The company which is fighting a losing battle with their image and safety has yet another recall this week… the very popular eco-friendly hybrid Prius is the next Toyota model to be recalled for brake problems.Please see our prior blogs on:

• Toyota Recalls
• Toyota Largest Recall Ever

The U. S Department of Transportation announced an investigation on Thursday and will probably announce a recall that will impact 270,000 hybrid cars that have problems.  Reports seem to indicate that it is a problem of “delayed braking” with their power brakes when driving over bumpy, potholes or slippery roads.  The delay occurs in the switch from the hybrid’s regenerative braking system to the traditional brakes.  The investigation was launched after receiving 124 complaints from owners of the 2010 model, four of which resulted in crashes / accidents.

If you are at all concerned about your Toyota vehicle, please take it to your dealer immediately to have it checked for safety.  Toyota would like to put the brakes on the falling price of their stocks, but that doesn’t mean that you should be stuck in a vehicle without brakes!

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., announced that it is instructing Toyota dealers to temporarily suspend sales of eight models involved in the recall for a sticking accelerator pedal.  This extraordinary step follows a recall last week of 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S., and an earlier recall of 4.2 million vehicles — both due to similar issues.  The sticking accelerator pedal recall is separate from the on-going recall of Toyota and Lexus vehicles to reduce the risk of pedal entrapment by incorrect or out of place accessory floor mats, which the Kane Law Firm previously blogged about HERE.  Approximately 1.7 million Toyota Division vehicles are subject to both recall actions.The vehicles are:

• 2009-2010 RAV4,
• 2009-2010 Corolla,
• 2009-2010 Matrix,
• 2005-2010 Avalon,
• Certain 2007-2010 Camry,
• 2010 Highlander,
• 2007-2010 Tundra,
• 2008-2010 Sequoia

No Lexus Division or Scion vehicles are affected by these actions. Also not affected are Toyota Prius, Tacoma, Sienna, Venza, Solara, Yaris, 4Runner, FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser and select Camry models, including all Camry hybrids, which will remain for sale.

Toyota says drivers who experience their throttles sticking should shift into neutral, pull off the road and call the nearest Toyota dealer. Dealers have been instructed to deal with calls on a case-by-case basis until the problem is fixed. Toyota has not commented on how much leeway dealers have in helping owners of vehicles with the problem, whether it be installing new pedal assemblies, or issuing long term loaner cars.

The first sign of a problem with the throttle is when the driver goes to accelerate, and the gas pedal feels rough instead of smooth. The next is when the throttle doesn’t return properly upon foot removal; and also, when the pedal doesn’t return at all and the throttle stays open. Toyota encourages drivers to report to dealers immediately upon experiencing the first sign.

A recent survey finds that 71 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 49 admit they text or talk on the phone while they drive.  Nearly 500,000 people are injured and 6,000 are killed each year because drivers are talking, texting and e-mailing behind the wheel.

Most European countries ban the use of handheld cell phones while driving, but not all U.S. states have laws restricting texting and driving. So far, 19 states and the District of Columbia have banned texting while driving. In seven states and the District of Columbia, drivers can only use their cell phones if they are hands-free.

The Kane Law Firm in Maitland, Florida has previously posted blogs about these topics:

• Dangers of Texting and Driving
• PSA on Texting While Driving
• Texting While Driving

The Today show had a Special Report on texting while driving that can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2D3hB278Gc.

Oprah has devoted an entire show to the topic.  An abbreviated version can be viewed here.  The devastating stories of how texting and driving has affected people’s lives are summarized below from Oprah’s website: 

