Preliminary estimates sow U.S. traffic fatalities were slightly lower during the first half of 2017 than over the same period last year. Unfortunately, they remained 8 percent higher than in 2015. Worse, the 2016 number was a 6-percent jump over 2015 and represented...
Studies: Lane-keeping, blind-spot systems do prevent car wrecks
Research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that two automated safety systems -- lane-keeping and blind-spot monitoring systems -- substantially reduce both the number and severity of crashes. At the same time, they may cause drivers to be less...
Jury awards $417 million to J&J talc plaintiff, upending theories
A jury in California recently awarded a 63-year-old woman $417 million in a verdict against Johnson & Johnson because its product caused her ovarian cancer. She had used the company's baby powder for feminine hygiene since childhood. Plaintiffs in several...
Coal mining: do you know how to stay safe?
Coal mining is essential to New Mexico’s economy, and an important part of its history. Unfortunately, mining remains a dangerous industry with a number of daily risks. Workers can easily be injured working with the powerful machinery, trucks, occasional fires, slip...
Jury awards $417 million to J&J talc plaintiff, upending theories
A jury in California recently awarded a 63-year-old woman $417 million in a verdict against Johnson & Johnson because its product caused her ovarian cancer. She had used the company's baby powder for feminine hygiene since childhood. Plaintiffs in several...
Software issue leads to truck recalls
General Motors issued a recall on about 700,000 2014 GMC Sierra trucks and Chevrolet Silverados. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that the potentially dangerous vehicles could spontaneously lose electric power steering assistance due to a...
Reasons truck accidents occur
Collisions between a car and a semi-truck can be deadly. An estimated 475,000 large trucks are involved collisions every year. This results in more than 140,000 injuries and 5,000 fatalities. These collisions are caused by distracted driving, over-tired, over-worked...
How some dosage errors occur
New Mexico patients may be interested to learn that some harmful errors in drug prescribing occur because of 10-fold dosage mistakes. For example, a trailing zero, such as 1.0 mg, might be misread as 10 mg. Similarly, the lack of a leading zero could lead to confusion...
Increases and decreases in truck accident trends
New Mexico drivers who regularly share the roads with truck drivers may know that, when a large commercial truck becomes involved in an accident, the size and mass of an 18-wheeler is more likely to cause serious or even life-threatening injuries to occupants of other...
Brake Safety Day event held throughout North America
New Mexico truck drivers may have heard about the Brake Safety Day that took place on May 3 and was sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. It was an unannounced event that resulted in 9,524 inspections in 33 states and 10 Canadian provinces. Of the...