Highway patrols across America “are reporting a rise in reckless driving,” writes ABC News. Slashdot reader quonset shared their report: In Connecticut, traffic has been cut in half compared to last year, but fatal motor vehicle accidents are up by about 40%. “We’re finding that with the open roads, certain individuals are taking this as an opportunity to push their vehicles…
Tag: accidents
This Was Supposed to Be the Year Driverless Cars Went Mainstream
Tech companies once promised that fully functional, self-driving cars would be on the road by 2020 and on the path to remaking transportation and transforming the economy. From a report: But a decade after Google unveiled an autonomous car prototype with global fanfare, the technology is still far from ready, and many investors are wary of dumping more money into it…
10 More Virus Researchers Say ‘Virtually No Chance’ Coronavirus Escaped From a Lab
Long-time Slashdot reader Charlotte Web writes: “Virus researchers say there is virtually no chance that the new coronavirus was released as result of a laboratory accident in China or anywhere else,” writes NPR, citing “10 leading scientists who collect samples of viruses from animals in the wild, study virus genomes and understand how lab accidents can happen.” NPR reports: “All of…
As Coronavirus Spreads, Poison Hotlines See Rise In Accidents With Cleaning Products
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: A study released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that calls to poison hotlines this year for cases involving cleaners and disinfectants rose significantly compared with the same period over the previous two years, and charts a dramatic spike in March for both categories. Some of…
Poison control sees spike in calls for cleaner, disinfectant accidents amid COVID-19 pandemic
Calls to poison control centers regarding exposure to household cleaners and disinfectants have spiked amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study. Source: https://www.livescience.com/covid-19-cleaning-chemical-exposure.html
Fewer Car Accidents From Sheltering in Place Saved California $1B
An anonymous reader quotes SFGate:
The statewide order to shelter in place that went into effect on March 20 had a beneficial side-effect: Accidents, injuries and fatalities on California roadways were cut in half, saving the state and residents of California $1 billion, according to a UC Davis study. In the 22 days after the shelter-in-place order (March 21-April 11), there was…
‘Claim That Covid-19 Came From Lab In China Completely Unfounded Scientists Say’
Newsweek reports: There is no evidence to back claims the coronavirus that has caused the COVID-19 pandemic emerged from a lab in China, scientists have told Newsweek. Adam Lauring, an associate professor at the University of Michigan Medical School and an expert in the evolution of viruses, told Newsweek: “This claim is a conspiracy theory and it is not supported at…
Ask Slashdot: What Features Would Your Ideal Telework Systems Incorporate?
couchslug writes: Physical commuting has a horrific and enormously expensive carbon footprint. It’s costly in lives (auto and other transportation accidents, pollution) and wasted time (billions of hours every year) better spent doing something else. What software and hardware features would your ideal telework systems incorporate to minimize physical interaction? How can we use technology to avoid costly, wasteful and sometimes…
The Gig Workers For Target’s Delivery App Hate Their Algorithmically-Determined Pay
In 2017 Target bought a same-day home-delivery company called Shipt for $550 million. Shipt now services half of Target’s stores, reports Motherboard, and employs more than 100,000 gig workers. Unfortunately, they’re working for a company that “has a track record of censoring and retaliating against workers for asking basic questions about their working conditions or expressing dissent,” reports Motherboard. For example,…
Daylight saving time linked to an increase in traffic accidents
Fatal accidents in the US increase by 6 per cent in the week that follows the spring transition to daylight saving time, possibly due to sleep deprivation and lack of alertness Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2231950-daylight-saving-time-linked-to-an-increase-in-traffic-accidents/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…