Articles Posted in Car Accidents

Safety experts have been working long and hard to convince Americans to stop engaging in distractions behind the wheel, but the problem is only getting worse.

According to NBC NEWS, there’s an overwhelming amount of evidence that shows cell phones and text messaging devices are some of the most dangerous driver distractions and that they’re some of the most common.

According to a release from State Farm, a good majority of American drivers openly admit to driving while distracted. Some of these distractions have increased in recent years. According to the report, close to 60 percent of drivers admit to talking on a cell phone, close to 40 percent admit to texting. That’s a number that’s up from about 30 percent in 2009. It’s the 18- to 29-year-old drivers who are most guilty, showing us that more than 75 percent talking on a phone while driving and close to 70 percent admit to texting behind the wheel.

Our Cape Coral car accident lawyers understand that although almost all drivers admit to engaging in electronic distractions behind the wheel, most drivers understand that it’s dangerous and they support serious bans against the behavior. More than half of all drivers support imprisonment as the appropriate penalty for deadly cellphone-related accidents.
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You’ve probably noticed, our roadways are getting a little more cramped with each passing day. The snowbirds are heading south and they’re setting up camp here in South Florida. Did you know that the state of Florida leads the country with more than 17 percent of our population being 65-years-old or older?

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) reports that’s a number that’s going to continue to grow. By the year 2030, over 27 percent of our population will be over the age of 65, compared to 19 percent for the rest of the nation. I

Our car accident lawyers in Fort Myers understand that of the 16 million drivers here in the state of Florida, more than 3 million of them are over the age of 65. These residents and seasonal visitors want to remain active and productive members of their community. Unfortunately, there comes a time when we can no longer do that behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. And that’s why officials with the DHSMV are pushing Older Driver Safety Awareness Week. This week-long campaign is used to help ensure that senior residents can still partake in community activities and every day duties while being able to do so safely.

“We know the [older] population is going to increase,” said Gail Holley, with the Safe Mobility for Life program at the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). “What we’re trying to do is not let the crashes increase.”
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In 2011 alone, there were more than 700 people who were killed and another 120,000 who were injured in accidents that involved red-light running drivers. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), about half of the people who were killed in these accidents were the occupants of the other vehicles involved, bicyclists or pedestrians.

As a matter of fact, a recent study from the IIHS shows us that, in urban accidents, drivers who ran stop signs, red lights and other kinds of traffic control devices accounted for the highest percentage of car accidents (more than 20 percent). Injuries occurred in nearly 40 percent of these accidents.

Our Naples car accident lawyers understand that intersection collisions typically involve a side-impact and personal injury, including fractures, head injuries, neck and back injuries disability, permanent injury and disfigurement.

Unfortunately, these crashes occur with alarming regularity in Florida. A driver thinks he is able to run through an intersection as the light turns yellow. But unless he passes under the light when it is yellow and not red, that driver is setting himself and others up for a serious or fatal collision. As such, even one negligent or reckless driver can injure many victims in the span of only a few seconds.
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Across the United States, chances are roughly one in seven that a driver is uninsured, according to new estimates from the Insurance Research Council (IRC). The estimated percentage of uninsured motorists declined four straight years before rising to more than 14 percent in 2008. The struggling economy, many believe, is a major factor in the increase.

“This forces responsible drivers who carry insurance to bear the burden of paying for injuries caused by drivers who carry no insurance at all,” said Elizabeth A. Sprinkel with the Insurance Research Council (IRC).

Our Naples car accident lawyers understand that insure.com reports that about a quarter of all drivers in the state of Florida are uninsured. We were actually ranked in the top three areas in the nation for having the most uninsured drivers. Unfortunately, bodily injury coverage is not required by Florida law to obtain or renew license tags. As a result, uninsured/ underinsured motorist coverage is an extremely important coverage to carry on your own auto policy.
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Traffic statistics aren’t working in Florida’s favor, according to the recent release of the 2012 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data from the National highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

According to the recent release, the number of traffic accident fatalities in 2012 rose by more than 1,080 from 2011. Most of these fatalities (approximately 72 percent) happened during the first quarter of the year, and most of these increases included pedestrians and motorcyclists, whom already face increased risks here in the state of Florida.

Our Cape Coral car accident lawyers understand that Florida continuously ranks as one of the most dangerous states in the country for pedestrian and motorcyclist fatalities. With our year-round sunshine, both residents and visitors get the gift of being able to utilize these forms of transportation nearly 365 days a year. With all of these vulnerable travelers along our roadways, we’re destined to see dangerous fatality numbers.
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Our roadways are expected to be packed for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Wednesday before Turkey Day is expected to be the worst travel day of the entire weekend, reports Florida Today.

