Personal car accident and work injury compensation claim at Injuries Direct

Insurance company AXA has revealed that road rage could be responsible for 800 deaths per year on Britain’s roads. A survey carried out by the company revealed 4 out of 10 drivers reported being upset or frightened by another driver in the moments leading up to a road traffic accident.

AXA’s Marketing director Tina Shortle said “Our research shows that those who are angry or frightened are often unable to concentrate behind the wheel and this is a relevant factor in many accidents,”

As incidents increase premiums also go up as more accidents means higher costs for the insurance providers. AXA claimed that angry, disrespectful driving could be responsible for adding £35 onto the cost of annual premiums.

Recent incidents of road rage include:

A van driver throwing a claw hammer through the window of a young hairdressers car, the hairdresser said “I saw him pull a hammer from his passenger side, he then shouted something abusive at me and chucked it at my window,” she also added “To me, the sentence wasn’t very good, it’s a let-off, he’s only got six points on his licence and had to pay £140 compensation. My window cost me £100.”

And a woman from Bury St.Edmunds was left injured and shaking after a man forced his way into her car and took her car keys refusing to give them back, when another driver intervened he threw the keys back into the woman’s car and drove off.

A man who was stabbed whilst defending a woman from a road rage maniac over a trivial motoring incident said “I don’t see it as brave, I see it as doing the right thing. You cannot stand by and let a woman get beaten.”

Ex-servicemen involved in Britain’s nuclear testing programme which took place between 1952 and 1967 are involved in an ongoing battle with the Ministry of Defence.

Over 20,000 British servicemen were involved in the nuclear tests and the veterans are claiming that the resulting radiation damaged their health and the health of their children.

A survey of 2,500 ex-serviceman carried out in 1999 revealed that 30% of the men involved had died before reaching the age of 60 and that birth defects in their grand children, such as spina bifida are five times above the usual rate, other skeletal abnormalities and over 100 cases of reproductive problems were also reported.

The Ministry of Defence has denied negligence and the legal claim for compensation has proceeded to the Court of Appeal. As a result of this MP’s have been banned from asking questions about the case in the House of Commons, a decision which has outraged many.

A spokesperson for the British Nuclear Test Veterans’ Association said: “It is disgusting and outrageous that the Government has moved to ban MPs talking about this subject. Despite the case going to the Court of Appeal, no-one can understand why MPs have been gagged with regards to speaking on this subject.”

A spokesman for the MoD added: “The legal case has proceeded to the Court of Appeal and as such is sub judice. Due to the nature and status of the nuclear test veterans’ case, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”

Atmospheric tests of nuclear weapons took place in the Pacific Ocean and at Maralinga, Australia, including six detonations at Christmas Island of weapons more powerful than those that destroyed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.

Car manufacturers Ford are planning to enable drivers to listen to ‘tweets’ whilst on the move, the technology will be incorporated into the new Ford Focus which will be available in the UK next year and is expected to spread to the rest of the Ford range in due course.

The system known as Applink uses voice recognition to allow drivers a hands-free way to communicate with various devices such as iPhones and BlackBerries and it will read ‘tweets’ out loud to the driver whilst on the move, however even though the system uses voice recognition the driver will not be able to respond to the ‘tweets’.

Nevertheless the system has caused concern from some road safety experts who fear a possible increase in road traffic accidents.

Ford claims that the new technology improves road safety as it removes distractions from the driver and allows him or her to focus on the road but John Franklin, from the RAC, was less enthusiastic he said:

“RAC welcomes any innovation that improves safety by limiting the distractions in the car. However it’s debatable whether this type of technology will help as it’s likely to increase the distractions available to the driver. Tweeting while driving is an unnecessary distraction and shouldn’t be seen as an essential activity when behind the wheel.”

Whether hands free equipment helps reduce the number of car accidents is arguable it is ultimately up to drivers to ensure they focus on the road and keep distractions to a minimum.

On Saturday 19th June 2010, some of our team members raised £690 for Cancer Research UK, by competing in the Race for Life, which was held at Tatton Park, Knutsford.

Many of them have been training for months in preparation for the Race for Life, by eating healthily and training on a regular basis. All the hard work seems to have paid off and the team are feeling full of enthusiasm for the next one.

Here is what they had to say about their race.

“It was not as hard as I imagined it would be and although there were a lot running it, I found it ok so it seems all of the training paid off as I completed the race in 51 minutes which I was very happy with and I would do it again”

“The run was not as hilly as I thought it would be and I thought it would be really hot but as it was in the fields there was a nice breeze which helped; it was tiring but really worth it and I slept like a baby that night which was good. I am doing it again next year and I’m going to try and beat my time”

“It was hard work but I really enjoyed it and I would definitely do it again”

“I found the run ok, not as bad as I thought it would be and not as hard. It was quite a nice run as there were not too many hills and it was nice and cool, which I was happy about. I couldn’t of done it in the hot weather we have been having. I would defiantly do the race for life again next year”

“I found the run alright, it was a bit tiring and I thought it was quite hot. Once I got into it, it got easier I finished the race in 1 hour and 15 minutes. It was a lot of fun and a good atmosphere I would definitely do it again”

So it seems that our team are feeling confident and positive after their run and from everyone here at Injuries Direct we would like to congratulate them on their achievement and wish them luck for their next race.

Over the last few months some of our team members have been getting in training for the Cancer Research UK Race for Life 10k, which is being held at Tatton Park, Knutsford on Saturday 19th of June and Sunday 20th June.

So far our team have raised an accumulated total of £550, and have been hard at work training for the event.

Some of our team started their running life on a treadmill at a gym doing one to two miles, three times and gradually building up the distance and increasing their pace, others have been walking and jogging. Along with a healthy diet and keeping well hydrated whilst training as well as during the day, our members seem to be very positive and looking forward to the challenge.

Here is what some of them have to say

“I’ve been training for about 7 weeks now so it should hopefully help me run the whole race. I have enjoyed training for the race for life as I would never have ran outside if it wasn’t for the race and I will continue to do it once the race for life is finished. I just hope the training will do me good for Saturday”

“Training for the race was very hard at first and learning how to breath whilst running took some time but after a couple of weeks I got use to running and the breathing and was able to run faster and longer distances and now feel ready for the 10k run”

“It’s hard when you don’t run for a few days and then try to run far, as I find my body just isn’t used to it so it’s really tiring. When it’s hot it’s even harder to run in as it’s hard to catch your breath. I prefer to run when it’s cold or even in the rain as it helps keep you cool but I’m ready for it and my aim is to try and do the 10k in about an hour so let’s see how I do”

So far our team seem fairly confident and whether they run or walk all are determined to finish the race. It is a very good cause and I’m sure you will join us here at Injuries Direct wishing our members the very best of luck for Saturday.