Law Office of Brian Hargrove

Reclaiming the Title of Fastest in the Land

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 16:16:00 +0000

Ricardo B.Brazziell/Statesman.com, via Associated Press

A 41-mile toll road between Austin and San Antonio will have the highest speed limit in the country when it opens in November. Utah is the only other state with 80-m.p.h. speed limits.

By MANNY FERNANDEZ

“I love it,” Ted Houghton said in 2006, when as a member of the State Transportation Commission he voted to raise the speed limit (he is now the chairman of the commission). “It’ll be the Texas autobahn.”

Mr. Houghton’s remarks — and the speed limit that inspired them — have been rendered moot, though not by a rival state. When it comes to speeding on the highways, only Texas messes with Texas. Commissioners voted last month to raise the speed limit to 85 m.p.h. on another road, a section of State Highway 130 between the Austin and San Antonio areas that is under construction.

Officials with the Texas Department of Transportation — which is overseen by the transportation commission — said the highway was designed and tested for high-speed travel. “Safety is our top priority,” Veronica Beyer, a department spokeswoman, said in a statement. “And tests have shown the designated speed is a safe one.”

When it opens in November, the 41-mile toll road will have the highest speed limit in the United States. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, the only other state with a posted speed limit that rivals Texas is Utah, with 80 m.p.h. zones on parts of I-15.

Texans do not necessarily love speed so much as they hate limits. In a state where legislators repealed a law requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets, granting drivers permission to go 5 m.p.h. faster struck many as a reasonable move, though a number of groups expressed concern, including the governors’ association.

The commissioners’ decision came after the Legislature approved a bill last year allowing officials to set speeds of up to 85 m.p.h. on some highways. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry on June 17, 2011, almost 11 years to the day that he and his driver were pulled over outside Austin for going 75 in a 55-m.p.h. zone.

As Mr. Perry, then the lieutenant governor, approached the state trooper — the footage from the dashboard camera remains popular on YouTube — he uttered what has become a kind of motto of Texas driving: “Why don’t you just let us get on down the road?”

But the rising speed limits have as much to do with topography as ideology. As the Works Progress Administration guide to Texas put it, Texas is so big that if it were folded over with its northern line as a hinge, Brownsville would be 120 miles from Canada. It takes 8 hours to drive from El Paso to San Antonio — following the speed limit — and 10 hours from Amarillo to Houston. In 2000, Mr. Perry was on a 90-minute trip from San Antonio to Austin, a blink of an eye in Texas time.

“We’ve got miles and miles of miles and miles,” said Jerry Patterson, the state’s land commissioner.

“There’s lots of Interstates going through wide open spaces.”

Mr. Patterson’s comments were transcribed with difficulty, because he and his turbocharged, six-cylinder Ford pickup were speeding on I-10 west of Houston as he spoke on his cellphone. “I’m right now doing 79, and I’m going with the traffic,” he said. “The speed limit here I think is 70. If I was doing 70, I’d have cars backed up behind me, I’d have folks that are trying to jump in and out to change lanes to get around me. The majority of the citizenry do not drive 70 miles an hour in a 70-miles-an-hour zone.”

At a gas station off I-10 in Sonora, Mike Curtis, 58, expressed support for the new 85 m.p.h. limit. He had been doing 83 before he stopped to get gas, his mother by his side. It was not so much that Texans are in a rush to get somewhere, he said, but that the somewhere was usually hours away. He was in the middle of a 350-mile trip back home to Sattler, Tex.

“You can’t piddle around at 55 miles an hour unless you want to leave two days early,” Mr. Curtis said. “We’re not in New York. We’re in the West. There is a world of difference.”

J. Eric Taylor, 59, an I.T. project manager from California who lived in Texas years ago and still works in the state occasionally, remembers the day he was on a two-lane road and saw, in his rearview mirror, a young man in a pickup truck come up quickly behind him. “He was very eager to get past me,” he said. “But we came upon a funeral coming the other way. As we approach the funeral, everyone pulls over.”

Mr. Taylor parked behind the pickup on the side of the road and watched the young man remove his cowboy hat and hold it over his heart as the funeral procession drove past. “And then the moment they took off,” Mr. Taylor said, “he burned rubber, threw gravel, put his hat back on and took off like a bat out of hell.”

Cleburne man in critical condition

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 15:51:00 +0000

A Cleburne man involved in a Sunday motorcycle accident remained in critical condition as of Monday morning, hospital officials said.

The accident occurred about 7:50 p.m. near the intersection of Westmeadow and West Henderson streets.

Laken Cole Souser, 26, was driving a Suzuki motorcycle westbound on West Henderson Street. Souser was riding a wheelie down the roadway at the time, according to witness statements in Cleburne Police Department reports.

The driver of a Chevrolet 1500 told police he did not see the motorcycle while turning from Westmeadow Drive onto West Henderson Street, which caused the Suzuki to collide with the Chevrolet.

Police are unsure how fast the motorcycle was traveling at the time but noted that Souser had his helmet on.

A CareFlite helicopter transported Souser to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth. The Chevrolet driver suffered no injuries.

By Matt Smith/msmith@trcle.com from Cleburne Times Review

Two dead in Dallas motorcycle wreck

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:09:00 +0000

Credit: Bryan Titsworth / WFAA

Two people were killed late Friday night when their motorcycle struck a guardrail in the downtown Dallas mixmaster.

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Posted on July 28, 2012 at 8:52 AM

Updated Saturday, Jul 28 at 6:20 PM

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DALLAS — Two people were killed late Friday night when their motorcycle struck a guardrail on a highway overpass near downtown Dallas.

Police investigators said 43-year-old Sean Ashford was driving the Triumph bike with a female passenger on the Cesar Chavez Boulevard bridge over Interstate 30 just before midnight when they hit a barrier.

The impact propelled the bodies of Ashford and his companion over the railing to their deaths.

Neither rider was wearing a helmet, police said. The name of the passenger was not released.

Balch Springs police Officer Matthew Garcia was killed in a motorcycle accident near the same location last December.

Rick's Cabaret sued in teen's death

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:04:00 +0000

HOUSTON -

A family filed a civil lawsuit against Rick's Cabaret for the wrongful death of their daughter, who was killed in a drunk driving accident.

According to the lawsuit, the company’s policy encourages workers to sell as many alcoholic beverages as possible.

Emily Jones' family said it's that policy that contributed to Emily's death on March 30, 2011.

Jones was driving her pickup truck when she was hit from behind by a vehicle driven by Erasmo Ramirez."Losing Emily was devastating to all of us. It's not going to bring her back, but maybe now somebody will listen and changes will be made to these bars," said Tracy Foster, Emily's mother.

The lawsuit claims Ramirez had been drinking at Rick’s Cabaret that night. He was driving more than 100 mph when he smashed into Jones’ truck, said investigators.

According to the lawsuit, Rick's employees continued to serve Ramirez drinks even though he was already intoxicated. The suit claims Ramirez was removed from the club after he refused to pay for dances and/or services provided by Rick's entertainment staff.

Investigators said Ramirez's blood alcohol level was at .295 at the time of the accident, more than three times the legal limit in Texas.

He was charged with intoxication manslaughter and later sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The lawsuit claims that Rick’s requires its entertainers to pay a "house charge" every night in order to work at the club, and workers are encouraged to pay the fee by collecting "credits" based on the number of drinks they sell. The lawsuit said that policy encourages the club to serve alcohol despite how intoxicated a person may already be.

Local 2 tried to reach Rick’s Cabaret but they said they could not comment on the lawsuit.

Taking away right to sue when wrong has been done isn't helping Texans

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 17:14:00 +0000

Alex Winslow, Local Contributor

While the state is crumbling under a real health care crisis, Gov. Rick Perry and his friends in the special interest lobby continue defending a lobbyist-driven health care battle from a decade ago that has failed Texas patients.

They want you to believe that taking away the legal rights of patients is good medicine. Try as they might, though, there is no disputing the facts:

Texas ranks dead last in the quality of health care, our health care costs are soaring at a rate faster than the national average, we rank near the bottom in the number of doctors who actually see patients, and we have the highest rate of people without health insurance. These are facts, not spin-doctored anecdotes like the ones the governor and his cronies in the insurance lobby like to use.

Back in 2003, politicians and lobbyists made a pack of promises about what they alleged would happen if voters approved a ballot proposition that severely and arbitrarily restricted the legal rights of Texas patients.
Among them was that what you spend on health care would go down. Turns out, they lied. Now, they are trying to cover their tracks.

Insurance industry lobbyist John Opelt recently said, "We did not and have not led voters astray."

Really? Numerous political mailers paid for by Opelt's group during the 2003 campaign tell a different story.

One mailer said the ballot initiative would "reduce ... health costs." Another said it would make "health care more affordable and available for all Texans."

All of this comes from a playbook they've been using for decades: Claim there is a crisis of some sort, say that restricting individual legal rights is the solution, promise Texas families and small business owners the moon, and attack anyone who disagrees.

