December 2015 Archives
Staying safe as a pedestrian
When crossing a street or standing on a street corner, California pedestrians may be vulnerable. This is because drivers may not be able to see a pedestrian when behind the wheel of a large truck or bus. However, there are steps that an individual may take to stay safe while walking on a sidewalk or crossing a street.
New federal rule impacts truck drivers
A new federal rule designed to reduce commercial vehicle accidents will impact California truckers when it goes into effect in early 2016. It will require truckers and bus drivers to electronically record their hours instead of using the paper logs that have been required since 1938.
The symptoms of rabies
California residents may think of dangerous dogs when the subject of rabies is raised, but most modern cases of the disease are blamed on bats and wild carnivores such as raccoons, foxes and skunks. Rabies killed more than 100 Americans each year at the turn of the twentieth century, but efforts to contain the disease lowered the death toll to only one or two per year by the 1990s. Particular attention was paid to eliminating the disease in domestic animals, and more than 90 percent of modern rabies cases occur in wildlife.
Wheelchair pedestrians more likely to be killed by cars
According to a new study, wheelchair users in California and nationwide are at much greater risk of being struck and killed by a car than other pedestrians. The study, which was conducted by researchers at Georgetown University, was published in the BMJ Open journal.