Seatbelts Optional?

Many of us think of seat belts only being a feature in a car. We make sure our kids and ourselves are buckled in before we hit the road; but have you given any thought to the absence of seat belts on busses?

According to an article from the ozarksfirst.com, busses are usually thought of as a “cocoon” of safety—with reinforced windows, ceilings, and seats. Seatbelts would certainly increase the safety of the vehicle, preventing students from being thrown around the bus in the event of a rollover.

I remember roaming bus aisles, fitting 3 or 4 of my friends in one seat, and standing up in my seat to check on all the other kiddos. Wearing a seatbelt wasn’t exactly on my list of priorities. Now, times have changed.

We have entered a time of many more rules meant to keep us safe. I’m reminded of the “Click It or Ticket” rule every time I drive down 270. So why have seatbelts still not been added to the vehicles carrying our most precious cargo?

Legislation has been written and has made multiple attempts at passing, according to the same article. Three different bills have come up in Missouri legislature in 2005, 2006, and 2007 but all did not get enough votes.

 Of course, the cost of adding seatbelts to every bus in Missouri is no doubt high. It would cost an estimated $1.4 million to equip new busses. I will be sure to watch news for a resurfacing of this bill. For now, I’m not sure what outcome I expect. Tell me what you think!

Enterprise Provides Less Safety Features in Rental Impalas

According to an article on KMOX, Enterprise cut costs when getting their last tall order of Chevrolet Impalas—at the expense of safety.

Enterprise is the largest purchaser of new cars, implying their bill is also the largest. 66,000 impalas were ordered between 2006 and 2008 without the side air bag. The modified order saved Enterprise about $11.5 million.

The side air bag is not a federally mandated feature—but it wasn’t the order that caused the problem. The impalas were incorrectly advertised on the website as having this extra safety feature.

The faulty advertising created a reasonable expectation of safety. Uh oh. If a prospective renter had a bad back or small child and had ordered the Impala for its specific safety features, they would have been misinformed! The protection that they should have received from the vehicle in the event of an accident would, in fact, not be there.

So who is responsible? Probably Enterprise. While advertisements promise things every day, puffery isn’t usually applied to safety features. Perhaps if the cowardly lion had darted across the website roaring, “Glenda the good witch herself created the safety features in our new Impala,” it would have been debatable. Unfortunately, Enterprise may have a little more explaining to do.

In the unfortunate event that you or someone you know has been injured in an accident with one of these Impalas, you may have a claim against not only the driver but also Enterprise. It will be vital for you to contact an experienced auto accident attorney who specializes in auto deficiency and can help you get the compensation you deserve.

Boat Accident Injures St. Charles Man

According to a Post-Dispatch article, Thomas Stahl, a 46-year-old man from St. Charles, was run over by a boat while riding his Yamaha personal watercraft at the Lake of the Ozarks on Saturday. The accident took place in the late afternoon in the Little Niangua section of the Lake. 77-year-old Ronald Bradley was driving the Mariah Runabout Boat that ran over Stahl while he was looking down into his footwell. Stahl was rushed to a hospital in Columbia, Missouri and there has been no further report on the status of his injuries.

My thoughts are with Thomas as he recovers from the injuries he has sustained. While boating at the lake is a favorite summer activity, it is important to remember that it is also a responsibility. Boating crashes, just like car crashes, can be caused by negligence or even deficiency in the vehicle. However, boating insurance and car insurance differ. Less people have boating insurance and are, therefore, less able to understand their claims when negotiating medical bills. It will be important for Thomas to contact an attorney who understands those differences and knows how to help him get his medical bills paid.

Fenton Men Seriously Injured In Crash On I-55 in Illinois

Melvin Jordan, 62, and Phillip Jordan, 35, from Fenton, MO were seriously injured in an automobile crash on I-55 in Illinois early Wednesday morning when the 2005 Dodge Caravan they were driving left the roadway, hit a culvert and overturned.

Illinois State Police report the van left the roadway for an apparently unknown reason and travelled over 900 feet where hit hit a culvert and overturned.  Melvin Jordan was taken by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital in serious condition and Phillip Jordan was taken to St. John’s Hospital also in serious condition.

Although the extent of the injuries is unknown, I wish the best of luck to both men as they recover from this serious car crash.  Even though this was a single car accident, it would be in their best interests to speak with a qualified St. Louis County personal injury lawyer about whether or not there were any design or safety violations in the highway or the van that could have contributed to the auto accident.

Many times even when fault appears to lie with the driver, an experienced defective design injury lawyer can spot something that, if fixed or designed differently, would have prevented the accident from happening.