Car Accidents

Cell phone use increases despite safety warnings

Published on: December 2, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

If you drive in the state of New York, chances are that you know that using your cell phone while driving is against the law. The same would apply if you were driving in New Jersey or Connecticut as well. The laws are likely a result of public pressure to limit the number of accidents caused by distracted driving.

And for the most part, the public has responded. According to a recent State Farm Insurance study, fewer people are talking on their cell phones while driving. However, more people are accessing the Internet. Researchers indicated that in 2009, 13 percent of drivers polled indicated that they surfed while behind the wheel; but today, 26 percent said that they were on the Internet while driving.

A number of people polled indicated that they accessed email accounts while driving, and others said that checking social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter were important. State Farm’s director of technology research explained to USA Today that he did not understand why people would continue to engage in such risky behavior, but it may be the popularity of smartphones that may be a contributor to this trend.

How to travel safely during the Thanksgiving holiday

Published on: November 26, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Last week’s lake effect snowstorm in the Buffalo area was an epic weather event. Also, as temperatures were forecasted to warm up, fears arose that flooding would grip the area as well. As of today, it is predicted that flooding will largely be avoided, which is good news for people who had to dig out from the previous storm.

However, another storm predicted for our region cannot come at a more inopportune time; the Thanksgiving holiday. According to the American Automobile Association, more than 46 million people will be travelling, with a large majority of these travelers taking to the road. With the combination of additional traffic and the possibility of poor weather, drivers must be vigilant in order to avoid accidents.

After all, drivers in Syracuse and throughout central New York have a duty to use reasonable care while operating a motor vehicle. This commonly means that drivers must reduce their speeds in inclement conditions, they must leave some additional space between vehicles ahead of them when conditions are challenging, and they must avoid driving under the influence of alcohol, among a few things.

Why melting snow may lead to black ice

Published on: November 25, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

The recent snow storms in Buffalo and greater Eerie County have been historic in the amounts that have fallen. Residents and businesses alike have been digging out for days on end. Now it appears that an equally historic warm up is imminent, which raises the possibility of flooding.

If things could not get worse after that, temperatures are bound to fall later in the week, which may bring about the possibility of icy roads just in time for the holiday weekend. With that said, we find it prudent to discuss the dangers of black ice.

This is the term given to large, thin sheets of ice that form on streets and highways after moisture freezes as temperatures fall. Black ice is largely invisible to the naked eye, which makes it that much more dangerous for drivers, because there is hardly any reaction time once a driver hits a patch of ice.

Survey: Parents may not be setting the best driving example

Published on: August 24, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

As you made your way to work this past week, there’s a very good chance that you observed some fairly reckless conduct behind the wheel from speeding and tailgating to running red lights and, of course, distracted driving.

The unfortunate reality is that even though New York has outlawed talking or texting while driving, making it a primary offense, motorists here in the Empire State can still be regularly observed with their smartphones held to their ears or their heads looking downward as they are sending a text message.

In fact, it’s not just New York that has a problem with distracted driving, as statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveal that 3,360 people were killed in distracted driving-related car accidents in the U.S. in 2011 and another 3,328 were killed in 2012.

Liability still to be established in Times Square bus crash

Published on: August 9, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

By now, many of you may have heard about the serious bus accident in Times Square that injured at least 15 people. The crash occurred just days ago when a Gray Line bus crashed into a double-decker tour bus then jumped the curb, travelling along the sidewalk before coming to rest at the edge of the plaza.

Although the driver of the Grey Line bus, a 58-year-old man who police say has a history of license suspensions due to administrative infractions, was initially arrested on an impaired driving charge, he was released recently. Police say they are awaiting the results of a full toxicology report before they decide whether to move forward with prosecution.

Although the driver insists that he is innocent, it’s important to point out that there are a number of things that can impair a driver besides alcohol and drugs, both of which were not found in the driver’s system after the crash. Everything from driver fatigue to prescription medication can interfere with a person’s ability to drive, making them a danger on the roadway.

North Syracuse car crash remains a mystery

Published on: July 15, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Sometimes it is immediately clear who caused a crash, like when a tractor-trailer driver falls asleep at the wheel, crosses into oncoming traffic and smashes headlong into a car. Or, when a driver is busy texting and fails to notice a stop sign, plowing into a left-turning motorcycle. Sometimes, however, fault is a little harder to find, at least at first glance, yet this does not mean that the family members of those killed in fatal car accidents shouldn’t work with a wrongful death lawyer to file a lawsuit.

