Now the Texas Transportation Commission has approved the 75 mph speed limit for almost 1,500 more miles of interstate highways in 60 Texas counties. The change was made on the basis of a state law which was approved last year. Earlier, the commission had provided for higher speed limits on four highways in Central Texas, also as a result of the new law. Altogether,

Texans will be able to drive on highways with a 75 mph speed limit or faster on nearly 3,600 paved miles in the state. That’s according to the Texas Department of Transportation. But before you press the pedal to the metal, keep in mind that observable highway signs first must be posted in order to set the new speed limits. Also, not all highways will be affected.

Interstates 10 and 45 as they pass through the Houston area will continue to have a 70 mph speed limit, as will Interstates 35, 30 and 20 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. But I-10 from San Antonio until just west of Houston will have a 75 mph speed limit, as will I-45 for about half the distance between Houston and Dallas. This may lead to greater convenience for some drivers who are in a hurry, but for others, speed can kill. In fact, speed is a factor in almost one third of all traffic and car accidents.

Jim S. Adler & Associates urges all drivers to make safety and caution their top priorities. It’s better to arrive at a destination alive than risk death for a chance to arrive early.

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Police said the driver of the white Lamborghini departed the Belvedere lounge upon its closing about 2 a.m. and lost control of the car, striking two pedestrians and two other vehicles in the parking lot. The pedestrians and a woman from one of the two other vehicles were taken to a hospital.Police said the driver told them he’d purchased the car a week earlier and was not yet familiar with it. He said he lost control of it because he didn’t realize how powerful it was. (The vehicle in the auto accident reportedly can reach speeds of up to 200 mph.)

Police said the driver was not intoxicated and did not leave the scene. Thus he was not taken into custody and is not expected to face any criminal charges.

The car involved was a 2012 Lamborghini Aventador, considered the new flagship model of the Lamborghini line. Its estimated price when new is $400,000.

The Lamborghini is a specialized make of sports cars produced in Italy. Only about 3,000 are manufactured annually.

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Police said a man driving a Ford Taurus on US 290 inbound at Mangum apparently lost control of his vehicle, overcorrected and veered across several traffic lanes, hitting at least two other vehicles in the process.

A pickup truck that his vehicle struck then hit two other vehicles in a chain reaction. The pickup truck’s driver was taken to a hospital in undetermined condition.

Police said the Taurus driver seemed to have been speeding as well as using a cell phone when the collision occurred. They said alcohol did not seem to have been a factor.

Studies show that using a cell phone behind the wheel is as bad as driving while intoxicated. Approximately 5,000 Americans die each year in traffic collisions involving distracted drivers whose attention to the road was diverted by calls or texts while on cell phones.

Texas has no state law banning cell phone use or texting by drivers, unless they are school bus drivers or novice drivers. A state law bans cell phone use while driving in school zones, though school districts are required to post signs to that effect or the law does not apply. Some school districts cannot afford to do that.

However, some Texas municipalities have passed laws making texting by all drivers at all times in all places illegal, including San Antonio and Austin.

Nine states ban all cell phone use by all drivers, and 35 states ban text messaging by all drivers.

Jim S. Adler & Associates urges motorists to hang up and drive. A call or a text cannot be worth a life.

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Animal Control Officers from Fort Worth took possession of the four Boxer dogs while leaving the other three dogs, which were not involved in the attack. The four dogs belonged to the boy’s grandparents, who surrendered them.

Tarrant County Deputies arrested the boy’s grandmother on suspicion of assault after she had a confrontation with a neighbor over the dogs, which was caught on a news crew’s camera.Neighbors on the scene said they’d complained about problems with the dogs for months, including an alleged canine attack on a girl at a birthday party across the street.

Deputies said the parents of the boy who was attacked Monday said they were asleep when the boy apparently crawled through a “dog door” to the backyard and was attacked. KXAS-TV, Dallas Chanel 5, reported that neighbors heard the child screaming and ran to help.

No charges are known to have been filed in the dog attack, which occurred in an unincorporated area with no leash laws.

However, under Texas law, dog owners are held responsible when their dogs are unsecured and get loose, then injure or kill a person off their property in an unprovoked attack. In fact, in 2008 a Breckenridge, TX couple was sentenced to seven years in prison after their pit bull dog attacked and killed a 7-year-old child.

Many cities have “leash laws,” including Fort Worth, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Plano, Lewisville, McKinney and Carrollton. These laws require dog owners to keep their dogs securely on their property or else have the dogs on a leash of six feet or less when they leave their property.

