Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog

The Massachusetts Highway Patrol has announced an enforcement blitz will be rolled out in an effort to reduce the number of serious and fatal Massachusetts car accidents through the remainder of summer. The blitz will be conducted each Friday and Saturday night and will search for drunk drivers and other traffic violators.

Dubbed Operation Lightning, the effort will include 20 extra troopers on the roads each Friday and Saturday night. During the last two weekends, the operation has resulted in the arrest of 24 motorists on drunk driving charges, as well as 15 other arrests. The extra patrols also issued 263 citations.

In addition to the increased enforcement, the patrol is also launching a "Click it or Ticket" campaign, which will use federal funding through the National Highway Transportation Administration to pay for an additional 460 four-hour patrol shifts through July 31. In August, a "Drunk Driving -- Over the Limit -- Under Arrest" grant will be used to provide a similar increase in patrols and enforcement.

The patrol also announced plans to run two or three sobriety checkpoints each weekend through the remainder of the year. Last weekend, checkpoints in Quincy and Auburn netted 12 drunk driver arrests. A previous weekend resulted in 16 OUI arrests in Haverhill and Springfield.

Troopers will also be looking for speeders, aggressive drivers and distracted drivers.

So far this year, the patrol reports 145 fatal accidents on Massachusetts roads -- fewer than the 184 deaths recorded during the same period last year.

Continue reading "Troopers pulling out all the stops to crack down on violators and reduce risks of Massachusetts car accidents" »

A Boston dump truck accident left motorists plenty frustrated this morning as a landscaper's truck flipped on the highway south of downtown, causing long delays, the Globe reported.

The accident scattered dirt across the road at about 6:30 a.m. on the southbound side of I-93 near the Dorchester Yacht Club. The crash slowed traffic clear through the city and north to Montvale Avenue.

Fortunately, there were no reports of serious injuries as a result of the crash. However, dump trucks pose the threat of serious or fatal injuries in the event of an accident with other motorists. While smaller than a semi, a dump truck may be just as heavy. And the shifting weight of earth or debris in a dump truck can make steering difficult. Additionally, a truck may make numerous trips to and from a dump site each day and may react differently depending on the weight of its current load. A loaded dump truck may also require a significant length of time to come to a stop.

Twenty people were killed Massachusetts trucking accidents in 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Nationwide, one in every nine traffic fatalities involves a collision with a large truck. In 2008, an astounding 380,000 semis and large trucks were involved in accidents. A total of 4,229 people were killed and more than 90,000 were injured.

A Boston injury lawyer should always be consulted when a motorist is injured or killed in an accident with a large commercial truck. Out-of-state trucking companies and insurance companies can complicate trucking accident cases. And whether or not a truck and its driver were in compliance with numerous state and federal trucking regulations can have a major impact on a trucking accident case.

Continue reading "Boston dump truck accident snarls traffic; Massachusetts trucking accidents a serious threat to motorist safety" »

The state has passed a law banning text messaging while behind the wheel in an effort to reduce the risk of serious or fatal Massachusetts car accidents. But it is just part of a national patchwork of distracted driving laws motorists will have to navigate while on summer vacation.

As our Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog reported earlier this month, state leaders have reached agreement on a new law that will ban texting while driving. After six-years of debate, the law will also ban drivers under the age of 18 from using a cell phone while driving and will require drivers over the age of 75 to have their vision tested in person when renewing their driver's license.

The Governor's Highway Safety Association reports that eight states prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cell phones -- California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington.

Thirty states ban text messaging while driving.

And a number of cities, including Chicago, ban the use of hand-held cell phones in a state where they are otherwise legal for use by drivers outside the city limits. As MSNBC reported motorists are responsible for knowing and obeying the laws, wherever they are traveling.

What's a traveling motorist to do this summer? Fines range from $20 to $150 and can put a real ding in your vacation budget. In some states, a motorist may only be cited if they are texting or using a phone while committing a separate traffic infraction. In other states, merely using a phone is enough to be pulled over and cited.

