Articles Posted in Car Accidents

As summer enters full swing, reviewing safe and defensive driving habits as a family can help reduce Massachusetts car accidents and help ensure you and your loved ones have a safe, enjoyable summer.

Massachusetts traffic accidents caused 363 fatalities in 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Accident statistics for last year will be released in the coming weeks. Through the summer months, the Boston personal injury and wrongful death law firm of Jeffrey S. Glassman will look at safe driving habits and some of the leading causes of serious and fatal traffic accidents.

But before we do, we encourage you to visit Road Trip America’s 70 Rules of Defensive Driving, an excellent Internet resource which takes a sometimes humorous look at the serious business of driving safety.

Through the coming weeks, we will take a closer look at some of the driving habits that are the most dangerous, as well as some of the accident trends more specific to Massachusetts.

25 of Road Trip America’s 70 Rules of Defensive Driving:

1) Pay Attention 2) Don’t Trust (Anybody)!
3) Yield Anyway 4) Don’t Speed 5) Don’t Drive Impaired 6) Wear Your Seat Belt 7) Buy and Use Safety Devices 8) Motorcyclist, Protect Thyself 9) Don’t Run Red 10) Drive Precisely 11) Chill Out 12) Look Down the Road 13) Create Space 14) Drive to Communicate 15) Drive Predictably 16) Always Signal Your Intentions 17) Know Your Blind Spots 18) Avoid Distractions 19) Avoid Backing Up 20) Beware of Intersections 21) Be a Freeway Pro 22) Know how to Stop 23) Know when to use your Headlights 24) Slow down in Rain or Snow 25) Maintain your Tires
Sometimes accidents are unavoidable. But frequently they involve poor driving choices, such as distracted driving, speeding or disobeying red lights or other traffic control devices. By practicing safe driving habits, and by learning some of the defensive driving habits that can help keep you safe, motorists can sometimes reduce the risk of being involved in a serious or fatal Massachusetts traffic accident.
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Boston car accidents have been attributed to drivers who are rude, foulmouthed and reckless. But the city has apparently caught a break in the new list of the 10 Most Dangerous Cities compiled by Insurance.com … if only because Massachusetts drivers don’t use the company’s service to purchase insurance.

Saying Boston residents are “world-renowned for their demolition derby driving style,” the company said Boston drivers might consider Baltimore “wicked scary.”

Baltimore topped the list of the most dangerous driving cities, with 36.5 percent of drivers who received a quote from the company admitting to a prior accident.

Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities for Drivers

Baltimore: 36.5 percent Johnstown, Pa.: 34.5 percent Portland, Maine: 33.4 percent Des Moines, Iowa: 33.2 percent Erie, Pa.: 33.1 percent Bangor, Maine: 32.9 percent Birmingham, Ala.: 32.4 percent Austin, Texas: 32.3 percent Manchester, N.H.: 32.2 percent Lincoln, Neb.: 31.8 percent
Top 10 Safest Cities by percentage of people who reported a car accident
Yuma, Ariz: 17.2 percent Flint, Mich.: 18.2 percent Traverse City, Mich.: 18.9 percent Detroit, Mich.: 18.9 percent Grand Rapids, Mich.: 20.7 percent Harlingen, Texas: 20.7 percent Albany, Ga.: 20.8 percent Lansing, Mich.: 21.3 percent Bakersfield, Calif.: 21.6 percent Fresno, Calif.: 21.8 percent.

Boston wasn’t included because the survey only used areas where at least 500 quotes for insurance were requested through Insurance.com in a six-month period.

Here in Boston, there is always “Wild in the Streets: the Boston Driver’s Handbook”

In 2007, Boston was ranked #3 for rude drivers.

Last year, AutoVantage ranked the city 9th most courteous, after having been ranked among the most discourteous in 2008, according to the Boston Business Journal.
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A 9-year-old boy is dead after a Waltham car accident reportedly involving a teenager delivering for Domino’s pizza, the Boston Herald reported.

