The Driving Distractions Prove to be Fatal

What many fail to understand is that emergency vehicles, which could be considered rolling offices on the road, offer more distractions than most private vehicles. Consider the police cruiser with its on-board computer. The officer may be following a suspect vehicle and enters their license plate number into the computer. When the information is returned, the officer takes their eyes off the road to read the results.

Other emergency vehicles, such as ambulances and fire trucks, are also often distracted by information they are either receiving or reporting while on their way to an emergency. Despite their lights and sirens, others fail to yield resulting in an accident that may have been preventable. While the number of these accidents may have fallen recently due to public education about the need to yield to emergency vehicles, high speed pursuits continue to claim the lives of innocent victims as well as to those being chased.

Questioning the Reason for the Chase

Those who have had a loved one killed after being involved in an accident with someone involved in a high speed police chase often question the reason for the chase. Most argue that pursuits should be limited to the times when they are absolutely required, yet there are disagreements as to what those requirements should be.

Most police departments have specific guidelines of when a pursuit is considered justified as well as when the pursuit is to be halted. Many states also regulate the requirements for an officer to enter into a high speed chase and North Carolina especially is looking into police practices after seeing a spike of injuries and fatalities resulting from high speed police chases.

There have been fatal crashes involving drivers who either failed to obey an officer’s order to stop or speed away from a police check point that ended up in hot pursuit by the police. It has been argued that simply failing to obey an officer’s order should not be sufficient cause to engage in a high speed chase, putting them, the officer and many others at risk. Without reasonable knowledge that the driver is breaking any other laws, the dangers of the chase should outweigh the current need to begin the pursuit.

Filing a Claim Wrongful Death

Those injured as a result of a crash during a high speed chase do have the option of filing a claim for wrongful death, once it has been proven the death was a direct result of the chase. The person that failed to stop, or even the officer engaged in a chase for questionable reasons, could be held financially accountable for any damages or injuries resulting from the crash.

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There are a number of ways to enter the IT field, from getting a low-level position out of high school, joining the military to enter a technical field, getting an IT-based degree from a college or university and more. Professionals currently working in non-IT fields may take night classes or external training like Microsoft Training Courses to enhance their skills.

Set Your Course

If you don’t know where you are heading, you will never know how to get there, nor will you know when you have arrived. Research the IT field to narrow down what it is you are interested in doing. Make sure those are areas where there will be opportunities over the next several years (or longer). For example, don’t spend time learning C++ programming.

Get the Knowledge

If you have the flexibility to select from universities or to select classes within your current university, find those that will give you the best education towards your chosen area. If you are already working, you may look at Microsoft Training Courses or other options to find specific classes that will give you what you need to know.

Build Your Skills

Whatever you are doing currently, try to add in some experience doing what it is you want to do, or at least doing something more closely related than what your regular job is. This may involve taking on additional responsibility, accepting (or creating) a special project, or working as an intern for another company or within another department. If you do whatever it takes to get some actual skills on your CV, you will be well ahead when it comes to job interview time.

Network

In any job search, it is important to network with others who may be able to help you advance your career interests. IT is no exception. Get to know people already working in that field. Find out what kind of training and education they have had and pick their brains about the pros and cons of working in their area of IT. Keep in touch with classmates from college, other jobs or training Courses you may have attended to have them introduce you to others who may be able to help you make connections. In any networking efforts, remember to “give” more than you “take.” Online networking sites make it very easy to connect with specific individuals and companies.

As you prepare for your entry into the IT field, keep these tips in mind, keep an open mind, and enjoy your new career.

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1. The Motorola Finiti is a good, affordable option. For $41.61, you can get one of the best values on the Bluetooth headset market. Complete with all of the features you need and even some that are just for show, the Motorola Finiti will do the job you need it to do. You’ll be able to drive safely and smartly for a bargain price. For most people who are on a budget but would still like to decrease their chances of crashing, this is a wise choice.
2. 2. The BlueAnt Q2 is a bit more expensive than the Motorola Finiti at $52.95, but it also is likely a better choice. It’s slim and slender, and features text-to-speech commands, as well as multipoint connectivity and unbeatable sound quality for the price. The call quality can even stand up to windy weather conditions. Combining price and features, this is likely the best headset available for people to buy.
3. Another fine option is the Plantronics Voyager Pro UC Headset. Coming at $86.29, you’ll get smart sensor technology that enables calls to be routed right to the headset. You’ll also enjoy the ability to play and pause music from this headset. It’s a fan-favorite design with great audio clarity, and it will perform great when you need it.
4. Headset shoppers should definitely check out the Jawbone Era. It comes from a long line of successful headsets, and it features an attractive, unique design, built-in caller ID, HD-level audio and a stock accelerometer. It features innovative, high-end features and a design that anyone would love, all for about $112.17.
5. Another Jawbone product, the Icon, rounds out the list. For $104.29, you can get many of the same features with this as you can with the Era. The difference is that the icon has a more comfortable ear setup, and also a wideband speaker. It lacks a lot of the high-end features that the Era has, however. Overall, you should probably stay away from this one in favor of a more affordable headset, even with some missing features.

