Orange County Computer Lawyer Blog

Drag Racer Doug Herbert Brings Teen Motorist Safety Program to California

It was a tragic accident that killed his two boys that got NHRA racer Doug Herbert’s attention on the safety issues concerning teen motorists. In January 2008, Herbert’s two sons, 12-year-old James and 17-year-old Jon were killed in an accident in North Carolina. The boys were trying to pass another car when their Mazda crashed into a Hummer.

After the accident, Herbert was stunned to learn that every year, more than 6,000 teens are killed in accidents, and that it is the number one cause of death for teenagers between the age of 15 and 19. The tragedy resulted in the formation of BRAKES, a teen driver safety program, which stands for Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe.

Now, Herbert together with the NHRA, is bringing this teen motorist safety program to California. The program consists of free driving seminars that will be conducted at Fairplex, Pomona. The first four sessions are already scheduled for this weekend. The program is free of cost to teens, and will focus on teaching teen motorists defensive driving techniques that they don’t learn during their driver’s ed classes.

Teen drivers lack the confidence to handle situations where they are required to make quick and emergency decisions. Besides, these motorists suffer from a variety of distractions that can impact their driving abilities. Cell phone use and text messaging are highly popular among teen motorists, and these form a major contributing factor in teen accidents every year.  However, the biggest distraction to teen motorists comes not from technological devices, but from their fellow teen passengers. Studies have indicated that the greater the number of teen passengers a teen motorist has, the higher the chances of an accident.

Herbert’s program will also invite parents to take part in the experience, but the program is focused specifically at teen motorists.

Raising a generation of safe, educated and aware drivers is a major factor in reducing the numbers of auto crash fatalities over the next couple of decades. The more resources we can invest in training teen drivers and helping develop safe driving practices, the more benefits California injury lawyers will see in the form of reduced number of accidents, fewer injuries and fatalities.

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Audio of the Kid in the Control Tower

This is the actual audio of the kid in the control tower:  

It would be very cute if not for the number of lives in the hands of ground controllers.  Fortunately, there was no ground incident, no airplane crash, and no need for a California aviation attorney.

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New Focus on Distractions and Accident Risks from Digitized Billboards

Those brightly illuminated flashing LED ads on billboards along highways and at intersections are much more of a distraction and accident risk than motorists may be aware of.

Federal agencies, safety groups and accident lawyers in Nevada and California are growing increasingly concerned about the kind of distractions that motorists may face from digitized billboards, considering how many of these first cropped up on Nevada’s and now California’s highways. There are comparatively very few digital billboards in the country compared to traditional billboards. Conservative estimates place the total number of digitized billboards in the country at approximately 2,000. However, considering how dramatically prices for these billboards have dropped over the past few years, it is highly likely that they will become more popular with advertisers and marketing companies, who are always looking for new channels to get their message across to consumers. High-traffic intersections are an ideal venue for these billboards.

The distraction levels and crash risks from these billboards is not well-established. Last year, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute released the findings of a study into distracted driving, and zeroed in on the sky-high accident risks of text messaging while driving. This was found to be the most distracting behavior that a motorist could indulge in while driving. It actually increases your risk of an accident by about 23 times. However, the study also made mention of distractions from animated billboards. According to the researchers, there is definitely a need for more extensive investigations into how looking at these billboards can impact a motorist’s focus and driving abilities, and contribute to the risk of an accident.

The Federal Highway Administration is definitely taking the matter seriously. It is conducting a study into the kind of distraction motorists face at high-traffic intersections where there are brightly lit digitized billboards competing for attention. There are also private studies being conducted into how dramatically such billboards can increase crashes.

It took California personal injury lawyers years to drive home the point that cell phone use while driving was indeed a major risk. Now, no one would deny that using a cell phone at the wheel increases your risk of an accident. We definitely need more information about whether billboards can impact auto safety, and if they do, how to decrease these risks.

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California and Nevada Truck, Auto Safety Programs Will Be Impacted by Senate Failures

A political impasse in the United States Senate threatens to starve state highway safety programs of essential funding for motorcycle safety, drunk driving accident prevention and truck accident prevention programs.

