A new video being released by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau today features the family of two Iowans who were killed seven years ago by a distracted driver in a Webster County crash.
State Patrol Sergeant Alex Dinkla says the video is important for all motorists to watch. The video is filled with emotion and shows the far-reaching impact that can result from a single, dangerous mistake.
Radio Iowa reports that, in 2017, the driver of the vehicle that killed the two was sentenced to probation after being convicted of vehicular homicide. Dinkla says it was the first case of its kind to be prosecuted in Iowa for distracted driving with a cell phone.
This week Iowans whose family members were killed or permanently disabled in crashes involving commercial truck drivers asked lawmakers to abandon a bill that shields trucking companies from liability for direct negligence in most cases where drivers are involved in a serious crash.
The measure also would limit non-economic damages to $1 million in lawsuits against the owner or operator of a commercial vehicle for incidents resulting in personal injury or death. Opponents, including trial lawyers, the Iowa State Bar Association and justice-based groups, said high-dollar verdicts are not an issue in Iowa, which they said has the nation’s fourth lowest commercial vehicle insurance rates.
A bill that’s cleared initial hurdles in the Iowa House and Senate would let visitors in Iowa amusement parks and county fairs use credit cards to play the ring toss and other games in the midway.
Jake Ketzner is a lobbyist for the Association of Iowa Fairs and for Adventureland, the amusement park in central Iowa. He tells Radio Iowa, under current law, visitors can use credit cards to pay for admission, for food and souvenirs.
The Iowa State Fair already has an exemption which lets fair-goers use credit cards to play games on the midway. If the bill becomes law, the policy would extend to Adventureland in Altoona, Lost Island Amusement Park in Waterloo and the Arnolds Park Amusement Park as well as Iowa county fairs.
