Archive for the 'lundylaw' Category

Dogs a Distraction, AAA Says

marvinlundy August 29th, 2010

It’s a common sight. Fido’s head hanging out of the window, or pacing the back seat of your car.  However, a new study by AAA indicates that your pup may be as big a danger as many other distractions like texting while driving.

It’s called DWA (driving with animals). It only takes looking away for two seconds to double your risk of being in a crash and pets are the third-worst distraction. The study also  found that 80 percent of drivers admit to bringing their pets along for car rides, but less than a quarter keep them restrained.

It’s not only dangerous for the driver, but your pet as well. Think about it, an 80 pound dog thrown through the air at 30 miles per hour exerts 2,400 pounds of force. Not good.

So, if you must drive with your dog, here are a few tips from DMVanswers.com. Keep these in mind, especially if you are driving back and forth from the shore this Labor Day.

– Never allow your cat to roam freely. They like to sit on your lap or repose on the dashboard — making them as distracting as cell phones. Always transport felines in a travel crate designed specifically for cats.

– Use a pet-designed harness or seat belt to tether your dog. If not, a sudden stop could send it hurtling forward, placing itself and other passengers in danger. Plus, a harness will prevent your dog from distracting driving-attention with licks to the ear, or, depending on size, curling around your feet near the brake and gas pedals.

– Never leave your pet in a parked car during the summer.

– Don’t let your dog hang its head out a side window. Although amusing, it becomes a driver distraction, and depending on which window, a hindrance to seeing the traffic around you. Plus, it’s not safe for the dog.

– Never attach a restraining device to your pet’s collar while inside a vehicle.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Teenage Drinking Increases Chance of Breast Disease

marvinlundy August 28th, 2010

Parents, you may never get your kids to listen to this, but please try.
A study in the journal Pediatrics (Story in USA Today), found that frequent alcohol consumption by teenage girls may increase the chances that they will develop non-cancerous breast disease in their 20s and possibly breast cancer later in life. Girls who drank the most alcohol during their teen years — daily or nearly every day — were five times more likely to develop benign breast disease as young adults than were their peers who never drank or drank less than once a week. Here’s the kick. Study co-author Catherine Berkey, a biostatistician at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said that benign breast disease is known to boost the risk for breast cancer.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Toyota Recalls Another 1.13 Vehicles

marvinlundy August 28th, 2010

An article in the Washington Post (Fri., Aug. 27) says that Toyota will recall 1.13 million Corolla and Matrix cars for a flaw that U.S. regulators said may cause stalling “at any speed without warning.” The recall affects vehicles from the 2005-2008 model years in the United States and Canada and follows at least three reported accidents linked to the defect.

Popularity: 5% [?]

One in Five Americans Drives Drunk

marvinlundy August 27th, 2010

According to the Washington Post one in five Americans admit to climbing behind the wheel after drinking. The piece cites a survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that also found that eight percent of all drivers, as many as 17 million people, have driven drunk at least once during the past year. Not surprisingly, 16 to 20 year-olds drank almost six alcohol beverages at one sitting. Eight percent of those 16 and older said in the past year they have been the passenger of a driver they thought may have consumed too much alcohol to drive safely.

Personally, I’ll take the train…

Popularity: 7% [?]

Egg recall may indicate problems in US food safety oversight

marvinlundy August 25th, 2010


The New York Times (8/25, B1, Martin) reports on the front page of its Business Day section that as the FDA begins investigating the salmonella outbreak linked to recalled eggs, “some consumer advocates say the huge egg recall highlights a broader and continuing problem at the heart of the nation’s largest food recalls: a highly complicated and often dysfunctional food safety system.” While the “FDA oversees the safety of eggs still in their shells…the Agriculture Department regulates liquid eggs that are used in industrial food production,” and has responsibility “for chickens and the grading of eggs for quality.” Yet, neither the FDA nor the Agriculture Department inspected either farm. And, although FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said that earlier implementation of new egg safety rules may have averted the outbreak, former FDA official Dr. David Acheson expressed doubts.

Popularity: 5% [?]

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