Drivers who accrue 11 points within an 18 month period are subject to a 31-day license suspension. The increased penalties are aimed at preventing distracted driving car accidents.
]]> A spokesperson for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters that the administration is seeking to prevent young drivers from developing dangerous habits and to prevent the many thousands of injuries and fatalities that occur each year as a result of distracted driving.Younger drivers who still have provisional licenses can face a 60=day suspension if they are found guilty in a texting while driving case.
Drivers who cause accidents when they are texting or talking on their cellphones should be help accountable for their actions. Victims can seek recovery for their injuries or the death of a loved one through a negligence lawsuit and may use the fact that the driver violated state laws on cellphone use as persusaive evidence that they were acting negligently at the time of the accident.
Officials say that one of the reasons for the low conviction rate in New York is the diffculty of proving that someone was actually sending or composing a text message at the time they were pulled over by police.
Source: WGRZ, "Despite Increased Fines, Texting Convictions Lag in NY," Joseph Spector, June 10, 2013.
]]>According to the FDA, antihistamine medications that cause drowsiness can be a hazard to drivers and others on the road, potentially playing a role in drowsy driving car accidents.
]]> The agency recently issued a similar warning about sleep aids and requested that drug companies lower the dosages per pill so that the effects do not last as long. This came after regulators found that many people were taking the medications at night and getting in their cars in the morning still drowsy and vulnerable to falling asleep behind the wheel.The same can be true of allergy medications, leading the FDA to issue a warning for people to take the medications only when they are at home or will not need to drive. If a medication has a warning about drowsiness as a side effect, the FDA says to take it at night to reduce the risk of being suddenly or unexpectedly tired while driving a car.
Drivers who do not exercise the appropriate level of caution during allergy season may be subject to negligence allegations if they cause a car accident in which someone is injured or property is harmed.
Source: CBS News, "FDA: Allergy medications may make you too drowsy to drive," Ryan Jaslow, June 1, 2013.
]]>Police closed the road for about seven hours immediately following the accident in order to conduct an investigation at the crash site and remove the debris from the roadway.
]]> Authorities told reporters that the causes of the accident are still being investigated and that it is not known why the trailer disconnected from the truck. There was some bad weather around the time of the accident, so it is possible that road conditions played a role in the crash.In wrongful death accident cases involving commercial vehicles there are always questions about whether the company that owned the truck was complying with relevant safety standards. There will also likely be questions for the driver and the other person in the truck concerning the general state of the driver, the rig, and whether there were warning signs earlier in the day or week that may have indicated that there could be problems with the trailer.
These are all relevant issues when trying to determine if negligence or intentional misconduct played a part in causing these deaths. If that is the case, the responsible parties must be held accountable for their actions or inaction that led to this terrible accident.
Source: CBS News, "Runaway trailer kills 7 in N.Y., including 4 kids," May 30, 2013
]]>Here in Canandaigua, the controsvery is a reminder that safety and awareness on the part of everyone on the roads is essential to keep people safe and to prevent pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents.
]]> There are a few simple things that anyone can do to help prevent collisions between cyclists and pedestrians particualrly as summer heats up and more people are walking or biking for transportation and exercise.One clear way to stay safe is to stay alert and this means being aware of one's surroundings. Cyclists should not use the sidewalk where children, dogs, and pedestrians could dart out from around the corner and pedestrians should be careful not to stand in a bike lane while waiting to cross the street.
Another simple suggestion is to make sure that you are visible when it gets dark out. Those of us who enjoy taking a jog or a bike ride at night after it cools down should make sure that reflective clothing and blinking lights are utilized to stay visible not just to oncoming cars with headlights, but to those on foot and on bikes.
Source: Slate, "The Pedestrian-Cyclist Armistice," L.V. Anderson and Aisha Harris," May 22, 2013.
]]>Now, General Motors says that next line of defense for drivers is a vibrating seat.
]]> How will this make New York drivers safer, you ask? Well, GM says that the seat will activate and use the tactile sensation to warn drivers when the vehicle is drifting into a different lane, merging into another vehicle, or coming too close to other physical hazards on the road. The seat will have several different types of alerts depending on the nature of the hazard. The strongest signal will come when the car senses that a forward collision is about to occur.A spokesperson for the car company says that using a tactile sensation will be more effective than more lights or sounds since drivers are already overstimulated by other audio and visual cues on the road and in the car.
