Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog

The National Safety Council has released one of the most comprehensive reports to date on the dangers of cell phone use by drivers. Distracted driving continues to be one of the leading causes of Massachusetts car accidents.

As we reported on our Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog, the federal government estimates that 6,000 people a year are killed and more than 500,000 are injured in distracted driving accidents.

Distractions now join alcohol and speeding as the leading factors in serious car accidents. Among the reports findings:

Distracted Driving: 28 percent of all crashes in 2008 were attributed to cell phone use, causing 1.6 million crashes and 645,000 injuries. Drivers using a cell phone are four times more likely to be involved in a crash.

Cell Phone Use:11 percent of drivers are using a cell phone at any given time. 81 percent of drivers admit to using a cell phone while behind the wheel.

Text Messaging: 18 percent of drivers admit to text messaging while driving. The rate is highest among teen drivers (36 percent) and Gen Y drivers (39 percent).

Hands Free Devices: Offer no safety benefit.

“Cell phone use while driving has become a serious public health threat,” said Janet Froetscher, NSC president and CEO. “Several states and municipalities have passed legislation allowing hands-free devices while driving. These laws give the false impression that hands-free phones are a safe alternative, when the evidence is clear they are not. Understanding the distraction of the brain will help people make the right decision and put down their cell phones while driving.”
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Two adults and a toddler were injured Saturday in a Cambridge car accident when an elderly man crashed into a bus shelter, the Boston Herald reported.

Police report that the man hit the accelerator instead of the brake, and crashed his car through the glass-walled bus shelter on Mount Auburn Street. The man was not injured and Cambridge police said he will not face charges. He had been trying to park his Toyota Camry in a handicapped space near Shaw’s Grocery Store at the time of the crash. He rapidly accelerated, careened over a curb, and crashed into the back of the bus shelter.

The walls of the shelter shattered, cutting three people standing inside. A 28-year-old woman and her 4-year-old son were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. A 29-year-old man was also taken to an area hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Older adults are at increased risk for being involved in a Massachusetts car accident. Older drivers also make up the fastest growing segment of the driving population. There were 31 million drivers over the age of 65 in 2007 — a 19 percent increase over the last 10 years. Total licensed drivers only increased by 13 percent during the same time period.

In Massachusetts, a total of 53 older drivers were killed in car accidents in 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Fifteen of those drivers were over the age of 85.

The American Automobile Association operates a website geared toward older drivers and their families.
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Most of us have been annoyed from time to time while behind the wheel. And many of us have been subjected to an irate motorist who tailgates, swerves, jambs on his brakes, or makes unsolicited hand gestures or verbal suggestions about how we should occupy our time.

This is the fourth post in our Safe Driving Series as we take a look at road rage and aggressive driving. Boston Injury Attorney Jeffrey S. Glassman and our staff encourage you to take a look at your own driving behavior while behind the wheel — studies continue to suggest that most motorists believe aggressive driving is a problem … they just don’t think they are among the violators.

Road rage and aggressive driving continues to be a factor in a significant number of serious and fatal Boston car accidents, as well as traffic accidents in Massachusetts and nationwide. One of the leading studies of aggressive driving was conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and begins by detailing a case of Massachusetts road rage in which a 54-year-old bookkeeper shot a motorist with a crossbow.

While that is an extreme example, thousands of serious and fatal accidents are caused each year by aggressive driving. In fact, aggressive driving and road rage are not the same. Aggressive driving is the type of inconsiderate driving most of us experience on a weekly basis, while road rage is a criminal offense marked by violence or assault.

In 2009, AAA reported that more than half of all accidents can be linked to some form of aggressive driving. Aggressive driving frequently involves disobeying traffic control devices, tailgating, speeding, erratic or unsafe passing, driving on the shoulder and failure to yield.

“Aggressive driving and its consequences are all too common on our roadways. It’s easy to think ‘that other guy is the problem'” said Catherine L. Rossi, a AAA spokeswoman. “But anyone can become an aggressive driver just by one single action.”

And when it comes to aggressive driving, motorists tend to think in terms of the other guy. A 2008 report by AAA found that nearly 8 in 10 people think aggressive driving is a serious safety issue, even though many of those same motorists admitted to one or more of the driving behaviors that constitute aggressive driving.