And that may be what the family of a woman who is believed to have been killed in a North Syracuse car crash will do once it is a bit more clear as to whose fault the accident was.

Although the North Syracuse police are saying that one of the vehicles involved in this two-car crash ran a red light, officers have not yet said if it was the minivan in which the woman was riding or an SUV.

Broome County car crash leaves passenger seriously injured

Published on: June 11, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

What some people may not realize is that when a car accident happens, there doesn’t have to be two cars involved to file a personal injury lawsuit. Passengers can also sue the drivers of the vehicles they are in if they suffer serious injuries in a car accident. Just like with other motorists on the road, the driver is responsible for doing everything possible to prevent a crash.

Unfortunately, many drivers don’t take this responsibility seriously and will drive recklessly with passengers in the car. If they cause a crash, they can then be held liable for any injuries, lost wages, pain and suffering and more the passenger may experience. Moreover, a driver may need to pay surviving family members if he or she causes a fatal motor vehicle crash.

At the end of last month, a driver was apparently driving recklessly when he lost control of his vehicle and smashed into a utility pole in the town of Maine in Broome County. His passenger was seriously injured and admitted to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The driver was killed in the accident.

Front crash prevention system may not help with negligent drivers

Published on: June 3, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

There are a number of new vehicles on the road these days and, as always, they are utilizing a variety of new technologies to keep drivers and passengers safer. These technological breakthroughs are certainly important, but they often fail to protect against negligent drivers. Yet having one of the newest safety features, front crash prevention systems, won’t necessarily keep a driver safe from a motor vehicle accident caused by a distracted or reckless driver.

Front crash prevention systems do what they say, they try to prevent crashes to the front of the vehicle. In essence, a system will let driver A know that his or her vehicle is getting to close to the rear of driver B’s vehicle. Sometimes there are warnings, sometimes the car automatically slows down. What the system does not do, however, is warn driver A that driver C’s vehicle is quickly approaching from behind and will hit the back of driver A’s car. It also would not warn driver A that his or her car is about to be hit on the right or left side by drivers D or E, respectively.

Although there are some amazing safety features out there, they have not yet gotten rid of the need for personal injury lawsuits. When a negligent, reckless or distracted driver causes a motor vehicle accident, it will be a personal injury lawsuit that then protects an injured victim, not a safety feature.

Teenager causes fatal accident on Long Island

Published on: May 20, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

It is still not entirely clear what happend earlier this month, but it appears that a teenager swerved into oncoming traffic, causing serious injuries and some of his or her passengers’ deaths. Without knowing who was actually behind the wheel, it is impossible to say whether the driver survived the crash, or if he or she was one of the few survivors. Ultimately, however, the families of passengers who died or the fortunate few who survived the crash can still file wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits, respectively.

When the individual who causes a fatal accident also dies in the crash, a victim or his or her family can file a lawsuit against the responsible driver’s estate. Before of the individual’s family and friends were to inherit, a personal injury or wrongful death award would need to be paid out. Oftentimes the insurance company will also contribute to the award.

Again, it is not entirely clear who was behind the wheel of a car of five teenagers earlier in the month, but four of the five passengers were killed. The other suffered serious injuries and was rushed to the hospital. The driver, for some unknown reason, swerved into oncoming traffic and smashed into an SUV. Both the driver and the passenger in the SUV were also seriously injured.

Women in their second trimesters at greater risk of accidents

Published on: May 16, 2014 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Anyone in Syracuse who has tried interacting with pregnant women likely knows about “pregnancy brain.” Though not all women have trouble concentrating while pregnant, a number of women find it harder to think through things than when they weren’t pregnant. At least one author of a recent study thinks that may be why women in their second trimester of pregnancy are at a great risk of a car accident. If it is true that pregnancy brain is one of the major contributors to that increase in crashes, it is just further proof that distractions are dangerous behind the wheel.

We have talked quite extensively about how important it is to pay attention to the road. We have explained that distractions are not just caused by cellphones and smartphones, but by anything that takes the driver’s mind off of the road. It takes a considerable amount of brain power and concentration to drive safely, so the study’s author’s theory makes some sense that women with pregnancy brain are at greater risk of accident.

Granted, pregnant women are not choosing to be distracted, whereas individuals who eat, text, talk on the phone or put on makeup while driving are. The second group should know that their actions are putting people at risk, including themselves. While this study will hopefully encourage pregnant women in their second trimesters to drive more carefully, being pregnant may not be a sign of negligent driving like texting behind the wheel is.