Car Accidents

Published on: August 10, 2024

Campaign to Prevent Red Light Violation Accidents

Next month, federal transportation safety authorities will kick off a campaign that is aimed at helping motorists understand the dangers of running red lights. The campaign hopes to avoid serious personal injuries suffered by motorists and pedestrians each year by persons failing to obey traffic control signals.

Violation of stop lights is a major traffic offense that is responsible for thousands of car accidents every year. According to some estimates, every year, close to 1,000 people are killed in more than 100,000 car accidents caused by motorists who run stop signs. These are some of the more common violations, and are responsible for many deadly intersection accidents annually. More than 50% of the people killed in these car accidents are pedestrians, bicyclists or passengers in vehicles involved in the accident. These are absolutely devastating auto accidents, and very often, also high-speed accidents.

Next month will see a special commemoration aimed at preventing such accidents. Stop On Red Week is marked during the first full week in August every year. In 2024, that first week falls between August 4 and August 10. The very first Stop On Red Week was commemorated by the Federal Highway Administration in 1995, and every year, during this week, the federal administration along with the National Safety Coalition promotes greater awareness of the dangers of driving recklessly or violating traffic safety rules. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that between 2004 and 2018, there were close to 12,000 car accident wrongful deaths caused directly by motorists running red lights.

Published on: August 5, 2024

Simple Street Design Changes can Help Prevent Pedestrian Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Reducing the number of pedestrians killed in car accidents every year is key to reducing the number of auto accident wrongful deaths recorded across the country. Simple design interventions can help accomplish this goal.

According to a report titled Dangerous By Design by Smart Growth America, basic design interventions that may be simple to execute are often all that are required to reduce the number of auto accident fatalities involving pedestrians every year. Pedestrian crash deaths have been driving the increase in car and auto accident deaths across the country, and the expert consensus is that unless these deaths are minimized, there will be very little progress made in keeping our roads safer.

The U.S. does not boast the type of pedestrian – friendly infrastructure that is the hallmark of roads in Europe, but small steps can minimize the risk to pedestrians even on our roads. The report Dangerous By Design finds that simple design interventions can reduce auto accident risks. For example, brighter lighting and illumination at key pedestrian -heavy areas can make a huge difference for pedestrians. A brightly-lit street means pedestrians can be seen clearly and avoided by motorists. Similarly, shorter crossing distances for pedestrians can also help. Multi-lane roads provide minimal opportunities for pedestrians to cross safely. Better designed medians and brighter markings at curbs can also help reduce the risk to pedestrians. Even simple steps like more striped crosswalks and stop signs will alert motorists to pedestrian activity in the area. The use of pedestrian refuge islands and curb extensions are also strategies that can help minimize the risk of pedestrian accidents.

Published on: August 1, 2024

Georgia Teens to Benefit from New Auto Accident Prevention Program

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

All K -12 students in Georgia will now benefit from free access to traffic and road safety education thanks to a collaboration between the Georgia Department of Transportation and a leading education media organization.

Georgia has struggled with an increase in the number of car accident wrongful deaths across the state, with 1,800 people dying in auto accidents across the state in 2022. There were more than 2,000 auto accidents recorded in the state that year involving drivers between the ages of 15 and 24. Clearly, this is a high risk category of motorists and the Department of Transportation wants to ensure that drivers falling in this age category have access to all the resources that they need in order to drive safely and responsibly.

The new collaboration is called the Car and Road Safety Program, and is an initiative between the Georgia Department of Transportation and We Are Teachers which is a national educational advocacy program. We Are Teachers conducted surveys across Georgia schools, working together with teachers in order to develop high quality materials that are specifically targeted to Georgia students. The 5 year program will make available to students quality theoretical resources as well as the chance to take a virtual field trip anywhere in Georgia. There are also lots of interactive quizzes and plenty of activities to sharpen young motorists’ knowledge about traffic safety.

Published on: July 30, 2024

Most Drivers Would be Comfortable with Anti Speeding Technology in Cars

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

There is a surprisingly high acceptance of anti-speeding technology in cars with many motorists in a recent study confirming that they would be comfortable with this technology in their cars.

Speeding is the number one cause of auto accidents in the United States, causing more car accidents every year than any other accident factor including drunk driving. Speeding causes approximately 30% of all auto accident wrongful deaths across the country every year. These destructive driving behaviors have become more prevalent since the pandemic, and the rise in speeding is being blamed for an increase in the number of people being killed in car accidents since 2020.

In 2022 alone, speeding killed more than 12,000 drivers. It is one of the most challenging behaviors for traffic safety experts and regulators to restrict with as many as 50% of all motorists admitting that they have exceeded speed limits by as much as 15 miles per hour while driving, at least once over the past month.

Published on: July 24, 2024

Research Shows Improvement in Autonomic Dysfunction After Spinal Injury

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Patients who have suffered a spinal injury may suffer from autonomic dysfunction or an extreme severity of autonomic reflexes that can trigger panic episodes and even heart attacks. In recent animal studies, researchers found ways that could circumvent such extreme reflexes.

A spinal injury after a car accident can lead to all kinds of life-altering consequences. The person may suffer from limited movement and mobility, loss of bowel and bladder control, restricted motor skills and a number of other consequences. One of those consequences is autonomic dysfunction which can be characterized by triggering of extreme autonomic reflexes when the person is faced with even mildly triggering situations. A person with a spinal injury may experience an extreme response to a harmless situation, like loss of bladder control, that triggers panic attacks, heart attacks and strokes. This lack of control over autonomic reflex responses could even have fatal consequences for the patient.

