Articles Posted in Car Accidents

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Lawmakers will tackle tougher seat belt enforcement and distracted-driving regulations as part of a 2009 agenda aimed at reducing car accidents on Florida roads.

Florida accident attorneys and the staff at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers, handle hundreds of cases in which car accidents are caused by distracted drivers or in which unbelted motorists are seriously injured or killed in a collision.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) is pushing a measure that would make Florida’s safety belt law a primary offense and permit traffic stops. Currently, motorists can only be cited for a seat belt violation if they have been pulled over for a traffic infraction.

Supporters of the measure estimate it would save 142 lives and prevent 2,019 injuries caused by Florida traffic accidents in the first year alone. The law also would make the state eligible for $46.1 million in federal incentives.

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration reports the nationwide seat belt compliance rate sat at 82 percent in 2007. But state-by-state compliance varied widely, from 64 percent in New Hampshire to 98 percent in Hawaii. States with primary enforcement laws enjoyed greater compliance, according to the statistics.

Florida ranks right in the middle in terms of its compliance rate, which has increased this decade, from 69.5 percent in 2001 to 79.1 in 2007. Nationally, it ranks 26 of the 50 states.

Florida lawmakers also plan to tackle the issue of distracted drivers with a number of potential laws addressing everything from cellphone use by teen drivers to text messaging.

Jay Anderson, a retired Fort Myers-area paramedic and founder of Stay Alive … Just Drive supports a ban on the use of cellphones and text messaging by all drivers. Known as Heather’s Law, the proposal is named for a Florida girl killed in a 10-car pileup caused by a truck driver who was allegedly text messaging.

If adopted, Anderson said Florida would join five other states that ban cell phone use by drivers, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington, California and Washington, D.C.

In addition to these issues, AAA is supporting measures to regulate unnecessary towing regulations and will monitor bills related to transportation, toll roads, child restraints, driver education, red light cameras and accident taxes.

Anyone interested in getting involved in these issues can click here to sign up for AAA’s Action e-list.
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More than 30,000 child safety seats are being recalled this month, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which warns the seats may fail to properly secure young passengers in the event of an auto accident.

Florida accident attorneys, defective product lawyers and child injury attorneys at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers urge parents to check their child seats to see if they are part of the recall and to make sure they are otherwise in proper working order.

Click here to enter your zip code into a national database for the nearest location for a safety seat inspection by a qualified professional. Such inspections are available free at many fire stations and hospitals throughout Southwest Florida, including Lee County, Charlotte County and Collier County.

The current recall affects 31,392 Britax Frontier child restraint systems. The child safety seats could fail to properly secure young passengers in the event of a crash, according to the NHTSA.

“It is extremely important that parents and caregivers are aware of the recall and take action to get their child restraints repaired,” said NHTSA Acting Administrator David Kelly.

Britax is recalling the seats because the harness straps may detach from the metal yoke on the back of the child restraint if repeatedly loosened one strap at a time. Affected models include the Britax Frontier models E9L54E7, E9L54H6, E9L54H7, and E9L54M6 manufactured on or before Sept. 14, 2008 and model E9L5490 manufactured on or before Sept. 17, 2008.

Click here for more information about the recall.

The NHTSA also encourages parents and caregivers to sign-up to receive updates about child seat recalls via e-mail. The agency’s research shows that less than half of affected consumers respond to recalls.

“One of the reasons we see such a low return rate is because owners are difficult to reach if they have not registered the seat with us or the manufacturer,” said Kelly.

Consumers can sign-up for recall notifications from the federal government by visiting www.safercar.gov and clicking on the “E-mail” or “RSS” option to register. Consumers with questions about this or any other safety recall campaign may call NHTSA’s toll-free Vehicle Safety Hotline 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153).
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Florida motorists will pay more for speeding, running red lights and other traffic infractions under a plan to raise money from motorists to help cover the looming state budget deficit.

Accident attorneys and personal injury lawyers handle hundreds of car accident and motorcycle accident cases in Southwest Florida each year caused by speeding motorists and a recent study suggests 1 in every 4 accidents is caused by a motorist who ignored a traffic control device.

