in the event. The team comprises 40 members of all skill levels—beginners, recreational riders, and advanced athletes. The team has raised more than $70,000 during the last four Tours, and was named one of the national Tour de Cure Top 100 Fundraisers for the past two years. This year, team members are setting the bar high and working hard to keep their fundraising title for a third year in a row.

“The biggest challenge as chair of the Tour is growing the event to the proportion it deserves,” said Henson, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 9. “I want our community to understand the importance of this event. The Tour helps combat diabetes by raising funds to find a cure for the disease, providing education to those living with diabetes, and teaching ways to prevent and treat for diabetes. I’m not just doing the Tour de Cure for myself. I’m doing this for everyone who has been affected by diabetes. Together, we will find a cure.”

Henson, who rides his bike between 70 and 100 miles per week, says the hardest part about riding in the Tour is managing his blood sugar levels and insulin regulation during the six-hour athletic endeavor.

Anyone interested in joining the HensonFuerst Cycling Team can contact Henson at ThomasHenson@lawmed.com for more information. To support the HensonFuerst Cycling Team with a donation, click here:  HensonFuerst donation

There also are volunteer opportunities available for the Tour. Contact Katie-Rose Darby for more information at kdarby@diabetes.org.

About the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure

The Tour de Cure is the nation’s largest event to raise money to fight diabetes. Thousands of riders and teams have participated in the event since its inception in 1991. Last year, more than 55,000 cyclists raised almost $18 million to support the ADA’s mission to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

The HensonFuerst Health Initiative

The Tour de Cure is one of many projects and events to which the members of HensonFuerst devote their time. To recognize the importance of giving back to the community, the personal injury law firm established the HensonFuerst Health Initiative, a comprehensive plan that encompasses all of the law firm’s community and service efforts. The initiative encourages both community and firm members to prevent injuries, improve health and fitness, and aid organizations committed to bettering health and well-being.

Before it even had a chance to take effect, a Superior Court judge revoked the ban on using a cellphone while driving in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. WRAL News reported that the judge issued the cease-and–desist order Wednesday to await the outcome of a lawsuit hearing that challenges the ban and other town ordinances.

Chapel Hill town officials passed the ban by a narrow vote in March, despite the state Attorney General’s Office declaring the town doesn’t have the authority to pass the legislation, and the law was to take effect beginning in June. The law will make it a secondary offense to use an electronic handheld device at any time while operating a motor vehicle, punishable by a $25 fine. This means a violator would have to be pulled over for another reason in order to be fined.

The lawsuit in question, scheduled to be heard next Monday, was filed by a local Chapel Hill towing company and claims the ban “attempts to regulate a trade or business, but it applies only to limited counties and cities, and that makes it a local bill,” as stated an attorney for the company. Only the state has the authority to pass such law.

Distracted driving accounts for thousands of North Carolina Auto Accidents each year. That’s why the North Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers with HensonFuerst Injury Lawyers ask that you never use a cellphone while driving.

from The New York Times

Taser® electronic control devices (ECDs)–also known as “stun guns”–are effective self-defense and safety tools. But as with any technology, they can be used inappropriately and cause harm.

According to an article in The New York Times, research suggests that the electrical shock delivered to the chest by a

Taser® can cause sudden death by stopping the heart. The study looked at what happened in the cases of eight people who when into cardiac arrest after being shot by a stun gun at a distance. When a stun gun is “shot,” it emits electrical barbs into the clothing and skin. The electrical shock can temporarily disable a person, knock them off their feet, and put them in a daze.

In some cases, the shock is enough to cause irregular heart rhythms. And in some cases, people die.

“This is no longer arguable,” said Dr. Byron Lee, a cardiologist and director of the electrophysiology laboratory at the University of California, San Francisco. “This is a scientific fact. The national debate should now center on whether the risk of sudden death with Tasers is low enough to warrant widespread use by law enforcement.”

While stun-gun supporters claim that the ECDs are safer than firearms, this study confirms what some experts have been saying for years, that people should not consider stun guns “safe,” and that law enforcement should avoid multiple shocks, prolonged shocks, and shocks to the chest.

RESOURCES

To read the full article in The New York Times, click here:  Tasers Pose Risks to Heart

To learn more about how HensonFuerst Attorneys are investigating stun gun injuries, visit our dedicated webpage at http://www.lawmed.com/taserguninjury/

For more than two million Americans who are allergic to insect bites or stings, such as those from bees and ants, spring is a time for heightened awareness when outdoors.

For most insect allergy suffers, being prepared for this time of year means carrying an EpiPen. These are devices that are used to inject epinephrine into an allergy sufferer’s bloodstream in the event of a bite or sting. The epinephrine then works to stop the body from swelling, which is a reaction to the poison from the sting or bite.

Hospitals also use the drug for a variety of procedures such as resuscitation from cardiac arrest following anesthetic accident or to prolong the action of intraspinal and local anesthetics.

