Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Summer is a great time of year for a lot of reasons, but there are some drawbacks to the summer months that go beyond just coping with heat waves. One of the biggest downsides to summertime is that your car accident risk increases significantly during the period from Memorial Day to Labor Day. In particular, July Fourth is the deadliest day on the roads in the U.S. and August is the deadliest month.

Our Boston car accident lawyers know that more Americans die in car wrecks during the month of August than at any other time over the course of the year. Weekends are especially risky times over the course of this month, but the odds of a fatal crash are increased throughout August because there are more people driving during this month than at many other times of the year.

Understanding Your August Car Accident Risk

According to MSN Money, the dangers of driving in August are not a newfound problem. In fact, NHTSA crash records dating back as far as 1994 indicate that the fatality rate rises of the course of the month. In 2008 alone, there were 2,864 car accident deaths in August and the reported average fatality rate during August was 1.09 per 100 million miles traveled as compared with .94 in March, the safest month.

Other dangerous months such as September, the second-deadliest month, and July, the third deadliest month, have slightly fewer deaths than occur during August. In September, for example, the death rate was 1.08 per 100 million miles traveled and in July, the fatality rate falls to 1.04 per 10 million miles.

August is especially dangerous because seven of the 25 deadliest days for car accidents occur in August. Safe Motorist has indicated that some of the historically riskiest days for August driving included August 3, August 4 and August 6th. Both the 13th and 14th of August have also been called out as days when the number of crashes significantly increases and MSN Money warns that the weekends are typically worse for driver safety because people tend to be out more, run more errands and potentially drive home while intoxicated more often over the weekend.

With so many accidents occurring in August, this month accounts for around 10 percent of all of the car accident deaths that occur over the course of the year.

Protecting Yourself from Traffic Accidents in August

Knowing of the increased accident risk is important to protect yourself as you drive this August. It is important that you obey all safety rules of the road and that you buckle up when driving both to avoid causing a crash yourself and to ensure that you have the best chance of surviving an accident if one does occur.

You should also be on the lookout for dangerous drivers and avoid traveling at high risk times when possible. Weekend nights may be especially dangerous times, with the NHTSA identifying the deadliest hours for car accidents at between 6:00 and 8:59 p.m. Being aware of the risks and knowing that the chances of an accident are increased can allow you to drive assertively and to be proactive in protecting yourself from the dangers of a deadly wreck.
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Recently, a regional transit bus crashed into the side of a home in central Massachusetts. According to WCVB, the bus accident happened on the very first day that the new bus driver was on the job.

Our Boston bus accident lawyers know that driver experience is very important when operating large vehicles such as trucks and buses. While the cause of this current accident is still under investigation, the accident is an important reminder that bus companies need to carefully screen and train drivers in order to prevent disasters from occurring.

New Bus Driver Crashes Into House

According to WCVB, the driver of the bus that crashed into a central Massachusetts home in late June was just 27-years-old. The driver, who was hospitalized after the crash, reportedly went through an eight-week training program before he started his job driving the regional transit bus. An official for the bus company also indicates that the young driver had extensive experience driving a school bus and that his past driving record was stellar.

While the bus driver’s background has not yet been confirmed other than the mention by the bus company representative, it seems very clear that something went terribly wrong to cause the bus to crash into the home. Police indicate that preliminary evidence shows that the brakes on the bus may not have been applied before the bus crashed into the house.

There are several possible reasons why the brakes may not have been used to prevent the bus from hitting and partially destroying the residence. Police have indicated that the driver of the bus may have had some type of medical problem that prevented him from putting on the brakes and avoiding the accident. It is also possible that the accident was not the fault of the driver doing something wrong but was instead the fault of a maintenance problem with the bus.

It will be important to determine the cause of the accident in order for the homeowner to obtain compensation for all losses and damages caused by the bus crash. The homeowner may be able to take legal action against the bus driver if it turns out that the driver was negligent or careless in a way that caused the bus to hit the house.

