Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/320970
DAILYFREEPRESS,JANETS.CARTER—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A North Lenoir, N.C. firefighter takes equipment back to the truck a er a woman, pinned in her white vehicle, was rescued by the jaws of life, in Kinston, N.C., on May 13. ByJoanLowy The Associated Press WASHINGTON The eco- nomic and societal harm from motor vehicle crashes amounted to a whopping $871 billion in a single year, according toa study released Thursday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Ad- ministration. The study examined the economic toll of car and truck crashes in 2010, when 32,999 people were killed, 3.9 million injured and 24 million vehicles damaged. Those deaths and injuries were similar to other recent years. Of the total price tag, $277 billion was attributed to economic costs — nearly $900 for every person living in the U.S. that year. Harm from loss of life, pain and de- creased quality of life due to injuries was pegged at $594 billion. The safety agency pro- duces such calculations about once a decade. The economic cost was the equivalent of nearly 2 percent of the U.S. gross do- mestic product in 2010. Fac- tors contributing to the toll include productivity losses, property damage, and cost of medical and rehabilita- tion treatment, congestion, legal and court fees, emer- gency services and insur- ance administration and costs to employers. Over- all, nearly three-quar- ters of these costs are paid through taxes, insurance premiums and congestion- related costs such as travel delay, excess fuel consump- tion and increased environ- mental impacts. "While the economic and societal costs of crashes are staggering, today's report clearly demonstrates that investments in safety are worth every penny used to reduce frequency and sever- ity of these tragic events," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. The impact detailed in the study may help Foxx make his case to Congress that larger fines are needed to deter automakers from concealing safety defects that cause some crashes. Foxx is pressing lawmak- ers to increase the amount the government can fine automakers for recall vio- lations. Penalties currently are capped at $35 million. Foxx has asked that the lid be increased to $300 mil- lion, and some senators have endorsed eliminating the limit entirely. The most prominent re- cent example of such vio- lations is General Motors' delayed reporting of igni- tion-switch failures. GM says 13 people have died in crashes linked to the prob- lem, but the head of the safety agency, David Fried- man, says it is likely the fi- nal death toll will be higher. Friedman recently an- nounced the safety agency will fine GM as much as it is legally allowed to, which was $35 million. The study cites several behavioral factors that con- tributed to the enormous price tag created by motor vehicle crashes: • Alcohol-related driving accounted for $199 billion, or 23 percent. • Crashes involving a speeding vehicle accounted for $210 billion, or 24 per- cent. • Distracted driving ac- counted for $129 billion, or 15 percent. • Preventable fatalities and injuries attributable to occupants who weren't wearing their seatbelts ac- counted for $72 billion, or 8 percent. In 2010 alone, more than 3,350 people were killed and 54,300 were seriously in- jured unnecessarily because they failed to wear their seat belts. "Seat belt non-use repre- sents an enormous lost op- portunity for injury preven- tion," the report said. Report:Car,truck crashes cost whopping $871B AUTOMOBILES By Darlene Superville The Associated Press WASHINGTON Saying he wants kids to play sports but play safely, Presi- dent Barack Obama called Thursday for more and bet- ter research into the effects and treatment of concus- sions in youth athletes. The issue is one of growing con- cern for parents who spend weekends driving their kids from one game to another. But without direct au- thority over youth sports leagues, Obama's ability to address the issue mean- ingfully is limited to calling for research and trying to jumpstart a national con- versation to teach parents, coaches and young athletes about concussions — the goal of a summit he hosted at the White House. He also said a new atti- tude is needed where play- ers who have been hit don't feel wimpy for sitting out a game or two. "We have to change a culture that says you suck it up," Obama said, adding that he probably suffered mild concussions as a young football player. He noted that concussions are also an issue in soccer, hockey, lacrosse and other contact sports. The event brought to- gether representatives of professional and col- lege sports associations, coaches, parents, young athletes, doctors and oth- ers. The president was in- troduced by Victoria Bel- lucci, a high school grad- uate from Huntingtown, Maryland, who suffered five concussions during her high school and club soccer career. Victoria said her injuries made it hard to focus on her assignments. She eventually turned down a full