The Iowa House has voted unanimously to let the drivers of “rescue vehicles” speed and run stop lights and stop signs, just as police cars, ambulances and fire trucks may in response to an emergency. So what is a rescue vehicle? Representative Sandy Salmon, a Republican from Janesville, explained it’s a motor vehicle equipped with rescue, fire or life-support equipment used to assist or rescue people in emergencies.

The Iowa D-O-T requires the drivers of rescue vehicles to go through the same training as ambulance drivers and fire truck operators. Salmon says when it’s a “matter of life and death” — rescue vehicles play an important role. “This is a good bill that will assist in getting life support equipment to where it is needed in as rapid time as is safely possible,” Salmon says.

The bill, which passed the House Wednesday, now goes to the Senate for consideration. The Iowa D-O-T is the agency that determines if a vehicle can be licensed as a rescue vehicle. To qualify, a vehicle must have at least 75-hundred dollars of equipment that would be exclusively used for rescues and emergencies.

(Radio Iowa)

A woman from Villisca suffered minor injuries during a collision Wednesday afternoon, in Red Oak. Authorities say 60-year old Janice Robinson was transported by Red Oak Rescue to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital, after the 2003 Ford Explorer she was driving was rear-ended by a 2003 Chevy Suburban. The accident happened at around 4:35-p.m., on Highway 34 at the entrance road to Senate Avenue next to the Red Coach Inn.

Officials say Robinson, and the driver of the Suburban, 55-year old Ronda Woods, of Red Oak, were traveling west on Highway 34, when Robinson signaled to turn onto Senate Avenue and began to brake for the turn. The SUV sustained minor damage, estimated at $2,000. The Chevy sustained $7,000 damage, and was declared a total loss. Woods was cited by Red Oak Police for Following too closely.

A truck driver from Kansas was injured early this (Thursday) morning when his rig rolled into a ditch off of Interstate 80 in Pottawattamie County. The Iowa State Patrol says 57-year old Steven Cain, of Wichita, KS, was traveling west on I-80 at around 12:40-a.m., when he noticed the trailer lights on his semi were not working properly.

When Cain attempted to pull over onto the right, westbound shoulder near the 17-mile marker, he pulled too far off the road. The soft ground pulled the 2015 International semi into the ditch, where it rolled onto its side.

Cain, who was wearing his seat belt, was transported by Underwood Rescue to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs, where he was being treated for non-life threatening injuries.

A University of Iowa study of hundreds of dash-cam video recordings of teenage drivers who were involved in crashes finds they’re a lot more distracted than originally thought. Gail Weinholzer, at Triple-A-Iowa, says the comprehensive research found significant evidence that distracted driving is likely a much more serious problem than previously known.

“We found that six out of 10 moderate-to-severe teen crashes involved distraction, which is four times more than has been reported on police records,” Weinholzer says. “Of course, the average person isn’t going to admit to law enforcement that they were horsing around with other teenagers or talking on their cell phone.” Researchers at the U-of-I analyzed the six seconds leading up to a crash in nearly 17-hundred videos of teen drivers taken from in-vehicle event recorders.

“The #1 cause was interacting with one or more teen passengers, that was 15% of all crashes,” Weinholzer says. “Cell phone use, whether it be dialing the phone, talking on the phone, using it to text or something of that nature was 12% of all crashes, and daydreaming and looking around at what was going on outside of the car not relevant to the driving process was about ten percent.”

Other top distractions include: singing and moving to music, grooming and reaching for an object. An earlier federal study had estimated distraction is a factor in only 14-percent of all teen driver crashes. This new report showed distraction was a factor in 58-percent of all crashes studied, including 89-percent of road-departure crashes and 76-percent of rear-end crashes. Parents play a critical role in preventing distracted driving, according to the motor club.

“Parents need to model good behavior,” Weinholzer says. “If their teens are seeing them texting and driving or talking on the cell phone and driving, it’s no surprise that the teens are going to do that themselves. Second, parents need to limit the number of teens in the vehicle as well as the cell phone use that’s going on in the vehicle.” Those things might be accomplished, she suggests, with parent-teen contracts and through stronger graduated drivers licensing laws.

Researchers found that drivers who were using their cell phone had their eyes off the road for an average of four-point-one out of the final six seconds leading up to a crash. The researchers also measured reaction times in rear-end crashes and found that teen drivers using a cell phone failed to react more than half of the time before the impact, meaning, they crashed without braking or steering.

(Radio Iowa)

Internet giant Google earlier this week suspended digging at an excavation site in southwest Iowa after locals complained that truckloads of dirt being hauled away for use by the company were creating problems for residents. The Omaha World-Herald reports company officials said in a written statement Tuesday evening “In the past few days, we have been contacted by members of the community concerning a borrow pit in Mills County that has been used to supply dirt to our facility. We take these concerns seriously and have ceased all transportation of fill until we have had a chance to review the situation.”

Authorities on Wednesday asked residents of Tabor, in Fremont County, to boil their water until until further notice. The Omaha World-Herald says repairs to a leaking water line lowered pressure temporarily, City officials said water tests to ensure safety could take 48 hours.

Seven Treynor Middle School students were honored for their roles in keeping other students calm and safe following a school bus rollover accident March 13th. The bus was taking about 20 students home from school when it slipped off the edge of the road and toppled onto its side near 290th Street. The Daily Non Pareil reports Warren Rolf, Nathan Nelson, Alora Nowlin, Chloe Mass, Amanda Stephens, Claire Rolf and Max Hayes were given service awards for their efforts to keep children calm, help them out of the bus and in seeking help.

Before the first rescue crews were even on the scene of the accident, the children were already out of the bus and acting calmly. Only two children suffered minor injuries.

Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker addresses the 7 students at an assembly Wednesday, who helped their classmates after a bus rollover accident. (Photo from Pott. Co. S/O Facebook page)

On Wednesday, Rolf and the others were escorted to the gym and greeted with a standing ovation from their peers, parents, teachers, the Treynor Fire Department and the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Jeff Danker handed the awards to each student followed by a firm handshake and a thank-you. He said the students should feel proud of their actions.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The House has passed legislation that would require some elected public officials in Iowa to have more contact information published online in a timely manner. The House voted unanimously for the bill, which would require an entity with a website to post a telephone number and an email for an elected public official. Public officials are defined in the bill as lawmakers, county board supervisors, city council members and board members of a school district.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa’s top health care official is expected to briefly serve as the school’s interim president later this year. Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter said Wednesday that he would recommend that UI vice president for medical affairs Jean Robillard fill in when President Sally Mason retires July 31st.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A suspect has been charged after a northern Iowa couple allegedly saw a man toss a duffel bag into a river Saturday that they later found contained a live cat. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports the adult calico remained in quarantine Tuesday at Mason City Animal Control. She’s been named Winnie — short for the Winnebago River from which she was rescued. Police say 69-year-old William Hill was charged Wednesday with misdemeanor animal torture.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says quarterback Jake Rudock, a two-year starter for the Hawkeyes, will transfer to another school. The move ends the competition between Rudock and C.J. Beathard.