While AAA discourages the use of cell phones while driving, the organization offers a list of the laws in each state on its website.

"Drivers are still responsible for knowing the cell phone laws that apply to each state," said AAA spokesperson Nancy White.

Our Boston injury lawyers urge you to leave the map searching, texting, talking and GPS devices and other distractions to a passenger. The best way to ensure safe travel this summer is for the driver to do nothing but concentrate on the road.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that more than 6,000 motorists are killed each year in distracted driving accidents, primarily as a result of using cell phones while driving. Another 600,000 are injured.

Continue reading "Massachusetts motorists responsible for understanding distracted driving laws wherever they travel this summer" »

Yet another Massachusetts State Trooper has been injured in a Boston car accident after being struck by an alleged drunk driver during a traffic stop, the Examiner reported.

Our Boston injury lawyers are not sure what it's going to take to keep our rescue workers and road construction workers from being seriously injured or killed in Massachusetts work accidents. But putting some real teeth into the state's "Move Over" law would be a good place to start. The state just enacted its current law, which provides for a fine of up to $100 for vehicles that fail to move over or slow down for stopped emergency vehicles with activated lights.

In comparison, Illinois' Move Over Law comes with a fine of up to $10,000 and a two year license suspension -- the first 90 days is a mandatory suspension for a property damage accident.

In this most recent incident, an alleged drunk driving struck the trooper's car early Saturday morning while the trooper was conducting a traffic stop in the breakdown lane of Route 25 in Taunton.

The Trooper had pulled over a Chrysler Sebring for a driving violation when the Volkswagen Jetta slammed into his cruiser. The trooper was trapped in the car as a result of the accident. The 24-year-old driver of the Jetta was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and failure to move over for an emergency vehicle.

Last month, Sgt. Douglas Weddleton was killed by an alleged drunk driver in Mansfield, while conducting a traffic stop on another accused drunk driver.

A third incident involved a trooper who was struck and injured by a motorist in Peabody while he was outside his vehicle conducting a traffic stop. A fourth trooper was injured after being hit while conducting a traffic stop in Cambridge.

The incidents have the Boston Examiner suggesting authorities begin raising awareness by conducting enforcement efforts that would stage a mock traffic stop at the side of the road while additional troopers stopped motorists not complying with the state's Move Over law.

Continue reading "Weekend Massachusetts car accident injures fourth trooper this month" »

A pair of Massachusetts drunk driving accidents damaged a cemetery and a gas station over the weekend. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured in the crashes. Too often, these types of senseless accidents result in the serious injury or death of other motorists on the road.

As our Boston accident lawyers continue to report, crashes involving drunk drivers are responsible for about one-third of all fatal accidents on the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that a drunk driving fatality occurs every 45 minutes. In 2008, a total of 11,773 drunk driving fatalities were report on the nation's roads. Alcohol was involved in 4 of every 10 fatal Massachusetts car accidents - or 151 of 363 deadly crashes that occurred in the state in 2008.

In these cases, nothing but property was in the way of the drunk drivers, leading to crashes that made news for being unusual, instead of tragic.

Shortly before 4 a.m. Saturday, a 22-year-old woman driving northbound on Route Six crashed through a fence and landed in a Cape Cod cemetery, ABC5 reported. She struck nine headstones before coming to a stop inside Duck Creek Cemetery. She was placed under arrest on a charge of operating under the influence of alcohol.

In a separate incident, the MetroWest Daily News reported that a 23-year-old New Hampshire man crashed his Audi into a gas station in Sudbury.

That crash occurred shortly before 6 a.m. Sunday at the Sudbury Automotive on Boston Post Road. An officer happened to drive by the station and spotted the driver standing outside the vehicle, which had penetrated the side of the building. The driver was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and failure to stay within marked lanes.

The gas station and repair shop was closed at the time. The owner said the vehicle was stopped by a pair of vending machines but that the crash sprayed Pepsi, Coke and loose change all over the property.

