Munley Law Blog

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. […]

How to stay safe on the scariest night of the year

Halloween can be one of the deadliest nights of the year.  Car accidents are among the biggest risks and children are the most vulnerable victims. Lots of adults going to and from Halloween parties and lots of kids on the streets and sidewalks after dark create an environment ripe for pedestrian accidents.

On an average day of the year, alcohol is a factor in about 1/3 of fatal car crashes. On Halloween, that percentage goes up to 1/2.

On Halloween, pedestrians account for one out of every four people killed in car accidents – double the average for the rest of the year.

In addition to car accidents, Halloween festivities can lead to a handful of other potential dangers that can ruin the fun of the holiday.

For parents and kids:

To help your child stay safe while trick-or-treating this year, […]

Teen Drivers and Car Accidents: 5 Deadly Mistakes

It’s a statistic that hasn’t changed – mile for mile, teenagers get into more car accidents than any other age group. And, car crashes are THE leading cause of death for 15-20-year-olds. The numbers are scary, and as parents, we want to do whatever we can to help prevent our children from ending up in a car accident. But, a surprising few parents surveyed say they have had serious talks with their kids about safe driving.  Professional driving lessons or a driver’s ed course can be very helpful, but your teen’s driving instruction shouldn’t stop there.

Teen Driver Safety Week is October 18-October 24, so we’re sharing the best ways to encourage your teen to drive safely.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has started a campaign called “5 to Drive,” highlighting the five things teenage drivers need to remember when they get behind the wheel. […]