Articles Posted in Car Accidents

Recently, safe driving advocates and officials with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) joined residents nationwide in wearing white for safety.

It was all a part of this year’s Teen Driver Safety Week. By wearing white, residents helped to symbolize the effort to white out teen car accidents.

Our Cape Coral car accident lawyers understand that car crashes continue to be the number one cause of death of teenagers across the nation. This is no different in the state of Florida. As a matter of fact, there were approximately 700,000 licensed teenagers in the state of Florida last year. About 30,000 of these drivers were involved in crashes. Close to 200 of them lost their lives.

To help to spread the word about the risks and the dangers that our teens face behind the wheel, officials with the DHSMV and with the FHP visited schools across the state, including in Miami, Tampa, Apopka and Tallahassee, and are conducting presentations. These presentations showed these young drivers what exactly happens in the event of a serious car accident. The perspective is presented through the eyes of the paramedics, so our young drivers are getting a first-hand look at just how gruesome these crashes can be.

During these presentations, officers focused on the risks that are presented when teens have too many young passengers in the vehicle, when they drive while distracted, when they drive under the influence of alcohol and drugs and also the importance of wearing a seat belt during every car ride, whether you’re the driver or you’re a passenger.

“Getting your driver’s license for the first time is a rite of passage and a very exciting time for teens as they gain added independence,” said Julie L. Jones with the DHSMV.

We need to remind our young drivers that having a driver’s license is a responsibility that needs to be taken seriously and it is a privilege that can be taken away when not handled correctly.

It’s important that we teach our teens to be safe drivers from the beginning. The driving habits that they learn during their first few months behind the wheel are the driving habits that they’re most likely going to carry with them for the rest of their lives. Let’s make sure these are responsible and safe habits!

This year’s campaign is Drive with CARE (Courtesy, Attention, Responsibility and Experience). Let’s make sure that we’re instilling all of these qualities in our newly licensed drivers. Make sure they’re aware of the state’s Graduated Driver’s Licensing (GDL) program and they’re abiding by these laws as well as the other rules of the road.

Where you think these laws are lacking, create your own parent-teen driving contract to enforce in your household. Lay down additional rules for all drivers to follow and lay down the consequences for breaking these rules, too.

You want driving to be as black and white as possible. There’s no room for questions here. It’s safe driving habits or none at all.
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You better be careful out there. According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), officials with the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) are on the hunt for dangerous drivers as part of Operation Safe Driver.

We’ve got the beginning of season, which coincides with the busy holiday travel period. Football and the trio of year-end holidays increase the risk of drunk driving accidents. Motorcycles are hitting the road for the winter riding season. And our teenagers are behind the wheel and always benefit from proper guidance in the fight to stay safe.

During the month of October, FHP officers will be pushing the national awareness and enforcement campaign that’s used to target the unsafe driving habits of both commercial and non-commercial drivers. During this time, they’ll be conducting a number of commercial-vehicle driver-safety inspections across the state.

Our Fort Myers car accident lawyers know with the increase in traffic, we can all get a little irritated behind the wheel. t’s important that we take a step back and focus on safe and responsible driving during this time of the year. This is especially important on busy, fast-traveling roadways, like Interstate 75, where there are large commercial vehicles. Accidents involving these tractor-trailers typically result in very serious or fatal injuries to the occupants of passenger cars. Our passenger vehicles stand little to no chance against the weight, size and power of these trucks.

“The campaign aims to educate all motorists on the risks involved with aggressive and distracted driving around large trucks,” says Col. David Brierton, Director of the FHP.

Safe Driving Tips for Traveling with Trucks:

-Stay calm. These vehicles travel a lot differently than the vehicles we drive. Allow them extra time and space on our roadways.

-Make sure you never cut in front of a truck and you never follow too closely behind one. They take longer to accelerate and brake.

-Never engage in distractions behind the wheel. The road needs your full attention!

-Adjust your driving habits to accommodate the weather and traffic conditions.

-Make sure you obey all road laws, including posted speed limit signs and other traffic devices.

-Make your maneuvers in traffic as predictable as possible. Always use a blinker. You should always drive with your headlights on, too. This will help to make you more visible. Stay one step ahead of the traffic around you.

-Always wear your seat belt. These devices can mean the difference between life and death in an accident with a commercial truck.

-Never travel in a truck’s blind spots. These are the spots to the side, in the back and directly in front of a truck. In these areas, truckers cannot see you. Remember, if you can’t see the driver then they cannot see you.

