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We all know cell phones can be a hazard behind the wheel. And the government’s push to ban drivers from text messaging has reached a fevered pitch this year. But now the USA Today reports that the emphasis on texting could be taking the focus off the many other forms of distracted driving that commonly result in serious or fatal car accidents in Fort Myers and throughout the nation.

And, ironically, laws against texting and driving may be exacerbating the problem; our Fort Myers accident attorneys reported last week on our Florida Injury Lawyer Blog that some states have seen an increase in such accidents since banning text messaging. Drivers attempting to hide their activities, and thereby taking their eyes off the road for longer periods of time, could be responsible.
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Meanwhile, the many other forms of distracted driving are rarely mentioned. “I don’t think we’ve made nearly as much progress in those other areas of distracted driving,” says Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported last month that 5,474 people were killed and 448,000 were injured in accidents caused by distracted driving. Only speeding and drunk driving are blamed for more deaths. And, while traffic fatalities have been in decline nationwide, the number of accidents blamed on distracted driving has climbed 25 percent in the last five years, from 4,472 in 2005 to 5,474 last year.

But nobody really knows how many of those accidents are caused by cell phone use or text messaging. The USA Today reported that the federal government blames cell phones for just 18 percent of the fatalities and 5 percent of the injuries associated with distracted driving. However, the Chicago Tribune reported that a study from the University of North Texas found that two-thirds of distracted driving accidents were blamed on text messaging. Researchers there contend that 16,141 people died in accidents caused by a text messaging driver between 2002 and 2007. Without text messaging, an average of 1,925 deaths a year would have been caused by distracted driving, compared to the 5,988 deaths in 2007 that were blamed on distracted driving once text messaging was included.

Part of the problem is that there is no nationwide system of reporting distracted driving accidents and many state and local governments do not report distractions or their causes at the scene of a crash.

Other common forms of distracted driving include eating, drinking, smoking, grooming, using in-car electronics, talking to passengers and external distractions. The NHTSA lists a wide range of common distractions in its most recent annual report, including:

-Adjusting climate controls or the radio.
-Reaching for something inside the vehicle.
-Distraction by outside person, object or event.
-Driver lost in thought.
-Reading, including maps.
-Looking at previous crash.
-Looking for an address, business, person or building.
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Parents can go a long way toward helping teenagers avoid a car accidents in Cape Coral or Fort Myers by spending more time with them during the driver’s education process, according to the results of a new Study by the AAA Foundation for Highway Safety.

More than a year ago, our Cape Coral Accident attorneys reported the dangers on our Florida Injury Lawyer Blog after an insurance study found Cape Coral the deadliest city of its size in American for teen car accidents.

908295_wasted_youth.jpgThe New York Times reports that most teens are allowed to get driver’s licenses despite exhibiting a need for extra training behind the wheel — particularly when it comes to challenging driving situations like night driving, driving in heavy traffic or driving in heavy rain or bad weather.

Today’s new cars are safer than ever before. But some cars remain safer than others and what you drive can have a significant impact on the safety of you and your family in the event of a serious car accident in Cape Coral, Fort Myers or the surrounding area.

Our Cape Coral personal injury lawyers want you to know about an improved government rating system and encourage you to make it part of your review process when considering the purchase of a new vehicle.

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For the first time, the government’s 5-Star Safety Ratings System includes an overall vehicle rating. New, more rigorous crash tests are also performed using female crash-test dummies, in addition to the standard male test-dummies that have been in use for years.

In a bizarre twist, a new study by the Highway Loss Data Institute found that laws aimed at preventing drivers from text messaging may actually be increasing the risk of distracted driving car accidents.

As our Fort Myers accident attorneys reported last week on our Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, Florida has been chastised for being one of a dwindling number of states without a law that prohibits drivers from text messaging while behind the wheel.

1225930_mobile_phone_1.jpgThe report, which was sponsored by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, examined statistics in four states with text-messaging bans and compared them to four states that have not prohibited drivers from text messaging.

If there is one thing our Fort Myers accident attorneys could encourage you to do this week, it would be to sign up for the state’s emergency contact registry so that your loved ones can be notified in a timely fashion in the event that you are involved in a serious Fort Myers car accident or a traffic accident elsewhere in Florida.
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This week — October 3 to October 9 — has been declared Register Your Emergency Contact Information Week, though motorists can register at anytime throughout the year. Your information can be accessed only by law enforcement officers looking to contact you in case of emergency. The program was introduced four years ago and we have blogged about it before here on our South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog.

“While the steady rise in ECI registrants is encouraging, it represents only a small portion of Florida’s driving population,” said DHSMV Executive Director Julie L. Jones. “Everyone with a Florida driver license or ID card should register their emergency contacts with us, either in an office or online. This will help our law enforcement officers identify who to notify when every second counts.”

You can click here to register your emergency contact information online.

