Articles Posted in Car Accidents

Accidents Cost US $99 Billion in One Year

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has analyzed the cost of traffic accidents in the year 2005, and come up with a staggering estimate-$99 billion.

That’s right.Fatal and non-fatal injurious accidents including car, motorcycle, truck, bicycle and pedestrian accidents cost the American economy $99 billion in 2005.Mind-boggling as that number is, it’s probably just the tip of the iceberg.According to the CDC, it does not include other factors that could increase accident costs, like the increase in insurance premiums after an accident and an increase in taxes.

More Focus on Highway Safety Technologies, Less on Distracting Issues

Does the super-sized focus on specific highway safety problems like distracted driving and auto safety issues like the Toyota acceleration crisis detract attention away from potential safety technologies and processes?It’s an intriguing question posed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and as Atlanta auto accident lawyers, we agree with many of the Institute’s opinions.

What the Insurance Institute is basically saying in its latest report, is that when federal transportation safety agencies focus heavily on a specific highway safety problem like distracted driving, and when already limited resources are devoted to tackling this problem, it takes much attention and effort away from the development of other technologies and processes that can prevent accidents.No one is denying that distracted driving is a serious problem, but it contributes to a small percentage of auto accident fatalities every year.Similarly, we aren’t saying that Toyota doesn’t have acceleration problems.In fact, in our capacity as Atlanta personal injury lawyers, we have always said that the company needs to be held accountable for its negligence.

Feds to Mandate Seatbelts on All Buses

The worst bus accident in Atlanta in recent memory occurred three years ago, when a bus carrying a baseball team from Bluffton University plunged off a highway overpass, killing seven people including five baseball players.Some of those who were killed or injured were ejected from the vehicle, as the bus swung around sharply before it flipped over.Would those statistics have been different if the students were wearing seatbelts at the time of the accident?It is quite likely, and if a US Department of Transportation proposal to mandate seatbelts on all motor coaches is successful, we might be able to dramatically reduce the number of people seriously injured or killed in bus accidents in the future.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced that his agency is considering long-pending proposals by the National Transportation Safety Board, to mandate seatbelts on all motor coaches.The NTSB made the recommendations back in 1968, but any attempts at federal and state legislation to mandate seatbelts on all motor coaches have been thwarted by the powerful bus manufacturer lobby.The industry has managed to get away with putting thousands of vehicles sans seatbelts out there, and the impact has been seen in a series of deadly bus accidents, from California to Texas.

Georgia Department of Transportation Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit

The Georgia Department of Transportation has agreed to pay $600,000 dollars to settle a wrongful death lawsuit, arising from a taxi accident that killed a 51-year-old woman.Patricia Heller was killed when her taxi went out of control and crashed into a tree.She suffered fatal injuries.

Her husband filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the taxi driver, the taxi company, a former city inspector and the Georgia Department of Transportation.The lawsuit alleged that the taxi had bald tires on the day of the accident, and had passed a city inspection just one day before the crash.The lawsuit also accused the Department Of Transportation of negligent design of that section of Interstate 85, alleging that a tree should not have been allowed to grow so close to the roadway.The lawsuit also alleged that the slope was too steep, and the drainage system was poor.

NHTSA Data Shows High Rates of Auto Accidents, Fatalities in Rural Areas

Newly released data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that traffic safety in rural areas continues to be a serious concern.According to the statistics, although just 23% of the US population lived in rural areas in 2007, accident fatalities in rural areas accounted for 57% of all traffic accident fatalities that year.

A few very interesting facts stand out from the study.

In a move that is sure to increase auto safety for Americans, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced that it will soon launch its new auto testing and rating program.Several 2011 models will be tested using these tougher testing standards. The agency will begin testing about 55 models, including some American favorites like the Honda Odyssey, the Ford Fusion and Taurus, and the Chevrolet Cruze.

Under the new testing system, cars will be tested against each other, and not against a standard performance bar.In the old system, far too many cars were able to meet the standards, and obtain a five-star rating.In the new system, vehicles will have to compete with each other to get the five-star rating, and there will be far fewer vehicles that actually meet the new standards.Several cars that currently enjoy a five-star rating could find their rating drop to a two-star one, once the testing program is implemented.

The new testing program will include a pole test and a female crash test dummy in the front passenger seat.The tests will result in a single overall safety score.For the first time, the rating will also contain information about any additional safety features the car contains, like lane departure systems and forward collision warning systems.With this rating system, consumers will find it easier to buy cars that not only prevent accidents, but also protect them in the event of an accident.

There is a growing debate nationwide over the need for a mandatory federal standard for driver’s licensing programs.Currently, there is no single federal standard.As Atlanta auto accident lawyers, we strongly support a strict, federal mandatory standard for licensing policies.A bill called the Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection Act would establish exactly such a standard.It’s not surprising that some of the strongest supporters of this proposed standard are parents.

A new survey by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reveals that parents favor stronger licensing standards for their children.The study is the first of its kind into parental attitudes towards graduated driver’s licensing policies.It clearly reveals that parents strongly favor licensing policies that can prevent their children’s risk of being involved in an accident.

The parents were asked several questions, including their opinion about nighttime driving restrictions and passenger restrictions.90% of the parents said that they were in favor of nighttime driving restrictions on teenagers, and most of them wanted restrictions that began at 10 PM or earlier.Georgia’s GDL laws impose a restriction on nighttime driving between midnight and 6 AM for teen drivers.

Second Distracted Driving Summit to Be Held in September 2010

Buoyed by the success of the first National Distracted Driving Summit last year, the US Department of Transportation has announced that a second summit will be held on September 21, 2010 in Washington DC.

It’s been an eventful few months since the first summit.During this period of time, several states, including Georgia, have made progress towards the banning of technological distractions at the wheel.In Georgia, we now have a ban on texting while driving for all motorists, and a ban on the use of cell phones while driving for motorists below the age of 18.The law is now in effect, and violators may be fined $150.

ATV manufacturers make much of the fact that their vehicles are not “recommended” for children below the age of 16. They recommend that children only drive smaller-sized ATVs. They might want to send a memo to some of their dealers, however. An investigation by CBS Early Show found that many dealers see no harm in pushing sales of ATVs, even when they know that the vehicle will be operated by a child below the age of 16.

The CBS investigation found that five out of every ten dealers were willing to sell ATVs to undercover investigators posing as consumers, even when they were made aware that these all-terrain vehicles would be operated by a below-16 year old. In fact, one dealer in the exposé actually persuaded the “parents” to buy a large-sized ATV for their child, because he would be bored of a small-sized ATV within a week.

To Atlanta accident lawyers, these findings are very disturbing for two reasons –

An ABC undercover exposé reveals some shocking truths – the policies at most rental car companies are not designed to protect consumers from accidents involving recalled vehicles. Rather, these policies are aimed at getting cars out there, even if they are on the recall list.

The undercover exposé found that some of the biggest rental car companies, including Enterprise Rent a Car, Avis and Hertz don’t have firm policies in place against renting out recalled vehicles to unsuspecting consumers. Enterprise is one rental company that has been at the center of controversy over recalled vehicles. In May, the company lost a wrongful death lawsuit that had been filed against it by the parents of two sisters who were killed in an accident involving a rental car in California.

That car was a 2008 Chrysler PT Cruiser that had been recalled a few months earlier, but was rented out by Enterprise. Chrysler had linked that recall to a power steering fluid leak problem that could lead to loss of control of the vehicle. As the two sisters were traveling, the driver lost control of the car, and it burst into flames. The two women were killed instantly.