Liable for sending texts to drivers?

On episode 225 of This Week in Law, the panel discussed a recent appeals court ruling in New Jersey. According to a summary by Jeremy Byellin, the court left open the possibility that someone sending a text message to a driver might be held liable for civil damages if the driver is distracted and gets into an accident. I haven’t been able to find the actual text of the decision, so all I have to go on is Byellin’s summary. Given that disclaimer, this seems like a questionable thing to put into a ruling. To be clear, the defendant in this case was not held liable. The court appears to be saying “but if you know someone is driving and will immediately look at your text, you may be partially liable for any damages they cause.”

From a theoretical perspective, it makes sense. If you know you’ll be distracting someone operating a four-wheeled killing machine, there’s a compelling interest to disincentivize such behavior. In the real world, this is tough to prove. The easiest defense is ignorance, since the court required active knowledge to hold a person liable. Unless the driver explicitly said “I’m driving and immediately viewing all messages I receive,” there’s little to prove that the sender had sufficient knowledge to be liable.

Even if the driver did send such a message, it might never see a court room. Because the parties to the conversation would likely delete incriminating messages and most carriers limit the amount of time they store messages, Byellin says “only a very narrow percentage of cases will the content actually be discoverable.”

TWiL panelist Gordon Firemark brought up an interesting point as well. Is the government repsonsible for distracting drivers with Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) messages? From the New Jersey ruling, the government would not be liable because it could not know if a particular recipient is driving. Still, it’s easy to see how this opens the door for additional litigation. Even if every defendant wins, there’s a real cost to having to defend against a suit.

The slippery slope that I find particularly interesting is the non-SMS case. Indiana’s texting-and driving law was wisely written to cover more than just SMS messages. However, a pedantic reading could apply it to any method of data transfer. GPS-enabled applications, such as Google Maps or Waze, can reasonably determine if a phone is mobile or not. By design, they distract drivers from the road. Could Google be sued for not disabling Maps while the car is in motion?

Probably not. Really, this is all just an academic exercise. To my knowledge, no one has ever been held liable for texting a driver, in part because it’s so monumentally difficult to prove the plaintiff’s case. But the fact that a court would basically invite unwinnable suits strikes as little more than a stimulus program for the Bar Association.

When your HP PSC 1200 all-in-one won’t print

I don’t think I’ve made it any secret that I hate printing. It’s still an inescapable part of my life, though. Last week, I was printing some forms for an event my wife was running the following day. We had just purchased new ink, so of course that’s the idea time for the paper to completely stop feeding. Wheels sounded like they were turning, but the printer would not pull any paper in. If you find yourself in a similar situation, fear not! I can tell you how to fix it. The first step is to go visit HP’s video on how to clean the rollers and whatnot:

http://www8.hp.com/h20621/video-gallery/us/en/customer-care/1245172367001/hp-psc-1200-not-pick-or-feed-paper/video/

Still here? That must mean you followed the steps in the video to no avail. It’s time to take the printer apart. If your printer is still under warranty or you’re skittish about doing this, then stop right here. Before you do any steps in the video above or my description below, make sure the printer is unplugged.

The first step is to remove the four screws at the top of the printer (one in each corner). You’ll need either a #10 Torx screwdriver or an appropriately-sized Allen wrench (I think 1/16″). Once those screws are loosened, remove the upper body of the printer as shown below. Lift the majority of the body, not just the very top part, or else you’ll just remove the scanner plate. Don’t be too alarmed if the ink access door comes off.

Separating the printer body for removal.

Separating the body for removal.

As you lift the body, carefully remove the two ribbons (shown below) by pulling them directly toward you.

The two ribbons to remove.

The two ribbons to remove.

Give the white wheel on the left side a good shove inward. You may not feel it move, but this is the magic voodoo.

White wheel on the left of the paper roller.

Push really hard on this wheel.

Replace the ribbons by pushing them firmly back into their slots. Put the ink access door back in place and set the printer body atop the printer. Tighten the screws. Plug the printer in, turn it on, and “enjoy” printing once again.