Articles Tagged with Car Accidents

It is only a matter of time before the New York State Police conducts its fall ticketing campaign for distracted driving. State troopers are aimed to remind people of how dangerous distracted driving can be and why it is illegal. Drivers can expect police in marked and unmarked cars to be on the streets throughout central New York to catch people in the act of using their cell phones while behind the wheel.

Authorities report that last year, more than 550 tickets were issued to drivers who were on their phones when they should not have been. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates that more than 3,000 people were killed and 424,000 were injured in distracted driving accidents. 

While drivers may be concerned about being ticketed, those who have been in accidents may not have much sympathy. In fact, a Long Island woman was recently hit by a car and killed by a person suspected to be on their phone when the accident happened. Because of this, people who have been injured in distracted driving accidents should look to see whether the offending driver had been ticketed for distracted driving due to the accident or even before the crash occurred.

If you haven’t noticed all the pumpkins sprouting up, the Halloween costume displays in retail stores and the football games on during the weekend, fall is here. This means that the days are definitely getting shorter.

In a prior post, we highlighted the danger that drivers have of seeing pedestrians, particularly children, in the mornings where darkness could conceal them. However, there are weather conditions that could create dangerous situations for drivers and pedestrians alike. This post will discuss how fog can lead to accidents. 

On a basic level, fog is created when cool air merges with the soil that is still relatively warm, which creates a haze that obscures the view of the road ahead. Depending on how thick the fog may be, drivers may only be able to see a few hundred feet ahead or just a few feet ahead.

Surviving an accident is only one step in your recovery. There may be medical procedures you have to go through, rehabilitation that takes place and even repairs that may need to be done. Before all of this takes place, it may be necessary to consult an experienced personal injury attorney for advice and direction on how their claim can be addressed.

Before evaluating attorneys to handle your case, there a number of things to do in preparing for an initial meeting. This post will highlight a few. 

Basic personal details – To begin with, an attorney will want to know some basic details about you, including your employment status, what injuries you have suffered, whether you have missed time from work and whether your insurer has become involved.

Surviving an accident is only one step in your recovery. There may be medical procedures you have to go through, rehabilitation that takes place and even repairs that may need to be done. Before all of this takes place, it may be necessary to consult an experienced personal injury attorney for advice and direction on how their claim can be addressed.

Before evaluating attorneys to handle your case, there a number of things to expect in an initial meeting. This post will highlight a few. 

Basic personal details – To begin with, an attorney will want to know some basic details about you, including your employment status, what injuries you have suffered, whether you have missed time from work and whether your insurer has become involved.

How costly and dangerous can an accident with a deer be? Consider this: according to an American Family Insurance report, the insurance provider paid more than 32,000 claims for deer collision accidents in 2010, which resulted in more than $85 million in payments. As fall begins, deer migration is an important hazard for drivers to look out for especially at sunrise and sunset; which are common times for deer to cross roads. This is especially true in November, as the risk of deer accidents occurring are three times as higher compared to other months.

So what should a driver do avoid or reduce the severity of a deer accident? This post will highlight a few tips. 

Pay attention to deer crossing signs – Drivers should know that these signs warn drivers that deer may be cutting in front of them. While deer may not cross at the exact point where the sign lays, deer could cross down the road.

When young drivers first learn about operating a car, they may not understand the importance of checking their blind spot. After all, it may be a foreign concept because they may not be used to looking over all of the areas before making a lane change. However, even some of the most experienced drivers may forget to look over their shoulder every once in a while.

But if a blind spot is missed, it could spell disaster.

So when driving a different car for the first time (such as a rental car) or when shopping for a new car, it is essential to complete the following steps to get your bearings. 

While the summer driving season may be over, the occasional frustrations that come with driving will stay throughout the fall, and likely into the winter. Because of this, the threat of road rage and the potential for accidents will be something that drivers will have to deal with as long as they are behind the wheel.

We generally know that road rage is the wrong response to frustrations caused by other drivers’ behaviors. However, it is amazing how many excuses that drivers give for engaging in such behavior. This post will highlight a few of the top 10 excuses.

He (or she) was driving too slow – Rage over being stuck behind a slow driver can certainly tick a person off. 

As we noted in a prior post, the change of seasons means that drivers must continue to use reasonable care while behind the wheel; especially during the morning hours, since there are people walking to school, riding bikes and taking morning runs. Because of this, drivers must pay attention to pedestrians and use reasonable care while behind the wheel.

This post will highlight a few of the things that a driver must adhere to as part of their duty to use reasonable care.

Refrain from distracted driving – Of course, drivers must limit distractions while behind the wheel, because failing to do so could result in hitting a pedestrian because the driver was not paying attention to their surroundings.

The summer driving season in central New York may be over as fall as officially begun. However, there are still a number of road construction projects going on in our region. With that, accidents in or near construction zones are still a danger to drivers. Because of this, it is important for drivers (both of cars and trucks) to keep the following safety tips in mind.

Pay attention to the signs – While this may seem obvious, the orange signs that warn drivers of upcoming construction zones are there for a reason. When drivers see these signs, they should begin slowing down. Not only because traffic is about to stop, but there are workers ahead who work better when cars and trucks are not whizzing by.

Keep your distance – As we alluded to above, traffic tends to stop suddenly in or near construction zones. If a driver is tailgating, a sudden slowdown could spell disaster not only for other drivers, but for the construction workers as well. So treat a construction zone like it would be gridlock.

Last year, it seemed uncertain if Toyota Motor Corporation would survive all of the controversy stemming from the Takata airbag recall after the highly publicized sudden acceleration problems that plagued Camrys and Lexus ES models years before. Fast forward to September 2015, and Toyota has scored two major victories.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has named two Toyota vehicles, the Lexus ES and the Scion iA, were recently named IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus. This honor is bestowed to vehicles that receive at least a “good” rating on all the crash tests the IIHS performs. These include side impact tests, rear end crash simulations, overlap crash tests, and several others. 

The IIHS crash tests are notoriously more stringent than other federal crash tests; which is why manufacturers look to these crash tests to make improvements when they do not achieve satisfactory marks.