In recent years, the state substantially increased the cost of red light violations, with a portion of the proceeds going to trauma centers, including Lee Memorial Hospital.

The Miami Herald reports running a red light would cost $208 under the new plan, while speeding 25 mph over the limit will come with a $258 fine.

Additionally, lawmakers would impose a new $10 charge on all traffic infractions, ranging from expired tags to running a stop sign. And the plan would eliminate the 18 percent discount available to violators who go to traffic school. And it would also take away the rights of a judge to waive the fine.

In some areas, the cost could be even higher because counties and cities have the option of imposing additional charges.

The state estimates the increases will bring in an additional $63 million a year.

Under state law, drivers who do not pay their fines face having their driver’s license suspended.
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The News-Press of Fort Myers reported Tuesday that a dump truck ran a red light and crashed into a Lee County school bus, sending both drivers and two students to the hospital with unspecified injuries as a result of the Fort Myers dump truck accident.

The Florida car wreck attorneys and trucking accident attorneys at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers, want to remind motorists to pay extra attention to large trucks on the road and use extra caution when near commercial trucks.

A dump truck can weigh 70,000 pounds when fully loaded — more than 20 times the weight of a passenger car. A loaded semi can weight even more.

The dump truck, pictured here in a photograph by The News-Press, was heading westbound on Palm Beach Boulevard when authorities report that it failed to stop at the red light at Davis Boulevard, striking the southbound bus on the driver’s side.
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Fatal traffic crashes dropped by more than 30 percent in 2008. However, nearly 1 in every 5 fatal accidents involved a motorcycle, according to preliminary data from the Florida Highway Patrol.

Officials point to a souring economy, fewer travelers and skyrocketing gas prices as reasons for the drop, according to an article in The News-Press of Fort Myers.

Car accident attorneys and motorcycle accident lawyers at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers, want to remind motorists to use caution on the roads as gas prices drop and we enter prime tourism season in Southwest Florida.

Please remember every season is motorcycle season in Southwest Florida and riders will be sharing the road with other motorists throughout the winter months.

The Highway Patrol reported 70 fatal accidents in Lee County last year, compared to 106 in 2007 and a record 150 in 2005.

Gas prices hit $4 a gallon this summer before dropping late in the year.

“When they were at $3.50 and $4 a gallon, people definitely were driving less,” AAA Division Manager David Pojero told The News-Press.

Lee County Sheriff’s Sgt. David Petracca indicated the cost of fuel also deterred some people from speeding and driving erratically as they sought to conserve fuel.

“They’re a little more cautious,” he said.

Law enforcement also expects to have issued more tickets in 2008 — final numbers will be available later this month.

At least 17 percent of fatal crashes involved a motorcycle. Preliminary statistics suggest at least 12 motorcycle riders were killed on Lee County Roads in 2008.

The sheriff’s office reported the last four fatalities it worked in 2008 involved a motorcycle rider.
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The dangerous and deadly business of running red lights at Southwest Florida intersections is increasingly caught on camera – a costly, if not fatal error for the driver and evidence increasingly used in court by criminal and accident lawyers.

Lee County is testing a camera at Colonial Boulevard and Summerlin Road, The News-Press reports, and cameras at other intersections could be on the way.

Orlando and Collier County, including the City of Naples, already use the cameras and have written local laws to get around a state prohibition against ticketing offenders based on video evidence (current state law only allows such ticketing for toll cheaters).

The accident attorneys and staff at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers urge motorists to use caution at intersections. The firm has handled hundreds of cases where motorists are seriously injured or killed in an intersection accident because an offender was in a hurry and failed to stop at a red light or stop sign.

Lee County will use the camera to determine how many tickets it could issue and how many extra staff members it would take to process violators. State lawmakers are likely to take up the cause of allowing tickets to be issued this year, even without a special ordinance.

Detractors point out that vehicle owners would get the ticket in the mail, regardless of who was caught on camera driving. And there is some data to suggest that rear-end collisions have increased at intersections where cameras have been installed.

