New Haven, Connecticut Personal Injury Blog

Texting drivers beware: starting October 1, drivers caught texting behind the wheel in Connecticut can be pulled over and fined at least $100 for the dangerous activity.

The texting ban was included in legislation signed into law last month by Governor M. Jodi Rell. The texting ban was added to the state's five-year-old cell phone law (C.G.S. §14-296aa), which prohibits drivers 18 years and older from talking on a hand-held cell phone while operating a motor vehicle.

By passing the texting ban, Connecticut became one of 11 states to enact a texting ban this year. Currently, 30 states and the District of Columbia have laws prohibiting texting while driving.

Marquis Morrison, a rookie police officer for the New Haven Police Department, is now being charged with several felonies in connection with an off-duty hit-and-run accident that left a 14-year-old girl severely injured. Morrison initially denied being involved in the accident and stated that he had never ridden a motorcycle on public roads before. He also stated that classmates implicating him were lying.

Investigators discovered several clues leading them to Morrison. Parts from the damaged motorcycle revealed the type of bike involved in the accident (a Suzuki GSXR). Several eyewitnesses confirmed that Morrison and another individual were racing and doing wheelies near the scene of the accident. Further, anonymous call from a "concerned citizen" suggested that a city police officer had caused the accident and broke a hand in doing so. The department's injury log indicated that Morrison had reported a broken hand, but he said that a freezer had closed on his hand.

On February 7, 2010, a devastating explosion occurred at the Kleen Energy plant under construction in Middletown, Connecticut. Workers were in the process of cleaning sections of fuel gas piping by conducting a "gas blow," a procedure in which natural gas is forced through the pipes at high speeds to remove debris. Reports indicate that workers conducted 15 gas blows in a four hour period that morning.

Gas blows can be dangerous because of the potential for natural gas to explode when exposed to ignition sources. While external sources were closely monitored, many internal sources were not, including electrical power to the building, gas from welders and diesel-powered heaters that were running during the cleaning process. At approximately 11:15 a.m., the released natural gas found an ignition source and exploded. In the aftermath, six workers were killed and more than 50 others were injured.

Hit-and-run accident victims aren't always in vehicles. This month, a 49-year-old man in New Haven, Conn., was struck by a hit-and-run driver while walking in a bicycle lane. He suffered non-life threatening injuries, but accidents involving pedestrians are often fatal.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that almost 4,400 pedestrians were killed in accidents with motor vehicles in 2008. Another 70,000 pedestrians are injured each year in car accidents. The agency also reports that 20 percent of drivers who kill pedestrians do not stop.

While the federal government tries to expand enforcement of existing trucker safety rules, the American Trucking Association (ATA) wants to make the rules more flexible.

Hours-of-safety rules are designed to prevent truckers becoming fatigued or falling asleep at the wheel and causing accidents. The rules limit when and how long truckers may stay on the road.

The rules were revised in 2003 and may be revised again this year. The current rule basically states that truckers can only drive for 11 hours at a time, and then must rest for 10 hours. Truckers also are limited to either 60 hours for every seven days, or 70 hours for every eight days, behind the wheel.