“If gas prices weren’t as low as they are, things probably would have been flat compared to last year. With the low gas prices, people have more incentive to travel,” said Jim Bak with INRIX, a traffic-congestion tracking firm in Kirkland, Washington.

Our Fort Myers car accident attorneys understand that the national average for a gallon of gas is about 21 cents lower than it was about a year ago. With all of us itching for a vacation, and travel more affordable than ever, you can expect millions to hit the road and get out of town for the holiday weekend. Since Thanksgiving always produces a high volume of traffic, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) will increase its presence on Florida roadways during the upcoming five-day holiday period.
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Each year, officials with the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety survey drivers throughout the country to get an insight into their driving attitudes and behaviors. This year, officials with the AAA talked with drivers about their outlook on drowsy driving, as part of National Drowsy Driving Prevention Week (Nov 10-16). This annual campaign provides public education about the underreported risks of driving while drowsy, as well as countermeasures to improve safety on the road.

According to a poll from officials with the National Sleep Foundation, roughly 60 percent of driving Americans have driven while feeling sleepy, and more than 35 percent admit to actually having fallen asleep at the wheel in the past year. However, many people cannot tell if or when they are about to fall asleep. And if sleepiness comes on while driving, many say to themselves, “I can handle this, I’ll be fine.” Yet they’re putting themselves and others in danger. What they really need is a nap or a good night’s sleep.

Our Fort Myers car accident lawyers understand that there are more than 100,000 police-reported accidents caused by drowsy drivers each and every year in this country. These accidents take the lives of more than 1,550 people and injure another 71,000. These figures may be the tip of the iceberg, since it’s so tough to attribute crashes to sleepiness. There’s no test for it like there is for drunk driving.
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Car accidents continue to be the leading cause of death for teens across the nation. Teen drivers have more fatal crashes, mainly because of their immaturity and lack of experience. They speed, they make mistakes, and they get distracted easily – especially if their friends are in the car.

That’s why officials with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched the “5 to Drive” campaign. This campaign aims to help get parents off on the right foot when having that conversation about safe driving with their teens. This campaign is providing parents with a simple 5-bullet checklist than can help save lives.

Our Fort Myers car accident lawyers understand that teens may think they’re invincible behind the wheel, but we all know better. What you may not believe is that parents are the most influential people in a teenager’s life. What you say matters. That is why safety officials are calling on parents and guardians to have the talk today to help save lives tomorrow. Continue reading and review the checklist below to make sure you’ve covered all bases:
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According to the most recent statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were more than 7,000 people who were killed in traffic accidents already in 2012. Although this is about a 4 percent decrease from the early estimates of 2012, we’ve still got the holiday travel season to make it through, and with that we know that accident risks are bound to spike.

Accompanying the decrease in the number of traffic accident fatalities was the number of vehicle miles traveled (VMT). During the first three months of 2012, the number on VMT dropped close to 6 million miles.

Our Cape Coral car accident attorneys understand that it’s still too soon to speculate on the contributing factors or potential implications of any changes in deaths on our roadways. However, it should be noted that the historic downward trend in traffic fatalities in the past several years mean any comparison will be to an unprecedented low baseline figure. And any decrease shouldn’t give a false sense of security. We’ve got a ways to go before we hit the New Year and we’ve got some serious risks for accidents as winter residents and tourists begin their annual migration to the area.
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The truth is black and white. Accident risks are higher during the evening hours than during the daytime. According to Science Daily, most streets in the United States don’t have roadway lighting, which only worsens the problem.

Despite these concerns, the proportion of nighttime driving is not likely to go down in today’s around-the-clock economy, making car headlights increasingly important to nighttime driving safety.

Our Naples car accident lawyers understand that Daylight Saving Time is schedules to end on November 3rd, meaning that we’ll be moving our clocks back an hour and it’s going to get darker sooner. Much like drunken drivers plague our roads, drowsy drivers could be deadly during the year’s daylight savings commute. Compared to the jet lag-like feeling that comes with turning the clocks forward in the spring, this weekend’s extra hour of sleep felt like a gift — one that many of the 43 percent of Americans who say they rarely or never get a good night’s sleep couldn’t wait to receive. The extra hour of sleep may not be enough to lessen the effects on our car accident risks though.
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