Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Sometimes, it may seem as if there are laws and regulations about everything. While it may be a hassle to obey all of the driving laws, these rules exist for a reason. Speed limits, for example, help to make sure you don’t go too fast and get out of control. Yield signs outline who has the right-of-way. Each law, in other words, helps to dictate a safe behavior so that drivers don’t endanger themselves or others.

The NHTSA tracks information on driving, driver safety laws and auto accidents and has recently taken a look at some of the data available on several key driver safety initiatives. NHTSA took a look at how many lives were saved in 2010 as a result of minimum drinking age laws and restraint use laws. Our Boston accident attorneys have reviewed the NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts on these laws and we believe that every driver should take note of how many lives have been saved by safety rules. When you consider the lives saved, it may encourage you to be vigilant about obeying the safety regulations yourself.

NHTSA Data on Driver Safety Lives
NHTSA indicated that driver safety laws played a big role in helping to keep people safe in 2010. For example, according to their Traffic Safety Facts:

• Seat belt use saved 12,546 lives in 2010 alone. From 2006 to 2010, more than 69,000 lives have been saved by wearing seatbelts.
• Front air bags saved the lives of 2,306 people in 2010. This data included only occupants ages 13 and up since children under 12 years of age can be injured by air bags and should not be seated in the front car seat.
• In 2010, there were 550 people saved as a result of laws imposing a minimum drinking age.
• Motorcycle helmets saved an estimated 1,550 lives in 2010.
• Minimum drinking age laws forbidding those under 21 from having a drink saved an estimated 550 lives in 2010.
• Child safety seats or other child restraints saved 303 children ages four and under from being killed in auto accidents in 2010.
• In Massachusetts alone, 83 adults over the age of five were saved by the use of seat belts in 2010. Another 23 were saved by frontal air bags while 29 were saved due to the use of motorcycle helmets.

That so many people were saved is good news and indicates that the important driving laws are having an actual real effect. However, the data also indicates that there is a long way to go until all people fully comply with the driver safety laws and regulations that have been passed. According to NHTSA, for example:

• If 100 percent of drivers worse seat belts as required, 3,341 more lives would have been saved in 2010.
• If 100 percent of motorcycle riders wore helmets, 706 motorcycle accident deaths could have been avoided in 2010.
• In Massachusetts, if 100 percent of drivers wore restrains, there would be 48 lives saved from auto accident deaths.

This information from NHTSA reveals just how important a role driver safety laws can play in avoiding car accident deaths. Of course, every driver should take responsibility for himself, buckling up and driving carefully to keep himself safe and to avoid causing a crash that injures others.
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Our Boston auto accident attorneys are always monitoring trends in car accident fatalities and auto accident injuries in order to stay abreast of the risks that drivers face on the streets today. Unfortunately, new data released by the National Safety Council presented some bad news for drivers.

According to the National Safety Council (NSC) data released on February 19, 2013, the United States experienced the first upswing in traffic deaths across the nation since 2005. This means that more people died last year in 2012 traffic crashes than in 2011. An increase in car accident deaths is very sad news as more families are left without their loved ones and more lives are cut short. It is important to try to identify and understand the cause of the increase in car accident deaths and it is essential for drivers to make a renewed commitment to safety in order to bring the number of fatalities back down in 2013.

The NSC Data
The NSC assembles its data based on information provided by local traffic authorities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. When the states and D.C. provide information, NSC counts the number of car accident deaths that occurred within the year both on public roads and on private property. Its count is then compared with information obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics.

This is a different methodology from the data-gathering and statistical analysis conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). NHTSA data is assembled only regarding accidents on public roads and it classifies a car accident as fatal only if the death occurred within 30 days of the time of the accident. NSC data, therefore, may paint a more accurate picture of how many people were actually killed in auto accidents over the course of the year.

The NSC 2012 preliminary data was released on February and showed that:

• There were approximately 26,200 car accident fatalities during the 2012 year.
• The number of traffic fatalities in 2012 shows a 5 percent increase over the number of deaths that occurred in 2011. The number of fatalities has not increased since the 2004-to-2005 change, so it has been many years since a similar rise in traffic deaths was experienced.
• The number of crash injuries that necessitated medical attention also rose to 3.9 million, which was a 5 percent increase from 2011 numbers.

