MO law bans texting while driving, if you're 21 or younger

I don't get the age limit. Obviously, young people are more likely to be texting while driving, but I don't think it would be any safer for, say, a 40-year-old to be engaging in the same behavior.

Man runs over sleeping children in tent

In Michigan, a father trying to warm up his SUV on a chilly morning fell asleep, knocked the vehicle into gear and accidentally ran over the tent where his wife and two children were sleeping.

It appears mom and the little girl will be OK, but the little boy had to be flown to a hospital in Grand Rapids.

| Sara Shepherd

AP photo of a toy and the collapsed tent at P.J. Hoffmaster State Park in Norton Shores, Mich.

Former Chiefs player charged in fatal wreck

Initially, authorities indicated Rich Baldinger probably wouldn't face charges in the June car crash that killed 61-year-old Marilyn L. Walters of Grain Valley. However:

Baldinger was charged Monday with operating a motor vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner, involving an accident.

| Sara Shepherd

Chicken crossing the road backs up traffic

Well...a rooster that is.

From The Arizona Republic: "It's just a busy holiday - and of course the rooster," said Officer Robert Bailey, a DPS spokesman. "The rooster only compounded matters."

|Meredith Rodriguez

Man charge in hit-and-run that killed Olathe woman, police say

From Tony Rizzo: Johnson County prosecutors have charged an Independence man in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash in Lenexa on Monday.

Clark L. Montgomery, 32, was in custody Thursday after he was charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and with driving with a suspended license.

Rita F. Huscher, 84, of Olathe, was killed in the Monday afternoon crash on Kansas 7 near 95th Street. Her minivan was struck from behind by another vehicle before crashing into a bridge support pillar, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. The driver of the other vehicle left the scene.

Nixon vetoes repeal of Missouri's helmet law

Our state's motorcyclists will have to find some other way of risking permanent injury and brain damage, it seems. (I kid, I kid.) Actually, this is probably going to make a lot of riders unhappy -- they lobbied Nixon pretty hard to sign the repeal into law. It would've let riders 21 and older ride without helmets everywhere but interstates.

Dear KS motorists: The left lane is for passing

Whoo-hoo! The highway patrol starts enforcing my new favorite law today!

One law applies only to multi-lane highways outside the limits of any city. If the highway has at least two lanes in each direction, drivers may use the far left lane only to pass another vehicle, prepare for a left turn or make room for an emergency vehicle.

Well, maybe not "enforcing" -- I guess they're going to be giving warnings for a full year before handing out tickets. Baby steps ...

Mom let kids, ages 8 and 9, ride on car hood, police say

I'm sorry, but that's illegal even in Tennessee, ma'am.

Red light puts a stop to 29-year fugitive

Georgia authorities say they caught a man who's been on the run for 29 years. They stopped him because he ran a red light.

Bystanders help save elderly motorist from Brush Creek

Christine has a great story about the men who jumped into Brush Creek and rescued a driver whose car had careened into the water. (That woman was still in critical condition on Monday.)