Articles Posted in Car Accidents

There is nothing like the air of spring. It helps people escape from the icy tombs of winter, it brings back sports that we love (baseball) and it signals the coming end of another school year. But before graduations are held, prom season must begin. For teenagers, it is the night of glitz, glamour and fantasy that can make lifelong memories.

Most of these memories are positive, but given teen drivers’ propensity for reckless behavior, it could lead to tragedy when they do not use good judgment. As such, teen drivers and their parents must have honest and frank conversations about the consequences of drinking and driving as well as distracted driving. 

Indeed, drinking and driving is universally frowned upon when it comes to teens. Young drivers universally know that they should not drink and drive, even though they may not know that any amount of alcohol in their systems can lead to a criminal charge. While a Mothers Against Drunk Drivers survey indicated that less than 10 percent of teen drivers admitted to  drinking and driving, the reality is that more teens actually do so. After all, how many teens are ready to admit to doing something that could get them in trouble?

In a previous post, we highlighted how potholes and poorly maintained streets can lead to accidents and how injured drivers can be compensated. However, drivers have to deal with more than just potholes on a daily basis. There are distracted drivers, drunk drivers and even aggressive drivers on the road every day.

If you involved in a crash, proving fault is essential to receiving compensation. This means that you have to show that the other driver failed to use reasonable care in operating their vehicle, and that such a failure was the proximate cause of the accident that caused your injuries. One of the easiest ways to prove fault is by showing that the other driver disobeyed a traffic law. 

There are a number of moving violations that can give rise to a negligence claim, including:

Driverless cars are coming. They are eventually going to be a mainstream part of our streets, highways and express ways. How soon they come is up for debate. But what is also not decided is how driverless cars will co-exist with cars that are driven by human beings.

Indeed, the whole notion about driverless cars being safer than cars driven by humans does have some truth to it. After all, autonomous cars don’t get intoxicated and have their judgment impaired by alcohol. They don’t succumb to road rage and drive aggressively in order to show who’s boss. They also don’t make mistakes regarding the interpretation of the rules of the road. So with these in mind, riding in a driverless car should be exceptionally safe. 

But there are two things that may debunk this notion. First, the market may not fully embrace the ability to have fully autonomous cars. Remember how it was expected that the Segway was supposed to eliminate pedestrian traffic? Now the only people who use them are mall cops and people on dedicated tours. It may be that people enjoy the individual freedoms of driving at their own speeds and on their own terms. This is what the American auto industry is built on. So people may not embrace fully automated cars.

It’s been a number of years since distracted driving became a national safety issue; specifically, talking on cell phones and texting while driving. Since then, more than 30 states have enacted laws limiting cell phone use while behind the wheel, and they have enacted rules detailing how teen drivers may drive.

Essentially, young drivers may not use cell phones at all when behind the wheel, and they may only drive at certain times of the day. Despite these rules, teen drivers still use their cell phones while driving; but it was always difficult to track how many young drivers actually do so. After all, police reports (created after an accident) may not always detail whether a driver was distracted by using a phone (or any other reason).

However, a recent study conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that distracted driving was more of a problem among teen drivers than originally thought. Researchers reviewed nearly 1,700 dashboard camera videos that chronicled the moments before a teen driver was involved in a crash, and they found that these drivers were commonly distracted.

Last month we wrote a post about the Detroit International Auto show and how automakers were showcasing concept cars that ostensibly give us a peek into the future. Part of this future includes self-driving cars, which automakers have hinted could be on the road by the end of this decade.

 If you are a car enthusiast, or have purchased a luxury model in the past few years, you understand that there are elements of autonomous automobiles already in practice. They include park assist functions, intelligent cruise control modules and automatic braking systems, to name a few. Even with these advancements, testing is still being conducted in earnest regarding self-driving cars. 

In fact, an Audi SUV is poised to make history by being the first self-driving car to make a cross country trip. The car, which is equipped with technology developed by Delphi Corp. has reportedly been tested on the streets of California and Nevada, but a long distance road trip will be the car’s ultimate test. Essentially, the car will drive on its own, but an engineer will be behind the wheel and ready to take over in the event of an emergency.