Last Friday, a bill proposing a short-term extension of funding for highway safety programs, and extension of unemployment benefits to Department of Transportation workers, was blocked by Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning. The senator supported the bill but wanted the extensions paid from the Recovery Act, instead of adding to the current $1.6 trillion deficit. When other lawmakers insisted on adding the cost to the nation’s debt, the senator threatened a filibuster. As a result, the Department of Transportation issued a statement announcing that it would be furloughing 2000 workers without pay. These workers belong to the most important safety agencies in the country, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Federal Highway Administration. The impasse will also cut the funds that the federal administration pays out to states, to implement highway safety programs.

The deadlock has already caused several states to panic about the status of their highway safety programs. According to representatives of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, if the situation continues past this Wednesday, it could begin to seriously impact trucking safety in the country. The CVSA is funded by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program. It consists of state police trained especially to conduct trucking safety programs.

The stalemate is also expected to impact several programs funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Nevada motorcycle accident lawyers are especially concerned about the fact that motorcycle safety programs will be impacted by the blocked federal funding.  Auto accident lawyers in California will be waiting for funding for drunk driving accident prevention programs, as well as programs aimed at distracted driving, to resume.

The federal administration sends $157 million everyday to state highway departments, as well as another $157 million each week to fund state transit systems. All of this money will be blocked until the political games in Washington end and lawmakers agree to fund the bill instead of adding to our already massive debt.

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Interior Designer Suing Anderson Cooper in Slip and Fall Accident

A slip and fall accident can leave a person seriously injured, and depending on the circumstances, eligible to file a premises liability claim against the owner of the property. Ask CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.

The start of 360° has been named in a slip and fall accident claim filed by an interior designer in New York, who was injured after a 17-foot fall in Cooper’s new home.  The designer Killian O’Brien alleges that she fell through a hole which earlier used to hold a fireman’s pole.  Cooper’s home was the venue of a New York fire unit back in the early 1900s. The house was constructed in 1906, and when Cooper purchased it, came complete with a fireman’s pole.

On the day of the accident last September, the hole had not been covered. O’Brien’s lawyer alleges that the fall could have killed O’Brien. Any slip and fall accident lawyer would agree. A 17-foot fall can be serious enough to kill a person, or at the very least leave him or her with serious injuries. O’Brien was extremely fortunate that she survived at all. The lawsuit names Anderson Cooper, as well as the developer of the building where the accident occurred.

Slip and fall accidents are the most common accidents occurring on others’ premises. These typically occur because the owner of the property has failed to maintain the property in a manner that prevents trip, slip and fall accidents. These can also occur because the property owner has failed to provide proper and enough safeguards to prevent accidents. Whatever the cause, these accidents can leave a person with injuries as minor as sprains and strains, and as serious as brain and spine injuries.

It’s not just the owner of the property who may be named in a slip and fall accident claim.  If the property is being maintained by third parties, these parties may also be held responsible for any injuries resulting from an accident on the property.

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Companies Falsely Classify Workers as Independent Contractors to Cut Costs

Throughout my career as a computer lawyer, I have worked as both an independent contractor and an employee.  From a worker’s perspective, the two situations are quite different.  Employers often try to classify employees as independent contractors to save money.

The practice of misclassifying bonafide employees as independent contractors is one that California employment lawyers have known about, but the practice seems to be gaining popularity in recent times. As companies try to cut corners and trim budgets, they have come more and more to rely on unscrupulous means of saving on payroll costs by misclassifying workers as independent contractors. By doing this, a company can save up to 30 percent of its payroll and insurance costs. That’s not peanuts in a tough economy.

• Employers with independent contractors can save on Workers’ Compensation cover for these workers.
• Besides, they can save on unemployment insurance.

Now, the Internal Revenue Service is acting to stifle this practice.  At least 37 states are gearing up efforts to crack down on companies that engage in such unethical measures. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, a survey it conducted in December 2008 found that 12 percent of the companies surveyed were proceeding to use more and more numbers of independent contractors and temp workers. Needless to say, such practices also rob states of much needed income during a recession as more and more unemployed persons join the ranks. The practice seems to be especially widespread in the construction industry.