The homeowner may also be able to pursue a claim for compensation against the bus company, which could be a better option since the regional transit authority likely has more available funds than the driver to pay out full compensation for the damage caused.

The transit authority can be held responsible if the company was negligent in its hiring policies and procedures, such as by hiring a driver with insufficient experience or hiring a driver with a medical issue that made him an unsafe driver. The company can also be liable for the negligence of its employee while in the line of duty, or if the company failed to provide adequate driver training or adequate bus maintenance. In any case, the accident is an important reminder to bus and trucking companies everywhere of their responsibility to be cautious in hiring new drivers as a crash can happen at any time.
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This summer as you travel throughout the United States on road trips or vacations, you may notice something different: many of the interstates now have higher speed limits. Governing.com reports that four state legislatures voted this year to increase speed limits, spurred on by a Texas decision to create the highest speed limit in the U.S.

Our Boston car accident lawyers know that the faster a car is going, the greater the chances of an accident happening. Not only that, but high speeds also increase the chances that an accident will be a serious one since cars that are going faster hit with more force. The trend towards increasing speed limits throughout the United States is thus a troubling one and you need to remember as you go on your summer trips that the key is to drive at a safe speed, even if that sometimes means going slower than you are legally allowed to go.

Higher Speed Limits Increase Accident Risks
Governing.com indicates that Texas kicked off a push to increase speed limits when it made the speed limit 85 miles per hour on a 41-mile stretch of road located between Austin and San Antonio last year. Now, other states have been passing their own increases, climbing ever higher than the national speed limit of 55 miles per hour created by the federal government in 1974 in response to an oil crisis.

Some of the states that have recently increased their speed limits include Ohio which went from 65 miles per hour on its freeways to 70 miles per hour. Utah upped their speed limit from 75 miles to 80, and Maine moved the speed limit on Interstate 295 to 75 miles per hour up from 65 miles per hour.

Those in favor of increasing speed limits indicate that the accident rate is not impacted by speed limit hikes and argue that faster speed limits will encourage more efficient travel throughout the United States.

Unfortunately, safety advocates disagree with those in favor of upping speed limits. The Governor Highway Safety Association has indicated that even if higher speeds don’t increase the number of accidents, they do make accidents much more serious when they happen. Obviously, if two cars are going faster, they collide with much more momentum and force. The increase force and bigger impact of the collision means that a motorist is more likely to be seriously injured or even killed in the crash.

The data showing that higher speed limits don’t necessarily need to more crashes has also not been conclusively confirmed yet, and is also not necessarily true in all situations or on all roadways. When cars are going faster, there is a greater chance that the vehicle will lose control. The car also has a longer stopping distance so is more likely to be involved in a rear-end crash or a multi-car pileup.

Despite the clear risks of a rising speed limit, a spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety indicates that lawmakers are politically motivated to raise speed limits because increasing speed limits is popular. Just because something is popular, though, does not mean that it is the right or the safe thing to do.
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Each day in the United States, 10,000 adults celebrate their 65th birthdays. The population is undeniably aging, which means that there are more senior drivers on the road than at any time in the past. Senior drivers aren’t necessarily more dangerous than younger drivers since they tend to drive carefully and to drive at low-risk times such as during the day in good weather. Unfortunately, though, a senior who drives past his prime can be a menace to himself and to others on the road.

Seniors often don’t realize on their own when they have gotten too old to drive safely. Family members can and should try to look out for signs of problems, but unfortunately many older adults won’t listen to their kids or to other well-meaning relatives about the fact that it is no longer safe to drive. As a result, our Boston car accident lawyers know that it often falls to a patient’s doctor to have a talk with the patient and let him know that driving is no longer OK.

Unfortunately, recent studies have shown that many clinicians are waiting too long to talk to seniors about the dangers.

Docs are Waiting too Long to Have The Talk About Senior Driving Risks
According to Nurse.com, a small-scale study was recently conducted on clinicians and senior drivers. The study was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine and asked both doctors and seniors when discussions on driving dangers come up and how they feel about those conversations.

