accident
Latest
British teen imprisoned for texting-related death
It goes without saying that talking whilst driving (let alone texting) isn't exactly the safest practice, and unfortunately for a British teenager, she could have four solid years to think about it. Rachel Begg, who was found to have used her cellphone nine different times in the 15 minutes prior to crashing into a grandmother's vehicle and subsequently killing her, was recently found guilty and sentenced to four years in prison. To make matters worse, Begg was driving nearly 70 miles-per-hour on a dark, rainy night, and the judge reportedly emphasized how costly her lack of reason was. Better leave the texting 'til after the ride's over, eh?[Via Textually, image courtesy of BrockportStylus]
Driver follows GPS onto pedestrian walkway, into cherry tree
In another example of the evils of computer navigation, a 37-year-old trucker followed his GPS directions to their totally illogical conclusion when he drove his truck down a pedestrian walkway and wedged the delivery vehicle into a cherry tree. The driver, who was looking for a factory to drop off his cargo, blindly followed the female voice of his navigation system, apparently ignoring several no-entry signs and turning onto the walkway in broad daylight. The motorist then attempted to reverse out, damaging two lamp posts, a hedge, and of course the cherry tree, which Swiss workers later had to take a chainsaw to. The tucker was fined 650 Swiss francs (about $540), and his GPS was given a firmware update and a copy of Google Maps.[Thanks, pork_musket]
Limited edition blood-covered DS Lite
The dried blood on the Polar White DS Lite above is from a car accident last week in which the driver of an ambulance lost control and hit a mid-size SUV at 60 MPH. Its warning lights were not flashing at the time. The impact caused the SUV to flip over four times before landing upside down; the ambulance was also thrown over the parkway shoulder. Thankfully, everyone survived the collision with only a few injuries. Isfet, one of the SUV's passengers and the owner of the DS Lite, happened to be playing Etrian Odyssey when the accident occurred. We knew that the dungeon crawler was pretty punishing, but we weren't aware that its difficulty was so severe that you can almost die while playing it. Despite the tumbling the handheld went through, it still works! Isfet is a bit worried, though, that it might start to smell if he doesn't clean it off soon. He's not sure if the blood was from his head or the piece of glass that stabbed his arm.
Smashed iPhone "not so cool looking"
What happens when a shiny new iPhone meets the edge of a table? You guessed it -- that nasty piece of business up above. Fans, we know it looks painful, and haters, we know you're loving it, but we should all have a little sympathy for the unlucky guy who made this mess completely by accident when he tried to answer his phone while it was still plugged in, causing the short cable to whip Apple's glass-screened device right out of his hands. Don't fret too much though, because the kind folks at Apple apparently replaced the smashed phone for free, and as far as we know, the gentleman learned several valuable lessons.[Via Akihabaranews]
Another Brit puts complete faith in GPS system, nearly perishes
Alright Britain, we've given you quite enough passes on this whole "blind faith in GPS" thing, but now we're going to need an explanation. In yet another case of a British individual nearly losing their life thanks to a complete and utter lack of common sense, a 20-year old Birmingham University student was following a GPS' directions to Carmarthenshire for the first time, only to have her vehicle destroyed by a speeding train while she watched. Oddly enough, the dame followed the route onto an "unmarked" (saywah?) railroad crossing, but rather than actually contemplating the situation, she proceeded to lift the nearest gate, drive her vehicle squarely onto the tracks, and then went to lift the far gate in order to cross what she reportedly thought was "a normal farmers' gate." In the meantime, a train made its way in her direction, and while she admitted that she considered getting back into the vehicle in an attempt to move it, thankfully she didn't follow through on any more unbelievably bad decisions. Needless to say, the car was trashed along with the GPS, but perhaps the most comical part is the fact that the lady has vowed to never use a navigation system again in protest for it nearly killing her -- we'd suggest staying off the roads altogether.[Via El Reg]