In the state of California, prosecutors have been cracking down on employers who have engaged in such practices of misclassification. One couple that failed to pay Workers Compensation fraud, but proceeded to file claims for injured but uninsured workers, may have penalties of up to $38 million levied against them.

Companies engaged in such misclassification are also being sued by their workers.  Janitors at Target stores in Texas are suing the retail giant, while Target insists the workers were never employees. FedEx is currently in the process of setting a case in California airing from misclassification of workers.

Workers who are misclassified in this way may have other hazards awaiting them, because employers are not required to maintain Workers’ Compensation cover for these contractors. Therefore, they may have no access to medical benefits when they are injured on the job. Unfortunately, many of them seem to find out that they are not eligible for Worker’s Classification benefits only after they have been injured, and the company refuses to pay their medical expenses.

If you have question regarding your status and an employee or independent contractor, you should contact a knowledgeable and experienced California employment law attorney.

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Happy Memorial Day

Thanks and Happy Memorial Day to all those who have served this country especially those who gave us all the ultimate gift – their lives.

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Metrolink Accident: California Bans Text Messaging by Train Operators

The California Public Utility Commission passed an emergency order banning text messaging by anyone at the controls of a moving train following last week’s Metrolink accident.  Federal investigators have confirmed that the engineer of the Metrolink train involved in the deadly Metrolink accident in Chatsworth was sending text messages while on the job.  Amazingly there were no state or federal rules prohibiting the use of cellular devices while operating a train.

If you have been injured or have lost a loved one as the result of the Los Angeles Metrolink accident, please contact the Metrolink accident lawyers at The Reeves Law Group.

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Los Angeles Metrolink Engineer May Have Been Texting

News reports indicate that the train engineer in the Los Angeles Metrolink accident may have been texting on his cellphone in the moments before the train crash.  A teenage railfan reportly told a CBS2 news reporter that he received a text message from the Metrolink engineer about one minute before the train wreck.  Metrolink has confirmed that the engineer ran through a red signal which should have warned him that there was another train approaching.

If you have been injured in the Metrolink accident or have lost a loved-one, please contact the Los Angeles Metrolink accident lawyers at The Reeves Law Group.

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Massive ID Theft Linked to Wireless Networks and War Driving

On Tuesday, federal officials cracked the largest identity theft ring in history.  The group of 11 people was charged with stealing more than 41 millions credit and debit card numbers fom major retailers such as OfficeMax and Barnes & Noble.  How did they do it?  Wardriving.

Wardriving is the technique of driving around in a car with a laptop searching for unsecured wireless networks.  Have you ever been using your laptop in a new location and all of a sudden your laptop automatically connects to an unfamiliar network?  You just accidentally found an unsecured wireless network.  Some moron bought a wireless router and just plugged it into the wall without configuring any of the router’s security settings.  Mr. Moron is now providing free wireless internet to anyone within range and has just opened up his network to anyone who wants to use it.  A wardriver will hop in the car and seek out these unsecured networks, perhaps for nefarious purposes.

The crooks in this case apparently decided to wardrive down to their local strip mall and were probably pleasantly surprised to find that the computers used by retailers – those would be the one’s with all our debit and credit card information – were hooked up to wireless networks.  Why not just download all the information and go shopping?

To be fair, these retailers’ wireless networks were probably not completely unsecured – at least I hope not.  The crooks probably found ways to get around the security of these wireless networks.  Given enough time and computing power any wireless network can be cracked.  By definition a wireless network is constantly transmitting and receiving data over-the-air and anyone with the right equipment can receive it.

I have always been uncomfortable with the use of wireless networks in a business setting where confidentiality of information is an issue – and when is it not an issue?  Do you really want your competitors reading your email or seeing what websites you browse?  If you process thousands or millions of credit cards, security is paramount. 

Wireless networks have security and encryption settings and certainly they should always be used, but by their nature wireless networks are never totally secure.  I’m not sure I would ever trust them to keep my credit card information secret.  Several large retailers just learned this lesson the hard way – and 41 million consumers are paying the price.

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