Articles Posted in Car Accidents

The federal government may soon act to create a nationwide law aimed at reducing the risk of distracted driving. As we frequently report, distracted driving has become a leading cause of car accidents in Massachusetts and elsewhere in the United States.

Our Boston personal Injury lawyers have applauded state action; as the Governor’s Highway Safety Association reports, Massachusetts is among more than 30 states that have banned text messaging by all drivers. However, hand-held cell phone use continues to be legal and drivers routinely ignore even the text-messaging portion of the law. Complicating matters is the fact that millions of tourists visit Massachusetts each year and are typically unfamiliar with the law. Replacing the patchwork of laws in place nationwide with a federal ban will provide continuity and should add some teeth to enforcement efforts.

Auto Trend reports Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-NY, has introduced legislation that would federalize cell phone use by drivers. The proposal would require the U.S. Department of Transportation to set a national standard, which would prohibit hand-held cell phone use by drivers unless there was an emergency.

“Driving while making a phone call, texting or using apps can be as dangerous as driving drunk, and much more common,” Rep. McCarthy said. “With some basic commonsense rules that are already in place in some parts of the country, we can reduce injuries and save lives in America.”

Voice-operated and vehicle-integrated services would be excluded. Supporters acknowledge the cognitive distraction posed even by hands-free devices but say eliminating the manual distraction of hand-held devices is an important step in the right direction.

The bill would also require the feds to conduct a study on the issue of distracted driving, particularly as it relates to cognitive distraction and the impact on young, inexperienced drivers. The report would be due to Congress within two years and would make recommendations regarding minimum distracted driving laws and the associated penalties. States would have two years to comply or risk losing 25 percent of their highway funding. It’s the same tactic the feds have used to bring all states into compliance with the nationwide limit of .08 for drunk driving. Withholding highway funding was also used to gain compliance with the nationwide 55 mph speed limit, which was repealed in the 1990s.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports 5,474 people were killed in distracted driving crashes in 2009 — representing about 1 in 6 traffic fatalities.
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According to recent press release from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, nearly 200 lives were saved in 2004 to 2008 because of red light cameras that were installed in 14 of the biggest cities in the United States. The Institute believes that if these cameras would have been in all large cities, car accidents in Boston and elsewhere would have been avoided and another 815 lives could have been saved.

“The cities that have the courage to use red light cameras despite the political backlash are saving lives,” says Institute president Adrian Lund.

Our Boston car accident attorneys realize that motorists may need some extra enforcement to help them to abide by traffic laws, because apparently the risk of a car accident isn’t enough. Researchers discovered that these cameras do just that. In the areas in which cameras were placed, red light running crashes fell nearly 40 percent.

The most surprising fact that was concluded from this study was that these red light cameras not only reduced the number of fatal red light running accidents at these intersections in which they were installed, but all types of fatal accidents in these areas were decreased. One reason this may have occurred, researchers believe, is because motorists feel that the eye in the sky subconsciously makes them be more cautious and follow road laws.

According to the study, if these cameras were kept in place for 5 years in all 99 U.S. cities with populations over 200,000, then more than 800 deaths could have been avoided.

Since the 90’s, red light cameras have served as a low-cost way to police intersections. Roughly 500 U.S. cities currently use the intersection technology.

Some people are opposed to the eye in the sky though, claiming it’s just another revenue-generating scheme that violates drivers’ privacy.

“Somehow, the people who get tickets because they have broken the law have been cast as the victims,” Lund says. “We rarely hear about the real victims — the people who are killed or injured by these lawbreakers.”

In 2009, red light running took the lives of nearly 700 people. Running red lights also injured roughly 113,000 people on our roadways. About two-thirds of the people who were killed in these accidents we people other than the red light runners. Those killed were either occupants of other vehicles, passengers in the red light runners’ vehicles, bicyclists, or pedestrians.

“Examining a large group of cities over several years allowed us to take a close look at the most serious crashes, the ones that claim people’s lives,” says Anne McCartt, Institute senior vice president for research and a co-author of the study. “Our analysis shows that red light cameras are making intersections safer.”

A recent letter to the Taunton Daily Gazette stated that the use of these cameras was clear and concise — to effectively save lives. The writer of the letter believed that drivers should be held accountable for their actions even when there are no police around. It went on to say that the community welcomes technology designed to keep people safe and prevent more tragic losses. This letter was written by Paul and Sue Oberhauser, Co-Chairs of the Traffic Safety Coalition, who lost a loved one because of a red light-running motorist.
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According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration‘s 2008 data, Massachusetts experienced more than 300 deaths from car accidents in Boston and elsewhere throughout the state. This study illustrates an 8 percent decrease from the previous year. But wait! NHTSA data for 2010 for Region 1, which includes Massachusetts, indicates an 18 percent increase in these motor vehicle accident deaths from 2009.

Our Boston car accident attorneys recognize that these statistics help us to examine traffic trends and help us identify problem areas that need to be focused on to help prevent future traffic accident deaths in our area. Even with the recent decrease in the number of accidents, we’re still way over the average from just 2 years ago. More needs to be done to raise driver awareness to get drivers to focus on the roadway.

In 2009 in Massachusetts, 44 percent of drivers that were involved in an accident with an intoxicated driver died. The majority of motorists killed on our roadways lost their lives on non-interstate roadways with a speed limit of at least 55 mph. Nearly half of all those killed in traffic crashes in our state were killed in a passenger car, which is the most common to drive in the United States. The next deadliest vehicle on our roadways was light trucks, counting for more than 30 percent of the total vehicles involved in fatal accidents.

It’s surprising that Massachusetts has such high motor-vehicle death rates considering we have strict seat belt laws. Law enforcement enacted seat belt laws as a secondary enforcement, meaning that you can receive a ticket for not wearing your seat belt after being pulled over for another violation. This applies to all drivers and can land you with a $25 fine. This may be a main contributor to our observed seat belt use rate of 98 percent for the year. There are exemptions to this rule though. Taxis, buses, school buses, medical, postal service vehicles, commercial vehicles that make frequent stops and all vehicles built before 1965 are exempt from the seat belt law.

Later this summer, the preliminary stats for 2010 car accidents will be released. As our economy recovers, many safe driving advocates expect all of these numbers to rise. Data from the last few decades illustrates that the number of motor vehicle accidents directly mirrors the economy.

In an attempt to reduce these fatality numbers even more, we offer all motorists these driving tips:

• Slow down. Driving above the speed limit greatly reduces the amount of time you have to react to a road hazard. Increased speed also increases the impact upon collision which increases your risk of serious injury — or death.
• Look around. Always be aware of your surroundings. Don’t get lost in the hypnotic stare in the lane in front of you. Know what is to your left, right and rear at all times.
• Double check. Look, and look again, before making any maneuvers on the roadway.
• Seat belt. The use of a seat belt has been proven to greatly reduce your risk of injury and death in the event of a motor-vehicle accident.
• Checkup. Be sure to always keep your vehicle in proper-running condition.
• Blind spots. Be careful of the blind spots of your own vehicle and the blind spots of other vehicles. If you can’t see another driver, they can’t see you.
• Blinkers. Always use your turn signals to alert other drivers of your plan of action on the road.
• Weather. Always adjust to weather conditions, whether that means slowing down, tuning on your hazard lights or turning on your lights.

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