• In September 2008, a Los Angeles commuter train conductor missed a red light while sending and receiving more than 40 text messages. His packed train collided head-on with a freight train, injuring 135 people. The conductor and 24 others were killed, making it the second worst commuter train crash in U.S. history.
• Weeks later, a school bus carrying 21 students was rear-ended by an 18-wheel semitruck. The bus was pushed more than 200 feet before bursting into flames. Twenty students escaped, but 13-year-old Margay Schee was killed. The truck driver admitted he had been texting and hadn’t seen that the bus was stopped.
• In November 2008, Shelly and her husband, Daren, were the happily married parents of three beautiful girls, 13-year-old Jessica, 9-year-old Erica and 4-year-old Valerie. “Erica is my little sunshine because she lit up the house,” she says. “She was making us laugh before she was a year old.” Two days before Thanksgiving, Shelly came back from a doctor’s appointment to find emergency crews on her street. “There were all these people and a child lying on the ground,” she says. “I had no idea it was my daughter.” Shelly remembers that tragic day. Daren says Erica was riding her bike home from school. “Erica was just around the corner from our house,” he says. “She was 30 seconds from being home safely.” Erica had been hit head-on by a 5,000-pound SUV. Police say that the driver had recently finished a phone call at the time of the accident. “The driver said: ‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t see her,’” Shelly says. “I felt badly for the driver because I thought: ‘Oh, she’s unconscious. She’s going to be okay.’ … And they started cutting my daughter’s clothes off and it was hitting me this is very, very, very serious.” Erica was rushed to the local children’s hospital, then airlifted to another facility. “The neurosurgeon made it very clear she was going to die,” Shelly says. “I spent the night with her that night. I held her. Cried. I kissed her. I sang to her. I just needed to have time with my girl.
• September 22, 2006, began like any other day for Jackie Furfaro. She kissed her husband, Jim, goodbye as he left to pick up his colleague, Keith O’Dell, for work. A few hours later, Jackie arrived at work, where police were waiting for her. They told her Jim had been in an accident. “I saw Jim’s license in the hands of one of the police officers, and I realized that he was dead,” she says. “They told me that a 19-year-old who was driving a white Tahoe had crossed the center line and clipped my husband,” she says. “He ended up in the oncoming traffic line and was broadsided by the vehicle behind the 19-year-old, and he was killed instantly, along with Keith.” An investigator at the crash site suspected texting was involved when he saw the 19-year-old, Reggie Shaw, texting on the way to a mandatory drug and alcohol screening. No drugs or alcohol were found in his system, but cell phone records confirmed Reggie had been texting from the time he got into his car up until the moment of the crash. Reggie was sentenced to 30 days in jail, community service and to honor a unique request from Jackie-to watch a video of her husband’s funeral. “I just wanted him to know who he killed,” she says. “That was a way for him to get to know one of the men.” Before the accident, Reggie says he texted “pretty close to 100 percent of the time” while driving. “I just never thought about it,” he says. “Growing up, going to high school, going to driver’s ed, it was never taught to me how dangerous it was.” Reggie says he’s haunted by what he’s done. “This affects my life every day. It’s something that I can never really forgive myself for. It was a poor choice that I made,” he says. “I have trouble sleeping at night. You drive down the road, you see accidents on the side of the road, and instantly that’s the first thing that I think of. It’s hard every day. It never gets easier.” When asked whether the jail time he served was enough, Reggie says he doesn’t know. “I think about those 30 days in jail and what I went through and how hard that was for me-and I think about the two lives that are lost,” he says. “I don’t know if it was enough.”
• Linda Doyle was a beloved wife, mother and grandmother. On September 3, 2008, the 61-year-old was killed after a 20-year-old driver ran a red light and T-boned her car going 45 to 50 miles per hour. “He didn’t see the light,” says Jennifer, Linda’s daughter. “The news reports that night, the newspapers the next day said he was engrossed in a cell phone conversation.” Jennifer says she was stunned after seeing the wreckage of her mother’s car. “When I saw the seat she was sitting in, that was the hardest part for me,” she says. “Put your mother, your wife, your son, your daughter, your grandparents, your friend in that seat that my mother was sitting in and you tell me, is that phone call worth it?” Before her mother’s accident, Jennifer says she used her car as an office. “I didn’t text. That was something I knew I couldn’t do. But I was on the phone,” she says. “I was just under the same misconception as everyone else that if you’ve got that headset in your ear, you’re okay.” Jennifer wants people to know having a headset won’t protect you. “The man driving that car that hit my mother was driving for less than a quarter of a mile. He was on the phone for less than a minute. He couldn’t do it. His brain couldn’t handle it,” she says. “It’s not where your hands are. It’s where your head is.”

