Articles Posted in Car Accidents

We recently discussed National Child Passenger Safety Week on our Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog. This week-long campaign raised awareness among parents about the importance of properly buckling in children during every car ride.

Now, to supplement that campaign, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is teaming up with Chuggington traffic safety program to help educate children ages 2 to 7 about safe traveling habits. Chuggington is an animated video series that teaches young ones about important safety tips they can practice to avoid child injury in Massachusetts. The educational program offers a child-safety pledge, activities and tips for parents that can be downloaded from a website.

“Educating children at an early age about the importance of wearing bicycle helmets, looking both ways when crossing the street and buckling up leads to a lifetime of good traffic safety habits,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

As we’ve recently discussed, car accidents are the number one cause of death for children under the age of 15. In 2009, this age group experienced nearly 1,500 fatalities and 170,000 injuries because of traffic-related accidents. In 2007, there were more than 260 children in this age group injured in pedestrian accidents. Another 115,000 young pedestrians were injured during this year as well.

The partnership between the NHTSA and Chuggington aims to reduce the risks of accidents for young bus riders, pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists. Throughout the series, Chuggington and the other characters receive badges for practicing safe traffic behavior. The series also provides your child with an opportunity to receive his or her very own Chuggington safety badge. The campaign is also pushing the “Think Safe, Ride Safe, Be Safe!” pledge. Children are urged to agree to and sign the pledge to promise to practice safe habits at all times.

Parents are still urged to visit one of our Massachusetts child car seat inspection locations to have a certified technician take a look at their child’s car seat to make sure that it’s properly installed. In the U.S., it is estimated that about 70 percent of car seats are improperly installed. These seats have been proven to have the ability to save children in the event of a car accident. We just need to make sure that they’re being installed properly in the event of an accident.

Check out the latest child car seat recommendations as well to make sure that you’ve got the right car seat for the age, weight and height of your child.

Remember, if you’re busted in the state of Massachusetts with a child who isn’t properly restrained in your vehicle, you could possibly face a $25 fine for the first offense. Take the extra few seconds to properly buckle your child during every car ride. It could help save his or her life.
Continue reading

There’s a new cartoon that’s going to teach your child some useful tools to remember when traveling near or in cars. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has partnered up with Chuggington, a popular animated series, in an attempt to help prevent injuries to children in Massachusetts and elsewhere.

Children under the age of 8 are the target audience for this campaign, which includes downloadable safety tips, a kid-focused safety pledge and a number of activities for parents and caregivers to practice with children.

“Educating children at an early age about the importance of wearing bicycle helmets, looking both ways when crossing the street and buckling up leads to a lifetime of good traffic safety habits,” said Ray LaHood, the U.S. Transportation Secretary.

Our Boston injury lawyers understand that car accidents continue to be the number one cause of death for children. It’s estimated that there are more than 1,300 deaths and roughly 180,000 injuries to children under the age of 15 in car accidents in the U.S. in 2009. There were more than 260 deaths and nearly 200,000 injuries that occurred to child pedestrians in 2007 while playing around or in vehicles. For this reason, the new campaign will cover safety tips for bicyclists, school bus riders, pedestrians and child car seats.

Throughout the new series, the characters will be learning important lessons in each episode that will help children to understand the dangers associated with each of these modes of travel. Through each episode, characters will earn rewards, or badges, for practicing safe behavior. The creators will be pushing the “The ‘Think Safe, Ride Safe, Be Safe!’ pledge to these children, which is meant to teach your child to do exactly as it says. The show aims to get children excited about learning safety rules.

This campaign was launched just in time for National Child Passenger Safety Week, which is used to urge parents to review the rules and recommendations regarding their child and their child’s car seat. During this time, parents can visit one of the many child seat inspection locations in Massachusetts to have their child’s seat examined and installed by a certified technician. The inspections are most oftentimes free of charge and they can teach you the proper techniques to install a child seat. You are urged to call and make an appointment before visiting any location.

According to national statistics, about three-fourths of all child car seats in the U.S. are installed incorrectly. We recently told you about different ways to ensure that your child is safely buckled during every car ride and the Massachusetts child restraint laws on our Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog.

