Forty-car accident a reminder we can all be safer

As you probably know, this morning there was a horrific car accident on Interstate-10 in eastern New Orleans. More than 40 vehicles were involved in this accident, which resulted in two deaths.

R.A.K.E. - Redmann's Acts of Kindness Everywhere

As I'm sure most of you did as well, I stayed up extra late last night to watch Drew Brees break Dan Marino's 27-year old record for most passing yards in an NFL season. It was a wonderful moment made all the more special for how much love and gratitude we have for Brees. It's an uncommon amount of love and gratitude for a city to have for an athlete, borne not just from his being the best player the Saints have ever had, but from his tireless efforts at giving back to his community.

Brees uses his energy and resources to do good for his fellow man; he's somebody whose example we should all follow. My office, the Law Office of John Redmann, has been working toward starting a community outreach program that we're going to call Redmann's Acts of Kindness Everywhere, or R.A.K.E. It's a very exciting time for us, and we have all kinds of great ideas to engage with and improve our community.

There will be much more information about R.A.K.E. coming out soon, but for now, I'd like some input from you. If you have a minute or so, please leave a comment on this page telling us some kind of volunteer work or charitable activity that you do, have done, or want to do in the future; or, you could give an example of a person you know who does community outreach work that you admire, and tell us why.

To comment, just type your comment and select, "Name/URL," then enter your name (You don't have to provide a URL.), or you can comment anonymously.

Traffic Cameras: Yes or No?

One of the goals at Redmann Law is to get the general public actively involved in conversation about the law. The law not only influences how we live, we also influence how the law is shaped.

So I'd like to know what you think about a particularly fiery debate right now: Traffic cameras. We all know somebody who's been issued a citation by a traffic camera (most of us have probably been ticketed ourselves), and we've heard both sides of the debate argue back and forth. Supporters say traffic cameras increase safety and generate revenue for their communities; opponents point to a lack of evidence that traffic cameras make people drive more safely, and that very little money actually stays in the community (with most of the money going back to the camera contractors).

This is a fascinating and important topic. So what do you think?

Post your opinion in the comment section below. Select "Comment As," choose "Name/URL," and then type in your name (You don't have to put a URL.). Or you can comment anonymously if you would rather. Please remember to be civil and respectful of other commenters and readers.

A culture of driving distracted

Even though text messaging while driving is outlawed in most states (including Louisiana, and you can read the language of that law HERE), the amount of texting while driving continues to increase in this country, according to a new study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Texting while driving is one of the many forms of distracted driving, and research by the NHTSA reveals that distracted driving is as dangerous as driving while intoxicated. And yet distracted driving is not treated with the same seriousness that drunk driving is.

Immediacy swirls around our culture; we feel that because we have the technology to do things faster than ever before that we should be doing things faster than ever before, that if we get a text message or an e-mail that we should respond to it as fast as possible, because that's what is expected. And though vehicles are constantly being manufactured to be safer, drivers compensate by driving more and more recklessly.

Bans and law enforcement aren't having an impact on distracted driving. I think this is because of our mentality - we're annoyed by other drivers texting when they don't notice the light has turned green or when they're swerving in and out of lanes at 70 miles an hour, and yet we continue to text while we drive because we all think, "But I'm not the problem, it's everyone else. I'm a great driver, after all!" The problem, of course, is that every person thinks this. It has to stop. No text message can be worth endangering yourself on the road and endangering the lives of others. Let your friends and family know that you don't text while you drive, so that they can expect to wait a while before receiving a response from you.

You can learn more about distracted driving at the web site of the NHTSA and at Distraction.gov.


by John W. Redmann
Attorney for the Injured and Others who once trusted Insurers©
and Matt Stokes
Co-Author and Online Editor at Redmann Law