But the deadly issue is getting increased attention. Several years ago, the state doubled the cost of red-light tickets and passed a substantial portion of the proceeds on to trauma centers, including Lee Memorial Hospital, which deal with the carnage left in the wake of someone in too big of a hurry to pay attention to one of driving’s most basic safety requirements.

More than 13,000 crashes were reported at Lee County intersections during the last three years.

A recent nationwide study of deadly crashes at traffic signals found nearly 1 in 4 failed to obey the light, injuring more than 144,000 people nationwide in 2006. Nearly half the fatalities caused by red-light runners are pedestrians and vehicle passengers, according to information gathered by Jay Anderson, a retired Fort Myers-area paramedic and founder of “Stay Alive … Just Drive,” a campaign that urges motorists to concentrate on driving and avoid distractions like cell phones.

A 2007 California study found red-light runners were three times more likely to have multiple speeding convictions, were less likely to use seatbelts and drove smaller and older vehicles, further increasing their chance of serious injury or death.
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Florida drivers could be banned from using cell phones or text messaging while driving if retired Fort Myers-area paramedic Jay Anderson succeeds in pushing a new law aimed at reducing serious and fatal traffic crashes on our roads.

“Stay Alive … Just Drive!”, an organization Anderson founded, was named the Outreach Effort of the Year by the Lee County Injury Prevention Coalition on the same day he learned a Fort Myers driver caused a five-car pile up because she was text messaging.

Anderson, whose organization is vocal in warning of the dangers of using cell phones and other electronic devices while driving, said the accident is yet another payment toward the growing cost of a serious problem.

Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers, which was named sponsor of the year by the injury prevention coalition but is not involved in the effort to push for the new law, urges motorists to pay attention to the road and put safety first.

“Heather’s Law”, named for 26-year-old Heather Hurd who died in January on U.S. 27 in a 10-car crash caused by a semi driver who was allegedly text messaging, began the lawmaking process this month when it was introduced by two state senators.

“It’s very, very sad and totally preventable,” said Anderson, of the crash, which claimed several lives and critically injured several others. He said Hurd was on her way to the wedding planner with her fiancé. Her parents were waiting at the wedding planner when authorities arrived to inform them of the tragedy. “People need to accept it — these things are preventable. They are not accidents. Ninety percent of all crashes are the direct result of driver error.”

Anderson said the fact that this was a semi driver accused of text messaging shows distracted driving is not limited to any one segment of society.

“It’s becoming so obvious that I think it is making more people aware that it is a problem — you can sit at any intersection and look left or right and you are going to encounter someone on a cell phone,” Anderson said. “It encompasses all ages, from new drivers to people in their 80s.”

While only a small percentage of bills introduced into the lawmaking process each year actually become law, Anderson is optimistic that Florida will join five other states that he said currently ban cell phone use by drivers, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington, California and Washington, D.C.

“We are off to a good start and I think we have some great legislative support,” he said.
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The staff and attorneys for victims of drunk driving crashes at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers, wish everyone a joyous New Year’s holiday and want to remind drivers of the message on dozens of the firm’s billboards throughout Southwest Florida: Enjoy the Holidays but Don’t Drink and Drive.

Law enforcement throughout the region will be out in force and there will be zero tolerance and no excuses as authorities seek to reduce the 20 fatal drunk driving crashes that occurred on Florida roads last year.

“We will be very vigilant this year as we always are,” said John Sheehan, spokesman for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. The agency’s patrol area includes Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, Lehigh Acres and Fort Myers Beach. “We will be everywhere.”

Mothers Against Drunk Driving estimates the cost of a drunk driving arrest at $8,000 to $11,000, including fines, attorney fees and increases in auto insurance premiums.

Statistics from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles show 38 people died on Florida roads during last year’s five-day New Year’s Holiday. Twenty died in alcohol-related fatalities – a 33 percent increase over an average five-day stretch. About three people die on any given day in Florida as a result of an alcohol related traffic crash.

“We will saturate certain areas where expect more human traffic and people out having a good time,” Sheehan said. “Avoid getting in trouble with law enforcement and avoid a potentially tragic situation.”