FHP officials will be conducting a number of safety inspections to help to further your safety. Last year, officers conducted more than 100,000 inspections on commercial vehicles. Close to 20,000 of these trucks and these drivers were put out of service because of the safety violations that were discovered.
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You might have a new license plate on your vehicle soon as authorities look to make plates easier to read for law enforcement, red light cameras and toll booth workers.

It’s not going to cost you anything either, according to The Ledger. As a matter of fact, the new plates are expected to save the state some money in the long run, according to officials.

The new license plates are being pressed by Florida’s Governor Rick Scott. He says that the savings that we’ll make with the new plates will help to put money back in our schools. But the cost to get drivers their new plates is $30 million.

In the long run, officers will have an easier time seeing these plates on cameras and will be able to ticket drivers easier. As it stands now, only about one out of every six drivers who pass through a toll booth without paying are ever cited because the plates are declared “unreadable.” These drivers are costing taxpayers in the state of Florida about $7 million each and every year.

Our Cape Coral car accident attorneys understand that toll booths and toll evaders are a big concern for us here in the Cape. Visitors to the city are required to pay that $2 toll to help us to pay for the bridge and to help to keep our roadways safe. We can’t afford drivers sneaking through without paying. Officials are having too hard of a time determining “Q” from “O” and “8” from “B” and so on.

So what’s the new tag going to look like? Officials are reporting that the plates is going to be completely flat and it’s going to have seven black, bold letters/numbers on top of a white background. We’re not going to have the name of our county on the plates either. They’re only going to say “Sunshine State” and “In God We Trust.”

The new plates would be phased in over a two-year period, but this is only is Governor Scott and the Cabinet approve it.

Julie Jones with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) says that these new license plates aren’t going to cost drivers a thing. Not everyone’s buying it though, saying that it’s going to come out of someone’s pocket.

Transportation officials add that these new license plates are going to help the state’s red-light cameras in addition to the expected expansion of toll roads in the area that rely on video camera technology to nab cheating drivers.

Officials are expected to vote on it toward the end of October.
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Car Accidents are the leading cause of death for teens across the nation. These young drivers are most likely to exceed speed limits, to take their eyes off of the road and to text message behind the wheel.

The truth of the matter is that texting while driving is a problem nationwide. According to NBC2, there are millions of accidents that happen every year that involve texting drivers. Still, texting while driving, or even talking on a cell phone while driving, is not illegal for any driver in the State of Florida. As a matter of fact, we are one of the only states left that has yet to enact these kinds of laws. To help to teach young drivers about the risks of text messaging while driving, a national push for the ban made a pit stop in Fort Myers. It’s AT&T’s campaign “Texting and Driving…It Can Wait” and it stopped by Fort Myers High School to spread the word.

Our Fort Myers car accident attorneys understand that a driver takes their eyes off of the road for an average of 5 seconds for each time they read/send a text message. If you’re flying down the road at 55 miles per hour, then you can travel the entire length of a football field without ever seeing the road. When this dangerous driving habit is coupled with a young driver’s inexperience behind the wheel — fatal accidents happen!

In addition to officials with AT&T, local law enforcement officers joined in the effort. Fort Myers High School is one of more than 10 schools that the campaign has visited so far.

“It’s important to try and build habits while they’re still fresh and say, permitted, as opposed to getting them when they’re hardened seasoned drivers,” said Deputy T.C. Tyus with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO).

According to enforcement officers with the Sheriff’s Office, drivers can be written citations for careless driving if they’re involved in an accident and are determined to have been texting while the accident happened.

Just last spring, lawmakers in the state of Florida tried to push a ban on text messaging and driving. Unfortunately, the proposal never made it through the house transportation committee.

According to CBS News, more than half of senior students in high school say that they text message and e-mail behind the wheel.

The National Youth Risk Behavior Survey concluded that close to 60 percent of these students that that they’ve done it in the last month. More than 40 percent of junior students are saying the same thing.

According to government statistics, teens send and receive about 100 text messages each and every day. Many of these are sent in the car, too.

What’s most alarming is that teens understand that this driving behavior isn’t safe, but they continue to do it.
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Your teen is watching your ever move behind the wheel.

They’re looking, they’re learning and they’re mimicking and perhaps even mocking your behavior. Make sure you set the best and safest example.

