Walt Disney World
Area Florida Businesses Tired of Waiting for State Ban on Texting While Driving Enact Their Own Ban
Although state lawmakers have not yet passed legislation banning texting while driving, some Florida businesses and non-profit organizations have enacted their own rules preventing employees, students and others from sending and reading texts while behind the wheel. Our state remains one of only six states without laws prohibiting drivers from sending or reading text messages while driving despite overwhelming evidence that drivers who send and read texts are at substantially higher risk for causing and being involved in accidents. James O. Cunningham and other Orlando personal injury attorneys strongly support a texting ban, but, despite numerous bills introduced in recent years, Florida lawmakers have not yet made any of these bills into laws.
NTSB Cites Lack of Safety Protocols in Fatal 2009 Disney Monorail Accident
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently finished its investigation into a fatal amusement park accident at Walt Disney World near Orlando. In their final report, the NTSB said that a lack of adequate safety protocols contributed to a 2009 collision between two monorail trains at the park that killed a 21-year-old employee. The NTSB’s 14-page report was the culmination of an investigation the agency conducted over more than two years in connection with the July 5, 2009 accident. The report said that one train traveling in reverse struck the front of a following train, killing the driver of the second train, a Kissimmee man.
Feds Cite Multiple Safety Violations against Disney
An article published recently in the Orlando Sentinel reported that Walt Disney World has been cited for multiple workplace safety violations and faces fines up to $44,000 after a July monorail accident. The accident claimed the life of a 21-year-old Disney World employee on July 5 of last year and resulted in the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration citing Disney for one “serious” safety violation. Officials say the accident occurred when a monorail train was moving in reverse during a track switch and backed into another train, killing the driver of the train.