The warmer and longer days are a telltale sign of spring. For many people in our region, it is a welcome sight after such a challenging winter. Unfortunately, one of the rites of spring in central New York is dealing with the potholes that have developed during the winter.

Potholes commonly form when ice and snow melt and seep through the cracks in the asphalt that are caused by wear and tear. The moisture may re-freeze as temperatures get colder, and when the weather warms up, the road tends to give way when the ice underneath melts. Indeed, potholes can be a nuisance and provide an unexpected jolt. Also, they can lead to injuries.

But when potholes become dangerous, who can be held accountable? This post will explore this question. 

Who’s ready for spring break? After a few months of relentless snow and subfreezing temperatures, we hope that all of our readers have the opportunity to go south (if only for a few days) and enjoy some warm weather in Orlando, Miami, Phoenix or Las Vegas.  Indeed, central New York is nice, but a getaway is even nicer.

When on spring break, it is important for pedestrians to be wary of cars and trucks that pass through streets that have heavy traffic. One of the great things about the atmosphere of spring break is the foot traffic and people watching from street front bars and cafés. 

However, in these situations the likelihood for pedestrian accidents can increase. Essentially, when drivers and pedestrians have a lot to drink (which commonly happens in spring break haunts) their judgment can become impaired and they may take chances that they may not normally take when sober.

According to weather experts, this winter has seen more snow than any time in the last decade. It has certainly made for an “interesting” winter and challenging driving conditions. With the calendar turning to March and warmer temperatures, there are some concerns that a rapid melt could lead to flooding.

Where there are flooding concerns there are also hydroplaning fears (or at least there should be). Hydroplaning refers to the act of a car losing contact with the road and basically floating on the moisture on the road (like a hydroplane). In these instances, a driver could be potentially lose control of their vehicle and crash. 

With spring coming and warmer weather expected, the possibility of pools of melting snow collecting on roadways cannot be ignored. Even though it remains to be seen how quickly the snow melt will be, drivers must use reasonable care in avoiding situations where hydroplaning can occur. After all, you don’t need a deep puddle in order for a car’s tires to lose contact with the road.

The North American International Auto Show in Detroit last month drew more than 200,000 car enthusiasts who were interested in the latest available technologies as well as concept cars that will eventually be on the road in years to come. Indeed, the prevailing talk is about the future of self-driving cars, and how soon they will be seen on the road. However, the current technologies still bring around a great number of fans. 

An example of this is the “heads up” display that many automakers are incorporating. Essentially, it is a display where a driver will see information from their display panel basically floating in the air in the driver’s line of sight. So a driver can see how fast they are going, obtain turn by turn directions, and know which direction they are going without looking down at the instrument panel; thus taking their eyes off the road.

The notion behind this innovation is that the less the driver has to look away from the road, the chances of a distracted driving accident can be reduced. However, some safety advocates believe that heads-up displays may not curb distracted driving. In fact, a 2013 study published by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety suggests that additional mental distractions (such as those provided by heads up displays) may lead to the brain being overloaded with information and hamper a driver’s ability to react to common hazards (such as stopped traffic or children running into the street). Regardless of whether this actually is the case, it is a reminder of the duty drivers have to use reasonable care while behind the wheel. 

In all of our posts about traffic safety (i.e. driving in inclement weather) we have not discussed school bus safety. It is about time that we do so, given that school bus drivers drive thousands of miles around central New York with children on board every month. Additionally, bus drivers are under a higher level of scrutiny given the precious nature of their passengers.

However, a recent ABC News.com report suggests that bus drivers may not be following the rules of the road. In a number of states, including New York, a number of videos have surfaced showing drivers running red lights, driving above the speed limit and not stopping at train crossings. While the videos do not show drivers in accidents, and not all of them are conclusive in showing children on the buses, they do raise some concerns about bus safety. 

While there may be those who believe that children are safer riding on buses than walking to school, this does not absolve drivers of their responsibility to use reasonable care while behind the wheel. This means that they must obey speed limits and traffic laws, avoid unsafe turns and lane changes and must drive without using handheld devices or social media apps. Most importantly, bus drivers must not drive while under the influence of mood altering drugs or alcohol.