Unfortunately, recent studies conclude that parents are too often missing the mark. A recent survey from officials with Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and Liberty Mutual Insurance conclude that teens report that their parents display some pretty dangerous driving habits. According to Claims Journal, these are the same habits being adopted by teen drivers.

The survey concluded that about two-thirds of teens feel that their parents are following a completely different set of driving rules. Researchers talked with 1,700 teen drivers and got their input on their parents speeding, impaired driving and seat belt usage. The findings weren’t promising. Our Naples car accident lawyers understand that these findings have a lot to say about our teens’ driving habits — as well as our own. This is probably why car accidents continue to be the leading cause of death for teens across the country — parents can and should do more.

Teens Watch Their Parents:

-Drive while talking on a cell phone.

-Drive while text messaging.

-Exceeding the speed limit.

-Driving under the influence of alcohol.

-Driving while high on marijuana.

-Not wearing a seat belt during every car ride.

While parents are engaging in these dangerous driving behaviors, they’re expecting their teenagers not to do the same. It’s the “do as I say, not as I do” complex, meaning kids have to follow the rules, but parents are exempt.

“The best teacher for a teen driver is a good parental role model,” said Stephen Wallace, with SADD.

It’s important for parents to make sure that they have an ongoing dialogue with their teens about safe driving. This dialogue should be paired with a safe example of the driving habits you expect them to display. Your teen should understand that everyone has to follow the safe driving rules!

The study also went on to determine that teens mirror their parents’ poor driving habits in nearly equal amounts. Of the 1,700 who were surveyed:

-About 90 percent were talking on a cell phone while driving on a regular basis.

-Approximately 95 percent of teens were speeding on occasion.

-Roughly 80 percent were text messaging behind the wheel.

-About 20 percent were driving under the influence of marijuana.

-About 20 percent were driving under the influence of alcohol.

-A third were driving without buckling up.

Parents are asked to be on their very best behavior when driving in the presence of their newly-licensed teen. Consider enacting a parent-teen driving contract, but whatever you do make sure that everyone is held accountable for following these driving rules. Lead by example and help to keep our teens safe on our roadways! By teaching them safe and responsible driving habits early on, we can help to ensure that they practice these safe habits for a lifetime. It may be one of the most beneficial things you ever teach your child.
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Florida is a retirement haven. And many of these elderly residents share the road. In many cases, safety advocates worry that the side effects of medication could be impacting the driving skills of older loved ones — and they may not even know it.

According to Consumer Affairs, about 80 percent of drivers who are over the age of 64 are taking medications each and every day. A lot of these medications can significantly alter your ability to drive. To make matters worse, about half of these elderly drivers are on five or more medications!

This problem is only expected to grow, too. There are roughly 10,000 people who are blowing out the candles on their 65th birthday cake each and every day. With the Baby Boomer population aging, officials predict that one out of every six Americans will be over the age of 65 in 2020. Most will be holding on to their driver’s license longer than previous generations.

That’s why officials with the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety have created the “Roadwise Rx” program. This is an online program that’s going to help you to get an inside look into how your medications are affecting your driving habits.

Our Fort Myers car accident attorneys understand the difficulties that accompany aging. It’s inevitable that our senses are going to deteriorate with time and our ability to drive safely will be compromised. It only gets worse when you factor in the side effects of medications, prescriptions and other over-the-counter medicines. It’s important that you talk with a medical professional to see just how these meds are affecting you.

Before going to talk with your doctor, you can enter all of your medications into the Roadwise Rx program and you can get a personalized and detailed readout of possible side effects. After that, you’re urged to bring this information into a medical professional to discuss the risks. This program is not a substitute for talking with your doctor!

“With seniors often visiting primary and specialty doctors regarding their different health care needs, it is important for each provider to know all medications being consumed,” said Beth Mosher, director of public affairs for AAA.

There are even some kinds of medications, like antidepressants, that can increase your risk for an accident by more than 40 percent. Even over-the-counter cold medicines can give you the same risks as a driver who is legally drunk!

Remember, Florida’s population is one of the oldest in the country. In 2010, the median population in the state was just under 41-years-old. That’s 10 years older than the median age just 20 years earlier. And it’s only expected to get older.

Take a step back and look at the medications you’re currently taking and at the medications that your elderly loved ones are taking. We urge everyone to take this information into a medical professional to make sure that your road safety is not jeopardized as a result.
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It’s always important to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in Fort Myers following a serious or fatal accident. But changes to the state’s Personal Injury Protection law that take effect with the new year will make what you do in the first 14 days following a car accident even more important.

