2011 Pennsylvania Crash Statistics Reveal Pennsylvania Highways are Getting Safer

The 2011 Pennsylvania Crash Facts and Statistics booklet, published by the Bureau of Maintenance and Operations, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, is now available.  The report is a statistical review of motor vehicle crashes in Pennsylvania for the calendar year 2011.

According to PENNDOT, Pennsylvania roadways are getting safer.  In fact, the 2011 fatality rate of 1.27 deaths per hundred million vehicle-miles of travel was the second lowest ever recorded in Pennsylvania since the department started keeping records of this in 1935.  In addition, the 1,286 accident fatalities in 2011 were the second lowest recorded over the last 68 years.

Following are some of the key findings from the report:

• The total number of reported crashes in 2011 increased 3.4% compared to 2010, but the number of deaths decreased by 2.9%.
• In 2011, there were 125,395 reportable traffic crashes in Pennsylvania. […]

Pennsylvania Anti-Texting Law Difficult to Enforce

Earlier this week we reported on AT&T’s push to stop drivers from texting when behind the wheel.  Statistics show texting drivers are 23 times more likely to be in an accident. Even though 39 states, including Pennsylvania, have an anti-texting law, still more than 100,000 crashes a year involve drivers who are texting.  Unfortunately, according to the Scranton chief of police, enforcing Pennsylvania’s law is challenging.

In March, Pennsylvania’s anti-texting law went into effect making texting-while-driving a primary offense.  PA law enforcement can stop and ticket a driver for texting and driving now, without any other violation.

However, an article in the Times-Tribune reports that according to Carl Graziano, acting police chief of the Scranton Police Department, since talking on the cellphone or searching for contacts in the phone are still legal, “It’s difficult for an officer to discern whether they’re [drivers] texting or looking up numbers on their phone.” […]

Pennsylvania Drivers Near Bottom of the List of Safest Drivers

Allstate, the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer, released the results of its 2012 “Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report.” The report ranks America’s 200 largest cities according to car collision frequency in an effort to identify America’s safest drivers.

According to the report, Americans, on average, are in an accident every 10 years. Sioux Falls, South Dakota holds the honor as the city with the safest drivers for the fifth time – the report has been conducted for eight years.  Sioux Falls drivers average an accident once every 13.8 years.

Pittsburgh is ranked 168th on the list with drivers averaging an accident every 7.5 years. Philadelphia is just 10 spots from the bottom, at 190, with drivers averaging an accident every 6.1 years. This is 64.1% higher than the national average.

Allstate’s Best Driver’s Report was created to boost the country’s discussion on safe driving. […]

AT&T Calls on All Drivers to Take its Never Text and Drive Pledge

AT&T stresses danger of distracted driving with its anti-texting while driving campaign

As Labor Day weekend comes to a close, so too does the state’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign.  However, the Pennsylvania State Police is on the lookout for drunk drivers 365-days-a-year.  The police are also focused on stopping distracted drivers from taking to the PA highways.  Now, AT&T is helping all law enforcement by raising the bar on its anti-texting campaign.  AT&T is warning of the serious dangers caused by texting and driving and is urging all drivers to take its “Never Text and Drive” pledge.

AT&T’s message is simple: “When it comes to texting and driving, it can wait.” On its website, AT&T presents the pledge as follows:

No text message, email, website or video is worth the risk of endangering my life or the lives of others on the road. […]

Pennsylvania Drivers Urged to Stay Alert as Children Head Back to School

During the first week of the new school year, a seven-year-old girl died after being struck by a car as she ran to catch the school bus Wednesday in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. The school bus had not yet stopped, but in the girl’s excitement, she darted into traffic and was stuck by an oncoming vehicle.  A tragedy like this can play out anywhere as children head back to school in the coming days.

Our Pennsylvania personal injury attorneys join with the Pennsylvania State Police in reminding motorists to be extra careful over the next few weeks as children return to school.  We also ask parents and adults to make sure their children know to look both ways before crossing the street, and to wait for the bus to stop before crossing the street.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports since 2001 there have been 1,236 school transportation-related crashes. […]