App Essentials For a Safe Winter Travel Season

February 11, 2015 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Winter in Chicago. From Flickr user inthe-arena

With the winter season comes sloppy road banks, black ice, freezing rain and any number of treacherous scenarios that can cause trouble on the road (providing you can shovel your car out from under all the snow!). Now that we’re in the midst of the most travel-intensive part of the year, it’s nearly guaranteed that one of us will find ourselves in a precarious situation due to inclement weather. Even the most cautious drivers can can’t avoid the unpredictability of Mother Nature.

Of the average 5,870,000 vehicle crashes each year, 23% of crashes are weather-related, according to the Federal Highway Administration. And in 2013, USA Today reported the United States alone suffered nearly 7,000 fatal collisions as a result of weather-related wrecks.

Below are five apps to keep you safe and help out in a pinch.

Road Trip Weather
For $1.99, iPhone users can purchase this sleek app developed by Garafa, LLC, a small-scale meteorological weather center that helps travelers plan accordingly using real-time weather data to predict where and when a potential storm may turn ugly. Simply plug in your travel departure time and anticipated travel route, and Road Trip Weather gives a snapshot of what’s in store on the roads. Tweak your travel plans accordingly and find the safest routes possible.

Weathermob
Think of it like your own Facebook or Twitter dedicated solely to the weather. Like searching your newsfeed, this handy weather app gives you a quick glimpse of what others are experiencing outside, i.e. pictures of snow-buried cars, golf ball-size hail, or the unenviable task of digging a car out of a ditch. Say you’re considering a trip through Lincoln, Nebraska, only to find out that the clouds are pitch black, ominous, and generally uninviting, thanks to a quick selfie on behalf of another Nebraska-bound driver.

Winter Survival Kit
Of all the apps available for download, this may be the most useful of them all, complete with customized alerts and several key options to help you through the worst of times: Alert friends and family to your whereabouts with a push of a button; guesstimate how long you can keep your car running to stay warm; and anticipate how much energy you have before it’s time to abandon ship.

AAA Mobile
This dedicated app is especially handy for AAA members, providing roadside assistance with only a press of a button, but there’s lots to enjoy for the average app user. Get maps of the area and locate the nearest cell phone charging stations, gas stations, and the nearest hotels. There’s also an option to join AAA right then and there, in case the situation proves more dire than expected.

Tow Truck Finder
For just $0.99, you can download this app from by Exact Magic Software, LLC, which tracks your location and displays the nearest tow truck and service stations on Google Maps. You’ll instantaneously be able to find addresses, phone numbers and other info for local tows, potentially saving you some wait time in frigid temperatures.

Have any other life-saving winter apps we should know about? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook!

Here’s the Internet Slang Parents Should Know

February 9, 2015 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Texting - Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons — Texting – Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

Let’s start with a question: Do you know what “GNOC” and “IWSN” stand for? How about “CD9”?

“If it makes you feel any better,” writes Kelly Wallace, CNN digital correspondent and editor-at-large covering family-related issues, “I had no clue, and neither did a number of women I asked about it,” proving that even the most involved parents struggle to keep up with today’s increasingly explicit slang.

Wallace recently unveiled a list of 28 acronyms that parents should know, now that texting and social media have become part of the new normal, and kids can’t seem to put down their cell phones. And this new normal looks more incriminating than parents likely prefer. According to Wallace, the terms on her list—many of them sexually suggestive—elude even the most cautious adults. The issue has drawn attention from experts who say graphic short form slang is just one of the many problems plaguing teens and young adults today, as they increasingly rely on mobile devices as primary modes of communicating.

Wallace makes note of typical phrases: “LOL” (Laugh Out Loud) and “LMK” (Let Me Know), for example. Some not-so-innocent, but common variants among teens include things like “GNOC” (Get Naked on Camera) and “IWSN” (I Want Sex Now). Others like “PIR” (Parent In Room) or “POS” (Parent Over Shoulder) act like secret codes, indicating to would-be texters the appropriate moment to refrain from anything that might get them in trouble. There’s also “A/S/L” (age/sex/location), used to initiate what is likely to be an inappropriate conversation between strangers. Less obvious but equally suggestive terms are “1174’” (Party Meeting Place), “53X” (Sex) and the aforementioned “CD9” (Parents Around/Code 9).

Explicit content isn’t limited to just texts. In recent years, popular apps like Snapchat, Vine, and Kik have come under heavy fire for their surreptitious, unregulated nature. Kik, for example, a free texting app, allows text and pictures to be sent without being logged in the phone history, making it easier for kids to communicate with strangers without anyone’s knowledge.

Wallace’s 28 phrases may seem like a generous number, but by the time you finish reading them, it’s easy to imagine several new, equally suggestive acronyms that have already replaced the old ones. If you’re just waking up to the fact that Generation Next is giving you the runaround, it may be time to learn a bit more about what your teen is (or isn’t) saying these days on mobile devices and web-based apps. See Wallace’s complete list below.

