A normal driver faces many risks for highway accidents, but racing across town in all sorts of weather and traffic conditions, those who drive an ambulance face an omnipresent risk. That we so rarely hear of their involvement in car accidents is a testament to their skill in navigating the highways at high speed.
]]> But even the best drivers cannot always anticipate the actions of a drunk driver. Last night a Houston Fire Department ambulance was struck by a drunken driver of a Chevy Suburban, which caused the ambulance to overturn.The driver of the Suburban was arrested, but the Houston Chronicle did not have any information as to the injuries he may have suffered. Fortunately, the firefighters in the ambulance received only minor injuries (we are betting they were wearing their seat belts.)
The accident occurred at 12:40 a.m. and there was a 6-month-old riding in the SUV, and she was reported not to have suffered serious injuries.
It appears that no one was in the ambulance being transported, but the SUV driver could have been liable for those injuries, in addition to his liability for the firefighters driving the ambulance.
Source: Houston Chronicle, "Suspected SUV drunken driver crashes into HFD ambulance," Dale Lezon, June 18, 2013
]]>Some large shipping and trucking companies would like to use even larger trucks on the highways, and Congress is "studying" the issue. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently held listening sessions to obtain feedback on the proposal. One organization, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is strongly against this, as they see it leading to more truck accidents caused by inexperienced truck drivers.
]]> They noted, "The entire argument that shippers make for bigger and heavier trucks is based upon their view that it will improve their competitiveness by reducing their transportation costs." However, it will potentially push down the price they are willing to pay small truck companies, who make up the membership of the OOIDA.In addition to placing larger, more dangerous trucks of up to 97,000 lbs on the road, many will be driven by drivers whom the OOIDA feels may not be fully qualified to handle such a heavy haul.
Moreover, accidents like the I-5 bridge collapse in Washington State could become more common, as the overtaxed infrastructure attempts to cope with larger and heavier trucks.
Traffic engineers have estimated we already have more than a trillion dollars worth of transportation infrastructure that needs to be replaced, and trucks nearly 100,000 lbs will only cause more of it to fail faster.
Source: Land Line magazine, "Supersized trucks? The professionals on the road say no,” David Tanner, June 6, 2013
]]>Safety advocates have opposed this trend and they now have more support for their argument that helmets save lives and reduce head injuries in motorcycle accidents. In a study by the Highway Loss Data Institute that tracked motorcycle accident injury claims in hospitals, it found that insurance paid an average of $5,410 in the final two years of the helmet law, and $7,257 last year after the repeal.
]]> As motorcycle riding has become more popular, it has become more dangerous, with fatalities in the U.S. increasing 14 of the last 15 years. Some argue newer riders are less experienced, but other point to the repeal of helmet laws.The Michigan study did not correlate how many of the injured were wearing helmets, but another study found that of riders involved in accidents before the repeal used helmets 98 percent of the time, while last year, only 74 percent were wearing helmets.
A research officer for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety commented, "The cost per injury claim is significantly higher after the law changed than before, which is consistent with other research that shows riding without a helmet leads to more head injuries."
Motorcycle accidents can lead to injuries requiring a lifetime of medical care, if you have been injured contact an attorney to help determine your right to compensation.
Source: Houston Chronicle, "Study: Helmet law weakened, motorcycle injuries up," Joan Lowy, Associated Press, June 1, 2013
]]>We don't want to spend the money. And while we were lucky that that I-5 bridge collapse did not produce any fatal car accidents as a result, we may not be so lucky the next time. There are tens of thousands of "structurally deficient" bridges like the I-5 and the I-35W Bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis, killing 13 and injuring 145.
]]> They were built to save money, no doubt winning the "lowest bid" contract, but they may extract a very high price in the end. On study finds more than 66,000 structurally deficient bridges in the country.Even Texas, which is in one of the best positions in the U.S., rated 49th in the number of dangerous bridges, has concerns. In the Houston area, Harris County only has 1 percent or 34 structurally deficient bridges. Nothing to worry about? Well, maybe not. Those 34 bridges carry 378,736 vehicles per day over them.
