Articles

Study links new sleeping pill use with greater collision risk

Researchers conducted a study on sleeping pill use and crash risk, and they determined that new users may be more likely to wreck than non-users.


Defective airbags make cars “ticking time bombs”: FAQs for victims

The Takata airbag recall involves approximately 20 percent of all vehicles on the roads.


Driver fatigue a leading cause of truck accidents

Tired drivers cause trucking accidents every day across Texas and around the country.


Cognitive distraction study shows risks with voice systems

New research suggests that even hands-free cellphone use may create dangerous distractions for drivers.


New legislation in TX may help to decrease DUI accidents

Texas saw more drunk driving deaths in 2013 than any other state. Many Texans hope that new legislation passed in 2015 will help keep impaired drivers off the road.


Avoiding trucking accidents: Tips to share Texas roads safely

Trucking collisions resulting in serious injuries or death are common, but there are steps drivers can take to help safely share the roads with truckers.


Eagle Ford Traffic Deaths Increase 13%

Texas oil regions saw a surge in traffic deaths in 2014 including 272 people who died in traffic accidents in the Eagle Ford. According to TxDOT, this is an increase of 13 percent over 2013, where 240 people were killed in the 26-county region.


The basics of medical malpractice in Texas

Many patients in Texas and around the nation feel uncertain about the safety of their health care. Unfortunately, these concerns may be valid – perhaps even more so than many people may think. A recent issue of the Journal of Patient Safety released information from a new study that indicates more people than thought before die as a result of some sort of error or negligence in a hospital visit.


Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA2010)

For more than a year, the trucking industry has been anticipating the launch of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA).


Eagle Ford Shale Gives Us 1,200 18-Wheeler Accidents Since 2011

Ryan Loyd, reporting for Texas Public Radio, says that the oil boom in the Eagle Ford Shale – South Texas’s 50-mile wide, 400-mile long fossil-fuel rich swath – is a bittersweet thing for Texans. There are big profits, but also big costs, even human costs.


Oil Production Will Affect Texas Highway Safety

All too often the news includes a report that a tanker truck or 18-wheeler has crashed on a Texas highway.


Oil Tanker Accidents: How Dangerous Are They?

We all know that motor vehicle travel is one of the more risky modes of transportation. Any traffic accident is inherently dangerous, but a traffic accident involving a moving vehicle carrying hazardous cargo is significantly more dangerous


Shale Plays in America: A Brief Review of the Good and Bad of Today’s Oil Boom

Nearly halfway through 2012 and here we have a thriving oil boom in many areas of the U.S. The oil boom is our answer, our counterpoint, in an economy that continues to struggle in the aftermath of the 2008 financial collapse.


South Texas Oil and Gas Boom Means More Tanker Traffic

Already a prominent oil and gas state, Texas can expect its contribution to the nation’s energy resources to keep growing.


Texas Laws Set the Scene for National Cell Phone Action

If you’re driving in Texas, you may want to consider keeping both hands on the wheel. Cell phone laws have been ramping up across the country and Texas is one of many states taking a hard look at phone use by drivers.


Texting While Driving is Taking a Toll

In San Antonio, a public bus driver sending text messages on his phone plowed the 12-ton vehicle he was driving into the back of a stopped SUV. After an accident injuring dozens of people, a Boston trolley driver admitted he was texting his girlfriend when the crash occurred.


Texting While Trucking: Don’t ‘Go Down Gambling’

Despite bans on texting while driving, motor vehicle accidents caused by distracted driving continue to climb, according to a new study. The stakes are especially high when semi trucks drivers text while driving their big rigs.


Two More Needless Deaths; Tips on Avoiding Car-Truck Accidents

On a recent Friday night, two men driving cars were killed in the San Antonio metro in separate collisions with 18-wheelers.


Twice-Daily Pill ‘Pradaxa’ Has Heart Doctors Worried

Pharmaceutical drugs aren’t 100 percent risk free. That goes for Pradaxa, which has been marketed as an alternative to the more well-tested warfarin, but has caused hundreds of patient deaths due to serious internal bleeding.


Serious Health Concerns Associated With Vaginal Mesh

If you suffer from a condition known as Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP), your doctor may recommend a medical device known as the vaginal mesh implant.


Texas Oil Boom: More Money, More Worker Safety Problems

The oil boom in Texas has resulted in big money for drilling companies but big oilfield injuries for workers, according to a CBS News report.


Drilling for Oil and Gas in South Texas is Dangerous Work

Some well sites produce more than 1,000 barrels per day, but those barrels come with a human cost.


Jury Still Out on Fracking Safety Issues

New York, New Jersey and Maryland, have had or currently have moratoriums on drilling for gas using the controversial technique known as hydrofracking, or “fracking.”


Toward Energy Independence? Not Without Bumps in the Road

The controversial process of hydraulic fracturing is helping the U.S. lead the way in production of natural gas. But is it safe?