Christine Olson learned of the tragic need for a statewide emergency contact resource when her daughter was killed in a Florida motorcycle accident in 2005. It took authorities more than six hours to notify the family. She worked with state lawmakers to establish and promote the database and has since founded “To Inform Families First” an organization dedicated to establishing up-to-date contact information in the event of an emergency. So far, more than 3 million motorists have registered and the database has been used more than 600,000 times.

You never know when you or a family member will be involved in a traffic accident. Last year, more than 640 traffic crashes a day were reported in Florida, injuring almost 200,000 people and claiming 2,563 lives, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Help law enforcement notify your family in an emergency and participate in this important effort.
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Tourist accidents in Fort Myers often involve guests who are injured on rental equipment, like Jet Skis, or in other tourists activities, such as parasailing.

The parasailing accident in Clearwater earlier this month offers a stark reminder of how quickly such activities can turn dangerous, or even deadly. It is the second serious parasailing accident in South Florida in as many months and the Fort Myers area is not immune; A mother and her 13-year-old daughter were killed in Fort Myers in 2001 when their tow line broke in stormy weather.
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Frequently, these operations will have guests sign a waiver. Such waivers do not absolve operators from serious or fatal injuries caused by negligence. Personal watercraft are responsible for a large number of injuries each year. Renting to kids, renting poorly maintained equipment, and failure to provide proper instruction or safety gear are among the most common causes of injury accidents. Speaking to a Fort Myers personal injury lawyer or wrongful death attorney can help protect your rights in the wake of an accident while visiting Southwest Florida.

In the Clearwater parasailing accident, a 27-year-old woman was critically injured when the tether line snapped, sending her crashing onto the beach. Her fiancee landed in the water and had minor injuries. Local police, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have launched an investigation into the company responsible for the ride.

Area lifeguards report a major storm had been moving into the area all afternoon. About 2:30 p.m., winds jumped from 7 mph to 22 mph — the National Weather Service reports gusts over 34 mph. About 3 p.m., the line towing the victim snapped, causing her to crash into the beach while still tethered to the runaway parachute. She reported slammed into beach umbrellas and was dragged through a volleyball court.

A spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said there are no rules regulating when parasailing companies can take people out on the water. There is also no law on the amount of insurance an operator must carry.

But when greed or negligence leads to a serious or fatal accident, a business can and should be held responsible.
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While our Fort Myers injury lawyers and Cape Coral accident attorneys are encouraged by the decline in drunk driving accidents reported last year, we share the concern of MADD and other organizations that understand how much work remains to be done.

As we reported recently on our Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, Fort Myers drunk driving accidents, and drunk driving accidents nationwide, still account for about one-third of all traffic fatalities. Last year, 10,839 motorists were killed in crashes involving alcohol.

1209277_cold_beer_glass_isolated_on_white.jpg“MADD is pleased to see that the new drunk driving fatality data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows drunk driving fatalities have declined,” said Mothers Against Drunk Driving President Laura Dean-Mooney. “This decline means that fatalities have been almost cut in half since MADD was founded in 1980.”

This week’s distracted driving summit in Washington, D.C. opened with an announcement of new regulations aimed at reducing accidents involving hazardous material, commercial trucks and bus and train operators, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported.

Our Fort Myers semi tractor-trailer accident lawyers and Cape Coral school bus accident attorneys continue to report on the dangers distracted driving pose to motorists. An estimated 6,000 motorists are killed each year and 500,000 are injured in accidents caused by distracted driving. Only drunk driving accidents and speed-related crashes claim more lives.

991192_mobile_phone.jpgStill, Florida is one of a dwindling number of states that has not enacted a ban on text messaging while driving. Part of the summit’s focus will be on pushing states to comply with the stated wishes of the federal government to see a nationwide text-messaging ban enacted by passage of an anti-texting law in all 50 states.

Our Fort Myers child injury lawyers encourage parents to participate in Child Passenger Safety Week (Sept. 19 to 25) by talking to your kids about dangers around vehicles and having your booster and safety seats checked on National Seat Check Saturday, Sept. 25.

A list of child safety seat check locations in Fort Myers, Cape Coral and throughout South Florida is available here.

1205771_kids_on_family_beach_vacation_2.jpgThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that car accidents remain the leading cause of death for young children ages 3 to 14. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports 1,347 children were killed in car accidents in 2008 and 193,000 were injured. Florida car accidents killed 73 children that year.

In announcing the fewest traffic deaths since 1950, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cited drunk driving accidents, motorcycle accidents and pedestrian accidents as areas where continued improvement is needed.

75579_drunk_driving.jpgDrunk Driving Accidents

Alcohol is still involved in approximately one-third of all fatal accidents nationwide. Last year, 10,839 drunk driving deaths were reported, compared to the 11,711 deaths in 2008. Florida drunk driving accidents caused 770 traffic fatalities last year, compared to 887 in 2008.

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