Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Car accidents continue to be the number one cause of death for residents between the ages of 5- and 34-years-old. In fact, these crashes are among the top causes of death for residents of every age. Each year, there are more than 30,000 people killed in traffic collisions nationwide.

Not only do we lose lives in these accidents, but the cost of them puts quite the damper on our economy. In 2005, car accidents cost the country more than $41 billion in both work lost costs and medical costs, according to the latest reports.

Our Boston accident attorneys would like to remind motorists that many of these accidents are completely preventable. We don’t necessarily have to shell out near;y $400 million for these accidents in the Commonwealth each year.

That’s right. The state of Massachusetts racks up a bill of nearly $400 million as a result of traffic accidents every year. A substantial portion of these costs are racked up by young adults involved in car accidents. They cost nearly $200 million.

The next costliest group is older adults, racking up nearly 30 percent of these costs, or more than $110 million.

Teens are the second runner-up with more than $65 million in related costs. As a matter of fact, the state of Massachusetts had the highest bill in the entire New England region for car accident costs.

What’s most important to remember is that many of these accidents can sometimes be avoided. Safe driving advocates and federal officials suggest effective policies and programs to do just that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Recommendations to help save lives:

-Primary enforcement seat belt laws. Officials suggest that these laws cover all passengers. Currently exempt under the state’s seat belt laws are postal workers on the clock, drivers of emergency response vehicles, fire truck drivers, police officers, truck, bus and tractor drivers (with a gross weight of at least 18,000 pounds), taxi drivers, drivers of vehicles made before 1966 as well as drivers and passengers who have proof from a physician that a disability or medical condition makes wearing a seat belt dangerous or impossible.

-Comprehensive graduated drivers licensing (GDL) program. These programs are designed to help newly-licensed drivers to gain experience under lower-risk conditions. In our state, these young drivers have very loose restrictions regarding allowable passengers. For the first 6 months of their intermediate license they’re prohibited from having any passengers present under the age of 18. Unfortunately, this law is secondary enforcement 12:30 am to 1:00 a.m. as well as from 4:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.

During this time of the year, when are roadways are more congested, drivers are asked to be on their best behavior behind the wheel. Safe driving habits can help to keep you and your passengers alive!
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According to the National Safety Council (NSC) Congress recently included some bonuses in its Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill.

Safe driving advocates with the NSC are applauding Congress for including a number of safety provisions to help to reduce the risks of traffic accidents in Massachusetts and elsewhere. The new provisions are being used to help to cut down on distracted driving car accidents and to beef up Graduated Driver’s Licensing (GDL) programs to better protect our young drivers.

Congress chose to target distracted driving and teen driving because of the risks they both pose. About 25 percent of all car accidents involve a distracted driver nowadays. In addition, car accidents continue to be the number one killer for teenagers across the country. Both tough distraction-related and tough teen driver-related laws prove to have what it takes to reduce risks of accidents. Now, Congress is calling on states to enact more of these tough laws to improve the safety of everyone.

Our Massachusetts personal injury lawyers understand that Congress is luring state legislatures by offering incentives for those who join the cause. In recent years, incentives have been offered to states that make tougher impaired driving and seat belt laws. It has been proven that each of these states that enacted these toughened laws actually showed a reduction in the number of car accident fatalities.

“This bill will help states make roadways safer. We are confident that incentives will provide encouragement to state legislators to enact distracted driving and teen driving laws that will reduce crashes,” said CEO and president of the NSC, Janet Froetscher.

Through this bill, there is about $13 million up for grabs for those states that adopt the toughest elements to their GDL programs. Some of the elements include passenger restrictions, nighttime restrictions, plenty of supervised driving time and laws to keep distractions out of these young driver’s hands. Effective GDL programs allow teen drivers to gain experience behind the wheel by sending them through a number of phases that slowly peel away restrictions. They’re exposed to more and more just a little at a time allowing them to get a thorough driver’s education and to slowly be exposed to driving privileges.

There is another $23 million that’s being set aside for states that devise tougher distracted driving laws. Legislators are trying to get more states to make it illegal for drivers to talk on cell phones and text message behind the wheel. In the state of Massachusetts, only drivers under the age of 18 are prohibited from talking on a cell phone behind the wheel. All drivers are prohibited from text messaging.

The bill also includes funding for distracted driving research.
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Road rage and aggressive driving are common risks, especially with the congested summer traffic.

According to MSNBC, road rage was what led to a woman’s death in a recent New Jersey car accident. According to law enforcement officials, a 27-year-old and a 20-year-old are facing charges of vehicular homicide and a number of other motor vehicle violations because of it.

Allegedly, the two lost control of the vehicle as they were attempting to pass another vehicle on the right, in the exit lane. Their vehicle flipped over and hit another car. A woman in that other car was ejected and was killed. According to witnesses, the two were tailgating the victim’s vehicle and making a number of frantic lane changes just seconds before the accident.

