Year: 2020
Parents: Make sure school-age kids know the risks of the road
As fall approaches and schools reopen, many Tennessee school districts are returning to traditional models or implementing hybrid models for this coming school year. Most districts are providing remote learning as an option, while others have students participating in a blend of in-person and remote learning, with staggered attendance. Regardless of the situation, parents must
Do I have to cooperate with sobriety checkpoints?
In Tennessee, law enforcement has the legal authority to set up sobriety checkpoints. These are blocked areas of the road where every driver, or every few drivers, is stopped so officers can try to detect if the driver is intoxicated. If you are pulled over at a DUI checkpoint, however, you have rights and you
Enough opioid prescriptions for half of all Americans?
“We’re 5% of the world’s population, but we consume 80% of the world’s prescription opioids,” says one Stanford medical researcher of the U.S. That’s a problem, especially because opioid painkillers put people at risk for addiction and overdose. Nevertheless, according to public data analyzed by NPR, enough opioid prescriptions are written each year in the U.S. that
Would a car-based breathalyzer reduce drunk driving?
Last year, lawmakers introduced the Reduce Impaired Driving for Everyone (RIDE) Act, which would require automakers to make standard new technology that would gauge every driver’s blood alcohol concentration before it would allow them to drive. It would be like having a permanent breathalyzer in your car. Does this make sense? The Insurance Institute for
New report and reminder: Never overlook pool safety
In a recent blog post, we discussed how parents can take measures to keep their families safe at the pool this summer. However, it seems it is necessary to highlight pool and water safety again since a new report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) demonstrates it is even more critical than ever.
Taking prescription medication? How to avoid a DUI.
Not many people think about the risk of criminal charges when they take a medication prescribed to them by their doctor. However, some prescription medications can impair drivers and put them at risk of facing a DUI. Here are three essential tips to help you avoid driving under the influence when taking prescription drugs. 1.
Experts: COVID-19 testing in long-term care facilities falls short
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, residents and staff of long-term care facilities account for almost 45% of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. Yet testing for the virus has not reached levels that experts say are necessary to stem the spread of the virus. Stateline, an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts, says that only seven
Penalties when an impaired minor drives in Tennessee
For most people, getting your driver’s license is an exciting part of being a teenager. Yet teenagers routinely engage in behavior meant to challenge authority, and that can mean experimenting with alcohol or drugs. What happens when that experimentation occurs in combination with driving? Under Tennessee law, anyone under 21 who drives under the influence
Nonprofits urge US recall of J&J Baby Powder, end to global sales
Thousands of people in the U.S. have sued Johnson & Johnson, claiming that its talc-based products such as Baby Powder are contaminated by asbestos and caused cancer after routine use. Asbestos is a known human carcinogen and is mined in the same soil types as talc, but J&J denies that its talc-based products ever contain
Judge raises concerns about Bayer’s Roundup settlement scheme
Thousands of people have sued Bayer, which bought Monsanto, over the product Roundup. Most plaintiffs claim that routine use of Roundup, which contains the weed killer glyphosate, caused them to develop cancer. After several adverse verdicts, Bayer attempted to settle a class of future claims — close to 100,000 — in an interesting way. Bayer