Articles Posted in Car Accidents

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is launching a Safe Summer Driving campaign aimed at reducing the number of serious and fatal accidents on the nation’s roads during the summer driving season.

Our Boston injury lawyers encourage families to open a dialogue about the dangers of poor driving decisions, including speeding, drunk driving, distracted driving and other behavior that can lead to a serious or fatal Massachusetts car accident.

Distracted Driving: As we continue to report, distracted driving is one of the leading causes of serious and fatal traffic accidents nationwide. The government estimates that 6,000 people are killed and more than 500,000 are seriously injured each year in driving accidents caused by distracted drivers. Drivers who text message or use cell phones while behind the wheel are at particularly high risk. Other forms of driver distraction include eating, grooming or applying makeup, talking to passengers or using in-car electronics like Mp3 players and GPS devices.

Vehicle Maintenance: Many of us limit our winter driving to commuting to and from work or school. But the summer brings with it the chance to get out on the road. The increased travel brings with it an increased risk of an accident caused by a poorly maintained vehicle. Be sure to have your car serviced and pay particular attention to your tires. Hot summer roads can be extremely hard on old or worn tires.

Click here for more information on tire safety.

NHTSA Safety Tips for Summer

-Never leave a child unattended in or near a vehicle. Warm weather can quickly raise the temperature inside a vehicle to lethal levels. Pay particular attention to where children are at when moving or backing a vehicle.

-Use appropriate safety seats and child restraints. For more information, visit www.safecar.gov.

-Always wear your seat belt.

-Don’t drink and drive.

-Avoid fatigue and stress by getting plenty of rest and ensuring that you leave in plenty of time to safely reach your destination.

-Have your vehicle serviced and pay particular attention to tire wear and fluid levels.
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Two people were seriously injured in a Boston car accident on I-495 Friday night, the Enterprise News reported.

The single-car accident occurred Friday morning near the Middelboro-Raynham line. A 29-year-old man was listed in critical condition and a 24-year-old woman was in serious condition late Friday after the 2003 Toyota Rav4 the woman was driving rolled and came to rest against a guardrail. Both victims were ejected from the vehicle. The crash happened about 8:40 a.m. on I-495 south, just south of the exit to Route 24.

The Enterprise News later reported that the man died as a result of his injuries. The driver has been upgraded to fair condition.

Police say she lost control of the vehicle near the weigh station in an area where the road narrows from three lanes to two. The right lane of the road was closed for three hours while police investigated.

The Taunton Daily Gazette reported that both victims were flown to Boston Medical Center.
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Speeding joins drunk driving and distracted driving as the leading causes of serious and fatal traffic accidents nationwide, according to the National Safety Council.

Boston Injury Attorney Jeffrey S. Glassman and our entire staff encourage you to review safe driving habits with your family as the summer travel season gets underway. Our Safe Driving Series previously examined the dangers of drunk driving, aggressive driving and distracted driving.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that speeding was a cause of one-third of all fatal traffic accidents in 2008, leading to the death of 11,674 motorists. When combined with the 1 in 3 motorists who are killed in drunk driving accidents, those statistics mean that two-thirds of all traffic fatalities in the United States involve either speeding or an intoxicated driver.

A study conducted in 2000 found that speed-related crashes cost an estimated $40.4 billion. That’s $76,865 per minute — or $1,281 per second.

Speeding reduces a driver’s ability to steer safely or avoid objects in the road, increases the distance a vehicle requires to come to a stop, and shortens the amount of time a driver has to react to a dangerous condition.

In 2008, speed was a factor in 97 of 363 fatal Massachusetts traffic accidents.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation wants you to take safe driving seriously. To put your risk in perspective:

What are the Odds?

Being attacked by a bear: 1 in 36 million.
Being attacked by a shark: 1 in 11.5 million.
Dying of a bee sting: 1 in 5.33 million.
Dying in a tornado: 1 in 5 million.
Being struck by lightning: 1 in 240,000.
Being bit by a poisonous snake: 1 in 37,250.

Being killed in a car accident: 1 in 84.

Do yourself and other motorists on the road a favor this summer and slow down. Being late is always better than being in an accident.
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The National Safety Council has released one of the most comprehensive reports to date on the dangers of cell phone use by drivers. Distracted driving continues to be one of the leading causes of Massachusetts car accidents.

As we reported on our Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog, the federal government estimates that 6,000 people a year are killed and more than 500,000 are injured in distracted driving accidents.

Distractions now join alcohol and speeding as the leading factors in serious car accidents. Among the reports findings:

Distracted Driving: 28 percent of all crashes in 2008 were attributed to cell phone use, causing 1.6 million crashes and 645,000 injuries. Drivers using a cell phone are four times more likely to be involved in a crash.

Cell Phone Use:11 percent of drivers are using a cell phone at any given time. 81 percent of drivers admit to using a cell phone while behind the wheel.

Text Messaging: 18 percent of drivers admit to text messaging while driving. The rate is highest among teen drivers (36 percent) and Gen Y drivers (39 percent).

Hands Free Devices: Offer no safety benefit.

“Cell phone use while driving has become a serious public health threat,” said Janet Froetscher, NSC president and CEO. “Several states and municipalities have passed legislation allowing hands-free devices while driving. These laws give the false impression that hands-free phones are a safe alternative, when the evidence is clear they are not. Understanding the distraction of the brain will help people make the right decision and put down their cell phones while driving.”
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Two adults and a toddler were injured Saturday in a Cambridge car accident when an elderly man crashed into a bus shelter, the Boston Herald reported.

