Road traffic injuries represent about 25% of worldwide injury-related deaths (the leading cause) with an estimated 1.2 million deaths (2004) each year.Automobile accidents are almost as old as automobiles themselves. Early examples include Mary Ward, who became one of the first document automobile fatalities in 1869 in Parsonstown, Ireland, and Henry Bliss, one of the United State’s first pedestrian automobile casualties in 1899 in New York.A car accident or car crash is an incident in which an automobile collides with anything that causes damage to the automobile, including other automobiles, telephone poles, buildings or trees, or in which the driver loses control of the vehicle and damages it in some other way, such as driving into a ditch or rolling over. Sometimes a car accident may also refer to an automobile striking a human or animal. Car crashes — also called road traffic accidents (RTAs), traffic collisions, auto accidents, road accidents, personal injury collisions, motor vehicle accidents (MVAs), — kill an estimated 1.2 million people worldwide each year, and injure about forty times this number (WHO, 2004). In the UK the Department of Transport publish road deaths in each type of vehicle. These statistics are available as “Risk of injury measured by percentage of drivers injured in a two car injury accident.” These statistics show a ten to one ratio of in-vehicle accident deaths between the least safe and most safe models of car.The statistics show[citation needed] that for popular, lightly built cars, occupants have a 6-8% chance of death in a two-car accident. (e.g. BMW 3 series 6%, Subaru Impreza 8%, Honda Accord 6%). Traditional “safety cars” such as the Volvos halve that chance (Volvo 700 4% incidence of death, Volvo 900 3%).The Toyota Land Cruiser SUV has a 6% incidence of occupant death in actual crashes. However, in multiple-vehicle crashes SUVs are not much more lethal than passenger cars.Although, rollovers are much more common in older SUVs as compared to passenger cars because of their top weight. For this reason SUVs actually post a greater threat to rollover and cause a fatality rather than passenger cars. Newer SUVs such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 have a lower center of gravity and enhanced stability control programs which lower the risk of rollover substantially.Overall the four best vehicles to be in are the Jaguar XJ series 1%, Mercedes-Benz S-Class / SEC 1%, Land Rover Defender 1% and Land Rover Discovery 1%.[citation needed]Motorcyclist deaths within England and Wales stand at 53% of the annual road death statistics. Scooters/mopeds up to 50cc only account for 3% of those deaths. 2% of the scooter deaths were 16-19 year olds who had not taken CBT (Compulsory Basic Training). (Statistics taken from 2004/2005 DSA annual road deaths percentages)Cars have many basic safety problems – for example, they have human drivers who make mistakes, wheels that lose traction when the braking or turning forces are too high. Some vehicles have a high center of gravity and therefore an increased tendency to roll over. When driven at high speeds, collisions can have serious or even fatal consequence.Early safety research focused on increasing the reliability of brakes and reducing the flammability of fuel systems. For example, modern engine compartments are open at the bottom so that fuel vapors, which are heavier than air, vent to the open air. Brakes are hydraulic and dual circuit so that failures are slow leaks, rather than abrupt cable breaks. Systematic research on crash safety started[citation needed] in 1958 at Ford Motor Company. Since then, most research has focused on absorbing external crash energy with crushable panels and reducing the motion of human bodies in the passenger compartment. This is reflected in most cars produced today.Airbags, a modern component of automobile safetySignificant reductions in death and injury have come from the addition of Safety belts and laws in many countries to require vehicle occupants to wear them. Airbags and specialised child restraint systems have improved on that. Structural changes such as side-impact protection bars in the doors and side panels of the car mitigate the effect of impacts to the side of the vehicle. Many cars now include radar or sonar detectors mounted to the rear of the car to warn the driver if he or she is about to reverse into an obstacle or a pedestrian. Some vehicle manufacturers are producing cars with devices that also measure the proximity to obstacles and other vehicles in front of the car and are using these to apply the brakes when a collision is inevitable. There have also been limited efforts to use heads up displays and thermal imaging technologies similar to those used in military aircraft to provide the driver with a better view of the road at night.There are standard tests for safety in new automobiles, like the EuroNCAP and the US NCAP tests. There are also tests run by organizations such as IIHS and backed by the insurance industry.Despite technological advances, there is still significant loss of life from car accidents: About 40,000 people die every year in the United States, with similar figures in European nations. This figure increases annually in step with rising population and increasing travel if no measures are taken, but the rate per capita and per mile traveled decreases steadily. The death toll is expected to nearly double worldwide by 2020. A much higher number of accidents result in injury or permanent disability. The highest accident figures are reported in China and India. The European Union has a rigid program to cut the death toll in half by 2010, and member states have started implementing measures.Automated control has been seriously proposed and successfully prototyped. Shoulder-belted passengers could tolerate a 32 g emergency stop (reducing the safe inter-vehicle gap 64-fold) if high-speed roads incorporated a steel rail for emergency braking. Both safety modifications of the roadway are thought to be too expensive by most funding authorities, although these modifications could dramatically increase the number of vehicles able to safely use a high-speed highway. This makes clear the often-ignored fact road design and traffic control also play a part in car wrecks; unclear traffic signs, inadequate signal light placing, and poor planning (curved bridge approaches which become icy in winter, for example), also contribute.

