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TheFosterFirmWins.com • 404-559-8325 • April/May 2023
5 Real-Life Tips for Teen Drivers What They Don’t Teach You in Drivers Ed
Only drive with up to 3 passengers. Every teen wants to drive their friends
My father was an incredible driver, and when I was a teenager, he was the one who taught me how to drive. As I was learning, I’ll never forget his most important piece of advice: that everything you do should be smooth. You should never slam on your brakes or accelerate really fast, because when you’re erratic behind the wheel, other drivers on the road might be surprised by your movements. And their surprise can result in an accident. I passed this lesson on to my son, who lives in Tennessee, and learned to drive on Nashville roads filled with road splits when he was 16. I was apprehensive when he began to drive because of the splits, as one surprising mistake can result in two vehicles colliding. And this fear isn’t unique to me; all parents feel at least a little worried when their teens begin to drive. In America, 8.3 million drivers on the road are teenagers, and unfortunately, this teen demographic is more prone to accidents due to
their inexperience and immaturity. So, to honor Distracted Driving Awareness Month this April, I wanted to share some tips that every teen driver — and their parents — should know. Be a proactive driver, not a defensive one. While you may have excellent reflexes, it’s important to remember that you’re not driving just for yourself but for everyone else on the road. As you drive, observe everything around you and frequently check your rearview mirrors. Most importantly, use your turn signals when changing lanes or making a turn. This will help other drivers know that you’re likely planning to slow down so they can be prepared to press their brakes if necessary. You need your license and registration in the vehicle. Take your driver’s license even if you’re going for a quick drive to a friend’s house or the grocery store. It’s also a good idea to always keep your current registration in your glove compartment so you don’t have to worry about bringing it with you.
around once they get their license, but try to keep your passengers under three. The reason is that any more than three people in the car with you will become a distraction, whether that’s from them talking, back seat driving, controlling the music, or asking you questions when you should be paying attention. Save your text messages for later. Georgia is a hands-free state, meaning it is against the law to even hold your phone as you drive. If you are seen texting or talking on your phone behind the wheel, you will be pulled over and face hefty fines. Let your friends know before you leave that you’re about to start driving and you will answer them when you arrive at your destination. Know what to do in an accident. If you find yourself in a collision, the first thing you should do is ensure you can safely exit your vehicle. If you can, get out of the car and move to the side of the road. Next, call your parents and the police, even if you’re uninjured. You’ll need to give the officer an incident report that will become an official document for your crash. Also, be sure to take lots of pictures! Photograph any damage to your vehicle and the others in the accident. And finally, reach out to The Foster Firm to help you through the process. Give us a call at 404-559-8325 . And if you’d like to have some other tips handy, you can request an email copy of our February/March article about what to do in after a car accident so you can keep it in your glove compartment.
This is important because if you’re ever pulled over (which can happen even on a short drive!), a police officer will need to see these documents. If you
are pulled over, keep both hands on the wheel in front of you, so they are visible to the officer. Before reaching for anything,
ask the police officer, “My license and registration are in my glove compartment. Do you mind if I get it?” They may tell you no or say it’s okay to reach
— but always be sure to ask first.
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ADD ORGANIZATION TO YOUR SPRING-CLEANING LIST!
4 Tips to Keep Your House Tidy
Use an old disinfecting wipes container to store your plastic bags. If you like to reuse plastic shopping bags at home, finding a way to store them can be a pain. Next time you run out of Clorox Wipes (or another generic equivalent), rinse the inside of the container with water and store your plastic bags there. Then with the container’s built-in feeding lid, you’ll be able to pull the bags out one by one as you need them. Label messy cords with tape. As working from home and numerous consumer electronics (shut up, Alexa!) become more prevalent in our lives, the cords connecting these devices can become tangled and hard to differentiate. By wrapping a piece of painter’s or washi tape around a cord, you can create a tag to write what that cord is attached to. So, no more guessing which cords you’re unplugging! Add some chalkboard paint to your jars. Sometimes, we have no idea what’s inside the jars in our pantry. Maybe it’s flour, or maybe it’s powdered sugar. Sometimes, it can be neither! To solve this, you can buy a little jar of chalkboard paint at your nearest craft store and paint squares on your jars (or other unlabeled containers around the house) to write with chalk what’s inside! The best part is you can erase these labels and change them based on the jar’s contents. These hacks will help you give your spring-cleaning a major boost by keeping your home neat and tidy for the rest of the year!
