Battered Road Infrastructure and Its Tremendous Effects on U.S. Economy, Motorists

The roadway system of the United States is an interconnected web of major highways and streets that play a huge role in people’s lives. Not only are the over 4 million miles of public roadways capable of moving people, but they are likewise responsible for keeping the economy moving. These roadways enable the almost 11 million trucks to carry goods from ports and freight train terminals and distribute them to markets and cities all over the nation. In 2011, the whole roadway system carried 3 trillion vehicle miles traveled.

But like any other form of infrastructure in the U.S., the nation’s roadways are facing more and more problems. In fact, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), in its 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, gave roads a grade of D—“poor.” This means that a lot of highways, streets, and even bridges are now in shoddy conditions, which could have repercussions to the economy, as well as to the lives of motorists.

Right now, around a third of the major roadways in the U.S. are either in poor or mediocre condition. Every year, motorists traveling on these yet-to-be-fixed roadways shell out a total of 67 billion dollars in repairs and operating costs. That is $324.00 per motorist. Also, 42 percent of the major urban roadways in the U.S. are highly congested, with 2010 ACSE estimations stating that motorists are wasting nearly 2 billion gallons of fuel and an average of 34 hours. Overall, the U.S. economy loses a whopping $101 billion yearly just because of wasted gas.

Indeed, poorly-maintained roads are fast becoming hindrances not just for the continuity of business operations, but also in the macroeconomic aspects of growth, expansion, and global competitiveness. It does not really help that some of the age-old, dilapidated, waiting-to-be-fixed roadways are the reasons why the U.S. is lagging behind in the field of road infrastructure among economic superpowers. Here, the nation only spends 2.4 percent of its economy in road and other infrastructure efforts. In comparison, Europe spends 5 percent, while China spends 12 percent.

The sorry state of the U.S. roadways is also harming the aspect of motorist safety. In fact, a third of all motor vehicle crash deaths in the nation are due to poor road conditions such as potholes, uneven road surfaces, and other hazards. Apart from the economic losses that these crashes cause—they cost the U.S. economy approximately $230 billion annually—is the surge in injuries and deaths stemming from these unfortunate events.

A car accident attorney in Los Angeles explains that victims of those injured in vehicle accidents are entitled to sue damages to other parties, including city and/or state governments, for negligence in keeping the roadways safe. Indeed, coming up with a budget to maintain pothole-filled roads become a challenge since these entities also have to pay damages for the accident victims.

Indeed, existing road hazards continue to harm not just other people, but also the state of economy in the U.S. Yes, there have been improvements through investments, funding, and construction repair efforts, but these are still insufficient. Unless both the federal and state governments devise long-term solutions, road infrastructure in the whole nation will continue to be battered for years to come.

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California Makes Way for Google’s Driverless Cars

Finally, the State of California paved the way for Google’s driverless cars when Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill that would legalize the automated concept cars in the state’s roadways.

The bill, SB 1298, was duly approved last May 21 and was finally signed into law by Governor Brown in the presence in of its author, State Sen. Alex Padilla and Google co-founder, Sergey Brin, at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.

The bill is set to take into effect by next year. Also, it was said to establish safety and performance regulations for testing the automated cars on roads across the state. It further requires the California Department of Motor Vehicles to draft regulations by 2015.

According to the new law, there should always be a licensed driver behind the wheel, even though the car is computer–operated, for emergency purposes.

Google driverless car is a combination of technologies. These include radar sensors, video cameras, and artificial-intelligence software that helps steer. At present, Google is the most visible company working on such types of vehicles. However, previous reports claimed that other automakers have been experimenting with the same technology.

So far, Google has claimed that it has safely logged more than 300,000 miles in its cars. Although one of its vehicles was reportedly involved in a minor fender-bender, subsequent reports confirmed that the accident was purely excusable on the part of Google since it was manually-operated during the time of the accident.

Meanwhile, Brin strongly affirmed that said self-driving cars would be a lot safer than those cars driven by humans. He likewise believes that it can really significantly improve the quality of life for everyone. Also, the car is expected to end traffic congestion once it is made commercially available.

Incidentally, the approval of the law came after the State of Nevada passed the same legislation earlier this year. It makes California the second state to allow driverless cars in its roadways. In Florida, a similar move was supposed to be made but the same have just ended up the subject of political debate.

Consequently, a car accident attorney in Los Angeles feels so sorry for the State of Florida. Apparently, they overlooked the chance of significantly reducing car accidents within the state through the use of Google’s cars. 

Porsche: Lohan’s Recent Car Accident Not Caused by Faulty Brakes

When the troubled young actress, Lindsay Lohan crashed her Porsche into an 18-wheeler truck last June 8, she blamed the brakes of her car for the incident.

Allegedly, the brakes of the Porsche that she rented failed to work properly. Actually, right after the incident, Lohan claimed that her assistant was the one driving the car but witnesses affirmed that they saw Lohan coming out of the driver’s seat.

Probably, when Lohan felt like she would be trapped with her initial statement, she then reasoned out that the brakes of the car didn’t work. Since then, she became firm with her statement.

The fact that perhaps slipped out of Lohan’s mind is that Porsche could possibly conduct a follow-up investigation following the incident since its reputation and credibility is being dragged into a controversy.

Apparently, Porsche conducted an investigation together with the Sta. Monica Police Department and after completing a series of tests, the German auto-maker determined that the brakes of Lohan’s car did not really malfunction at the time of the accident.

Now, that is what makes Porsche out of the picture. Most specifically, the German automaker was able to prove that it never really failed to provide safe and quality products to its valued customers.

Lohan’s recent accident occurred while she was filming the movie “Liz and Dick”. Consequently, Lohan was banned from driving until the movie has completed filming. The said directive was probably concerning the insurance policy taken out by the movie’s production company.

Aside from the series of car accidents that Lohan got involved with, she is currently overwhelmed with several issues, particularly family matters when news about her dad Michael Lohan having a baby with his girlfriend Kate Major broke. Also, in Lohan’s drunk driving case, two Beverly Hills judges were said to be disciplined by a California oversight panel for handling Lohan’s case. Definitely, Lohan, as well as her car accident attorney in Los Angeles, is currently having a hard time dealing with the charges set against the young star.