After years of grousing about staged accidents and insurance fraud (and powerful lobbyists spreading plenty of money around Tallahassee) the insurance industry finally pushed through a series of changes to Florida’s PIP law.

Under Florida law, Personal Injury Protection (PIP), or No Fault Insurance, covers you, regardless of fault. All owners of motor vehicles are required to carry a minimum of $10,000 (PIP) and $10,000 property damage.

That first $10,000 in coverage ensures you will have medical coverage in the immediate aftermath of an accident — regardless of who is at fault in the accident. Typically, the at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability coverage pays for serious or permanent injury resulting from the accident, or survivor’s benefits to the family in the event of wrongful death.

But that $10,000 (PIP) coverage is a given. You get into an accident, that coverage is very likely coming out of insurance coffers in the immediate aftermath. Naturally, the insurance lobby has long been interested in limiting how such coverage can be spent.

In reality, coverage minimums have been in place for decades and are far too low. The ambulance ride to the hospital can cost you $10,000. But instead insurers successfully forced through a series of limitations.

Beginning Jan. 1, accident victims have just 14 days to seek initial treatment and that first visit will carry more weight. Only those diagnosed with an “emergency medical condition” will be eligible for the benefits. Those with “less severe” injuries will only be eligible for up to $2,500. And many common soft-tissue injuries, including swelling and bruising, are not expected to be considered emergencies. Acupuncturists, massage therapists and some other medical therapists are now barred from treating patients under PIP.

While the law also tries to limit litigation, the likely outcome is that more of these cases will end up in court. Paul Jess, the general counsel for the Florida Justice Association representing trial lawyers, said determining whether a patient is eligible for emergency medical benefits ($10,000 or $2,500) will push more cases into court. Just as PIP “fixes” in 2007, which attempted to tie billing rates to the Medicare fee schedule, resulted in a drastic increase in legal actions over billing disputes.

“That’s a pretty big disparity, so you can bet that there will be litigation over what is and is not an EMC,” Jess told the Tampa Bay Times.

The measure (HB 119) does require insurers to lower PIP premiums 25 percent by 2014. However, they can petition the state for an exemption from that requirement. Anyone counting the days until these companies are back before lawmakers explaining why they can’t lower consumer rates?
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We hope you are enjoying the weather as Southwest Florida turns toward autumn and rainy season comes to a close.

October and April seem to be prime time in Southwest Florida. Light traffic and great weather. Recently, we’ve touched on drunk driving, motorcycle safety and back to school safety. Three areas of fall safety focus where we can all make a difference.

Unfortunately, our injury attorneys in Cape Coral noted this week a new report out by the National Safety Council, which estimates more motorists will die on the road this year than last.

Through July, 20,880 motorists have been killed in accident — up 8 percent from 2011 and 7 percent compared to 2010. The estimated cost of death, injury and property damage — including lost wages and medical expenses — was $152 billion through the first 7 months of the year.

In Florida, 1,241 motorists were killed in accidents through July — 26 more than last year.

Businesses in Southwest Florida are primed and hopeful that it’s going to be a banner season. Everyone is optimistic as we come out of this long economic downturn. However, the last three months of the year are typically the most dangerous on the nation’s roads. Nowhere is that truer than in South Florida, as tourists and snowbirds migrate south to escape the cold winter weather.

As we head into season, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is once again urging Florida residents to register emergency contact information.

About a third of the state’s 16.7 million licensed drivers have registered their emergency contact information with the state. The database is only available to law enforcement in the event of an emergency. Florida became the first state in the nation with such a program when it launched in 2006.

“Registering your emergency contact information for our law enforcement agencies across the state helps ensure that our loved ones can be informed as soon as possible,” said Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater.

Julie Jones, executive director of the FDHSMV, noted law enforcement agencies respond to more than 200,000 traffic crashes in Florida each year.

Three driving behaviors account for the majority of traffic accidents in Southwest Florida.

Speeding: Is involved in one-third of fatal accidents nationwide. This may include driving faster than the speed limit or driving too fast for conditions. Not only does speed reduce the time you have to react, it exponentially increases the force of impact in the event of a traffic accident.

Drunk Driving: In 2010, drivers under the influence of alcohol were involved in 751 of the state’s 2,445 fatal accidents — or 31 percent, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Distracted Driving: We spend a lot of time talking about the use of electronics behind the wheel. But distraction can take many other forms — particularly in Southwest Florida where the tourists themselves can become a distraction. Keep your focus on the task of driving and your eyes on the road.
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You may just be a bad driver — with or without a cell phone.