Texans are smart, though. We know when someone is pulling a fast one.

How can it be that eliminating accountability for polluters, careless nursing homes, insurance companies, Wall Street bankers and big drug makers is good for the public? The answer is that it can't be.

Numerous academic studies by independent organizations and legal scholars prove that it is a fallacy to claim that taking away the legal rights of individuals will benefit the public at-large.

Whether we are talking about patients, policyholders or small business owners, we have seen time and again that when lobbyists succeed in stripping or curtailing individual legal rights, the public is harmed.

The only ones who benefit are a narrow group of special interests.
Yet every time one of these proposals comes to the Texas Legislature, the lobbyists claim this will be good for all Texas citizens.

Texans know better. We believe that accountability is good and necessary. This is a basic value we teach our children.
When a person or corporation causes needless harm, they should be held responsible for it. Plain and simple.

When wrongdoers succeed in getting away with the harm they cause, the rest of us are left to pick up the pieces and pay the tab.

Texas faces a host of real-world problems, including a broken health care system. It has been a decade since the governor signed away the rights of Texas patients under the false promise of better, cheaper, and more accessible care.

Sadly, rather than admitting he was wrong, Perry has chosen to be campaigner-in-chief and head lobbyist for the special interests.

Texans deserve real solutions from leaders who understand the importance of personal and corporate responsibility, and who want to find answers to our state's problems that improve the lives of everyday Texans — not just a narrow group of powerful interests.

Check out my latest video on drunk driving

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 15:25:00 +0000

I've started a new series of online videos. Check out my latest video on drunk driving.

Road rage wrecks on the rise in Texas

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:15:00 +0000

TEXOMA -- According to a database that tracks vehicle accidents throughout the state, road rage is on the rise in Texas. With Bexar County leading the state in road rage-related crashes, here's how this affects Texoma drivers and tips to avoid being a road rage victim.

According to a San Antonio newspaper, Bexar County officers cited road rage as a contributing factor in nearly 700 wrecks that injured 280 people since 2007.

These numbers exceed those in larger counties with even more residents and traffic, including Dallas. And now, since Lake Texoma is a popular area attraction this time of year, local officials urge drivers to keep road rage accidents down in this area by following safe driving practices.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Officer Michael Green says, just like when operating a boat, one way to avoid driving aggressively is to be courteous to other drivers. Remember, they're our neighbors too.

Maintain a safe following distance by using the 3 second rule. This means once a car ahead of you passes a landmark, you should pass that same landmark no sooner than 3 seconds afterwards.

Another rule of thumb is every 10 miles per hour you drive, should equal one car length between you and the next vehicle ahead of you.

So if you're at 60 miles per hour, you should drive 6 car lengths behind the next car.

Finally, statistics show that a person texting and driving, have the same driving patterns and characteristics as a person drinking and driving. So, Officer Green says that if you must text, by all means just pull over.

"Treat other people like you want to be treated," said Green. "Drive in a safe manner. Be aware of people in your surroundings. If you need to text, pull over. If you just can't help yourself and you got to answer a text message, pull over."

Throughout Texas from 2007 to 2011, road rage has played a factor in close to 4,500 crashes, injuring nearly 2,000 people and killing 32. In the last four years, however, road rage accidents across the state have decreased.

Man arrested in fatal DWI crash

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:01:00 +0000

Posted: May 24, 2012 7:31 AM CDTUpdated: May 24, 2012 8:43 AM CDTBy: Alice Wolke

Dallas police arrested a man after his pickup truck allegedly ran a red light and crashed into a PT cruiser carrying a couple and a young baby.

The suspect is facing charges of intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault after the other driver, 25-year-old Jeremy Price of Mesquite, died at the hospital.

The accident happened shortly before midnight Wednesday on Corinth at Ervay Streets, less than a mile from the main Dallas police station.

According to a witness, the suspect's pickup was speeding northeast on Corinth Street and ran the red light at Ervay without braking.

"He blew by me," said witness Eddie McKnight, who was riding a motorcycle. "I was doing about 30, and he had to be doing about 70 because of the whoosh."

"He had his four-way flashers on, I thought he was on some kind of emergency run. And the next thing I know, I can see the red lights up there and all of a sudden, boom," said McKnight.

According to a police report, the pickup smashed into Price's PT Cruiser, spinning the smaller vehicle into a pole.

Beside Price in the car was Kellilynne Seaman, also of Mesquite, and a baby in the back seat. She was seriously injured, according to the police report.

The adults were taken to Parkland Hospital, where the man died a short time later. The baby was taken to Children's Medical Center for observation.

Police say the suspect admitted to drinking one beer earlier in the evening, but say he failed all of the field sobriety tests and was taken into custody.

Witness McKnight says the suspect was most worried about his dog, because the animal had also been in the truck.

Aggressive Driving and Road Rage

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Wed, 30 May 2012 17:56:00 +0000

Driving can be a stressful experience, and all drivers have gotten frustrated behind the wheel at some point. But, it's important to avoid engaging in aggressive driving behaviors, such as speeding, running red lights, quick lane changing and failure to yield, especially as an aggressive driving act can trigger a disproportionate response, which sometimes even escalates into road rage, a criminal act of assault which may stem from a confrontation that occurred on the road.
The AAA Foundation's Aggressive Driving update found that aggressive driving behaviors are a factor in up to 56% of fatal crashes. Additionally, nearly90% of drivers view aggressive driving as very serious or somewhat serious threat to their own safety.
Think you drive aggression-free? Take our aggressive driving quiz and find out how hostile you are on the road.
Also here are a few tips from our Road Rage brochure on how to avoid aggressive driving.
Don't Offend

Avoid cutting drivers off and apologize if you do so
Avoid tailgating and honking the horn
Avoid making inappropriate or offensive gestures

Don't Engage

Steer clear of other aggressive drivers
Avoid eye contact
Seek help if you're being followed by driving to a safe/crowded location or by dialing 911

Adjust Your Attitude

Leave yourself enough time rather than trying to make good time
Put yourself in the other driver's shoes
Take a deep breath and remember escalating a situation will only make things worse.

Tragic Irony: Teen Dies While Texting The Dangers Of Texting And Driving Parents make plea to outlaw texting and driving in Idaho

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Fri, 25 May 2012 21:43:00 +0000

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Taylor Sauer, a college student driving home on a lonely road, was texting with a friend via Facebook when her car crashed into a tanker truck at 80 miles per hour, killing her instantly. The tragic irony of the situation was revealed in her phone records shortly after: At the time of the accident, she had been texting about the dangers of texting and driving.

Her last message, sent moments before the crash on Jan. 14, said, "I can't discuss this now. Driving and facebooking is not safe! Haha."

According to the phone records, Sauer, 18, was posting on Facebook about every 90 seconds.

"I think she was probably (texting) to stay awake, she was probably tired," Taylor's father, Clay Sauer, told Ann Curry on The TODAY Show. "But that's not a reason to do it, and the kids think they're invincible. To them, (texting) is not distracting, they're so proficient at texting, that they don't feel it's distracted driving."

Taylor's parents have since become activists in their home state of Idaho, trying to get the government to pass laws against texting while driving.

Because of texting-while-driving deaths like this one, the federal government is moving to limit in-vehicle communications technology that turns cars and trucks into virtual rolling smart-phones.

Last month, U.S. Department of Transportation secretary Ray LaHood announced a new set of proposed distracted driving guidelines for automakers that would limit the use of in-car tech solutions that are "not directly relevant to safely operating the vehicle, or cause undue distraction by engaging the driver's eyes or hands for more than a very limited duration while driving."

Specifically, DOT is recommending automakers withhold technology packages that require both hands to operate or that could take a driver's eyes from the road for more than two seconds. Further, DOT wants technologies that require detailed input from the driver to be disabled while the car is out of park. That would include text messaging and internet browsing along with such tasks as address entry into navigation systems and manual phone dialing.

Future guidelines may include recommendations to manufacturers of aftermarket devices like smart-phones, portable GPS units and tablet computers. It's important to note that these guidelines are recommendations, not mandates.

The controversy that will play out in the coming months and years is obvious: Drivers are so attached to mobile devices that if automakers don't keep innovating ways to stay connected hands-free, people will inevitably be drawn to using their mobile devices in ways that, it can be argued, are more dangerous.

To read more on incidents of texting tragedies, try reading: Death By Texting, about a Michigan man convicted under a new state law, and More Death By Texting stories.

Insurance Myth #4: “YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY IS LOYAL TO YOU.”

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:49:00 +0000

Insurance Myth #4: “YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY IS LOYAL TO YOU.”

May 15th, 2012

We’ve all heard the jingle: “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” For over 11,000 homeowners policyholders in five counties along the Texas coast, nothing could be further from the truth. The state’s largest carrier has made the decision to pull up stakes and abandon these customers, many of them long-time and loyal, without even giving a rationale for their abrupt actions.