Parents are urged to continue to discuss safety tips with young children in an effort to help prevent any serious injury. It is important to equip your child with the knowledge and skills to be able to travel safely.
Continue reading

The State of Massachusetts is celebrating National Child Passenger Safety Week through this Saturday, Sept. 24. According to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Highway Safety Division (EOPSS/HSD), child passenger safety is a top priority of our highway officials. These departments continuously work with one another and with local municipalities and local organizations to help promote proper child passenger seat usage and installation. Throughout this awareness week, parents and caregivers have been urged to join the festivities, spread the word and check out one of our state’s Child Passenger Safety checkup events. These child-seat checkups have been taking place throughout the commonwealth, and will help to ensure that adults are properly buckling in their little ones to protect their safety in the event of a car accident in Massachusetts.

“As a mother of four children, I know how important it is to correctly select, install and use child safety seats,” said Sheila Burgess, director of the Highway Safety Division for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, according to a news release. “This checkup and the others taking place across the state represent our commitment to ensuring parents and caregivers are safely buckling up children as well as themselves on every drive.”

Our Boston car accident attorneys understand that more than 75 percent of child safety seats are installed into vehicles improperly by an adult. Parents are urged to stop by one of the Child Safety Seat checkup locations just to make sure you’re properly strapping in your child. At these inspection stations, nationally certified child-passenger safety officials will be available to inspect your techniques and help you to improve your child’s safety. Improperly buckling in a young passenger can result in serious injuries.

According to Massachusetts Child Passenger Safety Law:

-As of July 2008, all children that ride in a motor vehicle must be seated in a federally approved child seat.

-Children are required to be properly fastened and secured in a child seat until they are at least 8 years old or taller than 57 inches.

-A booster seat/seat belt combination must be worn by all children who have outgrown the height and weight requirements for a child seat. This usually happens when a child weighs at least 40 pounds, has reached the age of 8 or is taller than 57 inches.

-Children 13 and older are required to wear a seat belt.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were more than 1,300 children under the age of 15 killed in traffic accidents in 2009. Nearly 180,000 young passengers were injured in these incidents. Many of these fatalities and injuries could have been prevented if parents had taken the time to properly restrain children in a vehicle during every car ride.
Continue reading

A recent car accident on the Massachusetts Turnpike took the lives of two and injured three. Massachusetts state police report that a 6-year-old was fatally injured when a van, driven by a 25-year-old female, smashed into a box truck and was thrown into the breakdown lane of the Turnpike.

It then hit the guardrail, passed over three lanes of traffic, hit the center guardrail, flipped over and came to a rest on its roof in the center of the highway. A 6-year-old passenger was thrown from the van during the collision, according to The Republican. The driver and two 4-year-old girls were transported to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.

The driver of the truck was not injured in the accident. The westbound lanes of the Turnpike were closed for the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section to conduct an investigation and for cleanup. Investigators are focusing on whether or not the 6-year-old was properly belted during the accident. Traffic was rerouted in Auburn at exit 10. Traffic was backed up for about 10 miles as a result of the accident.

Our Boston car accident attorneys understand that traffic can be hectic at times on the Turnpike. In addition to safe driving habits, making sure that all passengers are properly restrained is one of the most important steps someone can take to ensure occupant safety. To help ensure the safety of child passengers, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently released a new set of recommendations for buckling up your little ones.

Child passenger restraint recommendations:

-Children should remain in each child seat until they meet the manufacturer’s height and weight limits.

-Keep children in rear-facing car seats as long as possible. These seats help to support a child’s head, neck and spine in the event of an accident.

-Read instruction manuals to learn how to properly install the car seat by using either the seat belt or the LATCH system.

-All passengers under the age of 13 should ride in the back seat.

-Never place a child that is using a rear-facing car seat in front of an active air bag.

-Children should be seated in booster seats until they’re at least 13-years-old or are at least 4-foot-6.

“Selecting the right seat for your child can be a challenge for many parents. NHTSA’s new revised guidelines will help consumers pick the appropriate seat for their child,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland.

Another important factor we would like to point out in the accident is the fact that is rolled and came to a rest on its roof. Although safe driving advocates have done much research on the likelihood of rollover accidents on a number of cars, there are tips you can follow if your vehicle is one of ones that is more susceptible to these types of accidents.

Tips to avoid a rollover accident:

-Steer clear of conditions that could cause you to lose control of your vehicle, including drowsy driving, intoxicated driving and speeding.

-Be extra careful on rural roads.

-Try not to panic. The NHTSA says, “If your vehicle should go off the roadway, gradually reduce the vehicle speed and then ease the vehicle back on to the roadway when it is safe to do so.”

-Keep an eye on your tires. Make sure that they’re properly inflated and not worn.

-Be cautious when loading you vehicle. The more weight your vehicle is carrying, the less stable it becomes.
Continue reading