What do you think - is this useful technology that could help prevent car accidents? Or will drivers learn to tune out the vibrating seat?
Source: Wall Street Journal, "New GM Pickup Truck Offers Seats that Vibrate for Safety," Johnathan Welsh, April 30, 2013.
]]>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.
]]> During the summer months, about 20 children are injured and treated in an emergency room every day. A majority of these injuries are to the head and neck, which means that they could produce long-term or permanent disabilities. In some severe cases, a head or neck injury could result in a fatality.Amusement parks, like any other commercial property open to the public, are responsible for the safety of the customers. If a ride is unsafe or holds an unreasonable risk of harm to passengers, the park has a duty to warn the public or to close down the ride entirely. When someone is seriously injured at an amusement park, it is important to look at all the facts surrounding the injury to determine if the property owner is responsible for the harm and if so, to what extent.
Source: newsnet5.com, "Study: Amusement ride injuries send thousands of children to U.S. emergency departments," Sarah Buduson, May 1, 2013
]]>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.
]]> Pedestrians can be difficult to see at night, but that is no excuse for drivers failing to drive at a reasonable speed and keep an eye out for people using the crosswalks or the sidewalk. If a driver who was not exercising reasonable care injures a pedestrian, the driver may be held liable for their negligence. This means that the pedestrian who was injured can seek compensation for costs such as hospital bills or lost income from time that they were unable to work.Injuries from a pedestrian-car accident can be long lasting and may result in a permanent or partial disability. In New York, no-fault insurance policies can also provide compensation even in cases where negligence was not present or where the facts of the case are not completely clear.
Often, the advice of an experienced personal injury attorney can help obtain the optimal amount of compensation that is owed to an injured person.
Source: Observer-Dispatch, "Man injured in car-pedestrian accident airlifted to Syracuse," April 14, 2013.
]]>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.
]]> A recent study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that visual manual tasks, which includes using phones or other portable technologies, increase the risk of being involved in a car accident by three times.Even though the risks of using a cellphone while driving are well known, researchers have found that drivers use their cellphones about ten percent of the time. In New York state, where using a cellphone behind the wheel is banned, drivers who violate the law could be subject to criminal penalties along with financial liability for the damage caused in a distracted driving car accident. Victims of distracted driving car accidents can seek compensation from the driver who was at fault.
Source: CNN, "Two second' safety guideline for cars of the future" Mike M. Ahlers, April 24, 2013
Information about the rights of car accident victims can be found on our website.
]]>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.
]]> To compare the potential harm, consider the fact that over a four-year period there were 755 people injured in bicycle crashes in New York City, only ten of who were in cars.But it doesn't have to be this way, a Columbia University professor and safety expert points out. "We have this sense of fatalism," says Columbia University professor of epidemiology... We think, 'well, accidents happen.' But more often than not, they're preventable."
There are some simple ways to make pedestrians safer on sidewalks and crosswalks, including things like concrete speed bumps that force cars to slow down, lowering the likelihood that they will charge ahead just as someone thinks its safe to cross the street. In addition, it is crucial that drivers take responsibility for their actions that can cause injuries for pedestrians and cyclists. Speeding, distracted driving, and disregarding traffic can all lead to serious harm, and it is important that drivers who display this behavior are held accountable for their actions.
Pedestrians who are hurt by drivers who are acting carelessly or reckless have a right to pursue a personal injury case against the driver.
Source: Scientific American, "How Pedestrian-Friendly Are We, Really?" Erin Broadwin, April 5, 2013.
]]>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.
]]> Her boyfriend rushed to her and managed to lift the heavy motorcycle off of her. Two people approached to help. As the woman later recalled, the first Good Samaritan was a doctor and the second was a nurse. Their expert emergency care may have saved her life.As a result of the accident, the woman lost almost her entire right leg. She expects to have to move out of her home because she cannot afford to stay due to her large medical bills. Her family is planning a benefit in May to help with moving expenses.
Though the woman is focusing on the positive, she said that drivers need to pay attention to motorcycles on the road. When a car or truck collides with a motorcycle, the rider usually suffers much more severe injuries because they do not have seat belts or air bags to protect them.