State Farm’s reckless actions are a man-made catastrophe, sending shock waves through the families and businesses along the coast, who will likely see their insurance costs rise as a result of State Farm’s actions. This disruption to the market will place unexpected pressure on other carriers and will ultimately relegate many coastal policyholders to the Texas FAIR Plan, a state-run provider of last resort that offers bare bones coverage at high prices.

To take their disloyalty to an even greater degree, the company is selling out many of its own insurance agents, who will see their customer bases scattered to the wind due to State Farm’s arbitrary and capricious corporate edicts. These small businessmen and businesswomen have spent years prospecting for clients and building relationships with policyholders; however, more than 11,000 of these policyholders are being forced to take their business elsewhere. Because policyholders receive discounts for having multiple lines of insurance with one carrier – for example, coupling a homeowners and an auto policy together – these customers will be walking out the door.

Because our laws and lending practices require us to buy insurance, it is important that regulators protect the public by ensuring policies are adequate, affordable, and available. Sound public policy demands that the insurance industry not be able to redline or cherry-pick parts of our state. Unfortunately, the Insurance Commissioner – who has shown little willingness to stand up to insurance giants like State Farm in the past – has been unable or unwilling to intervene on behalf of State Farm’s customers in this case.

The Attorney General, however, recently announced that he is launching an investigation into State Farm’s withdrawal. Instead of complying with the AG’s Civil Investigative Demands, State Farm filed a lawsuit against the state. It is unclear what this investigation will reveal, but it is important that the AG see this investigation through to the end. State Farm shouldn’t be allowed to tuck tail and run without any explanation. The public deserves to know just what State Farm is up to and how the company’s decisions will impact the cost and availability of insurance.

State Farm’s actions in this case highlight the fact that insurance companies don’t reciprocate the loyalty they expect from their customers. Right now, 11,000 State Farm customers in five Texas counties are learning that firsthand. Could your community be on the insurance industry’s chopping block next?

All of this leads Texas families and businesses to ask: With “neighbors” like these, who needs enemies?

Written by Texas Watch.

Parents urged to talk, make contract with their teen drivers

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:02:00 +0000

Denise Gallagher, a 46-year-old child care provider in Philadelphia, is paying a terrible price for not knowing more about the dangers of teen driving. She lost her 18-year-old daughter, Lacey, in a one-car crash a few hours after Lacey's prom in 2007.

Lacey, who wasn't driving, was in a car with six other teens that crashed on the Pennsylvania Turnpike around 2 a.m., ejecting five of them from the vehicle. All six were injured, but Lacey was the only one killed. Gallagher says the crash was caused by drowsiness or distraction, or both.

"There were a lot of things we should have talked about," Gallagher says. "Six kids are a big distraction to a newly licensed teenager. I thought drinking and driving was the highest teenage driving danger. It's not. This is something I have to live with every day of my life. I think about what I could have done differently."

For young drivers, May marks the beginning of the season of high peril. It's prom and graduation time, when many teenaged drivers ask for and receive expanded driving privileges. And it's the cusp of summer vacation, when the stakes are extremely high for young drivers.

That's why the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day has been dubbed by auto club AAA and Volvo as "The 100 Deadliest Days" for teen drivers.

Seven of the 10 deadliest days of the year for teens fall between those holidays, according to AAA. July and August are the deadliest months for 16- and 17-year-old drivers, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

This year, the deadly season for young drivers rolls around at a time when there is growing research by the AAA Foundation and others that the young drivers who engage less frequently in risky driving behavior are those who spend the most time talking about driving with their parents. The research also shows that more needs to be done to encourage those talks on safety: Vehicle crashes are still the leading cause of death for young Americans.

"The research and our experience tells us that the earlier we can get parents engaged in this dialogue and the longer we can keep them engaged, the more likely their teens will be safer drivers," says Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. "But we live in an age where time seems to be at a premium. I'm sure a lot of parents find it difficult to allocate the amount of time to talk with their son or daughter that we would consider ideal."

He and other experts say there is no better time than this month for parents and teen drivers to talk about driving safely.

On an average day in the USA, more than 11 teens die in crashes. In 2010, the four deadliest months for teen crash deaths, in order, were August, July, May and June, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an insurance trade group.

So this month lends urgency to that discussion — call it The Conversation — between parents and their young drivers. "Parents' involvement and influence in the teen driving experience can literally mean the difference between life and death for their child," says Susan Duchak, who leads The Allstate Foundation's teen safe driving program.

So what, exactly, is The Conversation that parents should have with their young drivers? What should they say? And when and where should it occur?

It's not so much a single conversation as a series of conversations, experts say, and it should begin sooner than many think. Dennis Durbin, a Philadelphia specialist in the prevention of teen driver crashes, says he started talking about driving with his son, Jack, when Jack was 13.

"We started talking about driving when he started sitting in the front seat," says Durbin, professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and co-scientific director of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "That's really a good opportunity to start the conversation about safe driving. They immediately gain a much better awareness about driving.

"I sort of narrate some of what I'm seeing so they begin to see what I'm seeing," Durbin says. "I narrate the driving situation — I think that guy is about ready to change lanes even though he hasn't signaled, things like that."

But before parents can have a meaningful discussion about driving safety, they should educate themselves about the realities of teen driving, experts say. For example, many parents think drunken driving is the main threat to teen drivers, Duchak says; driver error, speeding and distractions are bigger problems.

Lack of parental involvement can be painfully expensive, and the pain of loss lasts a long time.

Gallagher says she wishes that she and Lacey, who was not wearing a seat belt the night she was killed, had talked more about her daughter's post-prom plans. "When you put a group of teens together, they make different decisions," she says. "Normally, she always, always wore her seat belt."

Her daughter's death led to the passage last October of Lacey's Law in Pennsylvania, which limits the number of passengers that teen drivers can have and increases the number of required hours of behind-the-wheel driving experience before obtaining a license. It also makes failure to wear a seat belt a primary offense for young drivers, meaning police can stop them solely for that.

Gallagher hopes the law will spare other parents. But it doesn't bring Lacey back.

"So many of these accidents could have been prevented just by following some simple rules, talking to your children and giving them enough experience behind the wheel before they're out on the road on their own."

'That conversation is huge'

Rob Kudej, 50, of Norwich, Conn., says he had a conversation about driving with his son, Patrick, 16, the day Patrick got his learner's permit. They went over the rules, over what was allowed and expected and what wasn't.

"That conversation is huge," Kudej says.

Patrick, who got his license in January, remembers it well. "We were all together in either the kitchen or the living room. It wasn't just a casual, walk-by talk," he says. "It was a structured conversation. It made me realize the importance of safe driving. We think we know everything, but we don't."

Kudej says many of their rules followed the state's new graduated driving license (GDL) law mandating phased-in driving privileges: no passengers, an 11 p.m. curfew, for instance.

Experts such as Chris Mullen, director of technology research at insurer State Farm, say that parents can use their state's GDL law as the "bad guy" when they discuss driving safety. "They can say, 'It is against the law to drive around with your buddy in the car,' " she says. "That can keep them from being the heavy."

Faith Mock, 55, a teacher in Rushville, Ind., had the conversation with her daughter, Taylor, now 19, several years ago. "We really sat down and talked about the fact that driving was a privilege, not a right," Mock says. "And that there are a lot of responsibilities associated with driving. We … made a verbal contract."

Written parent-teen driving contracts, available from many insurance companies and elsewhere, are an excellent starting point for that initial conversation, experts say.

"The act of creating the contract will prompt a dialogue," says Henry Edinger, chief customer officer at the Travelers insurance company.

Parents' role doesn't end

Experts say it's critical that parents regularly revisit the safe-driving conversation with their teen, especially once the teen starts driving independently. Many parents assume that once their child completes the provisional licensing period — when they have to be accompanied by an adult — the parental role ends.

Not so. "There's nothing magical that happens to the teen once they get their license and can drive independently in a vehicle," Durbin says. That initial period of driving alone is when they're at their "highest lifetime risk."

Once the teen is driving independently, parents should continue the conversation. "It should be, at a minimum, monthly," Edinger says. "There's a slow degradation in the thought process if you don't revisit it."

Riding with the teen periodically — to assess how they're doing and make sure they aren't backsliding — is also a chance to have the conversation again, Edinger says.

However, it's important that the conversation itself doesn't become a distraction while the teen is driving, says Susan Baker, an epidemiologist specializing in injury prevention at Johns Hopkins University and a traffic safety researcher.

Setting a good example

Perhaps most important, experts say, is that parents actually model the behavior they're trying to instill.

Several studies, including ones by AAA and Allstate foundations, have shown that many parents take a "do as I say, not as I do" approach with their teen drivers. They acknowledge that behavior such as talking on cellphones, fiddling with the radio or even breaking the law is dangerous; but large percentages admit to doing these things while their children are in the car.