It’s March — the month of spring- cleaning! While many often think of scrubbing the windows or washing the floors, spring is the perfect time to reorganize your house into a more efficient space.
And no, you don’t need fancy storage furniture or shiny color-coded bins to get your
home in order. There are many small things you can do just by using clever tricks and throwaway household items. So, try these organization hacks to tidy your home this month and beyond. Keep your matching bed sets together by using a pillowcase to store them. Organize your linen closet by slipping the flat and fitted sheets into one of their respective matching pillowcases (fold the other pillowcase in there as well!). This way, you’ll never have to hunt for the matching sheets again!
WHO LET THE DOGS BITE!?
Tips for National Dog Bite Prevention Week
National Dog Bite Prevention Week falls on the second week of April each year, and for many people, being bitten by a dog can be scary and traumatic, often due to no fault of their own. So, what are your legal rights if you’re ever bitten by a dog? In Georgia, a dog’s owner is liable if the dog bites and the owner knew previously that the dog was vicious. However, a dog can also be deemed vicious by the state of Georgia if the dog bites due to the owner being careless, such as not having the dog on a leash. It can be difficult to prove a dog is vicious, especially if they don’t have a history of biting. There are certain behaviors a dog can exhibit that can prove to the owner that they are dangerous, such as:
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Aggressive behaviors such as barking or lunging
A dog bite can result in serious injuries such as puncture wounds, loss of limbs, permanent scarring, and even loss of life. And while dog bites can be hard to prevent, we have a few tips to help you stay safe around people’s pets. Tip No. 1: Don’t leave children unattended around dogs, even ones you know well. Even the most well-behaved dogs can act unpredictably around children. This is often due to the normal behavior of children: erratic movements accompanied by running and loud noises. Tip No. 2: Avoid approaching dogs you don’t know. While you may think dogs are cute, not all dogs are friendly to strangers, and trying to pet or feed a dog you don’t know can be unsafe. It’s best to always ask the dog’s owner before approaching and move toward the dog with slow, gentle steps.
Tip No. 3: Leave dogs alone while they eat. If you’re staying at a friend’s house and their dog is eating, give it as much space as possible. For many dogs, their dinner time can be a point of contention, especially around strangers or children. Leave the dog alone until it’s finished, even if it’s usually friendly to you all other times. If you suffer an attack from a dog, you’re entitled to compensation for your injuries. So don’t be victimized a second time after the incident — call The Foster Firm. We’ll fight with everything we have to win your lawsuit.
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Running at people or other animals
Growling or snarling
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Dear Moms, Don’t Miss Those Little Moments
Your Child Won’t Forget That You Did
March 8 is International Women’s Day, and to celebrate, I wanted to use this edition of our newsletter to focus on working mothers. As a mom, having a child is very rewarding, but it’s also undervalued. This can cause many women to prioritize things like their jobs over the valuable time in their children’s lives. For example, every mom knows what it’s like when you feel your child’s forehead the night before work only to find out they’re running a fever. So the next morning, with hopes that the fever will go away and you won’t have to take off work, you’re disappointed to find that your child’s fever is just on the brink at 99.9 degrees. So what do you do? For some of us, the answer is to give them some Tylenol and send them off to school. And while this solution works and buys us an extra day to accomplish whatever is on our work schedule, the truth is that you won’t remember what was so important at your job that day years later, but your child will remember that you sent them to school sick. When my son was in elementary school, he had a program he begged me to attend, and I promised him I would go. However, I ended up staying late at work that day and sent my husband to go instead. It turns out that the program that day was for moms, and my son had written me a poem that he read aloud in front of the audience.