Although NSC indicated grave concern over the increase in deaths, the agency also provided an explanation. NSC indicated that the total number of miles driven throughout the U.S. has increased. If people are driving more and/or for longer distances, this helps to explain why more traffic accidents occurred. Winter of 2012 was also relatively mild throughout the United States, which may have encouraged more people to drive.

These explanations, however, only go part of the way towards explaining the car accident dangers people face. As the CEO of the National Safety Council indicated, pressing concerns including teens and distracted driving are a major contributing factor to auto accidents and these dangerous behaviors should be addressed nationally to help make the roads safer for everyone.
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Three cars were wrecked in a recent Quincy traffic accident. According to KHQA, a driver was heading north on 12th Street when he allegedly slammed his vehicle into two parked cars. He just kept on going and took a right on State Street. That’s when his vehicle left the road and slammed into two trees. The driver had a 22-month-old child in the vehicle with him. The child was taken to Blessing Hospital.

Officers arrested the driver. He is now facing charges of operating an uninsured vehicle, driving without a valid driver’s license, aggravated driving under the influence, improper lane usage as well as failure to give information after striking a parked car.

Our Quincy car accident lawyers understand that drivers can do some pretty off the wall things sometimes. We may never know why this driver put his life at risks, let alone the lives of innocent passengers and others on the road. We do know that those injured by motorists like this deserve proper compensation.

In 2010, there were close to 33,000 people who were killed in traffic accidents in the U.S. In addition to these fatalities, another 2,240,000 people were injured. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were more passenger cars involved in accidents than any other type of vehicle. These vehicles accounted for roughly 40 percent of the vehicles involved in fatal accidents during the year. They also accounted for close to 1,600,000 of the injury accidents (or more than 55 percent of the total).

In 2010, there were nearly 200 fatalities resulting from accidents involving passenger vehicles. Close to 120 of these fatalities occurred in accidents with passenger cars.

Many of these accidents were the result of aggressive driving. According to the NHTSA, aggressive driving has become a serious problem on our roadways. It happens when “an individual commits a combination of moving traffic offenses so as to endanger other persons or property.”

What constitutes as aggressive driving?

-Speeding
-Tailgating
-Running yellow or red lights
-Unnecessary lane changes
These behaviors can easily spiral out of control and morph into road rage. It’s a problem that’s completely preventable. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), the economic cost to society due to speeding-related crashes is estimated to be more than $40 billion per year–$76,865 per minute or $1,281 per second.

When you’re involved in an accident, you want to make sure that you receive the proper medical treatment for your injuries. If you’re injured and have to take time off of work, you also want to make sure that the at-fault party covers your lost wages.
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A teenager from Fall River and a local police officer were both injured in an accident during a recent funeral procession. According to My Fox Boston, officers responded to the three-vehicle accident in Fall River on Route 24. A motorist crashed into the vehicle in front of him, causing a domino effect. Included in these accidents was a motorcycle officer who was working on a motorcade escort in the funeral procession for a fallen firefighter.

Officials have determined that the traffic was stopped before the accident happened. The 56-year-old motorcycle officer was transported to Charlton Memorial Hospital with possible injuries. The third driver involved was not injured.

Our Fall River injury attorneys understand Massachusetts’ state law provides that a funeral procession of up to 10 vehicles has the right to use any public roadway subject to the same regulations and restrictions as “pleasure vehicles” (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 85 § 14A). However, as a practical matter, funeral processions are often given the right-of-way and may even have police help at intersections and other traffic-conflict points.

Being on your best behavior behind the wheel is always important, but this is especially true when traffic is altered.

In a typical funeral procession, a black sedan (or the “lead car”) often leads. This vehicle will display the white funeral flags and will have its hazard lights flashing. These signs are to help to alert nearby motorists that there is a funeral procession in moving traffic. After the sedan is usually the hearse and then vehicles to carry the friends and family members, followed by the vehicles of those attending the procession.

When you encounter a funeral procession, it’s important to remember that they have the right-of-way. You want to always be respectful, but you want to be safe, too.

You’re going to want to yield. Once the lead car has made its way into traffic — like into an intersection — you want to allow the entire procession to go through before moving. Even if the procession’s traffic light is red and yours is green, you should let the procession continue through the intersection until all cars have passed.

You want to keep an eye out for the last vehicle in line. The last vehicle usually has at least 2 flags on it and is flashing its hazard lights. Once it passes by you, go ahead and resume the normal flow of traffic.