In an April AT&T survey of 1,200 teens ages 15-19, 77% said adults tell kids not to text or e-mail while driving, yet 41% reported seeing a parent text while driving.

The good news: Sixty-two percent of teens in the survey said that getting reminders from their parents not to text and drive would be effective in stopping them from doing it.

Surveys, such as one this year by Harris Interactive for insurer State Farm, consistently show many teen drivers use cellphones or text while driving. A recent study by the California Office of Traffic Safety showed cellphone use among 16- to 25-year-olds doubled from 9% to 18% since last year.

"The teens today that are doing this are the ones who watch their parents do it," says Jennifer Smith, an Oak Park, Ill., teen-driving-safety advocate and parent who puts on distracted-driving seminars for teens and others.

Smith says she talks regularly with her daughter, Emani, 16. "I still tell her, 'Don't use your phone while you drive,' " she says. "I know that they get more confident as they learn to drive. I told her I don't want her to start acting overconfident."

Ongoing conversations, along with strong parental involvement, might be the nation's best path toward a future where automobile crashes are not the primary killer of the USA's young, Kissinger says.

"The conversation is not one and done," he says. "It is a continuous dialogue over years, really. Certainly over many, many months."

Man went on drinking binge at Hooters in DFW before killing girl

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:46:00 +0000

BY BARRY SHLACHTER

barry@star-telegram.com

Nine minutes after a drunken Marcial Jose Ortega left a Hooters bar in North Richland Hills in 2008, he rear-ended a station wagon at 77 mph. Four-year-old Kaitlyn Sanchez died, her head crushed.

Ortega, a 36-year-old mechanic, had three previous convictions for drunken driving -- all after binges at different area Hooters bars.

Why did Ortega choose Hooters?

His brother Nathan Ortega explained in a handwritten affidavit:

"Jose liked to drink at Hooters because they would serve him even after he was drunk or they would take away his keys and call a cab. ... Jose was usually too drunk to drive when he left Hooters. ... Hooters knew about his DWIs because I was there when he was telling the Hooters people about getting another DWI leaving there."

Marcial Ortega was charged with murder, rare in a drunken-driving case, and began a 30-year sentence after pleading guilty.

In March, the Sanchez family finalized a $1.1 million settlement with the insurance company of Texas Wings, which in 2008 owned all the franchised Hooters bars in Texas, said the family's attorney, Brian Butcher of the Noteboom law firm.

It's illegal for a bar to sell alcohol to an intoxicated person, and bartenders and other staffers are legally obligated to look for signs of intoxication.

But the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission took no action against the North Richland Hills restaurant. The agency's investigation of the March 14, 2008, incident could not prove that the restaurant had over-served Ortega, a spokeswoman said.

The case file said, "Unless no new information is obtained, no action is recommended."

Commission spokeswoman Carolyn Beck said, "Because he was at more than one bar and because the waitress refused to talk, it was hard to prove that [the over-serving] was directly attributable to the alcohol he was served at Hooters."

It's difficult to confirm a violation, Beck said, if there is no witness saying that Ortega was falling down, tripping or showing other signs of intoxication.

Butcher, the Sanchez family attorney, believes that surveillance recordings made by Hooters on March 14 could have provided such evidence, but they were never presented, despite requests by both his law firm and the Hurst police who investigated the accident.

Special customer

In a prison deposition, Ortega paints a picture of a social life centered on Hooters bars, particularly in North Richland Hills, where he was treated as a special customer. He'd arrange a midweek day off from his mechanic's job to coincide with shifts that favorite servers worked. They allowed him to hug them; sometimes he got them drunk by slipping them mixed drinks in plastic foam cups or buying them beer, he testified.

The Hooters in Grapevine once served Ortega 16 beers, he said in his deposition. He recalled drinking so much after visiting one Hooters that he'd fall asleep in his truck afterward, spend the night sprawled in his mother's garden -- awakened only by red ant bites, or be so senseless that he'd soil himself in bed.

Arlington had the most liberal serving policy, he said. "It's a place where there was no rules. There was no boundaries there. I got free beer. You know... it was endless there."

Hooters servers in Arlington would take Ortega's keys away if he got drunk, but that never happened at the North Richland Hills bar, he said.

Known as a generous tipper, Ortega was drawn to the Hooters in North Richland Hills on March 14 by text messages from a server, Stephanie Darnell, telling him it was her last week before going on maternity leave, according to a police report.

Darnell was quoted as saying that she served Ortega six Bud Lights but that he did not appear drunk.

"He was not stumbling or falling over," she was quoted in a police report as saying. "If he would have, I would have called a cab." Ortega started drinking before he got to Hooters, according to court records.

He had more than one shot of Crown Royal whiskey and Dr Pepper in the morning, then bought and consumed a 12-pack of Bud Light, although it might have been an 18-pack, then had more shots at Studer's Sports Bar before heading over to Hooters, he said in his deposition.

Surveillance video would have shown him so inebriated that he would hold onto tables on the way to the restroom, Ortega said. Two hours after he killed Kaitlyn Sanchez, tests showed, he still had triple the legal blood-alcohol level.

Hooters risk manager John Chlebak said in a deposition that a wide-angle, "eye in the sky" surveillance camera was positioned between the restroom and the bar area. Another camera near the entrance would have recorded people entering and leaving, Chlebak said. The equipment would have stored the continuous recording about 20 days, he said.

John Gessner, the Hooters former chief legal counsel who handled the 2008 incident, said in a deposition in September for the Sanchez lawsuit that after Hurst police viewed the tape and found no sign of Ortega on it, the video was recorded over.

Gessner reiterated his deposition statement. "My recollection is that the police officers were in the location within 24 hours of the accident and viewed the footage," he said in a telephone interview last week. Gessner also said that he himself had watched it. Ortega wasn't on the recording, he said.

However, an incident report by officer Chad Woodside, who investigated the girl's death, said, "During the entire investigation, I, Detective Woodside, was never provided with a video from Hooters on the night of March 14, 2008."

In another report, Woodside quoted Hooters manager Mark Burckel as telling him that either there was no videotape or it was unavailable.

No action was taken against Hooters over the discrepancy.

Both Burckel and Gessner now work for a rival chain, Dallas-based Twin Peaks, which owns the Ojos Locos sports bars and other concepts.

Restaurant group sold

At the time of Kaitlyn Sanchez's death, Texas Wings was the largest Hooters chain in the country.

Within weeks of the accident, Texas Wings owners Kelly and Judy Hall of Dallas negotiated to sell out to a North Carolina-based investment group, Chanticleer Holdings.

In July 2008, an announcement was made that Chanticleer had agreed to buy the chain for $108 million in cash and stock. But financing collapsed with the economic downturn that year and the deal fell through, Chanticleer CEO Mike Pruitt said in a telephone interview. The breakdown had nothing to do with the Sanchez case, Pruitt said.

Later, Texas Wings merged with Atlanta-based HOA Restaurant Group, the Hooters brand owner and franchise management company. Chanticleer acquired the entire HOA company including the Texas bars in January 2011, reportedly for $200 million.

A Hooters corporate spokeswoman stressed that the accident occurred before the change of ownership.

She also described the case as an anomaly.

"This is an unfortunate and rare incidence, despite all of the best and most proactive training measures," said Alexis Aleshire, the spokeswoman. "HOA Restaurant Group has an extensive and ongoing safe alcohol service training program and considers itself a leader on this subject."

The Sanchez family, which spoke through their attorney, said their lawsuit was never about money. It was aimed at preventing other families from living through a "nightmare like they have experienced," Butcher said.

Ortega, who has taken a cooking course in prison and now works in a unit kitchen, said the hardest part of serving time was not being permitted to hug his 4-year-old daughter -- Kaitlyn's age when she was killed -- during visits.

In his deposition, he takes responsibility for his role in the tragedy. But Hooters bears some blame too, he said.

"They knew I had a problem" with drinking, Ortega said but added that he couldn't help himself. "I just didn't love it, I was stuck in Hooterville."

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/04/29/3920061/man-went-on-drinking-binges-at.html#storylink=cpy

First Texas Distracted Driving Summit Draws National Participation

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:03:00 +0000

Summit participants plan to continue efforts to reduce distracted driving statewide

AUSTIN, TX--April 26, 2012: National Distracted Driving Awareness month may be drawing to a close, but safety experts from around the state are making sure the conversation continues.

Today, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) joins other traffic safety partners--including law enforcement and federal, state and local officials--to participate in the first Texas Distracted Driving Summit in San Antonio. USAA is presenting the event, in association with TxDOT and Shriners Hospitals for Children®.

"Today's Texas Distracted Driving Summit is a reminder of how far we have come in just the last three years in combatting America's distracted driving epidemic--and how far we still have to go," said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, who delivered the keynote address at the event. "I am grateful to all of the advocates who are working tirelessly here in Texas to remind drivers to keep their eyes on the road, their hands on the wheel and their focus on driving."