SoundofMotion keeps cyclists safe, morphs phone into motorcycle
It may not be legal in most civilized nations to ride a Segway on the sidewalk, but for those still risking their lives on a two-wheeled machine, things are about to get a lot safer. SoundofMotion has developed a clever new warning system that turns your phone into what sounds like a roaring motorcycle, and not content with just playing a pre-recorded loop over and over, it's actually designed to rev up and down based on the speed and acceleration of your bicycle. The application will run on "any Bluetooth- and Java-capable phone," and it interacts with a "wireless BT sensor" that gets mounted on one of your wheels. Unsurprisingly, the device responds to the motion sensor and lets the carefree motorists around know you mean business when crossing an intersection. The app is currently sitting in beta, but the creators hope to have a final rendition ready to go before you make too many summer treks, but you better be willing to face total embarrassment (and have one loud speakerphone) to save your skin before picking this up. Click on through for a demonstration.[Via Slashphone]
DIY nailguns wrecking all sorts of havoc on hands
We typically take for granted that anyone with enough technical know-how to go out and tackle some of the DIY creations we've seen would also take extra caution when handling soldering irons, hammers, and other potentially hazardous power tools, but apparently, folks are throwing caution to the wind when concocting their own nailguns. We'll admit, we certainly didn't realize that home crafted, high-powered staplers were becoming all the rage, but according to a recent report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "injuries involving nailguns have risen 200-percent since 1991." Notably, around 40-percent of the 37,000 reported nailgun injuries last year were purportedly due to consumer negligence while not on the job, leaving us to assume that it's the haphazard consumers boosting the stats. Still, these issues pale in comparison to the mayhem we'd be dealing with if railgun equipment somehow slipped into local hardware shops.[Via El Reg]
Man returns phone to carrier... without leaving car
When we talk about phone use leading to traffic incidents, this is not typically what we mean. It seems a gentleman in Korea -- we'll simply call him "Kim," since that's the only name we have for him -- got just a little upset when his shiny new Samsung handset still wasn't working after sixteen calls and two in-store visits to carrier SK Telecom. What really set the dude off, though, was a SKT employee suggesting that the phone be replaced with a different model when the original was out of stock (what nerve!). Next thing you know, Kim's chilling outside SK Telecom headquarters, filled with rage -- and, oh yeah, a 4,000 pound Mercedes with "Delinquent SK" scrawled across it. Them's fightin' words, of course, and SKT tried to get him to skedaddle. The attempt backfired, though, when Kim skedaddled right through the building's revolving doors. Lesson to carriers: do everything in your power to replace your customers' defective phones after a maximum of fifteen support calls. Lesson to customers: if you aim for the glass instead of the door, you can probably make it into the building without as much damage to the front end.
SimCity DS not just for the Japanese anymore
We've been waiting for this announcement a while now. In a very irregular press release from EA Japan this morning, originally causing us to think this was a hoax or accidental release, we contacted an equally confused EA rep and confirmed SimCity DS is going global. She let us know that the information distribution is being handled outside of EA's corporate HQ -- hence the confusion. The rep only had one screen to show us of the English version and told us that the game will be out in June.SimCity DS will allow players to put out fires by blowing on the DS's microphone, "wireless data exchange," sign off on proclamations using the stylus and do all the other things that urban planning junkies have been experiencing with the series for 20 years. The game is expected to be rated AO due to intense scenes of sexuality and violence -- oh please, it's SimCity!