According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, road rage is used to describe aggressive behavior of a driver, but most oftentimes is used to describe more extreme acts of aggression, such as a physical assault, that occur as a direct result of a disagreement between drivers.

Unfortunately, road rage leads to a number of car accidents in Boston and elsewhere each and every day. With the summer travel congestion here, drivers are getting more frustrated behind the wheel and are acting out. It’s important to keep your cool to prevent one of these accidents. There are also specific ways to handle an aggressive driver, should you ever encounter one.

Our Boston car accident lawyers understand that nearly 2,000 people are injured or killed each year in the U.S. as a result of this dangerous driving behavior. AAA officials recently conducted a study of more than 10,000 incidents of road rage and determined that anyone can be a victim. Drivers are urged to stay calm behind the wheel. This can be done by allowing extra time to get to and from your destination, by checking traffic reports to see where there are backups and detours and my just taking a moment to breathe. These kinds of accidents are 100 percent preventable.

How to avoid becoming a victim of road rage, from AAA’s “Road Rage, How to Avoid Aggressive Driving”:

-Never engage a bully. You can easily protect yourself from an enraged driver by refusing to get angry back at them.

-Make sure to stay away from them. Give them plenty of room. Remove yourself from the area as quickly as possible.

-Avoid making eye contact with the driver. Keep it as impersonal as possible.

-Call for help. Drive to a spot where there are other people and call authorities.

-Before you react to anything that is done to you please ask yourself, “Is getting back at that jerk worth my life?”

-Never make obscene gestures.
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A mid-week holiday isn’t stopping many residents from getting out there and taking a holiday vacation. According to officials with AAA, more than 42 million people are expected to travel more than 50 miles from their home to celebrate this year’s Fourth of July holiday. That’s a near 5 percent increase in travel compared to just a year ago.

A good majority of these travelers will be behind the wheel too, severely increasing all of our risks for a car accidents in Boston and throughout New England. Officials estimate that nearly 43 million will be hopping in a car for this year’s vacation. Why? Many believe that it’s the low gas prices that are fueling everyone’s vacation spirit.

Our Boston car accident lawyers understand that this year’s travel predictions are the highest since 2007. Experts believe that by having the holiday land on a Wednesday more people will opt to make it a really long weekend. In fact, most people are expected to start their vacations before the work week even begins. Most of these people are expected to hit the road too, as officials are estimating that nearly 36 million will be using a motor vehicle to get to their vacation destination. According to officials with AAA, June 29, a Friday, will be the single biggest day with the most expected travel before July 4.

Just last week, gas prices were averaged at under $3.44 a gallon in the state of Massachusetts. That’s about 50 cents lower than the prices were during this time of the year in 2011, according to The Boston Globe.

The travel in the New England area is expected to outpace travel levels nationwide. In our area, more than 1.7 million residents are expected to take the holiday to get out and vacation.

“The landscape of the US economy is in a much different place…encouraging to see such growth this summer as Americans take to the road to visit family, friends, and great vacation destinations,” said Lloyd P. Albert with AAA Southern New England.

The National Safety Council (NSC) is estimating that nearly 175 people will be killed over this year’s Fourth of July holiday, counting as the evening of July 3rd through the evening of the 4th. Another 17,000 people are expected to be injured in these same accidents. For this reason, we’re asking all drivers to head out with safety as a top priority. Make sure that you leave with plenty of time to reach your destination, keep distractions out of the driver’s seat and obey by all road laws. Make sure you check out your car, too. Take a peek at the fluid levels and at the condition and air pressure of your tires. Safe driving habits are your key to staying safe behind the wheel during this year’s holiday. Happy Fourth of July!
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Teens nowadays may not be as excited to get behind the wheel as they once were. They’re now relying more on public transportation and other ways to get around. Driving just isn’t cool as it once was, many would say. Some teens are even a little frightened by it, saying they’re intimidated by having the ability to control something that could potentially kill them.

We oftentimes talk about the high risks that our teens are at for car accidents in Braintree and elsewhere in the area. But the truth of the matter is that a growing number of teens understand the dangers, they’re staying from behind the wheel and they’re finding different ways to get around.

Our Braintree car accident lawyers aren’t saying to ease off of your teen drivers, but to recognize that they may have a different agenda that includes alternative modes of transportation. Regardless, whether they want to drive or not, it’s important that they receive a thorough driver’s education. There’s going to be a time when they need these skills. Let’s make sure they have them.

“Generation Y,” (Gen-Y-ers or Millennials) is coveted marketing demographic encompassing the 80 million U.S. residents between the ages of 16- and 34-years-old, according to Yahoo. This generation is larger than the post-World War Two baby-boom generation and many of them find driving to be more of a chore than the anticipated right that it once was.

When you break it down, the entire country is driving less at the turn of the 21st century. Young people are just taking this trend to a whole new level. From just 2001 through 2009, the average number of vehicle miles traveled among young drivers, those aged 16- to 34-years-old, dropped close to 25 percent, going from nearly 10,500 to less than 8,000. Many of these young people now choose to walk, ride a bicycle or take public transportation to where they need to be. Of this young age group, more than 25 percent of them didn’t even have a driver’s license in 2010.