More than 200 participants--including physicians and businesses--are attending the event and have pledged to be a part of the effort to curb distracted driving. In fact, a key participant, the Insurance Council of Texas, plans to facilitate a meeting of summit participants to review lessons learned as well as discuss future plans to reduce distracted driving in Texas.

"Today's dialogue is an important step for the state of Texas in fighting distracted driving," said Carol T. Rawson, TxDOT's Traffic Operations division director. "Each of us has a role in changing this behavior, and we look forward to working with our private sector partners to increase awareness around the state."

At today's summit, experts and advocates against distracted driving are sharing experiences, insights and knowledge to keep the consequences of distracted driving in the national conversation. Participants have much to discuss.

Victims' families are sharing personal stories, academics are discussing the science and research behind the behavior; and physicians are weighing in on the traumatic injuries distracted driving crashes cause. Also, summit attendees are discussing broader aspects of distracted driving, such as how corporations can help address the issue of distracted driving through their own policies. Further, one presentation takes a unique perspective on distracted driving, highlighting the fact that some populations, such as some veterans post-deployment, may be dealing with unique distractions on our roadways.

"The tremendous interest in today's event is proof the people of Texas are committed to putting an end to the state's distracted driving epidemic," said Jennifer Smith, who has advocated against distracted driving since her mother was killed by someone talking on his cell phone while driving in 2008. "Too many families have lost loved ones in 100 percent preventable crashes, and we are going to take the momentum from today's summit to chart a path forward to keep the roadways of Texas safe from further distracted driving crashes."

In 2011, more than 81,000 Texas crashes involved some type of distraction or driver inattention, and 361 of these crashes were fatal. Nearly one in four crashes in Texasinvolves driver distraction. TxDOT is continuing its Talk. Text. Crash. campaign launched last year to increase awareness of distracted driving. Throughout April, TxDOT is running radio PSAs statewide to remind motorists to refrain from engaging in non-driving activities while on the road, especially cell phone use and texting. The summit is a new aspect of this year's Talk. Text. Crash. campaign that provides an opportunity for many different organizations to share information about distracted driving.

"Distracted driving is a completely preventable yet widespread problem,"saidMaj. Gen.Kevin Bergner, retired, and president, USAA Property and Casualty Group. "It's incumbent on all of us with a stake in highway safety to be indignant about this behavior so it becomes as socially unacceptable as drunk driving."

"Motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of spinal cord injuries," said Dr. Lawrence Vogel, MD, Shriners Hospitals for Children® Chicago. "As a world-leader in pediatric spinal cord injury rehabilitation and management, we are committed to doing our part to prevent injuries and fatalities on the road by promoting safe driving practices through education and awareness efforts. We see a large number of patients from Texas, so we are thrilled to participate in the statewide Distracted Driving Summit."

Additional information on distracted driving may be found at www.distraction.gov. For more information on TxDOT's Talk. Text. Crash. campaign, visit Texas DOT.

Civil jury trials plummet in Texas

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:47:00 +0000

Civil jury trials are becoming rare in Texas.

The right to have disputes decided by a panel of fellow citizens is cited in the Declaration of Independence and explicitly confirmed in the constitutions of Texas and the United States.

But new statistics show that the right to “trial by jury” is quietly and steadily disappearing.

The 1,195 jury trials conducted in 2011 are one-third the number held in 1996, according to the Texas Administrative Office of Courts. during the same period, the number of lawsuits rose 25 percent.

In 1996, juries decided one out of every 48 lawsuits filed. Last year, only one in 183 new civil complaints resulted in jury verdicts.

Recently posted in the Dallas Morning News.

We are doing everything we can to change this, but these are the facts.

3 Critical skills your teenage driver lacks

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 18:35:00 +0000

A newly licensed teen driver is probably more familiar with the rules of the road than you are. After all, he or she just took the test.

But many driving schools use a curriculum that has not been updated since the 1950s and requires only six to 10 hours of behind-the-wheel experience with an instructor. While graduated licensing programs have increased the number of supervised hours teens are driving, most of those hours are spent with parents, not a professional.

So what happens when your book-smart teen confronts real-world hazards? Car accidents.

Teens are four times more likely than adults to be involved in a car accident, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says. And the newer the driver, the worse the odds: The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reported in 2011 the likelihood of a crash is 50 percent greater in the first month of licensed driving than after a year on the roads. The National Institutes of Health says the odds are even higher than that. (See "Why teen car insurance is expensive: They're bad drivers.")

Our newest drivers emerge from the DMV not fully aware of the risks of distracted driving, or unable to recognize potential hazards. They may also be unprepared to handle an emergency when those hazards become real.

Some schools emphasize these additional skills, but parental influence has its place as well.

A real appreciation of distracted driving

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), teens are much more likely to be involved in a fatal crash where distraction is a key factor. In 2009, 16 percent of teen drivers were killed in car crashes caused by distraction.

Despite that sobering statistic, distracted-driving education is often limited to a short speech. In 2010, distracted driving was a component of driver education in only 18 states and Washington, D.C., according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

Anne Marie Hayes, author of "3 Keys to Keeping Your Teen Alive," enrolled her daughter Emily in a driver education course that cost more than $1,200. Distracted driving was covered only in the classroom. "There was not a lot of emphasis put on it," Emily Hayes says. "Basically we were told not to do it."

Contrast that with the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy in Los Angeles, an automaker-sponsored effort to raise the bar on driver training.

"Drivers are sent down a coned practice course where we expose them to a variety of distractions," says Carolyn Duchene, director of the program. Distractions range from texting and cellphone calls to asking the students to do math problems in their heads. In other cases, a backseat passenger might suddenly yell.

"The point is to make teens aware that distractions are all around them, and being in the moment and focused on driving is of the upmost importance," Duchene says.

Looking ahead and talking it out

"Situational awareness" refers to constantly searching for and identifying all potential hazards on the road. While some driving schools touch on this skill, most don't emphasize its importance.

According to the CDC, teens are more likely than older drivers to underestimate dangerous situations or are often unable to recognize hazardous situations. Driver education programs that stress situational awareness teach teens to scan five to 10 seconds down the road, identifying hazards and anticipating evasive actions they might have to take.

A technique called commentary driving requires teens to constantly scan the road while simultaneously describing the hazards they identify and verbalizing potential escape routes to their instructors or parents.

In addition to hazards on the road, weather, temperature and how these affect road conditions should also be considered. (Here's a video sample of the technique.)

Skids and panic stops

Studies show that taking an advanced or performance driving course -- tackling skills such as winter driving and accident avoidance -- does not reduce crash rates and in some cases actually raises them. Many speculate that overconfidence on the part of drivers and eagerness to demonstrate new skills may be the reason.

Yet many parents sleep better if their teen understands the conditions that will put a vehicle into a skid and how to recover when that happens. Advanced-driving courses are conducted in a controlled environment and teach students to handle everything from panic stops to skid recovery on a wet road. Professional instructors provide instant feedback on how to improve and note where these conditions might be experienced in a real-world situation.

Rob Schermerhorn of Hooked on Driving, a performance driving school in Michigan, has taught thousands of teens and he strongly recommends that teens learn about hard braking and brake-turn maneuvers. According to Schermerhorn, teens rarely step on the brake hard enough in emergency situations and are not being taught how to control a turn under hard-braking conditions.

Some insurance companies may give you a break on your insurance rates once you complete the course. But the courses are more likely to simply save you some worry. Your teen's first use of emergency driving skills shouldn't come on a crowded highway.

Coaching for parents, coaching by parents

At many schools, parental involvement ends when Mom or Dad hands over the check.

A 2008 study surveyed 321 parents who had a teenager enrolled in a driver education course and found that while most of the parents were not very involved at all with their teen's training, 76 percent felt that parental involvement should be required.

Indeed, NHTSA in 2011 released driver education standards that recommended all states require a parent to attend a seminar before his or her teen's driver education course as well as a debriefing at the end.

But those standards are merely recommendations, and only some states abide by them.

The Mercedes-Benz school requires parents to spend two hours in the vehicle observing the coaching process and seeing which skills their teen needs to work on. The parents are briefed after each lesson and are given feedback after the final assessment is done.

Hayes was disappointed by the lack of communication with her daughter's instructor and would like to see a coaching session that helps parents both correct their own bad driving habits, and learn skills that will help them coach their kids. Her daughter Emily agrees, saying she feels there is a huge disconnect between what parents are doing in the car and what she was learning in class. (See "What young drivers need to know.")

The original article can be found at CarInsurance.com:
3 critical skills driver's ed doesn't teach

Driver in fatal Irving crash was drunk, ME says

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:36:00 +0000

BY MITCH MITCHELL

mitchmitchell@star-telegram.com

IRVING -- A Southlake attorney who was killed along with two passengers in a wreck at a Las Colinas canal in January had a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit, according to the autopsy report by the Dallas County medical examiner's office.