Contacting a Boston wrongful death attorney is critical when a fatal accident involves someone driving a vehicle as part of their job. The death of a small child is always a tragedy. But in this case the family may be able to recover damages from the driver and his insurance policy as well as the employer.

The Globe reported the teen delivering pizzas had been involved in a previous Massachusetts car accident. As we reported last month on our Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog, teen drivers are already at high-risk for car accidents. While teens represent less than 10 percent of drivers, they account for up to 20 percent of all accidents. In fact, car accidents are the leading cause of death for all teenagers ages 15 to 20, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

At least three people died in weekend Massachusetts car accidents involving rollover crashes that ejected passengers.

On Sunday, a 23-year-old Brockton man was killed and five others seriously injured in a rollover crash on Route 24, the Enterprise News reported.

The Stoughton car accident occurred about 1:30 a.m. Sunday. Police report that the driver lost control of the 2002 Jeep, which crossed onto the northbound side of the road and rolled over, ejecting three of the six passengers.

MIT students are being enlisted by the federal government to help solve the problem of distracted driving, according to the Boston Herald.

As we reported last week on our Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog, state and federal authorities have become increasingly vocal about the dangers of distracted driving. Of particular concern is the use of cell phones by drivers and drivers who text message while behind the wheel. Significant numbers of Massachusetts car accidents are being blamed on distracted driving. Nationwide, 6,000 traffic fatalities a year are caused by distracted driving.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was scheduled to appear on the Cambridge campus Monday, to challenge students to develop technology aimed at reducing distracted driving accidents.

LaHood was accompanied by Massachusetts resident Jerry Cibley, whose son was killed in a distracted driving accident. His speech kicks off MIT’s transportation and energy lecture series.

Jordan Cibley was killed on Mother’s Day 2007, one day after his high school prom, while driving two blocks from home and talking an a cell phone with his father. Authorities believe he drove into a tree at 30 mph after dropping the phone and unfastening his seat belt to retrieve it from the floor, according to the Taunton Gazette. He died as a result of a traumatic brain injury.
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The Governors Highway Safety Association and State Highway Safety Agencies are joining forces with Oprah Winfrey and Harpo Studios to fight distracted driving on “No Phone Zone Day,” set for this Friday, April 30.

Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of Massachusetts car accidents and Boston University will be participating with a campus rally on Friday, which is being supported by the Massachusetts Highway Safety Division.

The government recognizes three primary types of distracted driving –visual, manual and cognitive — and has become increasingly vocal about the dangers of cell phone use, and particularly text messaging while driving, which involves all three forms of distraction.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s website, www.distraction.gov, cites a number of sobering statistics:

-Using a cell phone while driving reduces the amount of brain activity dedicated to driving by 37 percent.

-An estimated 6,000 motorists died in accidents involving distracted drivers in 2008 and more than 500,000 were injured.

-Drivers using hand-held devices are 4 times more likely to be involved in a crash.

-Younger, inexperienced drivers have the highest proportion of fatal accidents caused by distracted driving.

-Using a cell phone while driving, whether it’s hands-free or hand-held, impairs a motorist’s driving ability as much as a blood-alcohol level of .08, the legal limit for drunk driving in Massachusetts.

On Friday, the Oprah Winfrey Show will be devoted to the dangers of using a cell phone or texting while driving. In addition to Boston, special viewing rallies will be held in Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. A new nationwide public service campaign will debut during the show and participants and viewers will be asked to take a pledge to make their cars “No Phone Zones.”

Examples of distracted driving include:

-Using a cell phone
-Eating or drinking
-Talking to passengers
-Grooming
-Reading, including maps
-Using a navigation system
-Watching a video
-Using other on-board electronics, including the stereo or CD player.

Those wishing to take the “No Phone Zone” pledge can visit www.oprah.com/nophonezone.
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