A directive by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ordering several state agencies to immediately stop overtime payments, could mean that several essential functions are blocked because of lack of staff to carry them out.  For instance, one of the agencies that will be affected by the budgetary cuts is the California Highway Patrol. The block on overtime will mean that the agency will not be able to spare essential troopers for important accident prevention and safety functions.

That means that you will not see any more California Highway Patrol cars stationed outside construction zones to slow down traffic.  This would constitute a nonemergency function, and will not be eligible for state funds as long as this directive is in effect.  Besides, the California Highway Patrol will not be able to send any of its officers for sobriety checkpoints anywhere in California.  The California Highway Patrol has been doing essential work, conducting drunk driving crackdowns and sobriety checkpoints around California.  With the ban on non-emergency overtime, the agency will not be able to pay additional troopers, who can carry out these essential functions.

Los Angeles car accident lawyers believe the situation could get worse if the directive continues.  The California Highway Patrol says that in the absence of additional staff officers, calls to 911 centers may begin getting delayed.  We could also have fewer California Highway Patrol officers stationed at car safety seat inspection locations.  These are important functions of law enforcement officers, and the budget cuts could impact motorist safety.

The ban on overtime spending is part of the administration’s moves to deal with California's budget crisis.  It's not the first time that essential state spending has been impacted as the government struggles to find ways to respond to its financial crisis.  However, cutting funding to essential programs and placing citizens at risk is hardly the way to deal with California’s economic problems.

The construction industry is one of the most dangerous work places in the country.  It is also a sector that has some of the highest rates of underreporting of injuries.  Many injuries in the sector are underreported, because employers who report higher than average workplace injuries are more likely to be subject to inspections by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.  Employers have much incentive to underreport injuries, and when this happens, it can make it hard for OSHA and Los Angeles construction accident lawyers to determine the extent, nature and severity of injuries that have occurred every year.

Fortunately, OSHA is undertaking extensive inspections of workplaces across the country to determine the extent of underreporting.  The agency plans to conduct these inspections over a two-year period, and so far, it has managed to inspect about 185 workplaces.  It plans to inspect a total of 380 by the end of the year.  However, resources are stretched, and the agency needs dozens of inspectors to be able to complete this task.

Construction work places in California can be the site of several injuries, including scaffolding accidents and collapses, trench cave-ins, electrical accidents and electrocutions, slip and fall accidents, and other injuries.  Many of these injuries go undocumented, because employers want to present a picture of the perfect workplace to the world.  Employers hold so-called safety contests that reward employees for an ”injury free workplace.” 

In many cases, it's not so much that injuries have not occurred, as much as they have not been reported.

Federal agencies are reporting that there has been a drop of about 360 deaths in distracted driving-related accidents in 2009 over 2008.  There were 5,474 fatalities in 2009, and 448,000 injuries in these accidents.  For the first time, federal agencies also isolated distractions that involve cell phone use.  Eighteen percent of all the distracted driving deaths in 2009 involved a motorist using a cell phone.  Cell phones also contributed to 5% of all injuries that occurred in distracted driving-related accidents last year. 

There is now talk of reducing these fatalities further by banning all cell phone use behind the wheel.  It's a move that has automakers very worried, because it could dramatically change the way motorists currently drive, and could render voice recognition technologies in a car less useful.

The Governor’s Highway Safety Association is considering a ban on all cell phone use while driving, a move that would also include voice-activated technologies like the Sync  system that is currently in place in so many Ford vehicles.  The system allows motorists to make hands-free calls, and have text messages read out to them.  If the ban on cell phone use at the wheel goes into effect, these systems could be prohibited. 

Not surprisingly, Ford Motor Corporation is leading the automaker tirade against such measures.  The company opposes any efforts that would ban hands-free calls.  In spite of all the recalls and bankruptcies, the automaker lobby in the US continues to be a powerful one, and it's likely that any moves to impose a ban all cell phone technology will see a tough fight. 

The GHSA can only make a recommendation about banning cell phone use, and states are not required to implement these.  However, when an agency like the GHSA adds its voice to those of Los Angeles car accident lawyers to call for a ban on all cell phone use by motorists, it could bolster this cause, and place pressure on states to enact such legislation.  This explains all the panicking by the automakers.

Drivers in California continue to text while driving in spite of a ban on the practice.  In fact, the practice actually seems to be increasing. 

The Auto Club conducted a survey of 4,000 vehicles in Orange County, and found that 2.7% of the drivers could be observed texting while driving at any given point in time.  That is actually an increase of 100% since January 2009, when the law banning texting while driving went into effect.

