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Will vibrating seats help avoid car crashes?

On behalf of The Brocklebank Firm posted in Car Accidents on Wednesday, May 15, 2013.

Car companies and safety regulators have been working together for many years to develop new ways to keep drivers safe on the roads. From the introduction of seatbelts to anti-lock breaks and airbags, drivers and passengers benefit tremendously from technological innovations in our cars and trucks. More recently, smart-car technology has been introduced into the marketplace to help cars to some of the thinking on behalf of drivers, whether it is alerting them using a light when another vehicle is in their blind spot, or have automatically triggered breaks when a driver is approaching a hazard.

Now, General Motors says that next line of defense for drivers is a vibrating seat.

Amusement park accidents cause serious injuries

On behalf of The Brocklebank Firm posted in Wrongful Death on Wednesday, May 8, 2013.

When most New York family set out for a day of summer fun at an amusement park, the last thing on their mind is ending the day in a trip to the hospital. We pack sunscreen and snacks and a few band-aids for cuts and scrapes, but a typical Saturday at a nearby generally doesn't include a serious injury.

Between the years of 1990 and 2010, more than 92,000 children were treated in the emergency room for injuries sustained on an amusement park ride. When such a large number of injuries are serious enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room, it is cause for concern, according to safety experts.

Pedestrian taken to Syracuse hospital after car accident

On behalf of The Brocklebank Firm posted in Pedestrian accidents on Friday, May 3, 2013.

A pedestrian was taken to a hospital in Syracuse, New York, after being hit by a car in the Utica area. The accident occurred at night and the most recent reports indicate that the causes of the accident are unclear.

Pedestrian-car accidents can be very dangerous for the pedestrian involved because they have little protection from the impact of the vehicle. In this case, it is unclear exactly how serious the injuries to the man were, since his name was unknown at the time of the accident and the hospital did not provide local reporters with more information.

New regulations aim to keep drivers focused on the road

On behalf of The Brocklebank Firm posted in Car Accidents on Thursday, April 25, 2013.

Federal safety regulators have released a new set of optional guidelines for automakers aimed at improving safety by limiting distracted driving. The regulations are one part of an effort by the Department of Transportation to work with technology companies to keep drivers focused on the road instead of in-dash computers or their smart phones.

According to regulators, it only takes two seconds of having one's eyes off of the road to significantly increase the likelihood of a car accident. This means altering technology to allow it to be used with a series of quick glances rather than prolonged focus. The new recommendations say that drivers should be able to complete a task, like using the in-dash GPS, with a series of one second glances adding up to no more than 12 seconds total.

Focus on preventing pedestrian injuries

On behalf of The Brocklebank Firm posted in Pedestrian accidents on Wednesday, April 17, 2013.

In a past post, we wrote about the dangers that pedestrians face every day on the streets, crosswalks, and sidewalks of our urban areas. The truth is that pedestrian and bicycle accidents are both serious public safety concerns in New York and nationwide.

With the high price of gas and stress of being stuck in traffic, many people are naturally giving up cars in favor of walking, public transportation, and bikes. Here in the New York, spending has gone up on these important parts of our infrastructure, but pedestrians and bikers still feel and are very unsafe on the roads.

New York woman recalls motorcycle accident that took her leg

On behalf of The Brocklebank Firm posted in Motorcycle Accidents on Friday, April 12, 2013.

A New York State woman says she is grateful just to be alive after being in a horrific motorcycle accident last fall. And it appears that a fortunate series of events may have allowed her to survive despite being pinned under her 740-pound motorcycle following the collision, though it cost her her right leg and the medical bills are forcing her out of her home.

The accident occurred when the woman, a mother and foster mother of five, and her boyfriend were riding their motorcycles on a rural road in another state when a tractor suddenly turned onto the road in front of her. She was unable to avoid the tractor and the vehicles crashed together. The impact knocked the woman out of her seat but her leg got caught on the bike's front spokes so that it landed on the leg when it fell over.

Elderly New York driver involved in gas station car crash

On behalf of The Brocklebank Firm posted in Car Accidents on Wednesday, April 3, 2013.

A 90-year-old New York man and his wife were injured and taken to a local hospital after they were involved in a car accident at a gas station. The pair had recently purchased a new car and were filling up the tank with gas when they crashed into the convenience store.

According to police reports, the 90-year-old driver did not put the vehicle into park when he stopped to get gas at the station, and when he realized it was still in drive he accidentally push the gas instead of the brakes, which cause the car to accelerate, jump over the curb, and crash into the store. They both suffered from head injuries but reports indicate that their of them are in serious condition.

More adults texting while driving, survey says

On behalf of The Brocklebank Firm posted in Car Accidents on Thursday, March 28, 2013.

Recent surveys conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and AT&T indicate that despite the well-known dangers of texting while driving, there has been an increase in the percentage of adult drivers who admit to doing so.

The act of sending or reading a text message takes a driver's eyes off of the road for a little over four seconds on average. While this may not seem like a long time, it is a significant distance when the vehicle is traveling at highway speeds. In fact, a car can travel the length of a football field in the time that it takes to read a text if they are traveling at 55 miles per hour.

Trucking group says fatigue less of a factor in accidents

On behalf of The Brocklebank Firm posted in Truck Accidents on Friday, March 22, 2013.

Advocates for the trucking industry told a judge in a federal appeals court that fatigue is less of a factor than regulators claimed in their justification of rest requirements for semi-truck drivers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that 13 percent of accidents involving a truck are caused by fatigue. The American Trucking Association disputes this, saying that only two percent of accidents are caused by fatigue.

Each year, tens of thousands of people are injured in accidents involving large trucks like semi-trucks. In 2010, nationwide data indicates that about 80,000 people were hurt in an accident involving these large vehicles. Among those injuries were more than 3,600 deaths.

Police investigate Rochester ambulance/car accident

On behalf of The Brocklebank Firm posted in Car Accidents on Thursday, March 14, 2013.

Police are investigating the causes of a car accident involving a car and a local ambulance that was responding to an emergency call. Initial reports suggested that there were people stuck inside the emergency vehicle after the crash, but two employees and one person went to a local hospital and were treated for non-life threatening injuries. Police are still trying to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the accident. The intersection where the accident occurred was closed to facilitate the investigation.

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