However, the Food and Drug Administration issued a recall yesterday on a batch of American Regent’s Epinephrine injections. The company recalled Lot # 1395 of the drug because of discoloration of the medication and visible parts and debris floating inside the vials. The company has asked anyone with the affected medications to contact the manufacturer or the location where you received the medication to get a full refund or replacement.

The North Carolina Defective Product Lawyers with HensonFuerst Injury Lawyers would like to remind all EpiPen users to check their devices to ensure they are not part of the affected lot, and also to check the expiration dates on old pens to make sure the medication is still viable.

According to an article on WRAL.com, the federal government will be phasing out paper checks for all benefit programs, including Social Security, veterans’ benefits, railroad pensions, and federal disability payments. By next year, everyone will receive their payments electronically, either through direct deposit to a bank account, or onto a debit card.

About 90 percent of people who receive benefits already get them electronically. This change won’t affect those payments; it is only a push to get that hold-out 10 percent away from paper payments. The Treasury Department says that the switch will save the U.S. government about $120 million per year; Social Security will save about $1 billion over the next decade.

Some senior advocates claim that the change will pose a hardship to older people who are accustomed to dealing with a check:

“Treasury acknowledges they have a lot of education to do for people about how these things work,” said David Certner, legislative policy director for AARP. “We’re a bit concerned about how easy it’s going to be to provide education, particularly for some in this older population who are not familiar with debit cards and don’t have bank accounts.”

On the other hand, the director of the Treasury Department’s electronic funds transfer division, Walt Henderson, says that electronic payments are safer and more efficient:

“You think of that paper check floating out there in the delivery system, with personal information on it, it’s much more susceptible to fraud versus an electronic payment,” Henderson said.

Indeed, in 2010, about $540,000 in benefit checks were reported lost or stolen.

While the government is hoping for universal adoption of electronic payments, there is a recognition that some people may not be in a position to easily make the switch. People who are 90 years old or older won’t be required to change, and people can get a waiver if they can demonstrate that using a debit card would impose a hardship.

To read the full article on WRAL.com, click here:  Don’t wait for SS check in the mail

To learn more about this issue and how to arrange for direct deposit, visit the Treasury Department’s Go Direct website here: http://www.godirect.org/

With prom season and graduation right around the corner, many teens will be tempted to drink alcohol and then get behind the wheel to drive home. In an effort to make students think twice before drinking and driving, officials in Henderson, North Carolina, set up a mock crash scene at the campus of a local high school.

According to WRAL News, Vance County Fire and EMS Departments, as well as state troopers and local law enforcement, set the mock crash up Tuesday morning at Kerr-Vance Academy.

Students gathered as the story of what had happened to three of their peers was told. The driver had been drinking when his vehicle collided with another. One person was killed and two others were seriously injured.

The driver did field sobriety tests and was placed under arrest, while the body of the deceased student was carried away and a life flight helicopter took the other two students to a local hospital.

Students said the scene would make them think before drinking and driving.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car accidents are the number one killer of young people ages 15 to 24-years-old. Of those deaths, 60 percent were alcohol-related.

The North Carolina Auto Accident Attorneys with HensonFuerst Injury Lawyers ask that parents discuss the dangers of drunk driving with their teens. Having an open and honest conversation on the topic with them may save their lives.

In an effort to keep teen drivers safe on the highways as prom season and graduation approach, law enforcement in North Carolina is beginning a new operation called “Drive to Live.” A WRAL News report stated that North Carolina State Troopers, as well as officers and deputies with other local law enforcement agencies, will be enforcing traffic laws around schools from 6:00 a.m. to 5 :00 p.m. on weekdays, and also will be hosting educational seminars, such as panel discussions, at local high schools.

The father of a Johnston County teen, who died in a car wreck on his way to school, says he wishes the program would have been in place when his son was still alive. He added he “would have given a million dollars for a state trooper to be behind my son to give him a ticket that day.”

The boy wasn’t wearing a seatbelt while speeding on his way to school. He lost control of his truck and veered off the road into a ditch. The impact with the ditch caused the truck to flip before hitting a tree. The teen died at the scene of the accident.

The North Carolina Auto Accident Attorneys with HensonFuerst Injury Lawyers encourage teens to be safe when driving by always buckling up, obeying the speed limit, and driving defensively. In addition, all drivers should put away their cell phones before starting the car.

All this week, troopers will be enforcing all traffic laws around the state’s schools, especially during the hours of 6am to 5pm. Troopers will be looking for violations such as speeding, following too closely, careless and reckless driving, and any violation of the motor vehicle laws that can result in serious injury or death. In addition, troopers will be conducting traffic safety education programs at the high schools sometime before the end of the school year.

According to National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, young drivers, ages 15- to 20-years old, are more vulnerable to death and injury on our roadways – traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers in America and North Carolina. Mile for mile, teenagers are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers. One area that is particularly concerning is distracted driving. In 2009, 5,474 people were killed in crashes involving driver distraction, and an estimated 448,000 were injured.

Stay safe!