Teen Brain: Higher Risk for Distracted Driving 

While drivers under age 25 are up to three times more likely than older drivers to send text messages or emails while driving, the problem is more complex: "Teenagers are also at a developmental stage where getting distracted is more problematic than it is for older drivers.  Teenagers are still developing something called 'regulatory competence.' That's the ability to regulate their attention and emotions so they can function well under challenging circumstances.  Read more.

Traffic Deaths Up in 2012   

Traffic deaths in the first three months of 2012 jumped 13.5% to the highest number since 2008. The estimated increase is the second largest quarterly jump in traffic deaths since NHTSA began tracking deaths on a quarterly basis in 1975 - and the biggest since 1979. First-quarter road deaths are typically much lower than the last nine months of the year largely because people drive less in the winter. "However, the winter of 2012 was also unseasonably warmer than usual in most areas of the country," NHTSA said in a statement. "Consequently, the fatality rate for the first quarter should not be used to make inferences for the fatality rate for the whole of 2012." Part of the increase is attributable to Americans driving more. NHTSA noted that vehicle travel increased by about 9.7 billion miles, or about 1.4%, in the first three months. Read more.

"Distracted Walking Injuries Quadruple in Seven Years

The number of people who have landed in U.S. emergency rooms thanks to injuries incurred while they were walking and texting, tweeting, playing video games, talking on the phone, or listening to music on headphones, has more than quadrupled in the past seven years, the Associated Press reported. In 2011 alone, 1,152 people were treated for distracted walking, according to data collected by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and that number is likely a gross underestimate since many doctors or nurses may not have asked whether the patient was using a mobile device at the time of the accident. Researchers at the University of Maryland identified 116 cases in which pedestrians were killed or seriously injured while wearing headphones. Two-thirds of those injuries involved men under the age of 30, and half of them involved trains. Data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that while traffic deaths went down in 2010 from the year before, pedestrian fatalities rose by 4.2% and injuries by 19%.   Read more.

Lawsuits Following CO Shooting An Uphill Battle 

 Bloomberg News reported, "Family members of those killed and survivors of the shooting at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater may find it difficult to pursue civil liability claims tied to the attack, which resulted in 12 dead and 58 injured. The potential for liability would center on the safety and security procedures at the theater where the July 20 shooting took place, or the university where the suspect, James Holmes, allegedly received packages of ammunition, law professors and practicing attorneys said. Inquiries by plaintiffs' lawyers are unlikely to lead to successful lawsuits because such cases require some proof that a company or organization acted unreasonably, and knew, or should have known, about the danger posed, said Tom Russell, a University of Denver law professor."  Read more.

Another Example of How Your Insurer May Not Be Your Friend 

The AP reported that "Progressive Corp. insurance group is defending itself against an onslaught of negative publicity after it tried to avoid paying $75,000 to the family of a client killed in a car crash and tried to blame the wreck on her."   Read more.