Staten Island Injury Law : New York Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Frank Dito : Decker, Decker, Dito & Internicola Law Firm : Traffic Accidents, Transportation Safety

The Dignity for All Students Act was signed into law today by Governor David Patterson. The law protects students from harassment because of their race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender or sex. Schools are required to create an environment free from harassment and discrimination by revising their codes of conduct and designating staff members to prevent such behavior.

In signing the bill, Patterson noted that far too often, school children are ruthlessly targeted by bullies. The bill's sponsor, State Senator Thomas Duane, noted the bills intention; No child should be terrified to go to school due to bullying and harassment. In the technology age, bullying has subjected children to a 24/7 onslaught of harassment, with no escape. The proliferation of facebook, Myspace and text messaging has created a virtual world in which for bullies to work and to hide anonymously behind their actions.

The law is to take effect on July 1, 2012 but certain provisions will take effect before that date. Numerous other states have enacted anti-bullying laws, including Georgia, where an 11-year old boy committed suicide after being repeatedly being bullied at school. As a parent, you need to be aware of signs that your child is being bullied in school. Some possible warning signs are if your child comes home with torn or damaged clothing, appears sad or depressed when he comes home from school, has frequent bad dreams or seems afraid to go to school. If your child has any of these signs, talk with your child and then talk with the teachers at your child's school. If your child is being bullied, take quick action as bullying can have serious effects on children.

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The reports of a fatal accident yesterday on Interstate 44 in Missouri brings the debate about putting seat belts on school buses to the forefront. Missouri law does not require seat belts to be installed on school buses and it is not yet known if seat belts would have even helped.The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is on the scene to investigate.

The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences released a June 2002 study  (pdf) that attributed the deaths of 5 school aged children per year as passengers. The study only took into account "normal school hours", which means that it covers only 6 hours per day and only through the school year, September 1 through June 15. To me, this study is flawed as those killed in the Missouri bus crash would not have even been included in these statistics. Even the times that were included in the study excluded 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., a time that includes when most children are on their way to a field trip, usually at some distance from their school. The children in Missouri were on their way to Six Flags Amusement Park and were required to take a highway, where they are exposed to higher speeds and larger, heavier traffic as opposed to residential streets at relatively low speeds.

Many Staten Island parents don't think twice about putting their children on a school bus. And most parents wouldn't put their children into their car without a Child Safety Seat or properly restrained with a lap/shoulder belt. Yet New York law requires seat belts on school buses, but not their use. Instead, they allow school bus passive restraints, known as "compartmentalization", to protect the precious cargo. The bus passenger compartment itself is higher than most of the surrounding traffic, the seat backs are raised and padded and the bus' shell is reinforced. This compartmentalization help to provide "passive" restraint, which simply allows a child to sit down in the seat to be protected. This type of restraint is very effective in frontal impact crashes, but not in a rollover or side impact.

If seat belts were to be installed in a bus, it would have to be a lap/shoulder belt as a lap alone would cause significant abdominal injuries.The cost to retrofit a bus, if possible, would average $1,000.00, BUT would reduce the passenger capacity by 20%. In these budget crunching times, it always comes down to numbers; essentially, how much is a life worth compared to the cost of saving one. As a parent, I know that I couldn't put a price on my child's safety. Maybe its time we look to make our children's bus rides safer and install seat belts and not look to cut costs at safety's expense.

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As schools let out for the summer and the temperatures have been above 90 degrees for the last few days, the City's public pools have opened up around Staten Island. Many backyard pools have been opened for weeks already, especially with the soaring temperatures and the approach of the 4th of July holiday.

When it comes to swimming pools, too often tragedies occur that could be prevented. Please make sure that your children are safe. Even if you have a small inflatable pool in your backyard, only inches deep, a small child can still drown if they fall into the pool. If you are having a party, consider hiring a lifeguard to watch the pool, especially if you are going to busy entertaining your guests. If you swim in a public pool or at a beach, make sure that there is a lifeguard is on duty before you go in the water. If there is no lifeguard, or a red flag is up, STAY OUT of the water!

If you have a pool, make sure that your child learns to swim. There are many programs that teach children how to swim. These programs teach "self-rescue", which would provide a child with the ability to swim to the side and climb out of the pool if they accidentally fall in. Although learning to swim is not a substitute for supervision, teaching a child how to get out of the pool may just help to prevent a tragedy.

If you own a home with a pool in the backyard, remember that the law requires that they be surrounded with at least a 4-foot tall barrier preventing access to the pool, a gate that is self latching and that the gate be locked when the pool is not in use. These laws were passed to help prevent tragedies. Make sure that your pool is up to code and if you go to a neighbor's or friend's house, make sure that their pool is safe as well. We can all help to prevent these tragedies from occurring.