Ronald Eddins, 41, had a blood-alcohol level of more than 0.19, according the report. The legal limit is 0.08.

Police have said Eddins was at the wheel of his Porsche Panamera on Jan. 3 when the car left the pavement near the 5600 block of Riverside Drive, flew about 95 feet, struck a guardrail along the canal, slammed into the bank on the opposite side of the canal and fell into the water.

His passengers were Kenneth Lark, 23, of Austin and Kaat Debeuckelaer, 21, of Colleyville.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is investigating whether Eddins was overserved at any of the establishments he visited Jan. 3, said Maj. Charlie Cloud, an agency spokesman.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/03/27/3840486/driver-in-fatal-irving-crash-was.html#storylink=cpy

Dallas Drivers Named Second Most Dangerous

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:28:00 +0000

A new report ranks North Texans at the top of the most dangerous drivers in America.

Men's Health Magazine ranked Dallas drivers as the second most dangerous in the nation, only behind St. Louis. Fort Worth placed 12th-worst on the list.

Those cities, plus Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Lubbock all received grades of "F" in the report.

The magazine based the grades on "the rate of fatal crashes, the percentage of fatalities involving alcohol, speeding, or hit and run, and the rate of seat belt use." Other factors included the average number of years between accidents as well as laws on cellphone use while driving.

"I am absolutely not surprised. North Texas is the worst for drunk driving fatalities in the country," says Suzette Pylant, a victim's advocate for Mother's Against Drunk Driving.

M.A.D.D. is fighting for every state to require ignition interlock devices for first time drunken-driving offenders.

"It's a device that goes on your car and you have to breathe into it or your car won't start. If you have alcohol in your system, your car won't start," says Pylant.

In other states, such measures have cut the number of alcohol-related fatalities by as much as half.

Currently, Texas only requires ignition interlocks for drunk driving offenders with a 0.15 blood alcohol level or offenders with two or more convictions.

Auto Insurance: Most expensive state, least expensive state

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 18:12:00 +0000

(MoneyWatch) It seems like Hurricane Katrina and the BP (BP) oil spill should be enough troubles for one state. But if you live in Louisiana, you also pay the highest auto insurance rates in the country.

According to a just-released study by the website Insure.com, the $2,536 average cost to insure a car in Louisiana is nearly three times the $889 average in Maine, the lowest-cost state.

Factors that push up rates include a large number of uninsured drivers, state insurance laws, how many insurers compete in the state and whether recent natural disasters have pushed up claims. "Many of these problems are outside the control of drivers," says Amy Danise, editorial director of Insure.com. "But even if you live in an expensive state, you can hold down your insurance costs by keeping your driving record as clean as possible and selecting a car that is cheap to insure."

After Louisiana, Oklahoma ($2,047) and Michigan ($2,013) are the next most expensive states. High levels of insurance awards to accident victims are major factors in Louisiana and Michigan, according to Insure.com. In Oklahoma, in addition to many uninsured drivers, recent claims for tornado damage have pushed up rates.

Least expensive states

In Maine (average cost $889), relatively light traffic, a low crime rate and competitive rates among insurance companies contribute to low costs. Similar factors, plus a low rate of uninsured drivers keep costs down in second-least expensive Iowa ($985). Wisconsin ($987) also has a low crime rate and competition among companies and has a relatively low level of auto-related lawsuits.

To see how your state ranks, check the list below. These are averages. Your own rates will be affected by exactly where you live, how many miles you drive annually and your credit score.

1. Louisiana: $2,536

2. Oklahoma: $2,047

3. Michigan: $2,013

4. West Virginia: $2,002

5. Washington, D.C.: $1,866

6. Montana: $1,856

7. Rhode Island: $1,830

8. Wyoming: $1,732

9. California: $1,709

10. Georgia: $1,694

11. Connecticut: $1,665

12. Texas: $1,661

13. Florida: $1,654

14. Delaware: $1,652

15. New Jersey: $1,608

16. Pennsylvania: $1,598

17. Hawaii: $1,594

18. Kentucky: $1,572

19. Mississippi: $1,502

20. Missouri: $1,455

21. Alaska: $1,431

22. North Dakota: $1,426

23. New York: $1,431

24. Kansas: $1,410

25. Massachusetts: $1,378

26. Maryland: $1,372

27. Alabama: $1,345

28. Arkansas: $1,334

29. Colorado: $1,322

30. Utah: $1,315

31. Washington: $1,305

32. South Dakota: $1,303

33. Indiana: $1,301

34. Virginia: $1,297

35. New Mexico: $1,274

36. Minnesota: $1,264

37. Nebraska: $1,244

38. Oregon: $1,241

39. Tennessee: $1,228

40. Nevada: $1,223

41. Illinois: $1,192

42. Arizona: $1,176

43. New Hampshire: $1,133

44. South Carolina: $1,108

45. Ohio: $1,099

46. Vermont: $1,063

47. North Carolina: $1,022

48. Idaho: $1,011

49. Wisconsin: $987

50. Iowa: $985

51. Maine: $889

Mom of designated driver killed by drunk driver fights to keep memorial

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:32:00 +0000

by JIM DOUGLAS

WFAA

Posted on March 6, 2012 at 7:25 PM

Updated today at 2:27 AM

SEE ALL 3 PHOTOS »

MINERAL WELLS — Wind chimes and a wall of stone angels on a front porch in Mineral Wells bring comforting memories of Janakae Sargent to her mother.

It's what the mailman brought that moved her to tears... and immediately into action.

She reads from the letter, "At this time [the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)] is preparing to remove your sign and other memorial signs that have been placed for at least two years."

The sign marks the spot in Lubbock where a drunk driver killed Janakae in 2006. The Texas Tech student was a designated driver that night, and had just dropped off a friend.

The drunk driver died instantly. Janakae lingered for four days, as her mom told News 8 five years ago.

"Begged her to fight," she said. "Begged her not to give up."

Watch Jim Douglas' report from March 2007

So when the TxDOT letter came, Kandi Sargent Lowe knew she couldn't give up either. She says the letter hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Like losing her all over again," she said. "Like once again, she's going to be silenced. And I can't let that happen."

She went to the Web site SignOn.org and launched a petition to preserve markers honoring DWI victims - more than 100 signs across Texas.

More than 3,000 people have already responded to the petition drive.

Sargent isn't sure where all this is going.

"I have no clue," she shrugs. "One foot in front of the other. Take it as I go."

TxDOT told her the signs must come down after two years to comply with federal regulations.

"So I'm not stopping with state — I'm going federal," she said, not knowing exactly how she'll do it.

But strangers inspire her to keep going.

After we played Janakae's voice on her phone five years ago, calls started coming in from as far away as Germany, England and Australia. The phone still rings.

So, although Kandi Sargent Lowe doesn't know where this spontaneous campaign will take her, she knows she's not going alone.

Allstate checking driving records of homeowners' insurance applicants

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:18:00 +0000

Feb. 7, 2012, 3:16 p.m. PST

McClatchy/Tribune - MCT Information Services

CHICAGO _ If you're a lousy driver, are you also more likely to be a mishap-prone homeowner?

Allstate Corp. believes there's a correlation.

The Northbrook, Ill.-based company confirmed that it has begun considering the driving records and auto-claims history of people who apply for a new homeowners' product in Oklahoma called House & Home.

House & Home, introduced in the Sooner State last October, effectively could make homeowners pay more of the cost of their roof repairs. Allstate said last week it plans to roll it out to additional states through 2014. Speaking to investors last week, Allstate Chief Executive Tom Wilson said House & Home could help the company reach its target of a 13 percent return on equity by 2014. Allstate's ROE, calculated by dividing net earnings by shareholders equity, was 4 percent at year end.

An Allstate spokesman confirmed Tuesday that House & Home marks the first time the nation's second-biggest home and auto insurer has used a potential policyholder's driving records and auto-claims history when giving quotes on home coverage.

"There's a strong correlation between auto-loss history and the likelihood of covered homeowners' losses," he said. "Allstate's new homeowners' product recognizes this correlation and rewards customers with good auto-loss histories with lower homeowner rates."

Most of Allstate's homeowner customers also have their autos insured with the company, so they might see a better overall rate for the household, the spokesman said.

Allstate's biggest rival, Bloomington, Ill.-based State Farm, doesn't use driving records or auto claims records to determine homeowners' pricing or eligibility, State Farm spokeswoman Missy Dundov said.

When Allstate introduced House & Home last October, it anticipated that homeowners might ask their agents why they're so interested in their driving histories.

So Allstate prepared talking points for the agents: "Research shows there is a strong relationship between auto and homeowners' losses and that a person's driving history can be a predictor of an individual's loss potential with their home," according to Allstate documents obtained last week by the Chicago Tribune. "The better your driving record, the better the price may be compared to someone with a poor driving record and multiple auto claims."

Unless other carriers follow Allstate's lead, the House & Home product could be a tough sell, said Jim Fish, executive director of the National Association of Professional Allstate Agents Inc.