My son just turned 30, and all these years later, he still remembers that I wasn’t there for him, and I can’t remember what was so important that I had to miss it. So my advice for working mothers this month is to take those little moments when they come, because what may seem like a small moment to you might just be the biggest thing in your child’s life. And what’s even
more important is you can create those moments yourself, small instances that both you
and your children will remember for a lifetime.
Even if you’re tired, take 15 minutes to play a game, teach them a new skill, or even just comb their hair. Your job as a mother matters more to your children than it ever will to your boss or a client.
Smoky Spicy Broccoli Fritters
Name of Business: SpineAlign Center What They Do: Dr. Sherra Bryant Conde utilizes chiropractic care not just to help with your pain but to optimize your quality of life, whether you have pain or not. We believe in getting to the source of your problems, but chiropractic care isn’t just for when you have an issue. You can visit us to improve your overall health, which will in return enhance your quality of life. We help with injury healing and chronic pain management as well. Atlanta Location: (678) 974-5462 Fayetteville Location: (678) 489-2974 SPOTLIGHT
Inspired by VeganRicha.com
INGREDIENTS
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2 ½ cups chopped broccoli 1/4 cu2p chopped onion 1/4 cup packed cilantro 1 tsp oil, plus more for frying
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1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp smoked or regular paprika 1 tsp chipotle pepper powder
1 tbsp barbecue sauce 3/4 cup chickpea flour
1/3 tsp salt
DIRECTIONS
1. In a food processor, add broccoli, onion, cilantro, and 1 tsp oil and process until uniform. Transfer to a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well to distribute. 2. Let mixture sit for 2 minutes for the broccoli to leak enough moisture so you can form patties. If mixture is too wet, add more chickpea flour. If mixture is too dry and does not stick well, wait another few minutes or sprinkle some water and mix. 3. Shape into 5–6 patties. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add oil and spread it in the pan. 4. Pan-fry the patties for 4–5 minutes per side. 5. Serve with Sriracha, ketchup, barbecue sauce, marinara, or a cooling ranch as desired
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
5 Things All Teen Drivers Should Know page 1 Pro Tips to Organize Your Home This Spring page 2 Helpful Tips to Prevent Dog Bites page 2 Arnice Foster’s Advice for Working
Moms page 3 Smoky Spicy Broccoli Fritters page 3 Need a Vitamin Boost? page 4
Health Benefits of Vitamin D SOAK UP THE SUNSHINE VITAMIN
With spring on the horizon, we all will be able to get outdoors a little more and soak up some sun — and extra vitamin D! Bring on the picnics, pool days, hiking, sports activities, and leisurely walks through the park! Let’s take a look at the many benefits this vitamin provides for our bodies. It boosts your immune system. Vitamin D helps your body fight off sickness. In fact, it’s been proven that deficiencies in vitamin D are connected to an increased possibility of developing infections and autoimmune diseases such as the flu, heart disease, and diabetes. It counters osteoporosis. Osteoporosis, a loss in bone mass, is common as we get older. However, vitamin D is one of the key players in helping to slow down bone loss and prevent or treat osteoporosis so we can maintain a healthy skeletal system. It reduces the risks of depression. Studies have shown that those who are deficient in vitamin D become more prone to mood disorders
and depression. To ensure that you support your mental health, step outside and get some happy, feel-good rays! It’s possibly linked to weight loss. While it’s not fully proven that vitamin D helps with weight loss, many studies have found links between vitamin D supplements and shedding a few pounds. In one study, one group of people taking vitamin D and calcium supplements lost more weight than another group taking placebos. It prevents and helps multiple sclerosis. Not only is vitamin D proven to lower a person’s chances of getting this horrible disease, but for those who already have it, it can also reduce symptoms or slow down the disease’s progression. This spring, be sure to get outdoors and soak up some vitamin D; however, don’t forget to protect your skin, too! To avoid overexposure, only about 10–15 minutes a day of unprotected sun is recommended.
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