The U.S. government Tuesday, January 26, 2010, banned hand-held “texting” by drivers of large commercial trucks and buses to avoid the danger of distracted driving.  Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement the prohibition takes effect immediately. It follows a similar ban in December for drivers of federal government vehicles.  “We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be safe,” LaHood said. “This is an important safety step and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving.”  The new ban carries fines of up to $2,750.

This is a big step in preventing needless accidents.  Hopefully people will pay attention to the law and dire consequences of using their phone while driving (talking on it, texting, checking their calendar, or even surfind the internet).

Already 55,000 people have signed Oprah’s “No Phone Zone” pledge that they will not use their phone in their car.

Q I rent a house to a tenant who has a not-too-friendly dog. As owner of the property, do I have any legal liability if the dog attacks and bites a person, or causes any other kind of monetary damage?

J.S.
Mount Dora

A Yes! While Florida law can make dog owners strictly responsible for injuries caused by their dogs, you can also be liable for injuries resulting from an attack by a dog owned by your tenant.

Although you don’t own “Bruiser,” the Florida Supreme Court has held that as a landlord, you can be liable if you knew or should have known of Bruiser’s vicious nature, or if you were negligent in controlling the dog’s presence (such as failing to repair a fence).

You can try to protect yourself from liability by including a provision in your lease that prohibits dangerous dogs, but you must be diligent in enforcing that provision. You could also require that any tenant with a dog must have an insurance policy that covers both the tenant and you for liability for dog attacks.

* Question answered by attorney Meghan P. Kane of Kane Law Firm.  She can be reached at MKane@KaneInjury.com.

Full article: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/law/os-ask-lawyer-dog-bite-20100122,0,3358446.column

Written by Paralegal, Rayna Peters

This morning, a 12 year old boy in Brevard County is in serious condition at Arnold Palmer Hospital after an accident on his bicycle ended with the bike’s handlebars impaling his stomach area. Fire rescue offices have stated that the boy was airlifted to the hospital, but have not released his name.

As a parent, when I think about bicycle safety, my mind immediately jumps to the horror stories of car crashes and bicycles, or traffic safety rules they teach you in elementary school. The reality is that bicycle injuries, in any form, are far more common than we realize. In fact, more children ages 5 to 14 are seen in hospital emergency rooms for injuries related to biking than any other sport.

According to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign (NSKC), bicycles are associated with more childhood injuries than any other consumer product except the automobile. In 2001, 134 children ages 14 and under died in bicycle-related crashes. Head injury is the leading cause of death in bicycle crashes and is the most important determinant of bicycle related death and permanent disability. Head injuries account for more than 60 percent of bicycle-related deaths, more than two-thirds of bicycle-related hospital admissions and about one-third of hospital emergency room visits for bicycling injuries. In 2002, nearly 288,900 children ages 14 and under were treated in hospital emergency rooms for bicycle-related injuries. Nearly half (47 percent) of children ages 14 and under hospitalized for bicycle-related injuries are diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. It is estimated that collisions with motor vehicles account for nearly 90 percent of all bicycle related deaths and 10 percent of all nonfatal bicycle-related injuries.

As is evidenced by the injuries sustained by the little boy from Titusville, children can be seriously hurt from colliding with handlebars during a fall, even in low-speed bike crashes. One national study of seriously injured bicyclists found that handlebar impacts accounted for 22 % of injuries among non-head-injured children.

The total annual cost of traffic-related bicyclist death and injury among children ages 14 and under is more than $2.2 billion. A review of hospital discharge data in Washington state found that treatment for nonfatal bicycle injuries among children ages 14 and under costs more than $113 million each year, an average of $218,000 per injured child.

The single most effective safety device available to reduce head injury and death from bicycle crashes is a helmet. Helmet use reduces the risk of bicycle-related death and injury and the severity of head injury when a crash occurs. Unfortunately, national estimates report that bicycle helmet use among child bicyclists ranges only from 15 to 25 percent. It is estimated that 75 percent of fatal head injuries among child bicyclists could be prevented with a bicycle helmet.

