Following the fiery derailment of a Union Pacific train hauling crude through the Columbia River Gorge in June 2016 and discovery of more than 800 potential safety violations across its network, Union Pacific has agreed to more thorough inspections and maintenance improvements along its 32,000 miles of track across 23 states. The June derailment that…
Portland residents were taken by surprise recently when the city received its first snowfall of 2016. Over an inch of the white stuff fell in the metro area, causing chaos on city roads. Gridlock trapped drivers for several hours throughout the city and on major highways. Public transit delays abounded as drivers abandoned their parked…
Does your mother ever worry about you being on the road after you’ve engorged yourself on an elaborate Thanksgiving feast? How about after the Times Square Ball Drop? Most people perceive driving during the months of November and December as more dangerous than at other times of year, as there are many more car accidents. The…
While most Oregonians are prepared to drive safely in rain, snow is a different matter. Even a light dusting of snow, not considered newsworthy in other parts of the country, can bring traffic to a stop, as it did in December 2016. Portland Traffic Halts during Light Snowfall The National Weather Service predicted snow on…
To prevent a repeat of last winter’s extreme snow and ice accumulations that paralyzed the city for days at a time, Portland plans more widespread use of road salt this year. City Unprepared for Last Year’s Thaw and Freeze Event Last year’s storm was complicated by a short thaw followed by a days-long deep-freeze that…
As soon as the Thanksgiving Day turkey is consumed, there is a heightened awareness of impaired drivers on the road. The holiday season marks the most active for drunk drivers, with the day before Thanksgiving Day, the Thanksgiving Day Weekend, and New Year’s Day experiencing the highest concentration of intoxicated drivers and car accidents in Portland….
Traffic fatalities caused by distracted drivers are increasing every year, and cell phone use is largely to blame. According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving overall was a factor in almost 3,200 traffic fatalities in 2014 and nearly 3,500 in 2015 in the mainland U.S. and Puerto Rico. Of those…
Following incidents of broken welds causing children to suffered finger amputations, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on December 7, 2016 issued a recall of the Lightning Slide stainless steel playground slide manufactured by Playworld Systems, Inc,. About 1,300 Lightning Slides, manufactured in the United States by Playworld Systems, Inc. of Lewisburg, PA and Horizon Industries, of Columbia, PA, have been sold by…
A lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey on December 6, 2016 by a California man left with a debilitating form of nerve damage called peripheral neuropathy after using the popular antibiotic Levaquin in 2013. Levaquin is part of a class of antibiotics, known as fluoroquinolones, which also includes…
Despite mounting evidence that padded crib bumpers, designed to keep a baby from hitting her head on crib slats, are a suffocation hazard and may be linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, in September 2016, Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff released an analysis of child deaths associated with crib bumpers that was scientifically questionable,…