As you make your way to visit family in a neighboring state or spend time with friends at a cabin up north this Memorial Day weekend, you will want to be doubly sure that you obey all vehicle traffic laws. That’s because law enforcement officials will likely be out in large numbers, looking to crack down on those drivers who engage in risky conduct that greatly increases the risks of serious car accidents.
In fact, those drivers looking for a list of risky driving behaviors to avoid this weekend should consider consulting a recently published list outlining the ten most common traffic convictions in Wisconsin in 2012.
The traffic convictions occupying the top two slots are a fixture of this annual list: speeding (11 to 19 miles-per-hour over the posted speed limit) and failure to wear a seat belt. In total, there were 110,422 speeding convictions and 104,489 seat belt convictions last year.
With the National Hockey League playoffs currently in full swing, hockey fans around the country are glued to their television sets and computers following their favorite teams and eagerly tracking the rest of the action. However, the playoffs aren't the only hockey story generating headlines right now, as the family of one of the league's former star enforcers has officially filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NHL.
If you are among the millions of Americans who own a smartphone, you have undoubtedly spent a considerable amount of time combing through the thousands of available applications. While many of these apps are useful or informative, others are inherently silly or perhaps even bizarre. However, how many can be described as potentially lifesaving?
We owe immeasurable gratitude to those who bravely served in our nation's armed forces during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While deployed, these men and women routinely faced great danger, bravely putting their health and safety on the line in the name of serving our country.
Most of the discussions concerning distracted driving, speeding and other dangerous conduct behind the wheel is focused on how it can -- and does -- result in fatal motor vehicle accidents. However, it's also important to understand that these behaviors can have tragic consequences for pedestrians.
Looking at the gloomy weather forecast -- rain with lows projected in the 40s over the next week -- it's hard to believe that we were enjoying unseasonably warm and sunny weather throughout the upper Midwest at this time last year.
We naturally think of firefighter, police officer and construction worker as three very different occupations involving very different -- and very real -- job-related dangers. However, all men and women who work in these positions do share at least one common 
National Public Radio recently published a rather eye-opening story outlining the dangers posed by grain silos, a fixture of farm landscapes throughout the Midwest. According to the piece, there have been almost 180 fatal grain-related entrapment fatalities in the U.S. since 1984, three of which occurred right here in Wisconsin.
In the standard fender bender, the motorists involved will typically exchange information and contact the local police department who will then dispatch an officer to the scene to fill out a standard accident report. However, whenever fatalities or serious injuries are involved, road/vehicle design may have played a factor, criminal charges may prove necessary or special interests are implicated, an accident reconstruction team may be summoned to the scene.
