safety

Earbuds, freight train a fatal mix for pedestrian, police say

Electronics give people the opportunity to live in a world of their own.

Sometimes, though, this may not end well.

A train struck a man who was walking on the railway tracks in Joppa, Md., Thursday.

Police say the freight train approached him from behind. Its conductor said he sounded the horn.

That seems to have had no effect on 37-year-old Kevin Scott Street. For, police say, he was wearing earbuds.

According to CBS Baltimore, Street was struck by the 20-car freight train just after noon.

Edward Hopkins, a spokesman for the Hartford County Sheriff's Office explained to The Baltimore Sun: &… Read more

San Francisco finally kills cell phone radiation law

As expected, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a settlement with the wireless industry over a controversial law that would have required city retailers to inform customers about the possible dangers of cell phone radiation.

By a 10-to-1 vote, the Board agreed to a permanent injunction against the "Right to Know" ordinance and promised that it will refrain from further litigation. In return, the CTIA, the wireless industry's trade association, will waive any claims to attorney's fees. Supervisor John Avalos was the lone dissenting vote.

Ellie Marks, the director of the California Brain Tumor … Read more

SF takes first step to approve watered-down cellphone radiation settlement

A San Francisco Board of Supervisors committee on Thursday voted unanimously to approve a watered-down settlement with the wireless industry over legislation that required cell phone retailers to distribute radiation warning materials.

As currently written, the settlement calls for San Francisco to agree to a permanent injunction against the "Right to Know" ordinance and promise that it will refrain from further litigation. In return, the CTIA, the wireless industry's trade association, will waive any claims to attorney's fees.

The proposed settlement now advances to the full board for consideration at its May 7 meeting. If approved … Read more

Google adds local safety alerts to search results

Alerts from police, firefighters, and other authorities should soon start popping up in your Google search results.

The new initiative comes courtesy of a team-up between Google and Nixle, a San Francisco-based startup.

Nixle allows people to sign up to receive crime alerts, missing person notifications, and other updates from local police and fire departments. The alerts are sent via e-mail or text message to a mobile phone.

Google has tapped Nixle as the first partner to work with the Google Crisis Response Team to expand those safety alerts beyond just e-mail and mobile phones. Local public safety agencies can … Read more

Does Facebook's new 'Home' put too much Facebook in your face? (podcast)

If you're one of the people who get Facebook's new Home software, your social-media life will be front and center whenever you pick up your phone. It's literally putting Facebook in your face.

While that may have appeal to heavy-duty Facebook users who want to be in constant touch with their social graph, it raises some issues about "presence." People have their phones with them almost all the time, including when they're interacting with friends, family, and work colleagues, and many of us (myself included) have a habit of paying attention to our phones … Read more

Airport posts Facebook pic of crash to boast about safety

The beauty -- and the challenge -- of Facebook is to keep people engaged.

You know, excited, amused, enthralled, and fascinated.

One way of doing this is to post a picture of a plane crash in which a child died.

No, that is not a professional recommendation. That's what one enthusiastic member of the support team at England's Luton Airport thought would be a perfect marketing wheeze.

Indeed, the image of a plane that crashed at Chicago's Midway airport was accompanied with the sensitive caption: "Because we are such a super airport... this is what we … Read more

Six tech features that should be standard in every new car

Air bags, antilock brakes, and stability control. CD players, power locks and windows, and air conditioning. These are all features that at some point were optional (and sometimes costly) in vehicles, but over time we've come to expect them in every new car on the road -- whether that's due to legislation or changing buyer tastes. As cars continue to evolve, so grow our expectations of what should be included in the sticker price. I've rounded up a few optional car tech features that I'd like to see make the jump to being standard equipment.

Bluetooth … Read more

U.S. just getting on board Safer Internet Day (podcast)

In 2004 the European Commission created Safer Internet Day to be celebrated on the second day of the second week of the second month -- which this year is tomorrow.

On this day, organizations in various countries conduct public events, tweet-ins, press conferences, and otherwise spread the word about how young people can use the Internet safely and securely. This year's theme is "online rights and responsibilities" with the slogan, "Connect with Respect." The event is coordinated by Insafe, a European network of "Awareness Centres," that promote "safe, responsible use of the … Read more

5 safe places to put your smartphone while driving

After moving to a new city and buying a new car to get around in, a close friend of mine found herself needing some sort of GPS navigation to guide her around her new hometown. So, she bought a used portable navigation device and hit the road.

"This GPS sucks! The maps are out of date and it didn't come with a cable to connect to my computer for updating!" she declared after just a few trips.

"Wait, didn't you just buy a new iPhone?" I realized aloud. "You have to be the … Read more