Our Fort Myers personal injury lawyers understand how common it is for traffic accidents to involve at least one driver who is distracted. Recently we wrote about a pledge against distracted driving and, of course, Florida’s failure to pass a distracted driving law is well documented.

Now, however, we report a study to which veteran injury attorneys would likely give credence: If you are a driver who routinely uses a cell phone behind the wheel, you might be just as bad of a driver without it. Science Magazine reports in this month’s issue that you can take the risk away from the driver but you might not be able to take the driver away from the risk.

The study looked at the driving habits of 108 Boston commuters using on-board sensors and data collectors during 40-minute test drives on I-93 north of the city. No cell phones were allowed on the trip but drivers were divided into two groups: Those who reported using a cell phone frequently behind the wheel and those who did so rarely. Drivers were also questions about speeding, passing other cars, running traffic lights and their history of traffic infractions.

When compared to those who avoided using a phone behind the wheel, the cell-phone drivers drove faster, changed lanes more frequently, spent more time cruising in the left lane and were more likely to brake or accelerate abruptly or excessively.

“It’s clear that cell phones in and of themselves impair the ability to manage the demands of driving,” said Bryan Reimer, an engineer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge and one of the study’s leaders. “(But) the fundamental problem may be the behavior of the individuals willing to pick up the technology.”

In other words, those who are not responsible enough to avoid distractions behind the wheel were also more likely to engage in other dangerous driving behavior. Researchers believe the findings may be one reason why motor vehicle fatalities reached historic lows during the economic downturn, despite the exploding popularity of the smartphone.

It may also be why laws against cell phone use by drivers may not be as successful as hoped when it comes to reducing accident risks.

The AAA Foundation noted it has seen similar results in its traffic safety culture index. Drivers routinely point to distracted driving and other dangerous driving behaviors as a significant threat to road safety, even as they admit to engaging in some of those same behaviors themselves.

The takeaway here is that you need to accept responsibility for your behavior behind the wheel and do your part to make the roads safer for everyone as we prepare for the winter tourism season.
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They used to call them car phones. What a difference a generation makes.

Randall Stephenson, the CEO of AT&T, is working to get drivers to put down the cell phone when they’re behind the wheel. It’s all a part of the “It Can Wait” campaign, which aims to stress that no text message is worth a human life. The campaign first kicked off back in 2009. Although it’s targeted toward teenage drivers, no one should text behind the wheel. You’re actually 23 times more likely to get into a serious accident when you’re text messaging.

Because of these risks, AT&T is asking drivers across the nation to participate in “No Text on Board — Pledge Day.” This is a day, September 9th, that drivers are asked to take the pledge to keep their cell phone out of the driver’s seat. You’re urged to take the pledge on September 9th or any day before, according to CNN.

Our Cape Coral car accident lawyers understand how popular texting has become. For many, it’s now their most used form of communication. Unfortunately, some people are texting everywhere, even behind the wheel when their attention should be on the road. Texting has become such a problem that texting while driving has increased by about 50 percent in just one year (2010). In 2009, only about 20 percent of drivers admitted to texting while driving. Nearly 45 percent of teen drivers admit to texting behind the wheel.

AT&T isn’t the only company that’s getting in on the action. Some of its toughest competitors, including both Verizon and Sprint, have launched their own anti-texting behind the wheel campaigns. Stephenson says this isn’t a competition and their help is welcomed. He ads that he encourages companies to take a stand against dangerous driving habits.

“This is a dead-serious issue and I don’t mean that as a pun,” said Stephenson.

In 2010, there were more than 3,090 people killed in distracted driving car accidents. Nearly 420,000 additional people were injured in these same incidents. And these are only the accidents that were reported. Many officials believe that this number is actually much higher because many drivers aren’t ready to admit to an officer that they were in fact distracted by a cell phone or a text messaging device when the accident happened.

More than 10 percent of drivers under the age of 20 who were involved in fatal accidents in 2010 were reportedly distracted at the time of the accident. They account for the group with the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted in an accident.

Did you know that sending or receiving a text message requires a driver to take their eyes off of the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. When a driver is going 55 mph, that means that can drive the entire length of a football field and never even see the road, according to Distraction.gov.

You’re urged to take the pledge and to not only protect yourself on the road, but to help to make it safer for everyone else, too!
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