Car Runs Into House in Lancaster County

Driver falls asleep at the wheel and crashes into home

Not all car crashes in Pennsylvania involve one motor vehicle colliding with another. Some wrecks are the result of rollovers and other single-vehicle accidents. Other times, automobiles crash into fixed objects – like a house.

A case in point happened February 16 in Lancaster County, when a passenger car smashed through the wall of a private home in East Earl Township. A resident inside was knocked from the couch where he had been sleeping. He suffered minor injuries.

The accident occurred in the early morning hours. The driver apparently fell asleep at the wheel, and police are investigating whether alcohol was a contributing factor.

There were 121,312 traffic crashes in Pennsylvania in 2010, according to reports filed with the state Department of Transportation. These wrecks claimed the lives of 1,324 people and injured another 87,949 people. […]

Red Light Cameras Reduce Intersection Wrecks

Placing video cameras on stoplights cuts down on drivers running red lights by more than 80 percent, new research suggests. The result: fewer intersection crashes and auto accident deaths.

Those are the key findings from a just-released traffic safety study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

“This study provides fresh evidence that automated enforcement can get drivers to modify their behavior,” said Anne McCartt, senior vice president for research at IIHS and the study’s lead author, in a news release.

Approximately 540 towns and cities nationwide have red light cameras. A growing string of studies have shown that the devices curb automobile accidents and improve road safety.

The most recent study involved filming traffic flow at four heavily-traveled intersections in Arlington, Virginia. One camera was installed at each intersection.

Motorists were given a 30-day warning period before enforcement began. […]

One in Four Moms Text While Driving With Babies

New mothers are talking and texting on cell phones – and even checking e-mail – while driving with their baby on board, according to a new survey.

Seventy-eight percent of mothers with children under two years old admitted talking on the phone while driving with their babies. And more than a quarter of them said they text and check e-mail.

The survey was conducted by the child-protection advocacy group Safe Kids Worldwide and American Baby magazine.

One scary conclusion: The driving habits of new moms are every bit as dangerous as that of teenage drivers.

Texting while driving creates a crash risk 23 times higher than driving while not distracted, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Following is from USA Today:

The survey of 2,396 mothers finds an attitude among new moms that is reflected in the general population: They tend to think they’re safe drivers but actually engage in risky habits. […]

Wrong-Way Interstate Crash Claims Two Lives

Two drivers were killed in a Dauphin County head-on wreck caused by a driver going the wrong way on I-283.

The deadly accident happened in the early morning hours of February 4 in Lower Swatara Township near the Turnpike interchange.

Motor vehicle crashes involving wrong-way drivers cause nearly 400 fatalities each year, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. About 22 percent of wrong-way automobile crashes are fatal – compared with less than one percent of all other crashes.

This is from WGAL News 8:

Investigators said the driver of a silver Hyundai Accent was traveling northbound in the southbound lanes. The Hyundai hit a Volkswagen Jetta head-on.

Neither car had any passengers and the drivers died on impact, state police said. The driver the Volkswagen was a 59-year-old man from the Jonestown area. […]

10 Tips for PA Winter Driving Safety

A recent article in the New York Times Magazine has found that dangerous driving is once again a serious issue in America. According to the article, in September 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation released data that showed that 21 states had recorded climbing rates of fatal crashes in 2023 compared with the same period in 2022.

Not only is it dangerous for other drivers to be on the roads, but pedestrians as well — a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that SUVs or vans with a hood height that’s greater than 40 inches are 45 percent more likely to kill pedestrians than smaller cars.

Unfortunately, the winter weather does pose a significant threat to many Pennsylvanians each year. Snowy weather causes treacherous conditions on our roadways. Each winter, we hear stories of people injured and killed in auto accidents across Pennsylvania caused by drivers who don’t use proper care in hazardous conditions. […]