Yet many people still allow their dogs to run freely, often letting them out into the front yard and trusting that they won’t leave the property and bite someone nearby. This has led to many dog bite attack injuries to innocent passersby.

Again, Texas dog owners are legally responsible if their animal leaves their property and attacks a person in an unprovoked incident. They can be sued for dog bite injury damages, and they even can go to jail.

If someone in your family has been injured by an unrestrained dog which was not on its owner’s property, alert a personal injury attorney or dog bite lawyer with longtime law firm Jim S. Adler & Associates. With offices in Dallas, San Antonio and Houston, we welcome potential clients from across Texas to help them with their personal injury legal needs.

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Houston police took the driver into custody. They said the driver was arrested on suspicion of DWI, or driving while intoxicated.

The woman in the other vehicle suffered what were reported to be back and neck injuries. She was taken to a local hospital, according to KHOU, Channel 11.

Police needed about 30 minutes to clear the accident scene, which meant North Shepherd was closed during that time.

Drunk driving is a serious offense. If someone in your family has been injured by a drunk driver, alert a personal injury lawyer or drunk driving attorney with Jim S. Adler & Associates for help. You may be legally entitled to substantial financial compensation.

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According to a Rockets spokesman, Lee was four or five blocks from Toyota Center several hours after Saturday night’s game with the New York Knicks when another vehicle traveling at high speed apparently ran a red light and hit his Cadillac. Lee said his car’s airbags spared him and two passengers from injury.

On Sunday Lee tweeted: “Thanking God right now!!! Thanking Cadillac for airbags!! Without them I could have lost my life tonight and two others close to me.” He also tweeted three photos of the collision’s aftermath.

Lee, 26, is in his second season with the Rockets.

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As with an accident on Tuesday morning, the accident on Wednesday morning involved a school bus from the Humble Independent School District. The bus was hit by another vehicle immediately north of Beltway 8 on Lockwood around 7 o’clock.

Both drivers were taken to a hospital, as was one of the 32 students who were riding in the school bus. Their conditions are not yet known.

The other students on the bus did not require hospitalization.

Statistics show that going to school on a school bus is the safest way for students to travel. Nonetheless, school bus accidents can occur, though not necessarily due to the fault of the school system or the bus driver.

Keep in mind that school buses travel an estimated 4 billion miles while carrying around 24 million students each year. Yet the death rate on school buses is 0.2 persons for every 100 million miles that they travel.

Granted, this is no consolation for someone whose child suffers injury or death in a school bus accident. But it is reason for hope if your child must go to and from school each day
via a school bus.

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The students were from Atascocita High School in the Humble Independent School District. They were riding in a vehicle in the 16400 block of West Lake Houston Parkway in the vicinity of Breakwater Path when it was involved in a crash around 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Humble ISD officials said the high school students’ vehicle collided with another vehicle, and one of the vehicles then collided with a school bus taking students to Woodcreek Middle School.

No injuries were reported among the children on the school bus, and it’s not known if anyone in the third vehicle was injured. However, the three high school students in the other vehicle were transported to a hospital nearby. Their injury status and names have not been released.

On Monday, five students of elementary school age and younger were riding in an Aldine school bus when it was involved in a collision on I-45 North. Four were taken to a hospital with what were not believed to be serious injuries.

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On Wednesday the Houston area has a 100 per cent chance of receiving heavy thunderstorms,  according to weather forecasters.

Such forecasters are accustomed to calculating the weather as percentages and “chances,” but when it’s 100 per cent, then technically that’s not a chance but a certainty.

It will rain Wednesday — perhaps hard. Count on it.

Less certain but strong possibilities are gusty winds and thunder, along with some street flooding. There may even be isolated tornados.

Thunderstorms should reach the Gulf Coast by 2 a.m. Wednesday, while others should hover west of Houston later in the morning. Indeed, a “severe weather outlook” for a 23-county area including Harris County has been issued by the National Weather Service.

How much rain is expected? One to three inches are possible in many areas, and as much as five inches in spots where thunderstorms linger.

Obviously, flooding may be a problem. As always, drivers are advised not to venture out unless necessary, and not to drive into high or rising waters in hopes of passing through.

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The students’ bus was traveling south on I-45 North when the accident occurred about 9 a.m. The bus and another vehicle collided near the Gulf Bank exit.

Among the students was a child who attended Reece Early Childhood Pre-Kindergarten and four children who attended Bethune and Anderson elementary schools. One student was taken to school, but as a precaution, the other four were taken to Texas Children’s Hospital.

No other details were immediately available.

Statistically, school buses are a relatively safe means of transportation. However, about two dozen students die each year in school bus accidents in the United States, and many more are injured.

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