It’s safer to avoid cutting off a procession. You don’t want to honk either. It’s unnecessary and it can be rude. When riding along a highway, you don’t want to pass a procession unless its in the far left lane.

For the motorists wanting to yield to the procession, they can reduce speed. But if there’s room and they want to stop, they must move completely off the road so that other cars can pass by without leaving their lane of traffic.
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A head-on collision in Wellesly, about a half hour from Boston, sent eight Babson College students to nearby hospital emergency rooms. At least one of those was a young woman who had to be airlifted to a trauma center for severe head injuries.

Our Boston car accident lawyers want to extend our support to these young people and their families as they embark on the road to recovery.

With spring break right around the corner, we are likely to see a spike in Boston car accidents involving both college and high school students. Last year, numerous high-profile crashes throughout the country during spring break claimed promising young lives.

In Ohio, three sorority sisters on their way to a spring break destination were killed by a wrong-way driver on the highway. In that case, officials said the girls did nothing wrong whatsoever, and they probably only realized what was happening mere moments before impact.

In Arkansas, one university student died and seven people were injured in a construction zone crash. Five students were in a car on their way to a spring break celebration. The initial accident caused a chain reaction of three other wrecks.

And in Florida, an 85-year-old wrong-way driver slammed into a car-full of Minnesota college students on their way to spring break. The elderly driver was killed and the four students were injured – once critically.

In this most recent crash in Boston, officials say a vehicle with seven occupants drifted off the roadway and collided head-on with a one-occupant vehicle traveling in the opposite direction around 3 a.m. Every single one of those involved was a student at Babson.

Officials said at this point, they don’t believe alcohol was a factor. While the cause is still under investigation, it’s believed the student driver was navigating a blind turn, perhaps too quickly, when the crash occurred.

One common factor in many of these incidents is the presence of several young people in the vehicle at once. Even in cases where the young driver may not be at fault, one wonders how reaction time is impaired when others in the car present a distraction.

In spring break crashes, you also have young people driving long hours, late into the night and in areas with which they are not familiar. So you have driver distraction, driver fatigue and driver inexperience all playing a potential role here.

Given that many spring break celebrations do involve alcohol, this is a surefire recipe for disaster.

Those gearing up to head out for a spring break celebration next month should keep the following tips in mind as they are planning:

• Book your hotel in a central location so you can limit the amount of time you’ll need to drive once you actually arrive. That way, if you want to drink, you can be a short distance from where you’re staying.
• Have your route well-planned before you set out. If you are traveling out-of-state, break the trip up so you aren’t pressed to drive while you’re fatigued.
• Avoid going out alone or traveling at night. Even a short walk could be dangerous if you’ve been drinking. There is safety in numbers.
• Keep your alcohol consumption to a reasonable level. When you go overboard, you are more vulnerable not only to potential roadway hazards, but also to crime. Consider having one person in your group remain sober for the night and alternate nights. That way, you will always have someone in the group who can make smart executive decisions about safety.

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Car accidents are an unfortunate fact of life in Boston and throughout the United States and they continue to occur every day, even as we make new traffic laws, work to make the roads safer and try to build better and safer cars. Recently, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has taken a look at where the U.S. stands as far as the car accident risk in the country. AAA released its findings in January in a 2012 Traffic Safety Culture Index.

Our Boston auto accident lawyers have taken a look at the new AAA report on traffic safety culture and we believe everyone should be aware of the issues it has identified. AAA addressed some of the top causes of crashes including cell phones; texting; drunk driving; speeding; drowsy driving and running red lights. Understanding the prevalence of these dangerous driving behaviors as well as the cultural attitudes towards them is important in working to stay safe and prevent more auto accidents in the future.

Cultural Attitudes Towards Dangerous Driving Behaviors

AAA discovered that there is a disapproval of many of the most dangerous types of driving behaviors. Unfortunately, this disapproval does not necessarily translate to action, as people seem to engage in certain types of risky behavior even when most report that they recognize the danger. For example:

