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If you take a brief walk around a car model that you haven't seen before a few features will make a greater impression than others. The memory of these features will remain with you for a long time. The impact of these features will go a long way in deciding whether you like the car's looks or not. And if you liked the looks then how much you liked them.

It is very likely that one of these features that have a greater impact are the tail lights. And it is for this reason that leading companies vie with one another to come up with better performing and better looking tail lights. And an outcome of this intensive effort are LED tail lights.

As the name suggests LED tail lights are made with LEDs (light emitting diodes) providing the light. LEDs have been around for a long time and you would have seen them in many electronic products. For example they function as the small lights in your computer and camera. However with the development of LEDs that are powerful enough to work as tail lights new possibilities have emerged.

On the technical side the benefit of LEDs is that they are very reliable and last for a long time. Therefore they give uniformly great performance for a long time. At the same time they consume less power than the traditional incandescent bulbs. Therefore they are a lesser burden on car batteries.

On the style front they have the advantage that they are not a single bulb but are multiple small lights. Therefore you can get the glittering stars like effect as many LEDs light up at the same time. This gives LED tail lights stunning gorgeous looks. They therefore give stiff competition in terms of stylishness to other tail lights such as Euro tail lights.

Finally LEDs are not very expensive and for the quality and benefits of LED tail lights they give great value for money.

They are easy to fit and you can replace your existing ones within minutes. A great place to look for LED lights is online where you can browse options and compare process easily and quickly.

by: Louie Liu

If you’re in engineering, you’ve probably encountered plenty of situations in which you’re required to carry some level of insurance. Maybe you run a small engineering consultancy with a few employees, or perhaps you’re a solo professional engineer. Either way, you might wonder why all that coverage is needed.

You already know the deal: If the developer says you and your engineers need insurance, you have to get it in order to get the job. However, in virtually all cases, getting the required insurance coverage can be both within your means and beneficial for your business.

Commonly, clients require proof of some or all of the following three types of insurance from professional engineers:

General liability insurance

This type of liability insurance for engineers covers damage or injury to your client’s people or property (excluding professional liability, of course). When it comes to this type of insurance, engineering consultants often ask: Do I really need this coverage? After all, what are the odds that someone making drawings in his own office will damage a client’s property?

Don’t take it personally. The truth is, client companies often require every vendor who may come to their office or job site – from construction crews to delivery people to engineers – to show proof of general liability insurance. Often, it’s the corporate risk managers who make the call, requiring insurance for engineers and all other contractors because they want to reduce the company’s liability risk.

Thankfully, general liability insurance is affordable, and professional engineers with liability insurance can rest easy knowing that if one of their employees accidentally injures someone or damages something on a job site, it’s covered. Your landlord may also require you to carry general liability insurance if your engineering consultancy has its own office space.

Professional liability insurance

In short, professional liability insurance is malpractice insurance for professional engineers. It covers you for errors and omissions you or your engineering consultants make on the job. There’s a simple reason that clients require professional liability insurance for engineers: You’re only human, and people do make mistakes.

Your client’s greatest risk in hiring you as an engineering consultant is that you might make a miscalculation or error that results in a lawsuit or other financial loss for your client. Even though you may be just an independent professional engineer or head up a small firm, your client wants you to have enough financial backing to compensate the company for any potential losses.

For example, suppose your engineering firm is hired to design a storm drainage system for a new shopping center. Once construction is complete, the developer discovers erosion and subsequent damage to the parking areas, then files suit against you, claiming that your design was negligent. Without professional liability insurance, engineers have to pay for their own legal defense as well as any settlement the court orders them to pay.

Without professional liability insurance, engineers are fully liable for the exponentially increasing costs resulting from a claim of errors or omissions. And that’s a dangerous situation to be in, especially for a small firm.

Workers’ compensation insurance

For professional engineers, workers’ compensation insurance can be particularly confusing. Some states require that companies carry it, while others don’t. If your client has its headquarters in a state that requires workers’ compensation insurance, there’s a good chance that your engineering firm will be asked to carry it – even if it’s not required in the state where you live or work.

The reason: In some states, if you’re hurt on the job, your client has to cover you with its own workers’ compensation policy. Additionally, in some states, your clients’ insurance carriers will bill them for coverage for all subcontractors that don’t provide their own certificate of coverage. Both situations mean that your client pays more in premiums.

If your engineering company has more than one employee, it makes sense to protect yourself and the people who work for you with workers’ compensation coverage. If you’re an independent professional engineer and have your own health insurance, it may be redundant. But ultimately, securing workers’ compensation insurance can help you get the job – and if you don’t get the required coverage, someone else will.

by: James Cochran

A car is known and sold on the name of its manufacturer. The model and year of manufacture give it an additional identity. The specific model you have chosen may also have certain features that add to its identity. Car accessories such as body kits also give it an identity. The importance of body kits has not to be underestimated, as on these can depend a distinct identity of your car.

Body kits are essential parts of a car. If properly selected, they improve the aerodynamics of a car. Improved aerodynamics reduces the resistance offered by air to a car in motion. This will give you a better car performance and better mileage as well. However the improvement in aerodynamics with body kits is not a major reason for their usage. Also the improvement will give a significant amount of benefit only at high driving speeds.

Body kits may be made of metals, polyurethane, or fiber glass. Polyurethane is a very adaptable material. It can be bent without breaking, and hence can be shaped in a variety of designs. Fiber glass is also a good material, but it is more liable to get damaged. You have to take into consideration, merits and demerits of all these materials vis-à-vis their cost before installing body kits. In any case you have to make certain that you buy body kits of good quality. Their proper installation is also important. Those who have experience and have handled such jobs successfully should be preferred.