This problem will become more expensive to fix every day and the bridges are all ageing, reaching the end of their service life, and yet many will remain in use for years to come. Whoever expects a bridge to collapse? The drivers who landed in the Skagit River may think twice the next time they cross a bridge.
Source: KIIITV.com, "Thousands of bridges at risk of freak collapse," Mike Baker and Joan Lowy, Associated Press, May 26, 2013
]]>The two officers were members of the Pasadena force and had experience that included "SWAT scenes, undercover narcotics cases and on patrol." Unlike many police officers who die in fatal motor vehicle accidents while on duty, these two men were off-duty and had been enjoying a day of hunting in the Texas Hill country, when they stopped to be good Samaritans.
]]> An accident occurred prior to their arrival, where a trailer was hit and unhitched from a car. They stopped at the scene to assist, along with other motorists. The vehicles were parked on the shoulder of the bridge when a semi-truck came down the road.The driver swerved to avoid the parked trailer, but struck the parked cars, injuring four. The officer killed was thrown from the bridge, while the other officer lost a leg in the crash. The crash was under investigation, but the truck driver did not appear to be intoxicated. He may have been fatigued, which may explain why he may have reacted too late to avoid the crash.
If you stop to assist at the scene of a crash, you need to exercise the highest degree of caution, as other drivers may be surprised or confused by the scene, and contribute further to the accident.
Source: Houston Chronicle, "Pasadena police officer killed in central Texas wreck," Brian Rodgers, April 27, 2013
]]>That is why nonprofit, government and other agencies, including AARP support Global Road Safety Week this week, running from Monday, May 6 through Sunday, May 12. Safety week involves raising awareness about the number of pedestrian falalities and what government agencies and drivers can do to reduce the risk.
]]> One is too many, but in the year 2011 there were over 4.400 pedestrian deaths that occurred either on American roadways or as a result of serious injuries suffered in a collision. Of those reported, approximately 20 percent of the accidents involved elderly pedestrians -- a shocking number when considering the fact that they comprise only 13 percent of the overall population.Also at an increased risk for these types of accidents are children. In 2010, 19 percent of fatal accidents involved the death of a child between the ages of five and nine.
The awareness week hopes to help prompt local and state governments to improve safety at intersections by adding pedestrian warning signs, increasing the number of crosswalks and ensuring that roads are properly maintained.
For the families of those who have been killed in an auto-pedestrian accident, answers are needed now. Wrongful death attorneys can help them obtain the compensation that they deserve.
Source: AARP, "Road Safety for Every Age," Jana Lynott, May 8, 2013
]]>No, the highway department did not intend to for pedestrians to die in fatal motor vehicle accidents when they built many of these roads, but pedestrians were such a tertiary interest that they probably gave little thought to pedestrian movement around these roads.
]]> On suspects that engineers rarely waked a road to develop a feel for how safe it would be to cross a four-lane road with dual left turn lanes and single right turn lanes, creating intersections eight-lanes or more wide.Ironically, those most at risk to cross such behemoth-sized crosswalks are those who are most likely to need to use them, parents with small children and the elderly. The timing of these crosswalks often seem perfunctory, barely providing a healthy male with long stride enough time to cross, let alone a elderly person or a parent with a toddler.
Not only are crosswalks inadequately timed, they often are placed long distances from one another, tempting pedestrian to cross mid-block. On many 35 to 45 mph roads, traffic can be traveling at nearly highway speeds, meaning pedestrians can easily misjudge it they have get across the multi lane roads.
This is not a trivial matter, in the years 2000 to 2009, 47,700 pedestrians were killed in the U.S. In addition, almost 700,000 were injured.
Source: Center for Investigative Reporting, "Car is king in street design, to detriment of pedestrians," Zusha Elinson, April 30, 2013
]]>The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has issued a preliminary crash report that finds the driver was at fault. The DPS report did not find any mechanical failure, such as a blown tire, as a cause of the fatal bus accident. The DPS, however, noted that because this is a preliminary report, they might find other factors that could have contributed to the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), with frequently investigates these types of accidents allowed the DPS to handle this investigation.