Signs you may be an aggressive driver:

-You express frustration behind the wheel.
-You drive distracted.
-You tailgate or attempt to intimidate motorists into getting out of your way.
-You make frequent lane changes, with or without signaling.
-You frequently try to beat red lights or outright run them.
-You speed.

Reducing stress behind the wheel:

-Concentrate: Avoid distractions while behind the wheel.
-Relax: Listen to music or take a deep breath.
-Don’t Speed: Fewer crashes occur when drivers are traveling the same speed.
-Plan an alternate route: Take a different route, mix up your commute.
-Use public transportation: A bus, subway, train or taxi may even be quicker.
-Just be late: Being late is always better than being in an accident.

When confronted by an aggressive driver:

-Get out of the way: Don’t match aggression with aggression.
-Put your pride aside: Don’t challenge an aggressive driver or try to hold your own lane.
-Avoid eye contact: Making eye contact can actually enrage an aggressive driver.
-Ignore gestures: And refuse to return them.
-Report aggressive drivers: Pull over to a safe location and notify law enforcement.
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Distracted driving has reached epidemic proportions in the United States and is a leading cause of Boston car accidents and traffic accidents through the State of Massachusetts.

Boston Injury Lawyer Jeffrey S. Glassman and our entire staff encourage you to speak with your family — especially teenage drivers — about the importance of safe driving as we enter the summer vacation season. We begin our Safe Driving Series by looking at the dangers of distracted driving.

Nationwide an estimated 6,000 people are killed by distracted driving each year and more than 500,000 are injured. To put those numbers into perspective, someone is seriously injured in a distracted driving car accident every minute of every day.

The federal government is so concerned about the dangers of distracted driving (especially the dangers of text messaging) that it has established a federal website to act as a clearinghouse of information — Distraction.gov.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also developed sample legislation for use by states seeking to outlaw text messaging.

“Texting while driving, like talking on cell phones while driving, is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening practice,” said Secretary Ray LaHood. “This language, which we created with a variety of safety organizations, is another powerful tool in our arsenal to help the states combat this serious threat.”

Texting while driving is of primary concern because it most often involves young drivers — who are already at high risk for a car accident — and because it involves all three forms of driver distraction: Visual, manual and cognitive.

Other forms of distracted driving include:

-Eating and drinking -Talking to passengers -Dressing, grooming or applying makeup -Reading or looking at maps -Using on-board electronics, such as a CD player or navigation system -Watching video
Distracted Driving Facts:

-Using a cell phone while driving reduces the amount of brain activity focused on the road by 37 percent.

-Drivers under 20 have the highest proportion of distracted driving fatalities.

-Drivers who use a hand-held device are four-times more likely to be seriously injured in an accident.

-Using a cell phone while driving — whether hand-held or hands-free — reduces a driver’s reactions as much as driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08, the legal limit for drunk driving in Massachusetts.
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Authorities are urging motorists to use caution and practice safe driving habits in an effort to reduce serious and fatal Massachusetts car accidents over the long Memorial Day weekend.

Holiday travel is expected to increase this weekend, despite higher gas prices, Mass Live reported. AAA expects nearly 1.5 million New Englanders will hit the road over the Memorial Day weekend, up from the 1.37 million travelers on the roads last year.

Nationwide, 32.1 million motorists are expected to make a trip at least 50 miles from home, compared to 30.5 million a year ago. Gas prices are at $2.82 a gallon, compared to $2.39 a gallon last year. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation reports the heaviest traffic is expected in the late afternoon and early evening on Thursday, Friday and Monday.

While New Year’s often gets the attention when it comes to serious and fatal accidents, the trio of summer holidays — Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day — are often among the most fatal.

Of particular concern will be preventing Massachusetts drunk driving accidents over the holiday weekend and law enforcement will be out in force looking for drunk drivers and other violations. Drunk driving is one of the leading causes of fatal Massachusetts car accidents. In 2008, nearly 4 in every 10 fatal accidents in Massachusetts involved a drunk driver, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A total of 153 of the state’s 363 traffic fatalities involved a driver under the influence.

Nationwide fatal Holiday traffic accidents

New Year’s: 141
Memorial Day: 370
Fourth of July: 437
Labor Day: 423
Thanksgiving: 439
Christmas: 364 Continue reading