Body kits are available in a variety of shapes, designs, and colors. You get a wide choice to give a new appearance to your car. By a wise selection your car can be given a look that conforms to your taste and personality. You can virtually customize your car.

A proper selection of body kits will give your car a distinct identity. Those who see it will readily associate it with you and only you. You can get information about body kits at stores dealing in automobile accessories. You can also know more from automobile magazines. You can even shop online.

by: Louie Liu

School bus accidents are more tragic than other road accidents because it involves children.

School buses are one of the biggest mass transportation in the United States. School bus accidents account for around 6,000 injuries and about 20 deaths every year. Of those 20 deaths, approximately 15 are children. Because of the size of the bus they are riding, school bus accidents can cause catastrophic injuries and even death.

Every year, about 24 million students ride the school bus and there are about 500,000 school buses roaming the streets of the United States. Although school bus accidents are not as common as other vehicular accidents, it is still a big possibility.

School bus accidents can happen while children are boarding or exiting the bus or while they are riding the bus.

School bus accidents while children are boarding/exiting the bus

School buses make a lot of stops to allow passengers to board or exit the bus. As a result of these frequent stops, it also exposes the school bus to a lot more dangers.

Here are some of the problems encountered while school bus is on a stop:

• Miscalculation of the driver – The school bus driver has a lot of blind sides because of the sheer size of the bus. If the driver miscalculates the distance while he/she is pulling up, he/she may hit someone too close to the curb or someone from the behind.

• Other Drivers’ actions – Even if the school bus driver is careful when pulling up on a stop, other drivers may not be gracious enough to give the school bus its right of way and hit it while it is making a stop. That can result to injuries or even death to both the passengers and those that are about to board or exit the bus

School bus accidents while children are riding the bus

A lot of school buses are not equipped with safety belts and use the concept of compartmentalization. This refers to the structure where the children are surrounded in a compartment of pads and reinforced seat. Unfortunately, this is only effective if the child is placed securely on the seat and knowing how children behave, that is often not the case. In addition, although it is effective for frontal collisions, it gives little protection to lateral impacts or side collisions.

As previously mentioned, the size of a school bus creates a lot of blind spots for the driver and if he/she is inattentive this may cause him to not see an approaching vehicle.

Although it is easy to blame the driver, we should also remember that he/she is also trying to manage the children while driving, which in turn decreases his/her focus on the road.

Most common causes of school bus accidents

Here is a list of the most common causes of school bus accidents that may be considered as a neglectful action:

• Driver’s lack of training

• Overloaded bus

• Unmaintained or poorly maintained school bus

• Fatigue or sleepiness

• Speeding

• Other driver’s failure to yield the right of way for school buses

• Aggressive driving by the school bus driver

• DUI

• Defective or lack of safety equipments such as reflectors and warning devices.

If your child was hurt because of a school bus accident, consult a personal injury attorney to help you find who is liable for the accident.

by: Mark Dacanay

The California lemon law protects buyers from car defects. The law provides compensation to buyers who bought a vehicle with defects; this includes cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, RVs and other vehicles.

Initially, the term lemon was used only for new and used cars bought and then later discovered to have some defects, but now the term lemon is now associated to any products with defects discovered after purchase.

To note, under the California Lemon Law, a vehicle is considered a lemon if it fails 2 attempts at repairing life-threatening defects.

The California Lemon law covers all vehicle nonconformities. This refers to any car defect or malfunctions that:

• The manufacture’s new vehicle warranty covers

• Impairs the use, value or safety of the vehicle

The lemon Law does not cover car defects that are caused by unauthorized or unreasonable use.

New and Used Lemons

New cars may be considered a lemon if a car defect is discovered after purchase. The car defect may occur in the design or during assembly.

Parts and wirings may not be placed correctly and can put the driver’s life in danger.

Bought used cars are considered lemon once it is proven that the car was not used properly before purchase. The car defect may be because of improper maintenance or a product of a car accident, which results to poor performance by the car.

A common malpractice done by used car dealers is tampering with the parts of the car to give impression of low mileage and to hide technical defects of the car.

A form of a used car lemon is the “cut and shut” cars. This is a type of car body repair that cuts the damaged part then is replaced with a section from a similar car. This type of repair is unsafe as it will not hold and will fall apart in strenuous conditions like a car collision.

This is especially dangerous for cars with “unibody” or cars that have the floor, roof and other panels welded together to produce a car unit. “Unibodies” are designed to absorb more force but is prone to bending. And with “cut and shut” repairs, it is more susceptible to being totaled after a collision.

Avoid Lemons

Before buying a car, new or used, you should look out and protect yourself from lemons.

You can follow these tips to avoid buying a lemon.

• Research – Research on the model and manufacturer of the car. Find out if there has been a recall on the model of car you wanted to purchase, research the safety and maintenance history of the said car and ask mechanics how many times do they encounter the said model in their shops.

• Get opinions – Talk to people who own the same model as the car you want and ask if they encountered any problems and/or are they satisfied with the car.

• Get vehicle history – When buying a used car, ask for the history of the car. Make sure it was not involved in any major accidents and if there are parts of the car that has been changed. Take a trusted mechanic to check for any car defects.

• Be suspicious of cheap cars – Find out why said car is priced low. Unscrupulous dealers may be selling you a defective car that can put your life in danger.

by: Mark Dacanay

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