• Almost every driver surveyed indicated that drinking and driving was a serious threat that they disapproved of. Despite the widespread disapproval, however, 14 percent of respondents admitted to having driven at least once in the past year when they may have been over the limit. Of all drivers surveyed, 2.1 percent said they had potentially driven drunk in the month prior to the survey.
• The majority of drivers support the use of ignition interlock devices in vehicles under certain circumstances. 80.5 percent of respondents to AAA’s survey indicated that the devices should be used in the vehicles of all first time DUI offenders. Almost three in four drivers indicated that they were in support of using ignition interlock devices in all cars. In Massachusetts, ignition interlock devices are required for drivers with OUI hardship licenses and for those with two or more OUI convictions.
• Two out of three drivers responding to the survey indicated support for restricting hand-held cell phone use although only 48.6 percent professed support for a ban on cell phone use. Almost all drivers also indicated that texting and driving is a serious risk and 66.1 percent disapproved of using a hand-held cell phone. Despite this, more than 2/3 of drivers said they had used their cell phone while driving in the month prior and 26.6 percent admitted sending an email or text while driving in the past month.
• Speeding is widely viewed as a relatively acceptable behavior. More than one in four drivers said that they considered speeding socially acceptable and 49.3 percent admitted to exceeding the speed limit on freeways by 15 mph.
• Running a red light was widely viewed as unacceptable but 38.4 percent of drivers said they had driven through a light that had recently changed to red.
• Although the majority of drivers indicated that drowsy driving was a dangerous safety risk, one in three admitted to the behavior in the past month. Almost half said they had actually fallen asleep behind the wheel at least once in their lives.

As these study results show, most drivers know that certain dangerous behaviors present a risk and yet this doesn’t necessarily translate to not doing dangerous things while driving. It is important for both laws and cultural pressures to continue to push drivers towards making smarter choices behind the wheel when it comes to avoiding risky behavior.
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We’re sure you’ve noticed, but we’re going to say it anyway — traffic is getting awfully congested. This isn’t only a headache, it’s causing us to spend more time and money behind the wheel.

Officials with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) recently completed the Urban Mobility Report (UMR) to look into just how serious the problem.

Drivers don’t know how long it’s going to take for them to get to where they need to be as travel times can oftentimes be unpredictable. But researchers now have a way to measure that degree of unreliability. It’s the Planning Time Index (PTI). What it does is help you figure out how long you’re going to need to get there. If the Index tells you the trip is 3.00, that means that you need an hour for a trip that is normally only 20 minutes. The PTI ensures on-time arrival 19 out of 20 times.

Our Boston car accident attorneys understand that this traffic tracker is looking at common congestion times and traffic rushes. Officials have looked at traffic patterns and have determined where the bad traffic is and when it comes and goes.

Boston ranked up there with the country’s most congested areas. We were on top of that list with Seattle, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston and Washington D.C.

According to the report, the average commuter in Boston spends about 52 hours in traffic jams. This means that we’re spending about 26 more gallons of gas in traffic than the average commuter. Using gas and wasting money to sit in traffic? Sounds crazy! By better planning, you can use less travel time and save money!

The PIT for our city is 4.00. That’s not good at all! We have a 4.0 but it’s not good!

In addition to predicting travel time, the Report also estimated the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions resulting from these delays. Totals say that there were more than 55 billion pounds of CO2 released into our atmosphere because of vehicles sitting in traffic.

“It points to the importance of implementing transportation improvements to reduce congestion,” says co-author and researcher David Schrank.

Officials think that the congestion and the traffic is only going to get worse as the economy improves.

The report estimates we waste close to 3 billion gallons of gas, or enough to fill the New Orleans Superdome four times — while waiting in traffic. This means that drivers lost more than $120 billion just sitting there waiting.

We all know that the traffic can be frustrating. We’re asking you to keep your calm. As it can be aggravating — we’ve all been there — planning ahead can help to relieve your anxiety. Be safe out there, check traffic reports before heading out, stay off of busy roadways and keep your calm behind the wheel. Remember that we’re all in this together.
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Car accidents are an unfortunate fact of life in Boston and throughout the United States and they continue to occur every day, even as we make new traffic laws, work to make the roads safer and try to build better and safer cars. Recently, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has taken a look at where the U.S. stands as far as the car accident risk in the country. AAA released its findings in January in a 2012 Traffic Safety Culture Index.

Our Boston auto accident lawyers have taken a look at the new AAA report on traffic safety culture and we believe everyone should be aware of the issues it has identified. AAA addressed some of the top causes of crashes including cell phones; texting; drunk driving; speeding; drowsy driving and running red lights. Understanding the prevalence of these dangerous driving behaviors as well as the cultural attitudes towards them is important in working to stay safe and prevent more auto accidents in the future.