For one thing, generally speaking, House & Home provides replacement cost coverage if the roof is less than 10 years old. Otherwise, it might pay only the actual cash value of the roof, documents show.

"If an Allstate agent is up against a carrier that pays full replacement cost on roofs, offers a reasonable deductible and doesn't make the customer jump through hoops, he probably won't make that sale," Fish said.

As for House & Home's linking driving records to homeowners' quotes, Fish said he understands Allstate's logic that careless drivers are more likely to be careless homeowners.

"But we also see consumers scratching their heads over the need to disclose information that is seemingly unrelated to the purchase of property insurance," he said.

Many businesses, including insurers, use all types of information, such as credit scores, to influence everything from whether someone should be hired to how much they should pay for insurance.

Social media also present opportunities for insurers. Trawling for information on Facebook, Twitter and other sites can enable underwriters and claims professionals to track individuals' lifestyles, experiences and habits, letting them see, for example, if a policyholder claiming a serious injury has just posted a photo of himself or herself engaged in physical activity.

Life Sentence Upheld for Man Who Pleaded to Ninth DWI

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:09:00 +0000

Erin CooperCNHI

PARKER COUNTY — A Parker County jury’s life sentence for George Michael Carter’s ninth DWI conviction was upheld Jan. 26 in the Second District Court of Appeals in Fort Worth.

“Our jury sent a very strong message about how they felt about repeat drunk drivers,” said Assistant District Attorney Jeff Swain, who tried the case along with Assistant District Attorney Nikki Morton. “We are glad that their verdict was affirmed on appeal. To date, in my 16 years as a prosecutor, I still have not seen a DWI case with a defendant with a higher blood test than this defendant.”

Carter, 55, who pleaded guilty to a felony DWI, appealed the jury’s November 2010 sentence on three technical points. One point was overruled because Carter failed to “object to prior and subsequent arguments that he did not want to change and did not care renders any possible error harmless,” the memorandum opion states.

“If the court had agreed with the defense argument, the maximum sentence the defendant could have received would have been 20 years,” said Assistant District Attorney Eddy Lewallen, who handled the appeal for the prosecution. “Fortunately, the law was on our side on that issue.”

The appellate court also overruled complaints that Carter should receive a new trial due to the closing argument of the prosecution where it was argued that he either did not care about driving drunk or did not want to change.

Carter had three prior misdemeanor DWIs and five prior felony DWIs in Tarrant County when he pleaded guilty. His first DWI in Parker County occurred in 2009, assistant district attorney Jeff Swain told the Democrat previously.

In the trial, jurors heard eyewitnesses testify that they saw Carter driving northbound on Bethel Road and drive into the ditch on both sides of the road twice each before he ran head-on into a pipe fence. One of the witnesses, a defensive driving instructor, told jurors that he thought that he might be hit, so he pulled over onto the shoulder to avoid Carter.

A Weatherford firefighter who responded with his engine to 911 calls about the wreck told jurors that Carter at first claimed that he had been shot, a claim which was not substantiated when he was examined. The firefighter described Carter as belligerent and said that he kept trying to get up off of the backboard and fight him. He also said that Carter had urinated on himself.

Jurors watched a dashcam video from a trooper who responded to investigate the accident during which Carter told the trooper that he had “plenty” to drink and that “I spend most of my time drinking.”

“We felt a life sentence was what we needed to protect the community,” Swain said in 2010. “If he’s going to keep endangering everyone else, we have to deal with that, and the jurors spoke today.”

Carter’s blood alcohol level was taken at Weatherford Regional Medical Center after he was arrested and reached .45, Swain said.

The legal limit is .08.

“We’re talking about five-and-a-half times over the legal limit, something shy of that they have listed as indicative of a coma,” Swain said in 2010 when the sentencing was finished.

Bicycle safety ordinance considered in Plano

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:20:00 +0000

By Bill Conrad, bconrad@acnpapers.com

Published: Thursday, December 29, 2011 3:05 PM CST

One of the goals of the

Plano Bicycle Association

is to increase rider safety through education of both cyclists and motorists. A new ordinance being considered by the city council may make its job a little bit easier.

Earlier this month, the council heard a report from Police Chief Greg Rushin concerning an ordinance drafted by his department, with strong input from the association. It is modeled after a bill that was passed by both the state House and state Senate in 2009 before being vetoed by Gov. Rick Perry. Since the veto, several cities in North Texas have passed similar ordinances.

From 2006 to 2009, there were 142 car crashes involving bicycles in Plano, for an average of 35.5 per year. That number jumped to 49 accidents in 2010, and through September of this year the number of accidents was 34. Rushin said all accidents are investigated and the department has determined that the bicyclists are at fault 52 percent of the time, while the motorists are at fault 48 percent of the time. He said 76 percent of the riders who are involved in crashes were not wearing helmets.

The ordinance would set rules for how motorists must interact with riders. When passing a bicyclist on a street with two or more lanes in each direction, the motorist must switch to another lane. On a one-lane street, drivers of cars must pass no closer than three feet from the rider, while drivers of large trucks must give six feet of clearance. Rushin said this is to prevent the cyclist from being blown off the road or otherwise affected by the passing vehicle.

Rules would also be set in place to prevent cars from passing a cyclist and then quickly slowing down to make a right-hand turn, an occurrence Rushin said was particularly dangerous. The ordinance would also prevent motorists from intimidating or harassing cyclists and require then to use due care to prevent collisions with cyclists.

The council members had some concerns over the vagueness of the definitions of harassment, and Rushin said he would work with city staff and the city's legal team to clean up the language.

Councilman Pat Gallagher, an Addison police officer, said he was in favor of the ordinance.

"We are going to keep somebody safe with this ordinance," he said. "This will send out a message and signal that Plano takes it very seriously."

Some concerns were also expressed about how enforceable the law would be and how much of an impact the law would have since there are already laws on the books preventing dangerous driving. Rushin said regardless of the enforcement difficulties, the bicyclist association felt this would give them more tools to educate the public.

Councilwoman André Davidson seemed to sum up the thoughts of many of the council members, saying she supported the ordinance and saw no downside to passing it.

"Even though I am not sure how much of a difference it will make, I do think there is a certain amount of positive marketing for our city and the type of community we want to be so that people know we are a bicycle-friendly community, and we are putting all these trails together and you can commute to work and do these things here," she said. "For that reason, even though I am not totally convinced it puts a lot of meat on the bones, I think there is probably enough positive to make it justifiable."

Rushin said he will bring a revised version of the ordinance back at a future meeting for council consideration.

Hospital Officials See Spike In Accidents Over Just The Past Few Days

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:38:00 +0000

by Jen KastnerNewsWest 9

ODESSA- The doctors and nurses at Medical Center Hospital are taking a deep breath after a stressful weekend in the emergency room. They say several patients were taken to them after being in car accidents. They saw far more than they usually treat.

Last weekend brought with it the excitement of Christmas, but a sudden snowstorm coupled with jam-packed roads full of holiday shoppers, led to disaster for some.

"We saw an increase in motor vehicle crashes both the days before Christmas and the days right after," Divisional Director for Emergency Services, Dena Mikkonen, said.

The emergency room at MCH says they've seen a sharp spike in the number of crashes over just the past few days.

The Department of Public Safety said they responded to 24 motor vehicle accidents on Saturday alone. On Sunday, they went to another 13 accidents.

The snow was partly to blame, but that wasn't all.

"I think holiday travel and drinking [are the blame]. Both of those things would probably contribute and then also some of the snowy and icey conditions that we had," Mikkonen said.

The holiday came with some heavy partying and the ER definitely treated some of those folks.

"I've seen a lot of patients that were probably drinking before here and were involved in crashes," Mikkonen said.

With New Year's Eve around the corner, the holiday season isn't behind just yet. These nurses urge you to think things through before hitting the road.

"Safety never takes a holiday and you never know when a crash is going to happen. So, you want to think through your plans and make your decisions ahead of time. And, don't let things impair your judgement like alcohol, stress and fatigue. Or, distractions like texting," ER Nurse, Lisa Earp, said.

Insurance Claim Delays Deliver Massive Profits To Industry By Shorting Customers

noreply@blogger.com (Jesus Balderas) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:04:00 +0000

WASHINGTON -- Unlike many other businesses, the insurance industry is bound by law to act in good faith with its customers. Because of their protective role in the lives of ordinary citizens, insurers have long operated as semi-public trusts. But since the mid-1990s, a new profit-hungry model, combined with weak regulation, has upended that ancient social contract.

"Claims has been converted into a money-making process," said Russ Roberts, a New Mexico-based management consultant and former business professor at Northwestern University who has studied the insurance industry's evolution from a service business to a profit-driven machine.

The change started when consulting giant McKinsey & Company sold Allstate and other leading insurance companies on a new system to boost the bottom line: Rather than adjusting claims the traditional way, which gave claims managers wide latitude to serve customers, insurers embraced a computer-driven method that produced purposefully low offers to claimants.