Bluetooth headsets are highly-recommended for anyone who wants to have a safer driving experience. Research suggests that texting and talking on cell phones while driving is almost just as likely to cause you to be involved in an accident as drinking and driving. You can have confidence that you’ll be safer on the road, not only for yourself, but for others, too. Your odds of being in an accident will diminish greatly with the help of a Bluetooth headset.

Photo Credit: Eli Hodapp

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Most people think that working remotely means you are in your pajamas all day. And friends and family think you are free to run their errands and talk on the phone all day. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are those days that I do stay in my pajamas, that is definitely a perk but all of my days aren’t quite so easy. I am trying to make a living after all.

Working Remotely – At Home

You should have a designated work area. Sure the couch is the most comfortable place, and there are days that I do work there, but you should have a desk or table set up for when you need it. If you have children, they should know this area is off limits.

You can’t just wing it – as tempting as it is – you need a schedule. Set up a schedule that you can stick too. Working from home can be a challenge to stay focused. The laundry is calling your name, dinner needs to planned, errands need to be run – the list goes on and on. I typically set up my to-do-list every Sunday so I can incorporate all my business and personal objectives so I know which days I have appointments and which days I have more or less time.

Communication is the key to working from home – check in often using your preferred form of communication – Skype, phone, text, video or instant messaging. If you leave services such as Skype up all day, be sure to set it to “away” or “busy”.

Working Remotely – At Other Locations

There are days I love to work at the library or the coffee shop. Working from home can be an isolating experience but it doesn’t have to be.

Netbooks are good for taking on the go depending on the work you will be doing or perhaps your iPad. I find it easier to lug my netbook than my laptop which requires an outlet at some point. But again, it depends on what I am working on that day when I leave the house.

As far as etiquette goes – don’t hog the outlet and do order a coffee, tea or three while you are there working. Hogging the table but not ordering, is not a good thing.

Respect fellow patrons and pack some headphones; everyone doesn’t want to hear the video or music you are listening too.

Consider sharing your workspace with another if possible.

Tools for Working Remotely

There are some days that I can’t be at the computer as much as I would like or at the coffee shop for that matter. I have a BlackBerry with a T-Mobile data plan that allows me to check on everything I need while out on the go. From e-mails to Twitter, Facebook and everything in between, it’s right on my phone and always accessible. Adding a data plan is affordable and comes in handy on many occasions. For me, it’s worth every cent.

Dropbox just might be your best friend. It will allow you to share files and documents with your co-workers/employees so you can keep on top of document changes while working.

It was mentioned briefly above but Skype is a must have tool for working remotely. It’s a definite selling point if you are trying to convince your employer that working from home can be effective. They can check in with you and also see you; seeing faces improves the quality of communication.

A headset can be helpful but isn’t always necessary.

Lastly, most friends and family members don’t understand the concept of working from home. Find a local group to join or maybe a forum on line so that you can find likeminded people that understand what you are going through. You still need a life!

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We’ve come a long way in the last few years, and today’s unified communications suites are powerful, stable, and user friendly. If you haven’t invested in your business telephone systems recently, then 2012 is a great year to improve your infrastructure.

Moving to The Cloud

Unified communications solutions integrate several different forms of communication, including instant messaging, video conferencing, file sharing, and traditional messaging systems (voicemail, SMS, fax, and email). There are many different companies offering unified communications systems, and not all systems offer the same suite of tools and features, but even the most basic systems are a big step up from the business telephone systems of old.

Many modern communication systems are now provided via “the cloud”, so instead of paying for an expensive server that your business would not make full use of, you are able to save money by renting computing time and storage space on a set of servers shared with other people.

Faster, Cheaper, Better

The main idea behind integrating several different communication methods is that by offering a range of choices, businesses will be able to find the best communication methods for each part of their company. Quick questions can be answered via IM. Documents can be worked on collaboratively online. Remote workers can use a VPN to safely, securely, and easily access their work-related files, and colleagues from different offices can talk to each other via VoIP without running up a large telephone bill.

The idea of remote working is one that many companies are exploring at the moment, as a solution to the problem of extreme weather conditions. Now that winters are getting harsher, and high winds, ice, and snow are almost a routine part of the winter, more and more companies are looking to find ways to ensure that they can say it’s business as usual when the bad weather hits. Allowing key staff to do at least some of their work from home is certainly a step in the right direction.

Exploring Your Options

If I.T. isn’t your primary business, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you go looking for a unified communications provider. Some small companies have had success putting together their own “package” by shopping around for different providers for online storage, VoIP, instant messaging, and other tools. This is probably not a good idea for someone who is new to this area of technology, however. Compatibility issues, security problems, and resource management could all trip you up if you try to put together your own package without a lot of research. For your first adventures in the world of telecoms, it’s probably best to stick to well-known brands and a package deal. The prices are usually competitive, and could even save you a lot of money in the long term.

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