Gray Ritter Graham Blog

Thanks to a new federal rule, we may have fewer truck drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol in Missouri. But we will have to wait three more years.

Today, all truck drivers (anyone operating a vehicle that requires a commercial driver's license) may undergo drug and alcohol testing under several circumstances, including:

· Prior to being hired

· Following a fatal trucking accident

· Reasonable suspicion of drug or alcohol abuse

A driver who tests positive for drugs or alcohol, or refuses to be tested, must go through a structured education and treatment process - as well as pass a ...

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, protecting consumers from unsafe food is a "winnable battle" that we're not completely winning.

The CDC reports that contaminated food kills thousands of people in the United States every year, and sickens millions more. It seems, then, that preventing foodborne diseases is an unsurmountable challenge. But the organization thinks otherwise. It put "Food Safety" on its list of "Winnable Battles" - a new report card of sorts on realistic efforts to reduce dangers to public safety.

The CDC outlines several challenges that ...

Deaths in motor vehicle accidents across the country for the first half of 2016 increased 10 percent over the same period last year, as estimated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. According to the NHTSA, the second quarter of this year was the seventh consecutive quarter - going back to the last three months of 2014 - that saw a rise in car and truck accident deaths.

The NHTSA issued its estimate of motor vehicle deaths for the first half of 2016 last month. It calculates that 17,775 people died in car and truck wrecks from January through June of this year. This compares ...

According to the World Health Organization, a non-profit group that promotes health safety issues around the globe, surgical site infections are the second leading cause of hospital acquired infections in the United States. Now, WHO has come out with a blueprint to prevent this type of a dangerous preventable medical error.

Earlier this month the organization released a 29-step plan to deal with surgical site infections. The steps address issues from both the patient and the healthcare provider perspective.

Life-threatening bacteria can be transmitted to surgical patients ...

The number of trucking fatalities and injuries on United States roadways has risen 11 percent in the past year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Weighing in at 80,000 pounds fully loaded, it takes a semi nearly the length of two football fields to stop when travelling at 65 miles per hour. The damage caused by large trucking accidents is almost always devastating.

Trucking manufacturers are starting to take note, introducing new safety features in their latest fleets to help reduce the number of large truck accidents and save precious lives on ...

A common worry for hospital patients is getting an infection during their stay. Hospital acquired infections are a prevalent type of serious medical error. According to estimates, as many as 100,000 hospital patients die each year from an infection while getting treated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now warns that as many as 500,000 people in the United States who have had open-heart surgery may be at risk for succumbing to a serious infection from a device used during their ...

According to an inspection event earlier this year, one out of every five commercial trucks and buses may have safety violations so serious they shouldn't be on the road.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is a non-profit organization that seeks to enhance commercial vehicle safety in North America. It holds an annual event called International Roadcheck, which has police in United States and Canada conducting roadside inspections of big rigs and motorcoaches, as well as their drivers. This ...

Tougher laws on drunk driving may have helped make Missouri roadways safer, but drunk driving accidents are far from a thing of the past. Every day, people traveling Missouri highways continue to sustain serious injuries and die at the hands of drunk drivers.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Missouri is among the top ten states with the most drunk driving fatalities. Between 2003 and 2012, 3,314 people were killed in Missouri in alcohol-related traffic accidents. The number ...