scholar- ship to play soccer at Tow- son University in Maryland and will instead attend Fla- gler College in Florida in the fall, the White House said. "Concussions have dras- tically altered my life," she said. Obama, an avid sports fan whose two daughters are active in sports, also highlighted millions of dol- lars in pledges from the NFL, the National Institutes of Health and others to con- duct research that could be- gin to provide answers and improve safety. "We want our kids par- ticipating in sports," he said. "As parents, though, we want to keep them safe." Nearly 250,000 kids and young adults visit hospital emergency rooms each year with brain injuries caused by sports or other recre- ational activity, Obama said. He noted that the figure ex- cludes those who see a fam- ily doctor or seek no treat- ment. Obama previously had waded into the debate over concussions, saying last year that he'd have to think "long and hard" about allow- ing a son to play football be- cause of the risk of head in- jury. The NFL recently agreed to pay $765 million to set- tle concussion claims from thousands of former play- ers whose complaints range from headaches to Alzheim- er'sdisease.Thatsettlement is still awaiting a judge's ap- proval, while a group of for- mer professional hockey players has filed a class- action lawsuit of their own against the NHL for head in- juries sustained on the ice. Among the financial pledges Obama highlighted is a $30 million joint re- search effort by the NCAA and Defense Department and an NFL commitment of $25 million over the next three years to promote youth sports safety. SAFETY Sport concussions need attention, says Obama CHARLES DHARAPAK — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS President Barack Obama applauds Victoria Bellucci, a 2014graduate of Huntingtown High School in Huntingtown, Md., who suffered five concussions playing soccer, Thursday in the East Room of the White House in Washington, during the White House Healthy Kids and Safe Sports Concussion Summit. By Ken Dilanian The Associated Press WASHINGTON Edward Snowden says he repeatedly raised constitutional con- cerns about National Secu- rity Agency surveillance in- ternally, but an NSA search turned up a single email in which Snowden gently asks for "clarification" on a tech- nical legal question about training materials, agency officials said Thursday. Snowden, a former NSA systemsadministratorwhose leaks have exposed some of the agency's most sensitive spying operations, called himself a patriot in an in- terview this week with NBC News' Brian Williams. He said he felt he had no choice but to expose what he con- sidered illegal NSA surveil- lance by leaking secret de- tails to journalists. NSA officials have said he gained access to some 1.7 million classified docu- ments, though it's not clear how many he removed from the Hawaii facility where he worked as a contractor. Asked by Williams whether he first raised his qualms with his bosses, he said, "I reported that there were real problems with the way the NSA was interpret- ing its legal authorities." On Thursday, NSA re- leased the email they said Snowden appeared to be re- ferring to, which the agency says is the only communica- tion from Snowden it could find raising any concerns. It wasdatedApril8,2013,three months after Snowden first reached out to journalists anonymously. Former NSA chief Gen. Keith Alexander said the agency could find no onetowhomSnowdenvoiced concerns verbally either. In the email to NSA's gen- eralcounsel'soffice,Snowden questions an NSA document showing the hierarchy of gov- erning authorities, which ap- pearedtoputexecutiveorders on par with federal statutes. "I'm not entirely certain, but this does not seem cor- rect, as it seems to imply ex- ecutive ordershavethe same precedenceaslaw,"Snowden said in the email. "Could you please clarify?" An unidentified NSA law- yer began his reply, "Hello, Ed,"andtoldSnowdenhewas correct: Executive orders cannot override federal law. In the NBC interview — conducted in Moscow, where Snowdennowlivesoutsidethe reachofpendingU.S.criminal charges — Snowden said the reply he got to his email was "more or less, in bureaucratic language, 'You should stop asking questions.'" In fact, the lawyer's email to him concludes, "Please give me a call if you would like to discuss further." No specific surveillance program was discussed in the email. WASHINGTON NSA finds 1 email from Snowden raising concerns EXPERIENCE INTEGRITY COMMUNITY PaidPoliticalAdvertisement www.allenforschools.com SATURDAYPHYSICALS Cottonwood 20833 Long Branch Drive 347-3418 Red Bluff 2450 Sister Mary Columba Drive 527-0414 www.Lassenmedical.com Clinicsare8:00amto1:00pmaccommodatingthefirst30 physicals on a first come, first serve basis. We accept most insurances, including all Managed Medi-Cal. Immunizations and clearance for school/sports will be available during your child's physical. RED BLUFF CLINICS MAY 31 st DON'T FORGET: Immunization Record & School Forms FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 7 A