Source: WIVB-TV, "Woman loses leg in motorcycle accident," Rich Newberg, March 20, 2013
]]>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.
]]> The accident is a sobering reminder to New York residents of the risks associated with elderly drivers. Older drivers, though no fault of their own, often simply lack the ability to detect hazards and react quickly enough to prevent accidents. Diminished hearing, sight, or confusion about how to operate an unfamiliar vehicle may also contribute to an elderly driver being involved in a car accident. As a result, it is very important for New York families to monitor the driving capabilities of parents and grandparents and to try to persuade them to stay off the road when it is no longer safe to drive.In this case no third parties were injured, an accident like this one could easily have escalated if someone had been standing in the area where the car struck the building, or if the car had rolled into another vehicle or onto the roadway.
Source: NJ.com, "Elderly man crashes new car into Palisades parkway gas station, police say," S.P. Sullivan, April 3, 2013.
]]>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.
]]> The survey conducted by AT&T revealed that 60 percent of adults who say that they now text while driving also say that they did not do so three years ago. The telecommunications company is working to reduce the dangerous behavior with a campaign to ask people to sign a pledge to wait to text until they are done driving.Texting while driving is banned in most states at this point, including here in New York. Drivers who violate these bans are not only subject to citations from police officers, but they are also liable for the negligent behavior if it causes harm to others on the road. Victims of car accidents caused by drivers who are distracted by their cellphones can seek compensation to cover medical bills, time away from work, property damages, and other financial harm caused by the accident.
Source: USA Today, "Texting in traffic: Adults worse than teens" Larry Copeland, March 28, 2013
More information about the rights of car accident victims can be found on our New York personal injury page.
]]>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.
]]> Driver fatigue is often considered one of the key preventable causes of accidents in the trucking industry. Drivers often choose to work at night to avoid traffic and will go long periods of time without getting a full night of sleep in order to get to their destination faster, which can lead to serious exhaustion and can be a safety hazard to everyone on the road.Regulators limit the number of consecutive hours that drivers may work and mandate specific rest periods in each week. For example, truck drivers may only drive for 11 hours at once, and they must take two nights off consecutively each week. These rules are aimed at preventing extreme fatigue and making sure that truckers do not prioritize speed over safety.
Still, as the above statistics show, truck accidents occur often and can cause significant damage to the people and vehicles involved.
Source: Bloomberg, "Trucking Industry Says Fatigue Rules Based on Bad Data," Tom Schoenberg, March 15, 2013.
Information about truck accidents is available on our personal injury page.
]]>Liability issues can also be complex in cases involving emergency vehicles, since there is some governmental immunity for drivers who are rushing to the scene of an accident. However, victims can still seek some remedy in cases involving multiple vehicles where more than one driver acted negligently or recklessly. It is also possible to seek help with medical bills, lost wages, and property damage from one's own insurance policy depending on the specifics of the policy and the accident itself.
Source: Democrat and Chronicle, "Police investigate crash involving ambulance," March 14, 2013.
More information about car accidents can be found on our personal injury site.
]]>Even though cars jumping the curb and striking someone walking or sitting on a bench might seem like reckless and potential criminal conduct, the truth is that in many cases charges are never filed and these occurrences are considered accidents, not crimes.
]]> Drivers are expected to act as a reasonably prudent person would under the same circumstances for purposes of civil liability in a personal injury case. It seems obvious to most readers that a reasonably prudent person would do their utmost to actually stay on the road while driving, but oddly in the criminal standard is slightly higher.The criminal standard is that a driver has taken a risk that is a "gross deviation" from the expectations of a reasonable person, which is similar to the civil standard but requires more reckless or negligent conduct than is required in personal injury case.
In New York City, there has been a growing concern about the lack of criminal enforcement surrounding these types of crashes. During hearings on the issue, a city council member compared these traffic deaths to gun violence, saying that New York residents do not accept gun injuries and deaths as a fact of life and that traffic deaths should not be considered unavoidable either.
Source: The Atlantic, "Shouldn't Pedestrians At Least Be Safe From Cars on the Sidewalk?" Sarah Goodyear, March 1, 2013.
More information about the rights of victims of pedestrian accidents can be found on our New York personal injury site.
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