The hashtag #whiledriving shows a disturbing trend

One of the more idiotic and dangerous trends to develop recently is the hashtag #whiledriving.

Erie Insurance, a Pennsylvania insurance company,  published a study of social media data showing a surge in the use of the hashtag, reflecting a growing number of drivers who pull out their phones, take a picture, and post it to Twitter and Instagram – all while driving. Most of the posts were photos of nature, clouds, a sunset, traffic, and selfies.

The top U.S. states with the most posts using #whiledriving were:

1. California
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. South Carolina
5. New York
6. Illinois
7. Massachusetts
8. Oregon
9. Colorado
10. Nevada

No selfie or picture of the sunset is worth putting your life or someone else’s life in danger. […]

Your Winter Car Care Checklist

Winter can be rough on drivers. Winter weather can create hazardous driving conditions, and the cold can wreak havoc on your vehicle, even making it dangerous to drive. Fortunately, there are some measures you can take to keep your car running and prevent a winter weather accident. This is your winter car care checklist:

1. Your Battery

When the temperature dips below freezing, it can take twice as much power to start your car than in warmer weather. If your battery is more than three years old, or if you notice your engine is slow to start, consider replacing your battery. If you’re not sure of the condition your battery is in, make a trip to a local mechanic or auto parts store and have it tested. Breaking down on the side of the road or being stranded because of a dead battery in the winter is not only extremely unpleasant, […]

2016 Top Safety Picks Announced with Toughest Criteria Ever

More car models awarded top safety pick despite most rigorous requirements yet

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released their 2016 Top Safety Picks. The results spell good news for prospective car buyers: for the second year in a row, more vehicles earned Top Safety Pick Plus ratings, even as the institute raised their standards and requirements.

More than 20 winners of the last year’s Top Safety Pick award don’t qualify under the 2016 criteria. But, even with the tougher standards, more vehicles earned the top rankings – 48 models were named Top Safety Pick Plus, up from 33 models last year.

Honda, Toyota, VW/Audi, and Subaru Dominate the Top Rankings

See the complete list of 2016 winners here. Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen/Audi, and Subaru are the automakers with the most Top Safety Picks in this year’s list.

Raising the Bar

The new criteria for earning a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick Plus rating include small overlap crash test performance (designed to see how vehicles handle a front-end diagonal impact), […]

Avoiding a Thanksgiving Travel Nightmare

Tips to stay safe during your Thanksgiving road trip

If you’re one of the millions of people expected to be traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday, here are some tips to make it a less stressful experience.

Thanksgiving is a notoriously busy travel time, with approximately one in seven Americans traveling more than 50 miles, and 90% of them going by car. With no major storms poised to hit our area and gas prices at their lowest in years, the roads are bound to be busy for PA drivers. Holiday travel can be stressful, and can, therefore, be a dangerous time to be on the roads. Our car accident lawyers want to share some safe travel tips:

Planning ahead can make a big difference. If possible, leave before Wednesday, and consider making your return trip on a day other than Sunday. Know your route, […]

Hands-free tech safer than texting while driving?

Think hands-free, voice-activated tech eliminates driver distraction? Not so much.

It is universally known that driving while texting, using a cell phone, a GPS, or any other activity that takes your hands from the wheel and your eyes from the road is dangerous and can be fatal. Hands-free technology has been pitched to consumers as a safer alternative, allowing the user to complete tasks via voice commands while still keeping his/her hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. These types of voice-activated systems are available on most iOS, Android, and Microsoft smartphones and in many new car models.

But, a recent study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, a non profit safety research group, found that use of a hands free system could be just as distracting as the use of a handheld device. In fact, they found that a driver’s attention can be partially diverted for up to 27 seconds AFTER interacting with a hands-free system. […]