The evolution and growth of electronic systems like the internet, intranet and extranet have greatly contributed to changes in the way we do business. E-commerce is by far one of the biggest developments in recent years. Traditional businesses can no longer ignore e-commerce as it is becoming not only a contributor, but a necessity in the sustainability of all retail businesses.E-commerce is short for electronic commerce, and it is defined as the use of electronic systems to engage in commercial transactions. With this system the parties do not need to meet physically, transactions are completed over the world wide web. With e-commerce, it becomes easier than ever to conduct business as payments for goods and services are debited and credited within seconds without the hassles of personally dealing with the credit card companies or banks.There are several different types of e-commerce. Here is some basic information on each:1. Business to Consumer (B2C)
This is where the business sells goods or services directly to the final consumer without going through any middlemen.2. Business to Business (B2B)
Both the buyer and seller are businesses. Products or services are intended for other businesses as opposed to consumers. Examples of wholesalers come to mind for this type of e-commerce business.3. Consumer to Consumer (C2C)
This is where consumers conduct transactions with other consumers without any kind of involvement from businesses. E-commerce sites of this type are generally auction sites or online marketplaces.4. Peer to Peer (P2P)
This type of e-commerce is used by people who share computer content like files and software with each other.5. Mobile commerce
This is a form of e-commerce that uses mobile devices to conduct transactions. Everything else about the website remains the same, except they are displayed in a mobile-friendly way making it easier for smartphone users to make purchases through their mobile phones.So how does e-commerce work?In order to build an e-commerce business, you need to first create a website with shopping cart and checkout capabilities. There are a couple of different ways to do this, one of the easiest is to use an e-commerce software solution to build the site. Using an example of a simple B2C website selling products, simply add the products that you want to put up for sale onto the database. Customers that come across your site and want to buy your products just have to add them to the virtual shopping cart, submit their billing and shipping details during checkout, make payments and then wait for the product to show up at their front door.

Age is one of the most critical factors that comprise discrimination issues in the workplace. Hence, it is only fitting that a specific section is created to tackle this issue when looking at California labor laws and policies in general. Lawmakers in the state of California strive their best to ensure that this employment policy stay as neutral as possible, especially for those aged 40 and above. To help in the preservation of employer rights and facilitate in providing employee benefits, make sure you read further for more details.The federal law has imposed its own policies when it comes to age discrimination in the workplace. This is explained further in the ADEA or Age Discrimination in Employment Act. The goal of this section in the law is to protect all individuals who are at least 40 years old or above from any form of discrimination resulting from their age. According to this act, it is against the law to discriminate an individual within the workplace based solely on their age. Furthermore, it is also unlawful and could lead to employer liability if they are deprived of terms, benefits, and other aspects of their employment for the same reasons. Even if a person is not employed yet, discrimination resulting from age as associated with training or hiring can also subject the employer to lawsuit.The California labor law concerning age discrimination is lenient when it comes to the enforcement of this policy, though. Provided that an employer can prove that the employee was terminated or refused employment or promotion can show proof that the employer was denied of such privileges for reasons other than their age, then they are cleared of any legal accountability. Currently, the legislators in California are still finalizing on what are the grounds that could fall under the “reasonable factors” classification.A new government code under the California law was put forth via the Labor Code §12941.1, which was later revised to §12941. According to this law, all employers are prohibited from differentiating older employees when there is a need to lay off, especially when it produces an adverse impact to the older workers. The goal of this particular section in the employment law is to not just protect older employees as individuals, but also to give them the opportunity to prepare for any obstacles that they might face later in life. This unique consideration must therefore be taken into account by companies to curtail the possibility of employer liability.In case of a defense on business necessity, you need to stay informed to preserve employer right. The ADEA might honor the presentation of “reasonable factors” for terminating older employees from work, the California labor laws require a more detailed explanation for what has led the employer into such a decision. The California employer has to be able to showcase the decision at a higher standard in order to exemplify that it was part of business necessity. The act specifically indicates that it must be part of an “overriding legitimate business purpose” and that it is necessary for the sake of the business operation in general. Furthermore, the employer will be held accountable if the court is able to show that there is an alternative decision available to them aside from one that would bring about significant discriminatory impact on older employees.