Continue reading "No injuries reported in pair of Massachusetts drunk driving accidents " »

A deadly weekend of Massachusetts traffic accidents involved a wrong-way driver, a fatal motorcycle accident and a deadly Massachusetts semi accident, the Boston Herald reported.

Two people were killed in a Worcester, Massachusetts car accident early Saturday morning on Route 190. Massachusetts State Police report that the accident happened about 3:20 a.m. when a 23-year-old Worcester woman traveling south in the northbound lanes hit a truck driven by a 23-year-old Fitchburg man.

Both were pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in the truck was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.

An hour later on Route 495 north in Haverville, a New Hampshire motorist was killed in an accident. Authorities report she struck a guardrail and spun into the path of a tractor trailer. The force of the impact ejected her from the vehicle and she was then struck by a second semi. Police are investigating whether she was using a cell phone at the time.

ABC5 reported that a Boston motorcycle accident killed a rider and injured three others in a crash Saturday night at the intersection of Rutherford Avenue and Austin Street in Charlestown.

Cause of that accident remains under investigation by the Boston Police Accident Reconstruction Team.

Continue reading "Massachusetts semi accident, Boston motorcycle accident contribute to deadly weekend on the roads" »

Our Massachusetts injury lawyers continue to write about the dangers of Boston pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents. We applaud the Baltimore crackdown on speeders, aggressive drivers and other traffic scofflaws in accident prone areas. The city's Street Smart campaign will target lawbreakers through the remainder of summer in an effort to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety and should be replicated here.

This video shows the drastic difference of driving through a residential area at 35 mph as opposed to 25 mph. At 25 mph, the car is able to stop for the child in the crosswalk. At 35 mph, the child is struck and very likely killed. At 35 mph, it took 44 feet to stop. At 40 mph, it took 57 feet and the accident would have surely been fatal.

The campaign will target aggressive driving behavior, including tailgating, weaving from lane to lane, unsafe passing, running traffic signals and speeding. And it is the last of these -- speeding -- that remains the most socially acceptable and among the most dangerous.

The state reports that 70 percent of pedestrians killed last year were involved in accidents on roads where the speed limit is 35 mph or less. More than 500 children were among last year's accident victims.

Continue reading "Aggressive enforcement necessary to reduce number of Boston pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents" »

Our Boston injury lawyers read with interest an item published recently in the Hartford Courant, which detailed results of a study that found the effectiveness of airbags and seat belts can depend on the sex and weight of the motorist.

Wearing your seat belt is required by law in Massachusetts. What authorities downplay in the quest to get motorists to buckle up (Click it or Ticket, et al.) is that there are accident scenes in which a motorist would have been better off had he or she not been wearing a seat belt. And there are circumstances where an accident impacts two motorists differently -- one survives while the other is seriously injured or killed.

The University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute, which conducted the study, found that additional technology is needed to protect the largest and smallest of occupants. Of course, we already know and understand that on a most basic level; it's why we require small children to utilize booster seats and other devices to augment their safety.

But we largely ignore the difference in a crash's impact on a 100 pound woman or a 300 pound man.

"Based on these results, we know the current system is not optimal," said Michael Sivak, a research professor who worked on the study.

The study looked at 297,000 crashes from 1998 to 2008, in which at least one occupant was killed. The driver was killed in about half of the crashes and survived in the other half. Researchers then used information about the size of the driver to determine body Mass Index (BMI), which is based on relationship of a driver's weight to his or her height.

Men with a BMI of 35 to 50 are considered to be seriously obese; a 6-foot man with a BMI of 35 would weigh 258 pounds. With a BMI of 50, he would weigh 369 pounds. Researchers found that obese men wearing seat belts were about 14 percent less likely to die than men of average weight.

However, obese men who were not wearing their belts were about 5 percent more likely to die, apparently because the extra weight forced its way through the airbag, which made airbags less effective.

Researchers found no reliable trends for unbelted women, but found overweight women were more likely to be killed in a crash, as were women who were underweight.