Those who took the low-ball offers received prompt service, while those who didn't had their claims delayed and potentially were reduced to bringing expensive lawsuits to fight for their benefits. As former Allstate agent Shannon Kmatz told the American Association for Justice, the trial lawyers' lobby, the strategy was to make claims "so expensive and so time-consuming that lawyers would start refusing to help clients." The strategy was dubbed "Good Hands or Boxing Gloves" by the consultants, riffing on Allstate's advertising slogan.

McKinsey, which was reportedly hired by Allstate in 1992, prepared about 12,500 PowerPoint slides to present its plan. The slides were introduced in litigation in 2005, when the insurer turned them over under a temporary protective order. David Berardinelli, a New Mexico-based trial lawyer who was working on the case, detailed the slides in his 2008 book, "From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves: The Dark Side of Insurance."

McKinsey's strategy put profits above all. One slide in the McKinsey presentation illustrated this philosophy by painting the insurance business as a zero-sum game: "Improving Allstate's casualty economics will have a negative economic impact on some medical providers, plaintiff attorneys, and claimants. ... Allstate gains -- others must lose."

Allstate has certainly gained: It made $4.6 billion in profits in 2007, double its earnings in the 1990s. The stunning increase, said Russ Roberts, came through "driving down loss values to an average of 30 percent below the actual market cost" -- that is, paying dramatically less on claims.

"An insurance company can make a lot of money on the small claims," said Jay Feinman, a professor at Rutgers University School of Law, "because if you save a few dollars on a huge number of claims, it's worth more than saving a lot of dollars on a very small number of claims."

Allstate is the best-known user of the McKinsey model, topping the list of the "Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America" published by the American Association for Justice. But Allstate's rise in profits has led most of the industry to adopt the same approach. McKinsey has worked with State Farm, another insurance giant, and other companies in redesigning their claims systems. Feinman cautioned in his book "Delay, Deny, Defend" that the two major names "are just the largest players in the industry .[the ones] whose involvement with McKinsey & Company in the transformation of claims is the best documented."

Roberts told HuffPost that, by his estimate, the companies that take in 70 percent of total insurance profits in the United States now abuse their obligations to their policyholders. When Allstate CEO Tom Wilson earned $9.3 million last year, he was not even on the top 10 list of best-paid insurance executives, compiled by New York Law School's Center for Justice and Democracy. (The top 10 list was led by William R. Berkley of W.R. Berkley, who made $24.6 million in 2010.)

Yolande Daeninck, spokeswoman for McKinsey & Company, said, "In line with our firm's longstanding policy to not discuss our client work, we decline to comment."

A HOUSE BURNS DOWN

According to an unpublished Harris Interactive Poll conducted in September, 16 percent of surveyed adults have experienced financial hardship while waiting for an insurance claim to be settled or know someone who has. The same poll found that 59 percent of adults believe that most insurers intentionally delay claims -- and those with an income of $35,000 or less were more likely to agree.

With 15.3 percent of Americans -- about 46.2 million people -- living in poverty, close to 10 percent unemployment, and roughly 2 million people who've been looking for work for more than two years, Allstate's business model is profiting off many consumers at their most vulnerable. A claim delayed by even a month can spell financial disaster for a family. As a National Bureau of Economic Research study found, about 25 percent of Americans could not come up with $2,000 in a 30-day period.

Madeleine Burdette, a retiree, is an Allstate customer who reported her experience on the popular website AllstateInsuranceSucks.com. When her Georgia home burned in November 2010, Burdette was in Ohio, where she lives most of the year. She said the fire marshal in Georgia told her that her house would have to be torn down. "The entire middle of the house was gone," Burdette said. "It took out everything. Just the outside walls were left untouched."

The next day, she said, Burdette's Allstate adjuster told her the house could be repaired. Allstate also said it would have to do a thorough investigation to determine if the fire was caused by arson. If it was arson, the adjuster told Burdette, Allstate would not pay for any damages. According to former employees, such investigations are a common practice at Allstate and are encouraged by supervisors as a way to avoid paying claims quickly.

Burdette, who lives on her Social Security checks, flew from Ohio to survey the damage herself. While in Georgia, she contacted public adjuster Anita Taff. Public adjusters serve as advocates for individuals who feel they need another set of eyes on a claim. Taff met with Burdette at the house, Burdette said, and discussed the damage with the contractor Burdette had hired. Upon returning to Ohio, Burdette spoke with Taff over the phone to find out what her impression was. Burdette said Taff warned her that the contractor might go along with Allstate's insistence that the house could be repaired.

"I believe [delaying claims] is an effort to put the squeeze on policyholders," Taff told HuffPost. She explained that while a claim is being held up, the insurance company may stop paying the policyholder's additional living expenses, forcing the policyholder to cover mortgage and rent entirely out of pocket. "That's something that many people cannot afford to do, so they're forced to take a lower settlement," Taff said.

Burdette said she immediately called the contractor and told him not to go near her house. According to Burdette, she received a phone call within 10 minutes from her Allstate adjuster asking her not to hire Taff or any other public adjuster. "He said, 'If you hire a public adjuster, I'm going to deny and delay this claim for as long as possible,'" Burdette told HuffPost. Taken aback, she then asked if it wasn't in his best interest to settle the claim. "Not really," he replied, according to Burdette.

Although the Allstate adjuster eventually agreed to work with Taff on Burdette's claim, her troubles did not end. The contractor who had been banned from her property nevertheless worked on the house and billed Allstate for $22,000. Burdette had explicitly told Allstate not to pay the contractor a dime, she said, but the company paid him under her policy anyway. The contractor couldn't be reached for comment.

More than a year later, Burdette's home is still being repaired and Allstate refuses to reimburse the $22,000. She consulted four different lawyers to see if she had a legal case. While she said they all agreed that she was entitled to reimbursement, she said they also agreed that she lacked the funds to fight the insurance giant. "They told me, 'You'll run out of money,'" she said.

NO FLUKES

Roberts, the management consultant, said that companies like Allstate attempt to pass off claims delays as fluke occurrences. But, he said, they are actually routine and intentional products of the McKinsey system: "The Allstate/McKinsey system for 'lowballing' claims payments ... is driven by the claims performance management and pay systems from the top to the bottom of the organization."

Feinman, the Rutgers law professor, also suggested the deck is stacked against individuals who make claims. "You have an accident or a fire in your house. You call up the insurance company. You describe the circumstances. Maybe they send an adjuster out, and they say it's not covered, or it's covered but here's the dollar amount that we're obligated to pay you," he said. Most people, Feinman said, do not have the expertise "to know whether or not that's right."

Allstate spokeswoman Laura Strykowski said the company can't comment on specific cases because of privacy requirements, but considers its claims process both legal and effective. "Our customers and claimants receive prompt and courteous claim service and our goal is to settle each claim fairly and efficiently," she wrote to HuffPost. "As a regulated company, Allstate's claim practices are available to and regularly reviewed by state departments of insurance."

But experts like Feinman argue that insurance regulation has become little more than a fig leaf. State insurance departments are usually understaffed and overwhelmed. And even if they had the legal firepower to contend with giant insurance companies, Feinman said, "the regulators are closer to the industry than they are consumers." Eleven of the past 15 presidents of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) went on to work for the insurance industry after leaving office, while a 17-year study from two Georgia State University professors found that around half of state-level insurance commissioners did so as well.

When combined with penalties that Feinman described as "laughably low" in many states, this close relationship means that regulation does not provide an effective check on insurance companies. And state governments themselves have incentive to place consumers on the backburner. Because insurance taxes are a major source of revenue for the states, said Roberts, insurance oversight commissions are usually more concerned with keeping companies solvent than resolving the problems of policyholders.

With the exception of the federal Affordable Care Act, insurance is regulated on a state-by-state basis. Although most states set a specific timeline for how quickly an insurance company must initially respond to claims, there is much more leeway when it comes to settling those claims. For example, in Missouri, an insurer must acknowledge receipt of a claim within 10 days and either pay or deny it within 15 days of receiving all necessary documentation. However, if the insurer decides it needs more time to investigate, it may keep delaying as long as it updates the policyholder every 45 days. In Georgia, where Burdette's house burned down, the insurer must notify the policyholder if it will affirm or deny a claim within 60 days. However, the insurer does not have to settle the amount it will pay within that period. Many states have similar provisions that allow insurers to put off paying claims indefinitely.

According to NAIC data, claim delays have long been the most frequent cause of policyholder complaint. As of Nov. 28, 2011, the NAIC had received 11,053 delay-related complaints this year alone, comprising almost a quarter of the year's total complaints. These data only reflect confirmed complaints -- the ones that the state insurance commission has investigated -- so the actual number of delayed claims is likely much higher.

Complaining to state regulators about the insurer's delay is always an option, but its effectiveness is questionable at best. "I have not seen it be successful," said Taff.