Inspiring Texans Don’t Let Amputations Slow them Down

Some inspirational people have overcome amputation injuries to exceed in life.


Lawsuit Claims GM Failed in Safety Goals

A lawsuit filed August 25 on behalf of Timothy Daniels claims that GM manufactured a vehicle that did not meet crashworthiness standards for occupant protection.


Trucking Accidents Litter Corn, Gasoline on San Antonio’s Interstates

Two recent, local crashes involving semi trucks have left San Antonio residents wary of trucking accidents and the devastation they can cause.


Texas Study Finds That Distracted Driving is Health Epidemic

Texting and talking on cell phones while driving have led to a dramatic rise in fatalities caused by distracted driving, researchers say.


Two More Needless Deaths; Tips on Avoiding Car-Truck Accidents

On a recent Friday night, two men driving cars were killed in the San Antonio metro in separate collisions with 18-wheelers.
WOAI TV and KENS TV report both men were on I-35 when the crashes with big rigs took place. Neither trucker had serious injuries


Report: Truck speeds in Texas often exceed what tires can safely handle

Texas is known for offering motorists some of the highest speed limits in the country. Unfortunately, these fast travel speeds may put people in San Antonio at a greater risk of experiencing accidents. A recent report suggests that truck accidents may be a particular risk.

According to The Austin-American Statesman, many Texas speed limits exceed the speed that truck tires are designed to handle. Consequently, even if truckers aren’t driving too fast for the road or weather conditions, they face a risk of blowouts. These blowouts may contribute to many serious or even catastrophic accidents.


Avandia Targeted by FDA for Serious Heart Problems

The use of the diabetes drug, Avandia, has now been strictly limited by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). European regulators went one step further by entirely suspending the drug’s sales. Research has established a potential link between Avandia and increased heart risks including heart attacks and strokes.


Good News May Get in the Way of a Necessary New Law

In the wake of the massive Toyota recalls due to unintended acceleration and gasoline pedal problems, legislators have introduced a bill that seeks to protect consumers from such dangerous defects in the future. Read More


Beware: Over 3 Million Deadly Jeep Grand Cherokees on U.S. Roads Today

If you own a Jeep Grand Cherokee manufactured between 1993 and 2004, you should know about a potential recall that may follow an investigation of these vehicles for possible defects. However, if you are drive on any Texas roads today, you should beware of the over three million potentially deadly Jeep Grand Cherokees with which you may come into contact. Vehicle defects can pose serious harm, so staying educated about auto recalls could save you from unnecessary problems and also injury or death. Read More


Fatigued Truck Drivers Present Danger to San Antonio Area

Last month, five men were hospitalized after an 18-wheeler barreled into the back of their welding truck. The driver was hauling a full load of candy down Interstate 10 when he fell asleep and rear-ended the vehicle. While the Bexar County crash didn’t take any lives, it demonstrates a deadly problem on Texas’ roadways – driving big rigs while drowsy. Read More


Fatal Explosions Renew Concerns About Pipeline Safety in Texas

Over the past decade, federal and state agencies have taken measures to improve gas pipeline safety. In remembrance of those impacted by gas pipeline explosions, National Pipeline Safety Day was established. The day was designed to increase awareness of pipeline safety. However, in the days prior to National Pipeline Safety Day 2010, Texans experienced two fatal gas pipeline explosions. Read More


Truck Explodes at San Antonio Refinery

(San Antonio Express-News, May 5, 2010)
– Firefighters are battling a two-alarm blaze at a fuel refinery on the city’s south side after a truck at a loading dock exploded, injuring at least one person and possibly others. Read More


Liability Limits in Texas Fail to Curb Medical Costs

( Public Citizen, December 2009) – Supporters of limiting health providers’ liability have touted Texas’ medical malpractice experiment as the solution for improving national health care. Read More


MRI Can Lead to Incurable Disease

Gadolinium injection used to get a better MRI image can cause Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) or Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NFD) in people with kidney problems. Read More


Trucking industry rules regarding texting and driving hours

In a state like Texas, it’s often said that bigger is better. However, this is not true when it comes to large trucks and accidents. Drivers often encounter big rigs on the road throughout the state, which can present a great danger under many different circumstances.


Increased numbers and negligent truckers put San Antonio drivers at risk

Serious and fatal accidents involving large commercial vehicles are all too common on the roads throughout San Antonio and near the oilfields. Read More


Uncovering the auto accident trend in Texas’s oil-producing counties

San Antonio and the Eagle Ford Shale oil producing counties to the south have experienced a surge in employment opportunities. Along with the economic growth, however, came an increase in heavy truck traffic in the area, resulting in a significant rise in car and truck accidents. Approximately 40 percent of all workplace deaths in the nation were attributed to transportation accidents in 2013, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS also reported that Texas has the highest number of workplace deaths, per capita, in the United States, largely because of the oilfields. Due to these alarming statistics, the Texas Department of Transportation is urging all motorists to drive carefully on state roadways.