Some of the words on the list seem too ridiculous to be so widely used and accepted. The online world is filled with people pretending to be other people, lying about who they really are. Word choice can give teens – and supervising parents – an idea of the person who’s on the other side of the chat or texting app. The lingo is constantly evolving as new phrases and acronyms become widely accepted, so it is understandable that your eyes might catch some abbreviations that you are unfamiliar with. A quick Google search is sure to help, most likely by sending you to www.urbandictionary.com for more definitions and interpretations.

Even though the way teens communicate is changing, and increasingly hidden from parental view, it is still possible to spot the warning signs that something inappropriate or bad is happening. Recognizing some of these suggestive phrases is a good start.

28 Phrases You Should Know:

1. IWSN – I want sex now

2. GNOC – Get naked on camera

3. NIFOC – Naked in front of computer

4. PIR – Parent in room

5 CU46 – See you for sex

6. 53X – Sex

7. 9 – Parent watching

8. 99 – Parent gone

9. 1174′ – Party meeting place

10. THOT – That hoe over there

11. CID – Acid (the drug)

12. Broken – Hungover from alcohol

13. 420 – Marijuana

14. POS – Parent over shoulder

15. SUGARPIC – Suggestive or erotic photo

16. KOTL – Kiss on the lips

17. (L)MIRL – Let’s meet in real life

18. PRON – Porn

19. TDTM – Talk dirty to me

20. 8 – Oral sex

21. CD9 – Parents around/Code 9

22. IPN – I’m posting naked

23. LH6 – Let’s have sex

24. WTTP – Want to trade pictures?

25. DOC – Drug of choice

26. TWD – Texting while driving

27. GYPO – Get your pants off

28. KPC– Keeping parents clueless

Original Source of 28 Phrases: CNN.com

How to Save a Choking Baby

February 6, 2015 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

It’s amazing the sorts of treasures one finds on the Internet. A particular favorite of ours, now making the rounds on the web and social media, might be this latest gem called “The Chokeables,” a public service-meets-Wallace and Gromit-type video fantasy into the realm of child safety. More specifically: the dangers of small, minuscule items that pose choking hazards to babies and infants.

The video, created by St. John Ambulance, one of the U.K.’s leading first aid charities that teaches proper first aid techniques to upwards of 800,000 people annually, employs the talents of none other than Sir John Hurt (better known to kids as Ollivander from the Harry Potter movies) and two additional British actors. The accomplished thespians lend their voices to the very toys and objects parents need to be aware of around the house, things like pen caps, marbles, broken crayons and nuts.

Amazingly, “The Chokeables” has racked up more than 4 million views by way of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter in its first ten days since going live; the video has been shared more than 150,000 times via St. John Ambulance’s Facebook page; and St. John’s estimates that 20.9 million people have watched the video in its first week on television.

And thankfully so: the video comes at a time when new research shows that 79 percent of parents don’t know the correct technique of tending to a choking baby, despite 58 percent that say choking is major fear for them, and 40 percent that say they have witnessed it happening.

The relatively simple video (a must-see, in our opinion, for parents and adults, including daycare workers and babysitters) provides a quick snapshot of what to do in a crisis scenario, teaching parents the proper way to assist a child in the event of a choking incident. Here’s how to save a choking baby:

Lay the baby face down on your thigh, giving up to five generous back blows
Should that method fail, turn the baby over and give him/her up to five chest thrusts until the airway is clear
And if the chest thrusts don’t work, call 9-1-1

“The Chokeables”—at just a mere 40 seconds—might seem like a small tick of time to encompass the grasp of the necessary safety precautions, but the brilliance of this little clip is its simplicity, providing just enough instruction in a visually engaging way for adults who have little time to spare on a day-to-day basis.

According to British publication The Mirror, seven people have saved choking babies thanks in part to “The Chokeables.” So after you’ve watched “The Chokeables” video, share it with friends and family!

Locks of Love: A Fun, Kid-Friendly Way to Help

February 4, 2015 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Monica Singh Locks of Love — Attorney Monica Singh’s Locks of Love Donation: Before and After

When Levinson and Stefani attorney Monica Singh needed a haircut, she decided to make it worthwhile. Thanks to the public non-profit organization Locks of Love, 12 inches of human hair is now available to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. Many of the children that Locks of Love help suffer from the medical condition alopecia areta, which has no known cause or cure. Locks of Love makes high quality, natural looking hair prosthetics from hair donations, and provides hairpieces to children under age 21 around the United States and Canada.

A majority of Locks of Love’s donations come from children, and all of them go to children and young adults. These donations provide not only the donee with confidence to face the world and their peers, but the donor swells with pride knowing a simple act of kindness helps someone in need. Each donation is acknowledged by Locks of Love with a certificate, and the organization’s website shows off many of the before and after pictures of donors and donees.

Partner Jay Stefani’s young daughter has also donated to Locks of Love in the past. Jay remarked that they were surprised she had enough hair to donate at such a young age, and now her certificate is proudly displayed in her room.

Monica bravely parted with 12 inches of her hair, but Locks of Love only requires 10 inches as the minimum donation. There are numerous participating salons, and, in fact, if you tell your stylist you would like to donate to Locks of Love, many salons will cut your hair for free and mail your donation in for you, too!

