Links and a Rant

California's Secret SUV Ban. I say enforce it. If the vehicles are doing the damage, they should be banned from the backstreets. Via Life, it is a Travesty.

NOAA is in Second Life.

Huh. I don't hear about people rioting and burning down embassies over these cartoons. Why the huge difference? Heck, even the Iranians who are putting the exhibition on don't expect riots... they expect "fines and jail sentences". Which also, as far as I can see, haven't materialized. So why is it expected that cartoons featuring Mohammed cause violence? Talk about stupid double standards.

Paranoia and Racism.

Ken Jennings has a great commentary about the ratings posters in movie theater lobbies. Particularly the rabbit. Look at the rabbit!!!

And now for a rant...

Secure Your Load: lost load causes fatal accident on I-5.

When hubby-Eric and I were driving down to the Oz convention a few weeks ago, I was driving on a section of I-5 in the south of Washington. The road was slick and visibility was poor because of a light rain that turned into a churning mist on the freeway. Still, I was able to see the cars around me because everyone had lights on. I wasn't too concerned, and was driving in the fast lane at close to freeway speed.

Suddenly, out of the mist, an empty water jug, like you see in offices, bounced down the road at my car. I was going at least 50, I couldn't stop and I couldn't avoid it. There was a sickening crunch as we hit the thing, and I quickly pulled over, expecting it to be stuck beneath the car. Shaken, I started to get out of the car when I saw the jug fly into the median, hit by another car behind me. I did a quick check of my car, then after trying to calm down, headed back out onto the road. I pulled over at the next exit to examine the car more closely... as far as we could tell the only damage was to the shield on one of the headlights.

We were lucky. A metal shelf that fell off a truck killed a person over the last week on I-5, and in another incident, a railroad tie that dropped off someone's truck damaged a half a dozen cars and caused a pile-up, but luckily injured no one. I have very little tolerance for people who can't be bothered to secure their loads when going on the freeway. If that water jug had been full, I might not be here today. And if I ever find the guy who dropped the water jug, I intend to give him a piece of my mind that he'll never forget.

At least now, in Washington, having something drop off your vehicle and cause injury or death is a crime: Maria's Law

The fine for transporting an unsecured load used to be a maximum of $194. That changed after the high-profile case of Maria Federici.

In February 2004, Federici was heading home from work on Interstate 405 when an unsecured piece of particleboard smashed through her windshield, leaving her blind.

While Federici slowly recovered, her family and friends began a campaign to increase the penalties for unsecured loads, resulting in "Maria's Bill."

Now, if an item falls off a vehicle and causes bodily harm, the driver faces a gross misdemeanor charge with a maximum punishment of a year in prison and a $5,000 fine.