Irate driver rams fellow motorist due to cellphone use
You should already know that the Grand Canyon State isn't exactly kosher with rampant tailgating, so actually ramming someone's vehicle due to a personal conflict you have with them isn't likely to get you a whole lot of mercy. Subsequently, a 58-year old male is facing jail time due to his inability to turn the other cheek when he drove up on another motorist who was casually yapping on their cellphone. Rather than simply signing to hang up or doing nothing at all, Mr. Asselin felt it was in both of their best interests if they had a verbal exchange whilst cruising down the avenue, and to make matters worse, the curiously enraged driver reportedly ran the talker into oncoming traffic where the cellphone-using victim narrowly escaped death. Notably, several witnessed deemed the whole event akin to something we'd see "in a movie," but unless you've got Transporter-like skills, we wouldn't recommend trying to reenact this in your home state, no matter your feelings on driving while connected.[Via Fark]
Japan rescuers to get water jet cutters for debris slicing
While Japan is fairly well equipped to notify citizens of impending doom, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency is taking another step to preparing its rescue forces for anything in times of emergency, and the forthcoming water jet cutter should help slice through debris without the risk of starting a fire in the process. Due to a railway disaster in April of 2005 which forced rescuers to find an alternate way of cutting metal with gasoline sloshed about, the water jet cutters were moved up in priority, and now the powerful streams can output a high-pressure blast of water / sand in order to make a "1.5-centimeter cut through a 2-centimeter-thick steel plate in just a single minute." Of course, the biggest boon here is the device's inability to spark a fire, but the pressure cutter can also be used in instances where flammability isn't an issue, and it has already been demonstrated to local reporters last week. Although we're not sure just how soon these slicers, along with high-powered "blowers" to whisk away harmful fumes, will be put into action, they'll be hitting the fire departments of Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sapporo first.[Via Fark]
Today's hottest game video: Wii fatality
It was only a matter of time. We bow our heads in a moment of silence for the first Nintendo Wii fatality. Is this a wakeup call to the industry? DO YOU HEAR THE CALL? Seriously, they joke on the site that Fox News will see this and think its real. We're pretty sure that somewhere, somehow, someone is already believing it. Wait for the backlash to hit, probably spearheaded by everyone's favorite political gamehater, He Who Shall Not Be Named. In fact, let's declare a moratorium on him in the news, unless something spectacular happens, for all of 2007. Check out the video after the jump, and use your Wiis carefully out there, folks.
Wii-related injury roundup
It didn't take too long for the first Wii-related injury to surface, and it was even shorter before Wiimotes folks starting breaking things with their wild flinging antics, but when your product spurns the creation of an entire website devoted to users getting banged up when misusing the controller, now that's an accomplishment. Of course, it's probably safe to assume that at least half these Wiinjuries are nothing more than backyard boo-boos that folks translated into Wiincidents to get their 15 minutes of fame, but regardless, when Nintendo sends out emails and offers beefier Wiimote straps to those having problems, at least some of this stuff has to be legitimate. First up is a high-heel-wearing dame who apparently dislocated her knee while going for the smash in Wii Tennis, but the remedy to this happening again should really be quite apparent. Next we've got a rowdy customer service guru who actually swung the Wii-bat so hard, it purportedly snapped something within his arm. Lastly, we've got a Agassi wannabe who didn't exactly pay attention to the overhead (glass) light fixture before serving an ace, and now he's reportedly got the bloodshed (and repair bills) to show for it. The moral of the story is that the Wiimote can be a potent weapon and injury liaison if not used properly, but hey, we can't deny the humor in folks taking themselves out when going FTW.Read - Dislocated Knee, via JoystiqRead - Broken ArmRead - Sliced HandRead - More Examples of Wiimote carelessness
AP: Wii 'gamers gone wild'
CNN posts an AP story about Wii "gamers gone wild" -- no, not the good kind of wild going -- hyping the Wii accident-buzz in the mainstream media. The article is light in tone and suggests that the injury murmurs on the internet may be generating positive Wii press despite the occasional, horribly sickening knee injury. Our favorite part of the story is the bullet point header for those with short attention spans. The first point, "Controllers go flying, sometimes poke holes in TVs," gets a gold star for mixing casual writing with a sensational subject.
