Distracted Driving

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Memorial Day starts the 100 deadliest days for teen drivers

Nothing kills more teens in Pennsylvania than car crashes and no other group on the road has a higher risk of crash. The National Safety Council (NSC) warns parents that Memorial Day kicks off the 100 deadliest days for teen drivers, as many teens are out of school and on the road more frequently during the summer months.

Some of the key contributors to crashes involving teens include driver inexperience, driver distractions, speeding and driving carelessly. Summer driving also tends to be more recreational for teens, and they may be carrying more passengers than at other times of the year. Passengers increase the risk of a fatal crash involving a teen by at least 44%. Pennsylvania laws restrict the number of passengers in cars with drivers holding a junior driver’s license. A driver is not permitted to have more than one passenger under age 18 who is not an immediate family member unless they are accompanied by a parent or guardian. […]

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Are Stricter Penalties Needed to Keep Truck Drivers Focused on the Road? A Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyer Weighs In.

An investigation by an ABC news station in New York over a three-week period found that truck drivers on some of New York’s busiest highways are texting or talking on their cell phones while driving.

The investigative reporter said that the hidden camera investigation caught “truck drivers routinely, illegally and dangerously texting and talking on phones.” One camera caught a truck driver and his co-workers, all in the front seat, with all with eyes, including the drivers, focused on a cell phone. On another highway, a truck driver was filmed using two phones simultaneously while driving.

According to Eyewitness News 7 in New York, the Department of Transportation says that last year nearly 16,000 truckers were ticketed for using their cell phone, but only 4 of those were suspended and taken out of service. Eyewitness news referred to this as an epidemic and deadly problem. […]

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NC Woman Dies in Car Accident While Posting to Facebook

The National Safety Council Cell Phone Crash Estimate Model reports that there have been an estimated 333,300 crashes so far this year in the U.S. involving drivers using cell phones and texting, or about one every 30 seconds. A North Carolina woman died behind the wheel of her car last week just moments after posting a Facebook message and hitting a truck head on.

According to police, the woman posted to Facebook and one minute later, a call came in about the crash. The 32-year old woman died after drifting across a grass median and slamming into a truck. An investigation of her online activity also found that she had been posting selfies as she drove. This is a tragedy we see all too often.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), stated that mobile communications are linked to a significant increase in distracted driving, […]

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Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer says pedestrian deaths and injuries are on the rise

With the weather beginning to warm, traveling by foot might be might seem like a healthier option, but it’s not always safer. The World Health Organization reported that more than 270,000 pedestrians lose their lives on the world’s roads each year. Globally, pedestrians constitute 22% of all road deaths, and in some countries this proportion is as high as two thirds.

According to a recent study by the University of Nebraska Medical Center, distracted driving is increasingly causing fatalities among pedestrians. The study looked at accident records between 2005 and 2010; focusing on bicycle and pedestrian accidents where the driver was using a cellphone, GPS system, radio, or another distracting device before the accident. It was found that the number of fatal pedestrian accidents per 10 billion vehicle miles traveled increased from 18.7 to 24.6 during this time period. […]

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Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyer Says Distracted Driving Kills

In a statement released on January 28, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that the rise in mobile device usage while driving has caused an increase in auto accidents. The National Safety Council reports that in the U.S. texting while driving causes 1.6 million accidents annually. Researchers fear that this trend will continue. Drivers who read or write text messages while operating vehicles are 23 times more likely to be in a crash than non-distracted drivers, according to researchers at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.

As a result, states have passed distracted driving laws. 41 states plus D.C. have banned text messaging behind the wheel. The report also revealed that 12 states plus D.C. have implemented laws prohibiting all drivers from using handheld devices while operating a vehicle. Additionally, all 50 states have implemented police reports that include sections for distracted driving information in the event of an auto accident. […]