Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Here's what you need to know to start the year off right.
New Minnesota Laws Effective Jan. 1, 2013 The following are some of the new laws that take effect Jan. 1, 2013. The asterisk following the bill number denotes the language that became law. Summaries of all laws passed by the 2012 Legislature are available online from nonpartisan House Public Information Services. BUSINESS Business solicitation restrictions clarified Licensed health care providers will be prohibited from using third parties to solicit business from those who have been in automobile accidents, unless they clearly provide their names and the clinics where they work. Sponsored by Rep. Jim Abeler (R-Anoka) and Sen. Paul Gazelka (R-Brainerd), the law will require this information to be disclosed to consumers. Violating the …
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
It's agreed that driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is dangerous. Is a text exchange with your mother just as bad?
Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended a nation-wide ban on cell phone use while driving. The recommendation stems from an investigation into a 2010 crash in Missouri that resulted in a four-way pile up between two full school buses, a tractor trailer and a pickup truck that killed two people. The NTSB faulted the pickup driver, who was allegedly texting shortly before the accident. It is already illegal to text and drive in Minnesota. Critics of the NTSB proposal have called it "hysterical" and "unenforceable." An editorial in USA Today compared it to the 18th Amendment, which put the kibosh on booze from 1919 to 1933. On the other hand, editorial writers at the Star Tribune argued that a prohibition on cell use …
Monday, June 27, 2011
On July 1, 2011 stronger DWI sanctions will be implemented—requiring many DWI offenders to have ignition interlocks installed in vehicles to regain driving privileges.
Several bills passed during the 2010 and 2011 legislative sessions that will take effect on July 1, 2011. And one of those laws will change the procedure that allows some DWI offenders to get back behind the wheel. Under the new law, repeat DWI offenders and first-time offenders whose alcohol concentration was at least double the legal limit, will have to use an ignition interlock device to drive legally in the state. The law is a statewide expansion of a successful pilot program, which is already in place in Hennepin County. An ignition interlock device is a breathalyzer, installed to a motor vehicle's dashboard, which tests a drivers blood alcohol concentration, before the vehicle's motor can be started. If a driver’s breath exceeds a …
Ken Lehman
5:20 pm on Thursday, December 29, 2011
I drive professionally. There are peopleout there that can't drive let alone while texting. As experienced, skilled and trained as I may be I have tried texting while driving and it is diffacult and hard to focus attention on the road as well as control the vehicle. I can do it but It's to tricky to risk. Now that I have an Android I wouldn't think of it. In fact I would never text and drive … more ›