The outcome of the study revealed that many healthcare professionals wait until they see red flags to talk to their patients about the risks of senior driving. These red flags can include serious health problems. However, another red flag that was mentioned involved the senior actually being involved in a car wreck.

Waiting until an elderly driver has been in a crash or has severe physical or mental impairments means that the senior could be a risk to himself or others long before a doctor gets a chance to have a conversation about the issue. Waiting this long puts lives in danger.

The study revealed one likely reason why healthcare providers tend to wait to talk to seniors about driving risks: because the conversation is very uncomfortable for all parties involved. Many seniors view driving as essential to remaining independent and few want to discuss the possibility of giving that up.

Unfortunately, the need to stop driving becomes a reality for the vast majority of elderly people as studies have indicated that most seniors outlive their ability to drive safely by about six years.

The good news is that while seniors reported finding a conversation about giving up driving to be very uncomfortable, most respondents to the study found questioning and discussions about senior driving risks to be OK. In fact, keeping the lines of communication open was seen as a good thing. Doctors can and should thus explore whether a senior is still OK to drive by having a regular conversation about the subject at visits.

Researchers suggested that clinicians should start talking to seniors about driving risks at office visits once the senior turns 65-years-of age. At this milestone, conversations should become a regular part of office visits so a doctor can gauge exactly how well the senior is driving and so this subject will become one that doctors and patients can talk about freely. This will hopefully allow a doctor to learn earlier when a senior is having problems that could increase his accident risk.
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While winter storms can be a hazard, many drivers do not consider the very real danger of summer storms. A drizzle can make the roads slick and a thunderstorm, tornado, or downpour can severe reduce visibility and create dangerous conditions for drivers. Summer storms can create a number of hazards for drivers, passengers and other motorists, so it is important to use caution during the summer rainy season.

While you may know that tornadoes and hurricanes can cause injury, you may not realize the significant number of injuries caused by motor vehicle accidents. The Federal Highway Administration reports that over 7,000 Americans are killed every year in weather related accidents. “Weather related” crashes are defined as accidents that occur during storms and other dangerous weather conditions, including rain, sleet, snow, tornadoes, or heavy fog. Our Boston car accident attorneys are dedicated to helping victims uncover the true cause of an accident and recover compensation for their injuries.

Summer weather conditions can reduce visibility and create a slick pavement. A car may hydroplane or a driver can lose control causing the car to careen off the side of the road or into oncoming traffic. Reducing the number of weather related accidents requires raising awareness among motorists. Safety officials and lawmakers are taking additional steps this summer to promote highway safety and to reduce the number of weather related car accidents.

In addition to driver awareness, automobile manufacturers and other private enterprises are developing new “storm technology” to help quickly locate storms and inform all drivers on the road. Cars that communicate with one another can identify dangerous driving areas and then communicate that information to other drivers 10, 20, or even trailing by 100 miles. Advanced warnings can ensure that drivers are on the lookout and aware of dangerous conditions ahead. New technologies would be able to warn other drivers about snow, thunderstorms, fog, tornados, and white-outs.

Slick roads and low visibility can be very dangerous to drivers, passengers and other motorists. When extra precaution is not taken during a storm, negligent or reckless drivers can be putting other motorists at risk. Adverse driving conditions require that all drivers pay attention and keep their eyes on the road. Texting and other driver distractions can increase the risk of stormy conditions. When you are distracted you may not have the reaction time necessary to react to slowed traffic or other dangerous conditions. If you have a teen driver hitting the road for the first time this summer, they should be aware of the dangers of adverse weather, especially when combined with distracted driving.

This summer, whether you are heading to work, taking the kids to the beach, or getting on the freeway for an extended summer vacation out of town, remember to take extra precaution under stormy conditions. To prevent an accident under adverse weather conditions you should keep your headlights on. When visibility is impacted by the storm, consider pulling over until the storm is over.
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