In a recent study, researchers found that the reason for such autonomic dysfunction could be traced to a particular type of nerve cell. According to the researchers, patients with a spinal cord injury may experience an abnormal rewiring of the nerve cells in the affected area. They found that specific nerve fibers called microglia cells were mainly responsible for this abnormal rewiring of the nerves which, in turn, causes loss of control over autonomic reflexes. Studies on animals found that depletion of these microglia cells helped to control the autonomic reflexes. The researchers found that when these cells were reduced in number, these extreme reflexes to mild situations were better controlled. The researchers say that these are significant findings because of the risk to patients with spinal injury who may suffer heart attacks or even strokes as a result of such panic reactions.

Published on: July 22, 2024

Study Explores Drowsy Driving Car Accident Risks of Teen Motorists

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

As many as one in 6 teen drivers in the United States admits to driving while drowsy. This indicates that the problem of drowsy driving among younger motorists is far more complex than we believe.

Those findings came from a recent study that was conducted by the National Sleep Foundation. The findings of the study were presented at a conference of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies and published in the Sleep journal. The researchers estimate that 1.7 million teenagers have driven while drowsy, and more than 400,000 have done so at least once in a week. The researchers believe that these findings are troubling because we are dealing with teenage motorists or novice drivers with very little experience in driving safely and avoiding auto accidents.

According to the study, teen drivers are aware that drowsy driving is dangerous and can increase their chances of being involved in a car accident. In the study, as many as 95% of them admitted that they believed that drowsy driving was dangerous, but most of them did not believe that it was as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol or even driving while using a cell phone. Clearly, the dangers of drowsy driving are not as apparent to teen drivers. Teenagers who had jobs were twice as likely to drive while exhausted or sleepy compared to those with no jobs. Most teenage motorists in the study blamed their work and study schedules for their lack of sleep.

Published on: July 16, 2024

Welcome Drop in Pedestrian Accident Wrongful Deaths in 2023

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

New data finds a drop of 5% in the number of pedestrians killed in auto accidents in the United States last year.

The Governors Highway Safety Association recently released new data that finds a 5.4% drop in the number of pedestrians being killed in auto accidents compared to the previous year. In 2023, a total of 7,318 pedestrians were killed in car accidents.

While the news of a drop in the number of deaths is encouraging, it is too early for celebration. The fact is that pedestrian accident numbers continue to remain stubbornly high. According to Governors Highway Safety Association data, the numbers in 2022 were a 14% increase over pre- pandemic numbers. Pedestrian deaths accounted for close to 18% of all auto accident deaths in 2022. Between 2010 and 2022, there was a shocking 77% increase in pedestrian accident wrongful deaths, and the increase in overall traffic accident deaths was just 22 percent during this time.

Published on: June 20, 2024

Older Pedestrians More Likely to be Injured in Falls Than Auto Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

While pedestrians overall are more likely to be injured in auto accidents, older pedestrians above the age of 50 are more likely to suffer serious personal injuries when they are involved in slip and fall accidents, compared to auto accidents.

There has been much focus recently on personal injuries involving pedestrians in car accidents. The increase in pedestrian accidents is being blamed for an overall spike in the number of people being personally injured in auto accidents across the country. Researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health analyzed data involving pedestrians who had suffered personal injuries in slip and fall accidents, and compared the data with the numbers involving pedestrians involved in auto accidents.

The Columbia University study found that while the risk to pedestrians involved in auto accidents remains high, the overall public burden is greater when older pedestrians are injured in slip and falls in comparison. The study found that 32 percent of pedestrian personal injuries in auto accidents were defined as “emergency” or “critical”. In comparison, 19% of persons who suffered slip and falls had personal injuries that were defined as “emergency” or “critical.” However, pedestrians above the age of 50 in fall accidents were 3.9 times more likely to suffer “emergent” or “critical” injuries, compared to ones who had been involved in auto accidents. In fact, the Columbia University study described as alarming the number of older pedestrians who suffered serious personal injuries after fall accidents and needed emergency care.

Published on: June 11, 2024

Women vs. Men- Who Has the Greater Car Accident Risk?

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A safety group in France is advising male drivers to drive more like female drivers in order to reduce their risks of being involved in auto accidents. This has raised the age old question – are female drivers truly safer than men?

According to the group, which advocates for victims of car accidents, female drivers in France are less likely to be involved in fatal car accidents compared to males. The group says that 84% of all fatal car accidents involve male drivers. It also claims that 93% of all drunk driving-related car accidents involve males.

Here in the United States as well, there has been data to show that female drivers do tend to be involved in fewer fatal car accidents compared to males. One of the reasons could be the fact that males simply drive more vehicular miles contributing to higher accident risks.

Published on: June 7, 2024

Many Patients on Life Support After Brain Injury Could Possibly Recover

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A new study finds that many patients who are on life support after suffering a brain injury could actually make a recovery.

In cases of a severe brain injury after an auto accident, truck accident or any other kind of accident where there has been severe trauma to the head, doctors may make the decision to place the person on life support. The decision to end life support is an excruciatingly painful decision for family members to make. In many cases, the decision is taken within 72 hours after the person has suffered the brain injury. However, the results of a new study seems to indicate that waiting longer to remove life support may be beneficial.

For the study, the researchers examined data involving 3,100 patients who had suffered traumatic brain injury and had to be immediately transferred to a hospital. Out of these, 90 patients were removed from life support within a few days and died soon after. For purposes of comparison, the researchers then focused on a group of 90 patients who were very similar to the first group on most counts, but continued to remain on life support.