Officer Shawn Yates, of the Fort Myers Police Department said city officers also will be out in force and are cooperating with the Cape Coral Police and the Lee County Sheriff on a sobriety checkpoint at an undisclosed location to educate drivers and remove drunk drivers from the roads.

Charlotte County Sheriff John Davenport announced there will be saturation DUI patrols out New Years Eve and New Years Day looking for impaired drivers. Deputies will be out in force to prevent drunk driving crashes throughout the county, including Punta Gorda, North Port and Port Charlotte.

“Extra patrol units of the Traffic Safety Team and road patrol deputies will be watching for those who may drink and drive, or use drugs and drive,” department spokesman Bob Carpenter said.
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Older motorists drive less but have a higher per-mile chance of a serious car accident or fatal crash as they age, according to a study released this month. But the report also found some good news for Southwest Florida, which has one of the oldest populations in the United States: Fatal car accidents involved 21 percent fewer senior citizens over 70 than a decade ago.

The car accident attorneys and staff at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers, encourage motorists to use patience as we drive through the holidays and enter the height of tourist season, a time wrought with an increased number of visitors, snowbirds, tourists and others less familiar with our roads.

Crash rates and fatal crashes increase on a miles-driven basis starting at age 70 and rise substantially after age 80, according to the same study.

The study of 10-years of data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said the overall decline in accidents among older drivers comes as the population of those over 70 increased by 10 percent. .

Reasons for the overall decline are unclear but another institute study suggests seniors are more often self-limiting their driving as they age and develop physical and cognitive impairments.

“The data doesn’t allow us to point to any one reason why older drivers’ fatal crash experience has improved,” said Anne McCartt, author of the studies. “Some drivers may have benefited from newer and safer vehicles, and older people generally are more fit than in years past, with better access to health care.”

There were 20 million licensed drivers over 70 — 2 million more than a decade ago. And their chances of a serious accident per-mile driven remains high. As do the challenges of recovering from a serious accident.

“These trends have raised concerns about older drivers in fatal crashes,” the report states. “Their fragility makes them vulnerable to getting hurt in a crash and then to dying from their injuries.”

Three out of every four people who die in crashes involving older drivers are senior citizens, according to the report.
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Drunk Drivers in Southwest Florida and across the nation face heavy enforcement launched this week to prevent drunk driving accidents, serious injury and death on our roads this holiday season.

Attorneys who represent drunk driving victims and everyone at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers, urge motorists to act responsibly this holiday season and help prevent the tragic consequences of drinking and driving.

An $8 million national TV and radio ad campaign “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest” will be complimented by stepped-up, high-visibility law enforcement using saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints to help protect the millions of Americans traveling from now through the New Year’s holiday, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

“‘Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest’ isn’t just a slogan, but a reflection of states’ increasing intolerance of drunk driving,” said Vernon F. Betkey Jr., chairman of the Governors Highway Safety Association. “No more excuses or exceptions. States are funding overtime enforcement, drunk driving checkpoints and saturation patrols to keep the roads safe during the holidays.”

MADD reports travelers this year will share the roads with 2 million drunk drivers who have three or more convictions, including more than 400,000 with five or more convictions.

In Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, Lehigh Acres and elsewhere in Lee County, traffic enforcement will be heavy through the holidays, according to Brenda Gellinger of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the local MADD Chapter.

“The holidays are particularly dangerous, when road travel is the heaviest and drunk driving increases,” said Gellinger, noting a recent year saw 1,317 people killed in alcohol-related crashes between Thanksgiving and New Year. “Enforcement works: Aggressive enforcement of drunk driving laws reduces the number of people who lose their lives as a result of drunk driving. Research has shown that highly publicized, highly visible and frequent sobriety checkpoints reduce fatal drunk driving crashes by an average of 20 percent.”
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Contact Information
Fort Myers Headquarters
4020 Evans Ave
Fort Myers, FL 33901
Phone: 239-939-2900
Cape Coral
1407 Del Prado Blvd S #11
Cape Coral, FL 33990
Phone: 239-772-0099
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Port Charlotte, FL 33952
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