The Department of Transportation announced yesterday its intentions to indefinitely expand a temporary January ban prohibiting interstate truck and bus drivers from text messaging behind the wheel. 16% of crash fatalities--that's 5,870 dead--in 2008 were blamed on distracted driving. The same year, 500,000 injuries were blamed on it, too. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, "20 states [California included!], the District of Columbia and Guam now ban text messaging for all drivers. 15 states, D.C., and Guam have primary enforcement. In the other four, texting bans for all drivers are secondarily enforced." more ›

Investigators concluded this morning that witness statements were unreliable and that, based on evidence, the Metrolink engineer ran the red light, putting the train on a head-on collision course with a Union Pacific train, according to the LA Times. more ›

A crash involving four vehicles prompted a SigAlert on the eastbound 118 Freeway during rush hour this morning. A witness told police that a driver of black honda was text messaging prior to hitting a bus, spinning out and hitting other vehicles. Another bus and a box truck were also involved in the crash, which was located before Reseda Boulevard. more ›

If you're a reader of the reliable source of laugh, Texts From Last Night.com, you know that whatever happened last night was probably pretty messed up. And probably involved some sort of bodily fluid. In taking a peek at the site, LAist was able to uncover out what the hell went down "last night" in LA. more ›

On September 12, 2008, Angelenos and the nation watched in horror as emergency personnel responded to what would soon go down as the worst train crash in recent US history when a Metrolink train collided with a freight train in Chatsworth. As investigators continue to probe the incident and Robert M. Sanchez, the Engineer at the wheel on that deadly day, more information is coming to light about the man's work habits. more ›

National Transportation Safety Board investigators released information this afternoon regarding Metrolink Engineer Robert Sanchez' cell phone records. He sent 29 text messages while on duty the day of the crash with the last one sent at 4:22:01 p.m. The However, the NTSB says precise timing of cell phone activity and how it correlates with the crash is still under investigation. According to preliminary estimates, the crash occurred at 4:22:23 pm. more ›

After the National Transportation Safety Board heard that teenagers were claiming Metrolink Engineer Robert Sanchez was texting with them moments before the crash, they subpoenaed his cell phone records but were wary saying a similar claim in a Boston crash was made and ended up being false. But these claims were true the NTSB announced on Wednesday night. more ›

... if Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signs a bill that's headed to his desk. more ›

Sure, we get the voting guides in the mail (not to mention the endless stream of postcards and pamphlets telling us who is endorsing who or what proposition) but in the digital age it should be easier to keep track of your intended votes. (Not to mention a great way to save paper!) more ›