Auto Accidents

Published on: August 20, 2009

Texting While Driving a Major NO NO

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that texting while driving a vehicle is a remarkably bad idea. The results may be deadly for both the texter and the person they hit.

Adults don’t generally try to text while they are driving; most likely due to the fact they realize it’s not a very smart move. Teens and inexperienced younger drivers, however, have a disturbing record for attempting to text while handling a car on the road. The consequences are not pretty. Consider the statistics that show 5,000 teenagers killed annually in traffic accidents. This isn’t to say they were all caused by the drivers foolishly texting while driving, but a significant proportion of that number were doing precisely that at the time of the collision that killed them.

Even more disturbing than those figures, another 2,500 people were also killed by vehicles driven by teens doing a variety of things like talking on a cell phone, yakking to their friends in the backseat or attempting to reply to an email with their Blackberry. Inattention kills. It’s just that simple. This nationwide problem is being dealt with in various ways by each state. If you’re unsure what the law says in your state, consult with an experienced personal injury attorney.

Published on: August 15, 2009

80,000 Pounds and Rolling

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

If you’ve ever spent any time on an Interstate Highway in the US, you will have had an up close and personal experience with sharing the road with a big rig.

There is no doubt that our highways are teeming with all types of vehicles, and some of the largest ones happen to be trucks and trailer units. Thanks to their massive size, these rigs are exceptionally deadly if involved in an accident. You’re looking at close to 80,000 pounds of steel hurtling down the road and it is unable to come to an immediate stop.

In fact, it takes three times the amount of time for an 18-wheeler to stop compared to a normal vehicle. This is a factor that people should keep in the back of their minds when they cut in front of a rig and then do something incredibly stupid like slow down or suddenly stop.

Published on: April 28, 2009

The Seat Belt Controversy

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

Are seat belts a dangerous product? This is a very interesting question and brings up the vigorous debate surrounding the mandated use of seat belts.

Most people have had the safety message drummed into their heads that wearing a seat belt saves lives. There are numerous commercials on TV, the radio, in magazines and newspapers that tout the effectiveness of using a seat belt. “Buckle Up” campaigns in some form or another have been launched in just about every state in effort to reduce the number of traffic fatalities. Every state, but New Hampshire, has laws mandating seat belt use in some form or another.

Traffic safety stats show that the lowly seat belt has been credited with saving at least 9,500 lives per year. These same statistics are also showing that virtually 60% of those who die in car crashes were not wearing seat belts. So what is going on here?