]]> This bus crash in Texas was the latest in a string of motor vehicle accidents involving buses across the nation. Just in April, there have been school bus accidents that resulted in the death of a driver, and a driver of a separate vehicle; in Yosemite, a tour bus crashed injuring 16; in March, bus accidents killed four passengers in separate accidents. In February, eight people died in a bus accident crashing off a mountain road in California.Because of the potential causes, from mechanical failure, driver error or a company that negligently operates with fatigued drivers, if you have been injured in a bus crash you need to speak with an attorney experienced with complex motor vehicle accidents.
]]>What they found was not encouraging. Researchers were surprised at the amount of drowsy and fatigued drivers discovered during the daytime who were involved in car accidents. Charlie Klaue, from the Center for Vulnerable Road User Safety, said, "We found significantly more crashes/near crashes due to fatigue during the day than at night."
]]> Because of the detail of the data, researchers were able to watch driver behavior immediately prior to a crash. They could see drivers closing their eyes, their heads bobbing and micro-sleep. Klaue commented that this was "not just yawning. The drivers were asleep."Also surprising was the fact that young drivers had a significant number of fatigue-related car crashes. This was attributed to their sleep habits of going to bed late and having to attend school early in the day. Other drivers also demonstrated this behavior.
The researcher noted that a fatigued driver is four-times more likely to have a crash. It also means that if you have been involved in a motor vehicle accident, in addition to considering the other drivers cell phone use, their sleep habits and fatigue level should be examined when reviewing the causes of the crash.
Source: Insurance Journal, "Driver Fatigue Causes 20% of Auto Crashes: Study," Susan Trulove, April 15, 2013
]]>The report found that the largest cause of distraction for drivers was "lost in thought." Ten percent of all fatal motor vehicle accidents are caused by one or more distracted drivers. According to the Erie Insurance Group, 62 percent of distracted drivers were daydreaming when the accident occurred. Cellphone use was only attributed to 12 percent of the distracted drivers.
]]> This can happen to anyone, especially when you drive the same streets and interstates, every day. Ever found yourself on I-45, I-610 or the Sam Houston and realized that you did not remember driving the last few miles? That would be lost in thought, which is not a good condition when you are moving at 110 feet per second, which is your speed at 75 mph.Other sources of distraction include rubbernecking (notice how much traffic slows, even when the stall/crash is on the lanes across the median?), speaking with passengers, eating and pets.
While cellphone use was only 12 percent, that may increase, as they become more integrated into many peoples lives.
Truth is we all tend to underestimate the amount of focus driving demands, and we are lucky most of the time. Sadly, more than 32,000 people run out of luck every year.
Source: Houston Chronicle, "Phone use trails 'lost in thought' in fatal car crashes," Noah Buhayar, Bloomberg News, "April 5, 2013
]]>A story this week from Las Vegas highlights the one danger. Dinners at a Las Vegas restaurant were injured when a man in a speeding car drove over the curb and crashed through the dining area on Monday. Ten people were seriously injured as a result of the motor vehicle accident.
]]> Few people would suspect sitting on a sidewalk restaurant, they were at risk of being injured by a car or truck crashing to their table. The man was of accused of being under the influence of prescription drugs at the time of the crash.Prescription drug abuse is a growing problem and this crash serves as a reminder that you never know what a driver is thinking or their physical condition. They could on drugs, alcohol or even drowsy from being on the road too many hours.
Another case from Houston last month involved a car that struck one car and then drove up a driveway and into the side of a home. When police arrived, they found the driver was dead from gunshot wounds. The women in the other car was slightly injured, but one can easily imagine a pedestrian could have been struck and killed, had they been unlucky to have been walking by when the car went out of control.
Source: Houston Chronicle, "Bail set at $500K for teen in Vegas eatery crash," Ken Ritter, Associated Press, April 4, 2013
]]>The crash occurred at 5:45 am on a rainy highway, although the preliminary statements made by the police indicated they had not determined the cause of the car accident, they had ruled out alcohol as a possible cause of the crash. The weather may have played a role in the accident, given the rain-slicked roads and the pre-dawn conditions, but other factors may have contributed.