Cultural Attitudes Towards Dangerous Driving Behaviors

AAA discovered that there is a disapproval of many of the most dangerous types of driving behaviors. Unfortunately, this disapproval does not necessarily translate to action, as people seem to engage in certain types of risky behavior even when most report that they recognize the danger. For example:

• Almost every driver surveyed indicated that drinking and driving was a serious threat that they disapproved of. Despite the widespread disapproval, however, 14 percent of respondents admitted to having driven at least once in the past year when they may have been over the limit. Of all drivers surveyed, 2.1 percent said they had potentially driven drunk in the month prior to the survey.
• The majority of drivers support the use of ignition interlock devices in vehicles under certain circumstances. 80.5 percent of respondents to AAA’s survey indicated that the devices should be used in the vehicles of all first time DUI offenders. Almost three in four drivers indicated that they were in support of using ignition interlock devices in all cars. In Massachusetts, ignition interlock devices are required for drivers with OUI hardship licenses and for those with two or more OUI convictions.
• Two out of three drivers responding to the survey indicated support for restricting hand-held cell phone use although only 48.6 percent professed support for a ban on cell phone use. Almost all drivers also indicated that texting and driving is a serious risk and 66.1 percent disapproved of using a hand-held cell phone. Despite this, more than 2/3 of drivers said they had used their cell phone while driving in the month prior and 26.6 percent admitted sending an email or text while driving in the past month.
• Speeding is widely viewed as a relatively acceptable behavior. More than one in four drivers said that they considered speeding socially acceptable and 49.3 percent admitted to exceeding the speed limit on freeways by 15 mph.
• Running a red light was widely viewed as unacceptable but 38.4 percent of drivers said they had driven through a light that had recently changed to red.
• Although the majority of drivers indicated that drowsy driving was a dangerous safety risk, one in three admitted to the behavior in the past month. Almost half said they had actually fallen asleep behind the wheel at least once in their lives.

As these study results show, most drivers know that certain dangerous behaviors present a risk and yet this doesn’t necessarily translate to not doing dangerous things while driving. It is important for both laws and cultural pressures to continue to push drivers towards making smarter choices behind the wheel when it comes to avoiding risky behavior.
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On February 3, 2013, a group of high school students traveled to visit Harvard University. The group of 42, including students and chaperones, chartered a bus to take them to Harvard from their home in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, while in Boston, a serious bus accident occurred when the charter bus hit a bridge. According to NPR, emergency responders indicated that at least 32 people on the bus were injured as a result of the crash. One passenger faced life-threatening injuries and several others had serious injuries.

Our Boston bus accident lawyers express our condolences to the victims and the family members as they recover from this accident. Unfortunately, it appears that this bus accident was entirely preventable and we also urge bus drivers to take heed of this crash as a warning to always pay careful attention when entrusted with the lives of passengers.

The Boston Bus Accident on Soldier’s Field Road
The bus accident occurred when the driver of the charter bus disregarded signs indicating a maximum height limit for the road he was on. The road had a clear height limit of 10 feet and the signs indicated that oversized vehicles were not authorized or permitted on the road. The driver, who is also a school bus driver in addition to a charter bus driver, allegedly ignored the signs and continued to proceed on the road anyway.

The bus subsequently struck on overpass on Soldier’s Field Road, which is a major crosstown road in Boston. The crash occurred at approximately 7:30 PM on Saturday evening and some passengers were trapped on the bus for over an hour as rescue crews attempted to help them to get out of the vehicle. Those who needed immediate medical assistance where taken to the hospital upon being removed from the bus, including the person whose injuries were potentially life threatening.

The bus was severely damaged in the crash, with the front of the roof pushed inward and the center section pushed sharply downward. Because of the damage, some victims had to exit the bus through the top of the vehicle. Some witnesses indicate that this was accomplished by using boards to extract people. Firefighters were able to get all of the victims out of the vehicle by 9:00 P.M., nearly two hours after the initial crash occurred.

The driver at the accident scene will likely receive a citation for an over-height violation, according to the state police who arrived at the crash scene. However, as of this time, it remains to be seen if the driver will face additional charges for disregarding the warnings and causing the accident.

The drivers careless and negligent failure to obey the rules had a clear and immediate impact on the lives of all those involved in the accident. For those more seriously hurt, the consequences of the crash may be felt for a long time and the bus driver and bus company are liable for the harm caused.
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