TRW intros non-rotating airbag, mesmerizes drivers
While vehicle manufacturers are taking this "safety thing" to new heights (not that we're complaining or anything), the ole airbag sure takes a lot of heat regarding its questionable design and potentially harmful nature. The love / hate relationship with this very necessary device has been going on for years, and TRW Automotive Safety Systems is hoping to quiet the protestors a bit with its latest creation. The next-generation asymmetric airbag / steering wheel system features a "non-rotating airbag" that stays put while the wheel around it moves to meet the driver's demands. By utilizing a circumferential gear to keep the airbag stationary, the mobilized unit provides "enhanced crash protection" while allowing automotive designers to add more "convenience and aesthetic features" (read: buttons, switches, and other gadget-controlling togglers) to the steering wheel itself. Although TRW fails to point out just how much automakers will be forced to pay for its invention, it does note that it can be customized to the fit the feel, color, and style of any vehicle, and since the firm has already landed a contract with "a major European vehicle manufacturer," we could see this non-turning technology go stateside anytime.
"Wii Have A Problem," an accident archive
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Wii_Have_a_Problem_A_Wii_Accident_Archive'; A group of self-proclaimed fanboys have begun cataloging cases of Wii mishaps, casualties, and injuries. No loss of life yet reported, but as these incidents continue to pile up, lawsuits are sure to be filed.True, Nintendo has done well to provide appropriate warnings, but that won't stop disgruntled gamers or those who might take advantage of their unfortunate circumstances. Who will rise to Nintendo's defense? Speak.
360 survives hit and run accident
Xbox 360 owner Zikronix was in a hit and run accident on Monday, and while he managed to escape with a bruised elbow, his truck and Xbox 360 didn't fare so well.According to the story, his system and games were flung all over the street after his truck rolled several times. There's even a tire mark on the console, and check out that mangled controller.He took the mangled console back home found that, to his surprise, it still started up just fine and played games and DVDs, even though it looks like the remains of the printer in Office Space.Check out his pix here, and watch the YouTube video after the jump. We still wanna know how this accident happened, but at least the 360 looks tougher you'd expect. Should have driven a Ford *ducks onslaught from Chevy fanboys*.
Xbox 360 survives multi-roll car crash, keeps churning
Some stories are simply too sensational to be true, thus giving us every reason we'd ever need to just blow it off, but there's one saving grace to a whacked-out story: pictures. Reportedly, an Xbox 360 owner was rammed in a hit and run style accident, where his Chevrolet S-10 "rolled over three or four times," launching the helpless console and a bevy of accessories onto the freeway. While the fellow (thankfully) survived the ordeal with little more than a "bruised elbow," his beloved console suffered quite a beating; the Xbox 360, its power brick, and several controllers were ran over by oncoming vehicles, leaving "tire marks" everywhere and "squishing" the metal supports within. After the turmoil subsided, this hardcore gamer was (understandably) more concerned with the life of his toy than whether or not his insurance policy had expired, so he rushed home to try things out. Although his trigger arm was a bit sore, the console managed to boot up, play games, and even play back a DVD, providing an assumed sigh of relief for traumatized lad. You can catch a video of the rugged console in action after the break, while hitting the read link will show you the survivor's tale and a bevy of pics.[Thanks, Arjun]
Xbox 360 in car accident, but lives!
Over on the official Xbox forums, ZiKrOnIx posted his very own personal story of tragedy. You see, poor ZiKrOnIx got in a car accident which is bad enough, but the real tragic part is that his ... gasp ... Xbox 360 was involved too. The curvaceous gaming console was thrown from his car, ran over, hard drive cracked, power brick thrown, and faceplate crushed. And the end result? He took his battered 360 home, fired it up, and was greeted by the friendly glow of the dashboard. Yup, it's still working even after all the brutality it endured. If you have any Xbox 360 abuse stories, please tell your story below. And if you're the sick and twisted type, go check out the horrific pics after the jump.[Via Digg]
Crash while cellphone talkin', cough up $500
Talk about adding insult to injury (seriously); DeKalb County, in Georgia, has recently passed a law that would fine drivers at fault for auto accidents if they were talking on their cellphone at the time of the crash. You'd think someone who just got in an accident might have already learned their lesson about paying attention to the road while on the phone, but hey, why fine preventatively (or ban alltogether) when you can just monetarily punish people who may also have to live with the unbearable conscience of possibly having severely injured or killed someone else?