One of the top reasons for this decrease, experts believe, is the actual cost of driving. All costs considered, it’s just cheaper to ride a bike, to walk or to even take public transportation.

“They’re shouldering higher mortgage costs, rent; their insurance costs are higher than previous generation’s,” said David Jacobs of the marketing firm Tombras Group.

Whether your teen chooses to drive or not, it’s important no matter what that they’re taught how to do so properly. Regardless of the decrease in the number of these young drivers, car accidents continue to be the leading cause of death for them. Help to equip your teen driver with the tools to stay safe on our roadways, should they ever decide to use them.
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New vehicles are coming with a heck of a lot of features nowadays and many of them are aimed at helping to make us a little safer by reducing the risks for car accidents in Boston and elsewhere.

But are they working? Officials with the Highway Loss Data Institute are saying that they are doing a decent job. This group of safety advocates analyzes insurance claim data in connection with crash avoidance technologies, according to CNN Money.

One of the technologies that was pointed out by the group was the forward collision avoidance systems. This technology can help to alert drivers when they’re approaching something that they could crash into. Some of the systems will even brake the car if the driver doesn’t.

Our Boston car accident lawyers understand that property damage liability claims were down nearly 15 percent on some vehicles with the forward collision avoidance system. There are also other technologies that are helping to avoid accidents, like adaptive headlights. These are headlights that move from side to side as the vehicle turns to help the driver to see more of the roadway. Officials say that this technology reduced the number of property damage claims by nearly 10 percent. This technology was able to reduce the number of injury claims by about 30 percent in some models.

“Adaptive headlights are having an even bigger impact than we had anticipated,” said HLDI vice president Matt Moore.

And then we have blind-spot-detection, which officials say hasn’t shown any clear effect on crash rates yet.

Lastly, one of the most popular forms of crash avoidance technology was the lane departure systems. These systems alert a driver when they’re vehicle is drifting off the road or into another lane of traffic. Official numbers have not been released regarding the effect of this technology, nor have they been released for technologies like backup cameras, park assist and other high-tech safety options.

Each and every day, more and more vehicles are coming equipped with these devices. They’re no longer only for the luxury vehicles.

Automakers aren’t stopping there either. They’ve got a whole slew of crash avoidance technologies lined up, including night vision assist, fatigue warning, curve speed warning, cross traffic alerts and more. All of these technologies are in the developmental phases and will be on the market before we know it.

Although automakers are working toward developing vehicles that can pretty much drive themselves, we still need to solely rely on safe driving habits to avoid accidents. There’s no technology that should replace your alertness and awareness at the wheel. Safe driving habits have been proven more effective than anything in preventing crashes. Continue practicing your safest driving habits to avoid a potentially fatal accident.
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Summer means that it’s time for a vacation for a lot of Americans.

Plenty of them will be making their way to the Boston area for their summer vacations. It’s one of the hottest spots in the country for getaways. Unfortunately for us, that means we have to live through all of the traffic. With the increase in traffic, we see increased risks for car accidents in Boston and throughout New England.

Thinking about getting out of town for your summer vacation? You’re probably going to hit some congested highways, too. Traveling in the summer is not only one of the most popular, but it’s one of the most dangerous times, too. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) offers some safe driving tips to help us all to navigate through the seasonal traffic.

Our Boston car accident attorneys are asking all families, from near and far, to be extra careful on our roadways. There are a few simple safety tips that all of us can take to help to prevent a potentially fatal accident. It doesn’t matter if you’re taking a camper, an SUV, a car or a truck, there are basic safety steps that we should all be aware of! Prevention and planning are much easier than dealing with the consequences of a breakdown, or worse yet, a highway crash.

Before you head out:

-Make sure that you check both the condition and the tire pressure of all of your tires. Worn tires and tires without enough air greatly increase your risks for an accident.

-Check out your vehicles belts and hoses. Be on the lookout for cuts, blisters or cracks in the rubber. With the summer heat it’s much easier for your car’s belts to snap.

-Make sure your windshield wipers work. You never know when you’re going to hit rain.

-Check your coolant and consider putting some extra in your car. On a long road trip in summer heat, you’ll want your cooling system functioning at peak performance to avoid the possibility of your engine overheating.

-Check out your vehicle’s exterior lights. Make sure that all are working properly.

On the road:

-Keep all distractions out of the driver’s seat.

-Never drink and drive. There are more than 30 deaths a day resulting from drunk driving. If you’re going out drinking, make sure that you have a designated driver or another safe and sober way to get home.

-Always wear your seat belt and make sure that everyone in the vehicle is buckled in during every car ride.

We hope that everyone enjoys their summer vacation and keeps these safety tips as a top priority. Your safe and defensive driving habits may be one of your best defenses against a summer auto accident.
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