You can learn more about the Locks of Love organization by clicking here. We hope you’ll take some time to check out this great organization and how it is helping to make childhood dreams come true.

As always, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about Locks of Love or donating.

Why Aren’t More Trucking Laws Being Passed?

February 2, 2015 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Last week we wrote about the pressure facing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to keep our highways safe with stricter regulations for truckers. Here’s more about necessary improvements to our laws so that everyone is safer on the road.

Large-truck accidents accounted for nearly 4,000 fatalities in 2013—the fourth straight year that the number of truck-related deaths has risen, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. That’s a 17 percent increase based on numbers collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In a statement, the NTSB recommended that trucking companies explore more ways to manage driver fatigue and sleep disorders, afflictions that have been the source of several deadly accidents on the road. Sleep deprivation and mandated driving hours remain constant topics of discussion among safety experts and legislators, some of whom find themselves arguing opposite ends of the spectrum. The NTSB also unveiled its “Most Wanted List” of transportation improvements for 2015, including strengthening the safety of commercial trucking through increased industry oversight.

The statistics come at a time when Congress voted to tamp down trucking regulations last year, part of an ongoing trend of legislation that effectively weakens driving limitations and mandated driving hours. An example of one such amendment, passing on a 21-9 vote by the Senate Appropriations Committee in early June, rescinded a provision that required drivers to take breaks between the hours of 1-5am. The vote passed despite widespread opposition by safety advocates, transportation experts and the White House, all of which expressed concern for those driving at high speeds in the wee hours of the morning.

Also from NTSB: Highway regulators have failed to act on more than 100 recommendations over the last year to improve truck safety, as trucking lobbyists aggressively seek to protect the working rights of operators and those who maintain clean driving records. It’s a proverbial game of cat and mouse in the eyes of many.

The Board says that safety should be the industry’s highest priority, though recent amendments and deregulations seemingly prove otherwise. When it comes down to it, trucking accidents are increasingly preventable, thanks to new technology such as vehicle sensors. At this stage, sensors are more of a suggestion than a requirement.

So why aren’t more laws being passed to prevent accidents from happening?

The cynical person might chalk it up to the nature of the system — high price of doing business in a fast-paced world. But others, like Steve Pociask, President of the American Consumer Institute, in an opinion piece for the Daily Caller, points out that revisiting transportation reform should be a higher priority for the 114^th Congress, whether it be new laws and regulations or revisiting long-standing laws to determine what’s working and what isn’t. But assuming the issue gets swept under the rug, it’s safe to conclude that accidents will continue to happen.

Advocates Aim for Stricter Requirements for Commercial Drivers

January 29, 2015 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

For years, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has faced a bevy of criticism for failing to institute stricter training requirements for operators of large commercial trucks. That criticism has turned into action, according to the New York Times, which reports that safety advocates and at least one labor union has filed suit in federal court over FMCSA’s lack of progress. It seems it was only a matter of time.

In a span of ten years, says the Times, Congress has twice ordered the FMCSA make changes to its training measures, only to see the FMCSA bypass the requisite deadlines. The federal organization has made incremental improvements over the last decade, but not enough to satisfy a growing contingent of safety groups and those who say the FMCSA’s so-called improvements are akin to a running joke. Currently the FMCSA requires a minimum of ten hours in the classroom and a driving test before allowing drivers with big rigs onto the road, only after the “relatively simple process” of filing for a commercial license.

That doesn’t satisfy people like Henry Jansy, general counsel at Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, who took a harsh line with the FMCSA, saying “There’s just no excuse anymore. This should be basic stuff. People are dying because of the lack of training out there.”

Making matters worse for the FMCSA is the rising number of fatalities related to large commercial trucks. The Times points out that traffic related fatalities have reached a new low, however accidents involving large trucks have steadily increased; fatalities are up by four percent and serious injuries up by 18 percent since 2012. Based on data from the Transportation Department, an additional 200,000 accidents with large trucks caused damage but no injuries.

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) reports that Illinois tractor-trailer accidents account for nearly 11% of traffic deaths over the last five years. In 2005, Illinois eighteen-wheeler accidents caused a little more than 200 of the nearly 2000 total traffic fatalities.

Some safety points to note from the IDOT:

In Illinois, fatal crashes between trucks and other vehicles most often occur:

On Tuesday through Friday, between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., when the weather is clear and the road is dry
Due to speed or improper lane use
When the truck driver is between 28-43 years old and the driver of the other vehicle is between 20-30 years old
When the driver (of the truck OR the other vehicle) has fallen asleep or has been drinking

Avoid these four blind spots when driving near or around a large vehicle:

Don’t return to the driving lane until you can see the entire front of the truck in your rearview mirror
If you can’t see one of the truck drivers’ side mirrors, he or she can’t see you either
If you can’t see the truck driver in one of your side mirrors, he or she can’t see you
Don’t enter the area between the curb or shoulder and the truck if the truck is signaling a turn

Additional safety points:

Some other safety information to be aware of when you encounter larger vehicles on the road include things like weight difference, the risk of underride and override, stopping distance, and “splash and spray.”

Reviewing and remembering these basic principles can help keep you safe on the road, and prevent the unexpected.