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Anyone who drives on Staten Island during the morning commute, whether going to work or driving the kids to school, has seen impatient drivers speed up when school buses slow down. Too many of us have seen drivers ignore the red flashing lights and the stop sign extending from the side of the school bus and speed right by. Driver's approaching from the opposite direction seem to believe that they don't need to stop. The law is clear; any driver approaching a school bus, either from the front or the rear, MUST STOP when the bus's red lights are on and the stop sign is extended. No exceptions!

Millions of dollars have been spent on research regarding the color of school buses alone, a color of yellow that will make drivers aware of the importance of the passengers riding in that vehicle. Studies have shown that the human eye can see yellow more quickly than any other color, including red, especially during the early morning or late evening hours when school children are on their way to and from school.

I believe that a major reason that driver's are quick to pass a school bus is the lack of teeth in the fines. The current law provides for a fine of $250 for a first time offense, with no points on your license. Such an easy off is unacceptable. You will get points on your drivers license for speeding 10 mph over the posted limit but no points when we are trying to protect our children. Doesn't seem fair, does it? Assemblyman Michael Cusick has realized the problem and attempted to add more teeth to a weak law. He has sponsored a bill to increase the fines and penalties. The bill creates a criminal charge of vehicular manslaughter if a child under 15 years old is killed by a motorist passing a stopped school bus. I applaud the proposed change, after all, are those 30 seconds that you save by passing a bus worth the life of young student? We all know the answer to that. Please be careful and make Staten Island safe for everyone.

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From the storm warnings, its clear that winter is upon us with predictions of 12-18 inches of snow for the Staten Island area. The laws are clear that Staten Island homeowners mustclear the snow from their sidewalks but what about clearing snow from their cars? As of yesterday, how ironic, the New York State Senate Transportation Committee was meeting on a bill that prohibits motor vehicles from being operated with an accumulation of snow or ice on their surfaces. The bill was proposed last April but did not pass and was never presented to the Governor for his signature. Another example of politics at its worst.

The purpose behind the bill is sound: Snow and ice accumulates on top of cars and trucks during winter months and become a road hazard for motorists; especially those driving at high speeds on highways. The blinding snow falling from the top of other cars or trucks can cause damage or accidents to vehicles traveling behind. This legislation would create the responsibility of making sure every vehicle is safe for traveling on the road. I wonder why it hasn't passed or why there hasn't been such a law already enacted?

Since its not a law, it still should be just common courtesy. For those of you that don't have garages, take the time to clean the snow and ice off of the roof of your car before driving. I don't believe that people understand the seriousness of the ice and snow on top of there cars. Just recently, with the blizzard in Washington, D.C. and Virginia, numerous people were seriously injured when sheets of ice fell off the roofs of cars and then crashed into the windshields of drivers following behind. People have been killed from the ice alone crashing through the windshield and serious accidents have been caused by the whiteouts that result when the snow explodes off the top of the car. Please, take the time to clean off the snow and ice - it makes driving in the winter safer for all of us.

 

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All too often do you hear about a driver getting ticketed for going around a stopped school bus. I am not sure of their reason. I can't believe that driver's don't see the school bus - after all, its big, yellow, has flashing red lights and even its own stop sign. So if seeing the school bus isn't the problem, it has to be that drivers just don't care about the potential consequences and choose to ignorethe law. This callous and reckless disregard of traffic laws permeates the Staten Island driving culture, from passing a school bus, driving through a red light or not stopping at a stop sign.

I was driving the other day and was stopped at a red light at the end of Richmond Road and Morley Avenue, waiting to complete my right turn. While I was driving, I had previously noticed a car behind me trying to pass other cars. When I was stopped, I noticed the car pull out from behind me and continue straight, as if to make a left hand turn onto Richmond Road. The light was green in that direction but instead of making a left turn, the car proceeded to make a right turn. Obviously, the traffic laws don't pertain to that driver. I am sure that the driver simply couldn't be bothered to wait for the light to turn red and made up their own rules.

As a parent, I take my child to the bus stop every morning. I always notice that approaching drivers seem tentative about stopping for the bus. The rules are very simple. You must stop when approaching a stopped school bus with its red light son and its stop sign deployed. Its not a judgment call - you must stop. If you don't, the consequences can be severe. Severe in that a child could be killed.

Last week, a driver apparently felt that she didn't have to stop for a school bus and proceeded to drive around the cars that were lawfully stopped. That driver clipped a 12-year old girl getting off the bus, thankfully she sustained only minor injuries - cuts and bruises on her legs. The driver fled but was followed a by a good Samaritan, who called police. The driver didn't have a good excuse for what she had done - she was just going to meet her boyfriend. What if the girl had been killed? What if that was your child getting off the bus? Stopping for a school bus is the law. We need to obey it. If we don't, we are going to need harsher penalties to stop people from passing the school bus. This attitude that the law does not apply to "me" must change before more people are hurt.

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