Sabatini and Associates, LLC Attorneys at Law :: Newington :: Hartford :: Connecticut

MIDDLETOWN — A teacher’s Jeep slammed into a school bus in Middletown this morning, sending several students to the hospital. A Jeep driven by a Morris Elementary School teacher collided with the school bus shortly after 8 this morning on Middletown’s Kaplan Drive.
Middletown police tell News Channel 8 that icy roads played a part in the crash.
As many as 14 people with minor injuries are being checked out at the hospital as a precaution. Most of them are middle school students
This is accident is another reminder of two things: 1) precaution must be taken when dirving in winter conditions even where the roads have been plowed, icy conditions especially black ice can still exist; and 2) school buses still are not required to have seat belts for the students riding on the bus. This needs to be changed to prevent injuries and/or the lessening of the extent of the injuries. Why are seat belts not required on school buses? Read this article for insight on the reasons.

[JURIST] President Bush Wednesday urged Congress to pass the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007 [HR 493 text, PDF], promoting genetic testing for disease by making genetic discrimination illegal. In a speech [text] at the National Institutes of Health [official website], Bush said “If a person is willing to share his or her genetic information, it is important that that information not be exploited in improper ways - and Congress can pass good legislation to prevent that from happening. In other words, we want medical research to go forward without an individual fearing of personal discrimination.”Genetic nondiscrimination legislation was passed unanimously by the Senate in 2003 but failed in the House of Representatives. Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY) [official website] reintroduced the latest bill this week. If passed, it will establish “a national and uniform basic standard is necessary to fully protect the public from discrimination and allay their concerns about the potential for discrimination, thereby allowing individuals to take advantage of genetic testing , technologies, research, and new therapies.” The New York Times has more.
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