Back in the old days insurers would offer peanuts on injury cases worth less than $10,000 because insurers believed few personal injury lawyers would take such cases due to the cost of litigation relative to the value of a case. To address this problem the Oregon legislature enacted ORS 20.080. That law provides for attorney fees and…
Who in the world earns 5 Bronze Stars, a Purple Hart and two Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry? My military school mentor—Master Sargent James Smith. 1980… Mount St. Helen erupts showering Portland with ash. Meanwhile, I was 17-year-old high school junior attending military school. I marched, saluted and fired howitzers for four years as a cadet at…
We’ve seen quite a number of auto accidents occurring in the presence of icy road conditions in Oregon already this winter, making it especially important that you secure your most precious and vulnerable love ones in the event of an accident. On January 23, 2014 at approximately 7:45 a.m., an Oregon State Police sergeant who…
To make roads safer for cyclists, states and cities around the country have enacted laws requiring a “buffer zone” between cars and bicycles. Buffer zones increase the space between bikes and cars, and are usually marked with painted strips and sometimes with images of bicycles on the pavement. A raised strip of pavement between cars and…
In April, law enforcement and traffic safety partners took educational and enforcement steps to increase awareness and save lives during national “Distracted Driving Awareness” month. Joint Enforcement to Catch Distracted Drivers Monday morning, April 21, and Friday afternoon, April 25, the Oregon State Police (OSP), Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) and Tualatin Police Department conducted…
The National Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a proposed rule on March 31, 2014 requiring all new vehicles under 10,000 pounds (including SUVs, trucks, buses, and vans) to have “rear-view visibility systems.” In 2007, Congress passed the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Safety Act, that required the Department of Transportation (DOT) to have a rule in place…
Following a deadly crash in January that killed an Illinois Tollway worker and injured a state trooper, senator Dick Durbin (D) issued a press release April 9 asking the Department of Transportation’s inspector general to conduct an audit of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the agency that monitors trucking companies with poor safety records….
On March 24, 2014, Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers arrested a 26-year old male Monday afternoon on traffic-related charges after more than 15 citizens called in driving complaints as he drove southbound on Interstate 5 from the Wilsonville area toward Salem. The driver was lodged in Marion County Jail for Reckless Driving and 18 counts…
Oregon State Police (OSP) and Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) urge all travelers to remember that proper safety restraint usage is the single most effective way to protect against injuries or death in a motor vehicle crash. On March 27, 2014 at approximately 11:37 p.m., a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban driven by a female, age 38,…
Just one day after the March 22nd massive Oso, Washington landslide that followed a minor earthquake in the area, a series of small earthquakes rumbled beneath Government Camp and caught the attention of residents and State Geologists. Over the next week, geologists recorded over 38 tremors in the Mount Hood area, situated over a recently discovered…