So what can we do to help keep our children from becoming one these many statistics? The number one answer is: EDUCATE THEM! Teach them the importance of wearing a helmet at all times. Teach them how to be safe near traffic, even if it’s only the street in front of your home. Teach them hand signals and how to be aware of their surroundings. Supervise them closely while they use a bicycle. Adult supervision is essential until the traffic skills and judgment thresholds are reached by each child. Until then, you are their greatest means of protection.

If your child, or a child under your supervision is injured in a bicycle accident, seek medical attention immediately. Often, injuries such as concussions, organ injury, or internal bleeding are not immediately evident, but can become life-threatening very quickly. If a motor vehicle is involved, be sure to contact law enforcement; and, as early as possible, seek the assistance of a personal injury attorney to protect the rights of your child.

Martin Luther King, Jr., was born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin. His grandfather began the family’s long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, serving from 1914 to 1931; his father has served from then until the present, and from 1960 until his death Martin Luther acted as co-pastor. Growing up in Atlanta, King attended Booker T. Washington High School, a segregated public school. He skipped ninth and twelfth grade, and entered Morehouse College at age fifteen without formally graduating from high school. He received the B. A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College, a distinguished Negro institution of Atlanta that both his father and grandfather had graduated from. After three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he was elected president of a predominantly white senior class, he was awarded the B.D. in 1951. With a fellowship won at Crozer, he enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University, completing his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and receiving the degree in 1955. In Boston he met and married Coretta Scott, and two sons and two daughters were born.

In 1954, Martin Luther King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Always a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race, King was, by this time, a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the leading organization of its kind in the nation. He was ready, then, early in December, 1955, to accept the leadership of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States, the bus boycott described by Gunnar Jahn in his presentation speech in honor of the laureate. The boycott lasted 382 days. During the boycott, King was arrested, his home was bombed, he was personally assaulted, but he emerged as a strong, black leader as the world had never seen. On December 21, 1956, the Supreme Court of the United States declared the laws requiring bus segregation unconstitutional.

In 1957, he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. Between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times; He wrote five books and countless articles; He led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience; He planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, “l Have a Dream”; He conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested nearly twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963 and became not only a symbolic leader of American people, but a world figure.

At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When he learned of his selection, he announced that he would give the prize money (approx. $54,123.00) to the benefit of the civil rights movement.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march with striking garbage workers, he was tragically assassinated. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. national holiday in 1986.

 Last month, just days after Christmas, a Titusville man crossing the street in his wheelchair was tragically hit and killed by a drunk driver. The innocent victim, 32-year-old Michael Leininger, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, 48-year-old Thomas Pitt, was arrested and charged with DUI manslaughter and DUI property damage.

In June 2008, Derrika Tacara King was riding with a drunk driver in a 2005 Nissan Maxima. The driver of the Nissan crossed the center median and crashed head-on with a 1995 Toyota driven by Jean Fontus. Derrika, the passenger, died on the roadside as paramedics fought to free the victims just 12 days before her 18th birthday. The driver of the Toyota suffered injuries that included a broken arm and severe soft tissue injuries. The intoxicated driver suffered a broken leg and other injuries, but has been charged with DUI manslaughter. Police calculated he was going nearly 80 mph in a 35 mph zone. Tests later showed the intoxicated driver’s blood alcohol level at .107 and .109, above the .08 minimum for DUI.

According to MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, during 2008, 875 people in the State of Florida were killed in drunk driving crashes. From 1998 to 2008 (a ten year span), 9,785 victims were killed in drunk driving crashes. 108,853 people have 3 or more DUI convictions and 13,540 have five or more DUI convictions in Florida.

The senseless consequences of a drunk driver are profound, life-altering and tragically, are often fatal. For the victims and their loved ones, it’s important to know what your rights are and where to turn for answers. An attorney can help you, and your family, face the legal issues and fight for the compensation you are entitled to. Don’t face it alone.