The Auto Club says that the findings show the need for greater enforcement and other penalties for violations.  Los Angeles car accident lawyers would agree wholeheartedly.  Currently, the laws impose a paltry penalty of $20 for a first offense.  There are no points added to the driver's record.  There is also little indication that our legislators are taking seriously the accident risks to motorists from such practices.  A bill that would have toughened penalties for texting ban violators by adding a point to the driver’s records was recently defeated in the legislature.  The bill would have also increased penalties for violations.  The bill had been strongly supported by auto safety groups and Los Angeles car accident attorneys, but legislators were obviously not convinced that there was a serious need for stronger penalties.

As long as legislators continue to deny we have a problem with distracted drivers, we will continue to see drivers openly flouting the rules and placing other motorists and themselves at risk.  We don't need more proof that texting while driving substantially increases the risk of an accident.  However, we do to actually increase fines and toughen penalties for violations.  Until that happens, we can continue to expect more violations of the ban, and more risks to motorists.

It’s what California dog bite lawyers and veterinarians have been saying for years - pit bulls are aggressive breeds, and need owners who can dedicate the resources necessary to train these animals effectively.  Unfortunately, many of the people who end up owning these dogs treat them like trophies, and are completely ill-equipped to handle them properly.

The pit bull debate is heating up again in the city of Victorville, California, after several recent dog bites injured a number of people, including children.  In April, a 52-year-old woman was seriously injured by a pit bull as she  was getting her mail.  In Apple Valley earlier this year, a three-year-old child was killed by the family pit bull.  The San Bernardino County Animal Care and Control authorities say that pit bull breeds were responsible for all four human deaths from dog bites over the past five years.

Unfortunately, these incidents simply lead to an outcry against the breeds.  It makes more sense to target the kind of people that gravitate towards these breeds.  That's not to say that every pit bull owner is ill-equipped to handle these dogs.  However, dog safety experts say that there's a certain kind of dog owner that tends to gravitate towards pit bull breeds in comparison to other dogs.  These people typically have aggressive or vicious tendencies themselves, and they often do not have the kind of resources needed to raise pit bulls.  Someone who lives in a cramped apartment or a tiny house with no yard, and is not interested in walking or exercising his dog, and does not have the patience to deal with animals, is not an ideal pit bull owner.  These animals need lots of exercise and plenty of space to run about.  When they're chained in a tiny yard, and hardly ever taken out for exercise, their naturally aggressive tendencies simply increase.

A ban on pit bull breeds altogether is too extreme.  We would like to see more care taken while placing a pit bull breed in a home.  Something like this could be hard to implement, but veterinarians, animal shelters and others must try to ensure that these breeds end up with people who can care for them.

There’s yet another list of the safest cities for motorists in the US, and yet again, Los Angeles car accident lawyers will not be surprised to find that their city features near the bottom.  The list is the 2010 edition of Allstate’s America's Best Drivers report on the best cities to drive a car. 

The safest city according to Allstate, is Fort Collins, Colorado where drivers have a 31.2% lower accident likelihood than the national average.  This is followed by:

• Chattanooga, Tennessee
• Boise, Idaho
• Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Knoxville, Tennessee
• Eugene, Oregon
• Reno, Nevada
• Huntsville, Alabama
• Lincoln, Nebraska
• Cedar Rapids, Iowa

At the other end of the spectrum, are the cities where motorists are at the highest risk of an accident.  The worst city in the US for motorists, according to Allstate, is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where motorists have a 53.5% greater accident likelihood than the national average.  Next in line is Los Angeles which has a 44.7% greater accident likelihood than the national average.  The other California city on the most unsafe cities list is San Diego where the risk of an accident is 8.3% higher than the national average.  The other unsafe cities include Dallas, Chicago, San Antonio, Houston, New York and Phoenix.

Cities like Los Angeles do struggle with challenges that impact motorist safety.  For instance, Los Angeles has an auto-centric culture, which means more vehicles on the road.  That doesn't mean that motorists here should be resigned to a higher probability of an accident.  It does mean however, that motorists must drive with greater precautions.  That includes switching off your Blackberry and iPhone while driving, and obeying traffic rules.  It also means never drinking and driving, and always buckling up.

Over the years, we have encountered many different attorneys, very few of which have the experience necessary to be called true experts. When we do meet a lawyer that personifies expertise, we like to spread the word. One such attorney is Austin personal injury lawyer Michael Grossman of Grossman Law Offices P.C.

This experienced Austin trial lawyer has spent the past 20 years helping victims of trucking accidents, personal injuries, and wrongful deaths throughout the state of Texas. As a result of his dedicated work and commitment to his clients, attorney Michael Grossman has recovered literally millions of dollars for his clients to help them move past such a difficult time.

In fact, Michael Grossman has been inducted into the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a private club that only grants admission to trial lawyers who have recovered multi-million dollar settlements or verdicts for their clients. Tractor trailer accident victims in Texas that are looking for an experienced Austin 18-wheeler accident attorney or Austin personal injury & wrongful death lawyer should contact Michael Grossman.