]]> While alcohol is always a potential cause in these types of car accidents, there is an endless variety of possible causes. Given the early hour, one or both of the drivers could have nodded off momentarily, drifting into the other lane only to come to, seconds too late.Other sources of distraction could have been cell phone use or texting, checking a GPS, changing a radio station or music on a smart phone or iPod. The driver could have been distracted by his rear seat passengers, taking his eyes off the road in front of him; they could have been eating breakfast, or the driver may have tried to place a coffee cup in a cup holder and been distracted from a curve in the road.
We are always saddened when we such an enormous price extracted in such an accident.
Source: Houston Chronicle, "Crash kills family of 4 near Conroe," Jayme Fraser, March 23, 2013
]]>You can spend so much time in your car that you often forget just what would happen if you had to stand on your brakes to avoid a car, truck, pedestrian or a child on a bicycle. It is easy to become distracted in a car, with your cell phone or the radio, iPod, newspaper, lunch, coffee, soda, makeup and a near infinite list of items. Your familiarity with the car and often the route can lull you into a trance-like behavior, where you are only incidentally aware that you are driving a vehicle.
]]> Mindfulness is important for driving. We need to be mindful of the damage our vehicle and do and understand the potential consequences of foolish or distracted behavior. Last year, a woman in Beaumont, Texas, travelling near a truck, suffered a rock striking her car and chipping her windshield.She became angry, pulled in front of the truck and slammed on her brakes. The truck, too, stopped. The car following the truck, hit the rear end of the truck, and the crash killed the driver and injured the passenger.
This week, she was sentenced to two concurrent five-year sentences after a plea bargain to charges for aggravated assault. She could have potentially been sentenced to 20 years in prison. While she told the court she was very sorry, her actions highlight how a moment's anger at a rock chip resulted in the death of a man.
Source: 12Newsnow.com, "Port Arthur woman sentenced for fatal accident: 'I'm very sorry for everything'," March 18, 2013
]]>Early Sunday morning in Ohio, eight teens in an SUV, travelling at a "high-rate of speed," crashed into a guardrail on a stretch of road known as "dead man's curve," flipped over into water and only two of the eight escaped the car accident. It is unclear what they were doing in the vehicle that early in the morning.
]]> Similarly, it is unclear why the teen driver of the SUV in the Dumas crash went through the stop sign. Was he distracted by a text message? Was he sending a text or talking on the phone? Or was he simply distracted by his four passengers and the moments inattention, perhaps a less than a second, cost him and the other four teens their lives.Car accidents have long been a leading killer of teens, because being young and healthy, they face few other risks. While highway fatalities have been decreasing, especially after the 2008 recession, the sad fact remains that we kill over 30,000 people every year on the highways of this country. And every one of them is someone's child, mother, father, husband, wife, brother or sister.
Source: CNN, "Teen tragedy: 5 die in fiery collision with tanker truck in Texas," Ben Brumfield, March 11, 2013
]]>In a car accident, we see a graphic representation of that equation at work. If you're pregnant, you may think that wearing a seatbelt is dangerous, because it could tighten around your abdomen and injure your baby. A recent study has found that you are safer with a seatbelt on and an operational air bag than without. You should wear the belt below your belly on your hips.
]]> The study was headed by Dr. Haywood Brown, the chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Duke University Medical Center. The researchers examined the trauma registry at Duke University Hospital. They looked car accidents involving 126 women in their second and third trimesters that had been treated at the hospital between 1994 and 2010.They found that women wearing their seatbelts lost 3.5 percent of their fetuses in car accidents. Women who failed to wear seatbelts suffered a 25 percent loss.
Airbags were triggered in 17 crashes, and women in those incidents were more likely to suffer a separation of the placenta, but a researcher noted that that was probably more a function of the severity of the crash. She suggested that airbags were more likely to be triggered in the types of crashes that could result placental separation.
To protect the fetus, it is most important to protect the mother and seatbelts and airbags still offer the best protection, so buckle up.
Source: Reuters, "Buckle up during pregnancy: study," Kerry Grens, March 8, 2013
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