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December 2, 2008 9:36:59 PM CST

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traffic accident

traffic accident news stories

11 Stories

ANALYSIS

 Honked Off: 
 Car Horns 
 More Harm 
 Than Good 

Horns are hard to ban, but may make drivers more reckless

Slate Slate Nov 26, 08 8:00 AM CST
(Newser) - The next time you honk your car’s horn, you might want to ask why you're doing it. Grabbing the horn by the bull for Slate, Dave Johns thinks you’re probably too close to do anything but tell your obstacle to get out of the way. That’s because drivers use their horns “as a tool for scolding rather than safety,” one expert says. More »

More about:  cars • car safety • automobile • traffic accident

 Kate Busted 
 Driving While 
 Yakking 

Nabbed chatting on cell on country road

Sun (UK) Sun (UK) Oct 14, 08 6:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Royal and apparently naughty girlfriend Kate Middleton was snapped by a photographer happily chatting on her cell phone while driving, in defiance of Britain's strict ban on using the devices behind the wheel, reports the Sun . Prince William's 26-year-old gal pal was deep in conversation as she tooled along a country road in her Audi A3. Had a copper instead of  photog spotted Kate, she could have been slapped with a $120 fine. More »

More about:  cell phones • Prince William • traffic • Kate Middleton • traffic accident

Nissan's New Safety System Uses Bee Logic

Lasers will mimic compound eyes to detect, avoid obstacles

PC World PC World Sep 26, 08 3:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Nissan is set to unveil new collision-avoidance technology modeled on the behavior of bees, PC World reports, with a small robot car to demonstrate the system in Japan next week. The automakers’ engineers have developed laser range-finders that mimic the insects’ ability to adjust their path and avoid collisions by utilizing their 300-degree field of vision. More »

More about:  auto industry • safety • Nissan • car safety • traffic accident • bees • auto technology • laser

High Gas Prices Mean Fewer Traffic Deaths

People are changing where, when,
and how they drive

Associated Press Associated Press Aug 25, 08 11:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - The number of traffic deaths may drop this year to their lowest since Kennedy was president—thanks in large part to higher gas prices, the AP reports. As they rose above $3.20 a gallon, fatalities plummeted 22.1% in March and 17.9% in April, a study found. The data suggest a “tipping point” in gas prices where drivers drastically changed their habits. More »

More about:  gas prices • driving • car safety • traffic accident • fatalities • teenage drivers

 Motorcycle Deaths Rise 6.6%

Overall traffic deaths down but motorbike deaths up for 10th year in a row

New York Times New York Times Aug 15, 08 8:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - The number of motorcyclist deaths rose in 2007 for the 10th year in a row, the New York Times reports, jumping 6.6% even as the overall number of vehicle deaths continued to drop. Motorcycle deaths now account for one in eight traffic fatalities, totaling 5,154 last year—a toll safety experts blame on weakened helmet laws, as well as increased ridership as people seek to save on gas. More »

More about:  accident • driving • traffic accident • road safety • highway safety • drivers • motorcycle crash

Waiting for Green Has Gas-Conscious Seeing Red

Needless idling in turn lanes irks Calif. drivers

Press-Enterprise Jun 11, 08 4:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - Though their safety value in heavy traffic isn't disputed, some Californians are starting to see left-turn arrows as a drag on ever-pricier gas and an avoidable threat to the environment, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports. The California Energy Commission estimates that idling for 2 minutes (often a needless waste of time, some say) uses the same amount of fuel as driving 1 mile. More »

More about:  gas prices • fuel costs • traffic • fuel • highways • traffic accident • traffic light

 Londoner Dies in
 Double-Decker Crash 

Bus runs into tree, killing bystander and injuring 19

Times (UK) Times (UK) May 20, 08 9:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - A double-decker bus crashed into a tree this morning near Tower Bridge, one of London's most famous landmarks, leaving one woman dead and 19 people injured. The victim was believed to be a pedestrian in her early 20s. Bystanders told the Times of London that the bus windows had been smashed and that the top deck of the bus had "pretty much caved in." More »

More about:  United Kingdom • London • public transportation • traffic accident

 2 Dead, 21 Hurt in
 Chicago Truck Crash 

Semi barrels into bus stop and train station during rush hour

Chicago Sun-Times Chicago Sun-Times Apr 25, 08 9:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - A speeding semitruck barreled into a Chicago train station today, killing two people and injuring 21—11 critically, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Coming off a freeway in rush hour, the truck hit a bus stop, wedged under a train overpass, and crashed "several steps" up the train platform escalator, one witness told the Chicago Tribune . Several victims are being treated in Chicago hospitals. More »

More about:  car accident • car crash • accidental death • trucks • traffic accident

 44 Children
 Killed in India
 Bus Plunge 

Rescuers only save four

Reuters Reuters Apr 16, 08 6:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - At least 44 children and three adults were killed today when a school bus plunged into a canal in the western Indian state of Gujurat. Most of the victims were on their way to a school exam, reports Reuters. Only four children were rescued and several were still missing. "Everything has ended for her," one mom said of her daughter, who was delighted about an upcoming holiday. More »

More about:  India • traffic accident

 Oops! She Screwed Up Again! 

Britney in new traffic accident

Associated Press Associated Press Apr 13, 08 9:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Troubled pop tart Britney Spears was in yet another traffic incident yesterday when she ran her 2008 Mercedes into a car in front of her in stalled traffic on a Los Angeles freeway. That car, in turn, hit the one in front of it. No one was injured and no damage was reported. Spears has been involved in a spate of traffic incidents, from driving with her son on her lap to a hit-and-run in a parking lot. More »

More about:  Britney Spears • driving • traffic accident

Power Returns to Millions in Fla.

Authorities rule out terrorism but disagree on cause

St. Petersburg Times St. Petersburg Times Feb 26, 08 4:40 PM CST
(Newser) - A blackout that cut off millions of Florida residents today is ending, authorities say, but they disagree on the cause. Florida Power & Light blames a substation west of Miami for sparking the outage, and a state emergency office says a station south of Miami suffered a mechanical failure that triggered two nuclear plants to go offline, the St. Petersburg Times reports. More »

More about:  Florida • Miami • power outage • nuclear power plant • traffic accident • blackout

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