Women lighter than 110 pounds were about 8 percent more likely to be killed in a crash.

Air bags continue to evolve, and beginning in 2007 front airbags are required to take into account the size and weight of the seat occupant under new requirements by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

So far, studies of those devices have not found them to be any safer.

Continue reading "Belted passengers in Massachusetts car accidents could be at increased risk based on weight " »

It is no secret that motorists caught speeding in a road construction zone face double fines as authorities work to reduce the number of serious and fatal Massachusetts construction accidents in roadwork zones.

But the Boston Globe recently reported on a reader's surprise to learn that the double fines apply even when workers are not present. The motorist questioned whether there is any viable evidence that construction zones increase the risk of an accident.

The Globe reported that such data does not exist, largely because determining accidents per-vehicle-mile-traveled (which you would need to do to get an apples-to-apples comparison) is largely impossible because of the shifting nature of roadwork and the task of trying to determine exactly how many miles are under construction at any given time.

Still, statistics suggest motorists driving in construction zones are at high risk, whether or not workers are present. Nationwide, 720 people, mostly motorists, were killed in work zones in 2008. And one study, sponsored by the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse, found that accidents increased by 88 percent in long-term construction zones around Chicago.

"Many road and bridge construction zones have altered lane configurations, lane shifts, and closures and a number of people working near live traffic," explained Adam Hurtubise, spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. "These situations can be unfamiliar to drivers, even those who drive those particular roads regularly."

And that's the real crux of the matter when it comes to Massachusetts car accidents. Many of these accidents are caused by driver distraction. In other cases, it is just the variance from the driving norm -- stopped traffic in the road, flashing lights, shifting lanes, oncoming traffic sharing the road -- that increases the risk for an accident.

We've all experienced the crawling sensation of slowing down for a work zone (often from 10 over the speed limit to 10 or 20 mph below the normal limit). But the fact of the matter is that driving faster is just not safe. And driving the work-zone speed limit will get you to your destination much faster, and far more economically, than will being pulled over and cited by law enforcement or being involved in an accident.

Continue reading "Massachusetts work accidents, car accidents, a danger in road construction zones" »

A 39-year-old man has been charged with drunk driving in connection with a Cambridge car accident that injured a state trooper, the Globe reported.

It is the third time in two weeks that a Massachusetts state trooper has been struck by a motorist. As we reported on our Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog, a trooper was struck in the leg while conducting a traffic stop on southbound Route 128 over the Fourth of July weekend. And a 52-year-old state trooper was killed on 1-95 while making a traffic stop. Both drivers in that case have been charged with drunk driving.

In this case, the defendant reportedly told investigators that he had consumed four beers in the half hour before the Cambridge crash. He pleaded not guilty to charges of operating under the influence, operating under the influence of liquor causing serious bodily injury with negligence and negligent operation of a motor vehicle. Authorities say the man has two other OUIs on his record. State police say they gave him a blood-alcohol test two hours after the crash and he tested .15, nearly twice the legal limit of .08 for drunk driving in Massachusetts.

He was allegedly driving a Nissan Maxima when he hit a state police captain who was directing traffic in Cambridge following the Fourth of July fireworks display.

Continue reading "Cambridge car accident that injures trooper blamed on drunk driving" »

Vibrating car seats could soon warn drivers of an impending Massachusetts car accident.

MSNBC reports the seats are the latest safety feature that could begin appearing in new cars. Recent years have seen a host of new safety features, including curtain airbags, backup warning sensors and rearview cameras. While our Boston accident lawyers applaud the focus on safety, we have concerns about the extent to which such systems take the focus on safety out of the hands of drivers. For instance, drivers in cars with backup sensors are at higher risk for an accident when driving a car not equipped with the sensors. Their reliance upon a vehicle's safety features has reduced their own awareness.

The new seats will alert drivers to cars in a vehicle's blind spot or other hard-to-see spots around the rear of a vehicle. After wearing a seat belt, situational awareness remains the second most important safe driving virtue. However, as motorists zone out on the road, checking a car's blind spot becomes the first safe-driving habit to go, MSNBC reports.