As we enter the New Year, remember to keep you and your loved ones safe! Always wear your seatbelt, drive without distractions, be aware of the drivers around you, and don’t hesitate to pull over and notify law enforcement if you suspect an intoxicated driver. The safety of the members of our community is worth the time!

 For our recent blog on Holiday Drunk Driving, click Here.

 We offer free consultations for injured victims. Call us at (407) 644-5263 to speak to one of our attorneys.

Just after midnight, early on Tuesday morning, at least two semi tractor trailer trucks were involved in a crash beneath the underpass at Boggy Creek Road along southbound Ronald Regan Turnpike in Kissimmee, Osceola County, damaging the overpass.  One semi was loaded with food from Target, which was completely destroyed by the fire, as driven by Carlos Allois-Banos, age 23.  Mr. Allois-Banos crashed into the back of another semi, driven by 35 year old Luis Navarro, which had stopped to repair a flat tired and was trying to re-enter the roadway.

These two truck drivers were careless in how they operated their vehicles, causing thousands of dollars in damage.  A random search of Google reveals that “in order to operate in interstate commerce, a driver must be at least 21 years of age, pass a physical examination every 2 years and submit to testing for drug and alcohol use. Drivers of all trucks with gross-weight ratings of more than 26,000 pounds and drivers of vehicles carrying any quantity of hazardous materials that are required to display warning signs must obtain a “Commercial Driver’s License (CDL)” by passing tests of their knowledge of safety regulations and their ability to drive the large trucks. Drug and alcohol convictions or combinations of various serious driving violations can draw temporary or even permanent loss of driving privileges.”  The commerical drivers license requirements of the Federal Government are listed here.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Administration, in 2007, 9,027,624 large trucks were on our roadways which resulted in 4,808 fatalities.  Over the past 20 years (from 1987 to 2007) there has been a 58-percent increase in registered large trucks and a 70-percent increase in miles traveled by large trucks.  Over the past 10 years (from 1997 to 2007) there has been a 27-percent increase in registered large trucks and a 19-percent increase in miles traveled by large trucks.

The state will look to the truck driver’s insurance to cover the cost of the damages; however, if the truck’s insurance company cannot cover the cost, the bridge is also insured.  Thankfully the only damage was to he bridge and the contents of the trucks, both drivers are alive, which is often not the case in trucking accidents.

We don’t live up north where I am going to give advice on how to drive in ice and snow, rather this blog is about Governor Charlie Crist’s Executive Order which eases restrictions on truck weight, height, length and width for commercial vehicles transporting vulnerable crops to processing sites.  This is good news for the citrus business, but dangerous news for those who share the roads with these trucks. 

“This freezing weather has created a serious situation for our state’s agricultural producers, who now must rush to harvest their crops to prevent further losses,” said Florida Commissioner of Agriculture & Consumer Services Charles H. Bronson. “The temporary easing of highway restrictions enables farmers to more quickly transport their crops to processing facilities and help avoid financial disaster.”  On the flip side, common causes of trucking accidents are over-worked, over-tired drivers and over-loaded trucks!  For the next fourteen days, please be very caution when sharing the roadway with citrus vehicles.  More information about the weight, height, length and width restrictions for vehicles transporting crops on Florida’s highways is available at www.Florida-Agriculture.com.

Drive carefully!  Big brother is watching!  Five new red light cameras were installed and become operational today.  Three intersections are in College Park, one is on International Drive and the other is near Orlando International Airport. There are now a dozen intersections in Orlando with red light cameras and drivers caught running through them will be fined at least $125. Since the cameras were installed last year, the city has issued more than 30,000 citations and generated $3.8 million.

City leaders say they chose to set up cameras at three intersections in College Park because it is an area where they see the heaviest number of accidents. There is a camera to catch drivers on Princeton crossing over Edgewater and there is a camera set up on Edgewater to catch red light runners crossing over Princeton. 

Without addressing the politics over where the money is going, city leaders believe the red light cameras work because their numbers show there has been a 33 percent reduction in red light runners at the intersections with camera and they are issuing ten percent fewer fines. 

Please see our prior blog on the effect of Red Light cameras.