Police report that the man hit the accelerator instead of the brake, and crashed his car through the glass-walled bus shelter on Mount Auburn Street. The man was not injured and Cambridge police said he will not face charges. He had been trying to park his Toyota Camry in a handicapped space near Shaw’s Grocery Store at the time of the crash. He rapidly accelerated, careened over a curb, and crashed into the back of the bus shelter.

The walls of the shelter shattered, cutting three people standing inside. A 28-year-old woman and her 4-year-old son were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. A 29-year-old man was also taken to an area hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Older adults are at increased risk for being involved in a Massachusetts car accident. Older drivers also make up the fastest growing segment of the driving population. There were 31 million drivers over the age of 65 in 2007 — a 19 percent increase over the last 10 years. Total licensed drivers only increased by 13 percent during the same time period.

In Massachusetts, a total of 53 older drivers were killed in car accidents in 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Fifteen of those drivers were over the age of 85.

The American Automobile Association operates a website geared toward older drivers and their families.
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Most of us have been annoyed from time to time while behind the wheel. And many of us have been subjected to an irate motorist who tailgates, swerves, jambs on his brakes, or makes unsolicited hand gestures or verbal suggestions about how we should occupy our time.

This is the fourth post in our Safe Driving Series as we take a look at road rage and aggressive driving. Boston Injury Attorney Jeffrey S. Glassman and our staff encourage you to take a look at your own driving behavior while behind the wheel — studies continue to suggest that most motorists believe aggressive driving is a problem … they just don’t think they are among the violators.

Road rage and aggressive driving continues to be a factor in a significant number of serious and fatal Boston car accidents, as well as traffic accidents in Massachusetts and nationwide. One of the leading studies of aggressive driving was conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and begins by detailing a case of Massachusetts road rage in which a 54-year-old bookkeeper shot a motorist with a crossbow.

While that is an extreme example, thousands of serious and fatal accidents are caused each year by aggressive driving. In fact, aggressive driving and road rage are not the same. Aggressive driving is the type of inconsiderate driving most of us experience on a weekly basis, while road rage is a criminal offense marked by violence or assault.

In 2009, AAA reported that more than half of all accidents can be linked to some form of aggressive driving. Aggressive driving frequently involves disobeying traffic control devices, tailgating, speeding, erratic or unsafe passing, driving on the shoulder and failure to yield.

“Aggressive driving and its consequences are all too common on our roadways. It’s easy to think ‘that other guy is the problem'” said Catherine L. Rossi, a AAA spokeswoman. “But anyone can become an aggressive driver just by one single action.”

And when it comes to aggressive driving, motorists tend to think in terms of the other guy. A 2008 report by AAA found that nearly 8 in 10 people think aggressive driving is a serious safety issue, even though many of those same motorists admitted to one or more of the driving behaviors that constitute aggressive driving.

Signs you may be an aggressive driver:

-You express frustration behind the wheel.
-You drive distracted.
-You tailgate or attempt to intimidate motorists into getting out of your way.
-You make frequent lane changes, with or without signaling.
-You frequently try to beat red lights or outright run them.
-You speed.

Reducing stress behind the wheel:

-Concentrate: Avoid distractions while behind the wheel.
-Relax: Listen to music or take a deep breath.
-Don’t Speed: Fewer crashes occur when drivers are traveling the same speed.
-Plan an alternate route: Take a different route, mix up your commute.
-Use public transportation: A bus, subway, train or taxi may even be quicker.
-Just be late: Being late is always better than being in an accident.

When confronted by an aggressive driver:

-Get out of the way: Don’t match aggression with aggression.
-Put your pride aside: Don’t challenge an aggressive driver or try to hold your own lane.
-Avoid eye contact: Making eye contact can actually enrage an aggressive driver.
-Ignore gestures: And refuse to return them.
-Report aggressive drivers: Pull over to a safe location and notify law enforcement.
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Distracted driving has reached epidemic proportions in the United States and is a leading cause of Boston car accidents and traffic accidents through the State of Massachusetts.

Boston Injury Lawyer Jeffrey S. Glassman and our entire staff encourage you to speak with your family — especially teenage drivers — about the importance of safe driving as we enter the summer vacation season. We begin our Safe Driving Series by looking at the dangers of distracted driving.

Nationwide an estimated 6,000 people are killed by distracted driving each year and more than 500,000 are injured. To put those numbers into perspective, someone is seriously injured in a distracted driving car accident every minute of every day.

The federal government is so concerned about the dangers of distracted driving (especially the dangers of text messaging) that it has established a federal website to act as a clearinghouse of information — Distraction.gov.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also developed sample legislation for use by states seeking to outlaw text messaging.

“Texting while driving, like talking on cell phones while driving, is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening practice,” said Secretary Ray LaHood. “This language, which we created with a variety of safety organizations, is another powerful tool in our arsenal to help the states combat this serious threat.”

Texting while driving is of primary concern because it most often involves young drivers — who are already at high risk for a car accident — and because it involves all three forms of driver distraction: Visual, manual and cognitive.

Other forms of distracted driving include:

-Eating and drinking -Talking to passengers -Dressing, grooming or applying makeup -Reading or looking at maps -Using on-board electronics, such as a CD player or navigation system -Watching video
Distracted Driving Facts:

-Using a cell phone while driving reduces the amount of brain activity focused on the road by 37 percent.

-Drivers under 20 have the highest proportion of distracted driving fatalities.

-Drivers who use a hand-held device are four-times more likely to be seriously injured in an accident.

-Using a cell phone while driving — whether hand-held or hands-free — reduces a driver’s reactions as much as driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08, the legal limit for drunk driving in Massachusetts.
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