The vibrating, or "touch" system, has advantages over video or audio warning systems, according to the seat's inventor, John Morrell of Yale University. Existing audio and visual warning systems just add to driver distraction while a touch cue can transmit location of the danger without requiring a driver to turn their head.

The seat's vibration corresponds to the area of the car where the danger arises, so that a car pulling along the rear-right side will trigger sensors in the lower right seat back.

No question the increased safety of modern vehicles has helped reduce the number of serious and fatal car accidents. Fatal accidents have declined nationwide, from 41,501 in 1998 to 37,261 in 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

To the extent that motorists use such safety systems to augment their awareness, we think they are welcome improvements. It's when they become a crutch for inattention that a motorist could face the increased risk of being involved in a serious or fatal car accident.

Continue reading "In-car technologies can reduce risk of Boston car accident; but no match for attentive driver" »

The texting craze has apparently captivated older generations as a study released by the Pew Research Center indicates adults are just as likely as teenagers to text while driving.

Our Boston accident attorneys frequently report on the dangers of texting while driving. As we reported earlier this month on our Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog, lawmakers just sent a proposed law to the governor that would make it illegal to text while driving in Massachusetts.

CNN reports that the research by the Pew Center found that nearly half (47 percent) of adults admitted to sending or receiving text messages while driving.

By comparison, 34 percent of teenagers admitted to texting while driving, according to a Pew Center report released last fall.

A similar percentage of adults (27 percent) and teens (26 percent) said they had sent text messages while behind the wheel. The statistics come as a bit of a surprise, as previous studies have suggested teenagers and young adults are most at risk of being involved in an accident while texting and driving.

"Adults may be the ones sounding the alarm on the dangers of distracted driving, but they don't always set the best example themselves," Mary Madden, a senior research specialist at Pew, said in a statement.

Overall, the study did find that those ages 18 to 34 were more likely to text and drive than other age groups. That holds with information from the federal government, which suggests that those under 20 have the highest proportion of distracted driving accidents.

Nationwide, more than 6,000 people are killed and 500,000 are injured each year in distracted driving accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Continue reading "Adults just as guilty of texting while driving as their teenagers; both run increased risk of Massachusetts car accidents" »

State lawmakers have reached a tentative agreement on a new law that would ban motorists from texting while driving. The effort is aimed at reducing the number of Massachusetts car accidents caused by distracted driving.

As we reported recently on our Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog, state leaders were taken to task in a report issued by the Governors Highway Safety Association, which found that Massachusetts lags being most of the rest of the states in the nation for efforts aimed at reducing distracted driving.

After six years of debate, the agreement would also ban young drivers under the age of 18 from using a cell phone while driving, the Boston Globe reported. Drivers over the age of 75 would be required to have their vision tested and would need to renew their license in person, rather than online.

Once passed, the Safe Driving Act will head to the governor's office, where a spokesperson said he would review it. The effort would make Massachusetts the 29th state to ban texting while driving and the 29th to ban cell phone use for drivers under 18.

The texting ban would also cover e-mailing, Internet searches and other non-calling activities on phones, laptops and handheld devices by drivers. Texting, or phone calls by those under 18, would be allowed in an emergency or when a car is parked.

"If you're behind the wheel and you're texting and law enforcement sees you, you will be pulled over, you will be cited, and you will be paying a substantial fine," said Sen. Steven Baddour.

The law would also make it easier for police officers and doctors to alert the Registry of Motor Vehicles regarding the driving fitness of older motorists. Massachusetts has more than 300,000 drivers over the age of 75 and about 170,000 drivers within five years of turning 75. Nearly 50,000 drivers are under the age of 18.

Under the proposed law, the Registry would also be required to establish an educational campaign warning of the dangers of distracted driving.

Continue reading "Distracted driving law one step closer to reality as officials aim to reduce the number of Massachusetts car accidents" »