Author: wmlawyers

As we wrote last week, California suffers from a huge distracted driving problem. This is in spite of having among the most stringent anti-distracted-driving laws in the nation. We are one of about a dozen states to ban the use of handheld cellphones in addition to banning texting.

According to a recently published study, however, distracted driving-related car accident rates could be a lot worse than they are. The study revealed that states with laws like those on the books in California have seen the greatest reductions in traffic deaths, particularly among teen drivers.

Researchers examined state-by-state crash data from 2000 through 2010. After controlling for other factors, the study’s authors were able to calculate the safety benefits produced by the various kinds of texting bans, enforcement of those bans and the addition of a handheld cellphone ban.

The highest reduction in traffic fatalities occurred in states with a texting ban that applies to all drivers (as opposed to just young drivers) and has primary enforcement status. This means that police can initiate a traffic stop if they notice texting, rather than having to pull over a driver for something else and then adding a texting citation.

States with any anti-texting law in place saw a reduction in overall traffic fatalities of about 2.3 percent. If the ban was primary, overall traffic deaths declined by approximately 3 percent for the general population and by an astonishing 11 percent among teen drivers.

Finally, states like California that have banned the use of handheld cellphones while driving saw the greatest reduction in traffic deaths among adults between the ages of 22 and 64.

The nation’s first texting-while-driving ban did not go into effect until the spring of 2005. Although it is hard to believe, the legislative fight against distracted driving is less than a decade old. Hopefully, studies like this one will remind us what we are fighting for and why that fight is so important.

Source: The Washington Post, “Texting bans work: They cut teen traffic deaths by 11 percent, study finds,” Niraj Chokshi, Aug. 1, 2014

Many who live in the Bay Area likely remember a fatal train crash that occurred in 2011 involving a train called the California Zephyr. Although the accident happened in rural Nevada, the train’s final intended destination was Emeryville.

Of the many unusual aspects of the fatal train accident, one of the most prominent was the fact that the train was not the striking vehicle. Rather, the California Zephyr was violently struck by a semi-truck at railroad crossing about 70 miles east of Reno. Six people lost their lives in the fiery crash, including the truck driver, a train conductor and four passengers. Dozens more passengers suffered injuries.

Families of victims have filed wrongful death lawsuits, and Amtrak also sued the trucking company whose driver caused the crash. Earlier this month, a jury ordered the trucking company to pay $4.5 million to Amtrak and nearly $211,000 to track owner Union Pacific Railroad. By the end of September, these jury awards could be increased even higher to about $5.5 million in total.

In late 2012, the National Transportation Safety Board released results of its investigation into the crash. It determined that the truck driver, who had a history of speeding violations, was likely distracted in the moments leading up to the crash. He was also driving a truck with faulty brakes that had been allowed to fall into disrepair. As such, the NTSB determined, the trucking company was liable for both of these factors.

As this case demonstrates, huge accidents often take years to sort out, both in terms of a crash investigation and the legal aftermath. Thankfully, the jury heeded the findings of the NTSB and seems to have ruled appropriately.

Source: Nevada Appeal, “Truck firm could pay $5.5M+ in Amtrak crash near Fallon,” Sept. 17, 2014

While most of us drive simply to get where we’re going, commercial truck drivers drive for a living. In light of this and in light of the fact that they are driving the largest and most dangerous vehicles on the road, it stands to reason that truckers should be better and safer drivers than the rest of us.

Sadly, this is not the case. Truck accidents are more common than most people realize, and they tend to be fatal. Moreover, the causes of truck accidents are nearly always preventable, including things like distracted driving and truck driver fatigue. So who is ultimately to blame when the behavior of truck drivers causes fatal accidents?

Naturally, the truckers themselves play a role, but blame also rests with the trucking industry as a whole. One major problem is the way that truck drivers are compensated for their work. In many cases, truckers are only paid for the miles they travel. Any time not spent driving is unpaid, including time spent waiting for cargo to be loaded and unloaded.

The problems with this system of compensation are obvious. Because wait times, resting and sleeping are not compensated, drivers feel a lot of economic pressure to be behind the wheel as much as possible, regardless of how fatigued they feel. But the human body’s capacity for work is limited, and drivers who forego sleep are putting themselves and everyone else in serious danger.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is currently studying this problem. In doing so, the agency hopes to show that compensating truck drivers for the time spent waiting for cargo loading and unloading will relieve financial pressures, encourage better sleep/rest habits and ultimately reduce the number of truck accidents related to fatigued driving.

Will this effort be successful? For the sake of everyone on U.S. roads, let’s hope so.

Source: Trucking Info, “FMCSA Will Study Driver Pay Impact on Safety,” Oliver Patton, August 29, 2014

Many of our previous posts have focused on the serious hazard of distracted driving. Californians are fortunate to live in a state with among the most restrictive laws governing cellphone use behind the wheel. But distracted driving remains a serious risk, and it continues to cause car accidents on California roads and highways.

In today’s post, we’ll focus on two important points that often get lost in the conversation about distracted driving. The first is that although California law bans the use of handheld cellphones behind the wheel, hands-free technology might not be much safer or less distracting. The second is that cellphones are only one source of distraction for drivers.

In order to maintain legal compliance and to offer customers more choices, many car companies are including in-vehicle technology to wirelessly connect the driver’s cellphone to the car. Drivers can then engage in hands-free voice calls and voice-activated text messaging. This gets around California’s ban on the use of handheld cellphones and electronic devices.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, bans on handheld cellphones seem to reduce overall phone use but they do not reduce the risk of crashes for drivers who switch to hands-free options instead. In fact, some researchers believe that voice-activated technologies could actually be more distracting because drivers are not used to using them.

Finally, it’s important to remember that cellphones are dangerous behind the wheel, but they are not the only sources of distraction drivers face. Adjusting the radio, eating, grooming and tending to a child in the back can also be dangerous if they take your eyes of the road, your hands off the wheel or your mind off the task of driving.

The rate of motorcycle accident injuries and fatalities in Southern California is unacceptably high. In many cases, motorcycle accidents occur because other drivers don’t keep an eye out for these smaller vehicles.

For instance, it is common for motorcyclists to unavoidably crash into cars and trucks as these larger vehicles make a reckless left turn across oncoming traffic. In other cases, drivers may not look carefully while backing out of a driveway or parking spot and they move directly into the path of a motorcyclist.

Late last month, a young motorcyclist and Oakland native was killed in a crash with a sport utility vehicle in Hayward. According to news reports, the SUV was backing out of a driveway as the 24-year-old motorcyclist was approaching. The biker slammed on his brakes in an effort to avoid colliding with the other vehicle, but both he and the motorcycle were thrown against the side of the SUV.

The motorcyclist was rushed to the hospital but died that evening in the trauma center. The accident is still under investigation, and police do not suspect that the 38-year-old SUV driver was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash.

Also under investigation is whether either motorist was at fault for the crash. Determining liability could be important, both for potential criminal charges and a potential wrongful death lawsuit.

This accident may very well have been an unavoidable tragedy. However, the crash scenario is a common one, and it illustrates the dangers motorcyclists face on California roads. In a collision between a motorcycle and a larger vehicle, the motorcycle always loses. That’s why car and truck drivers need to be especially attentive and always keep an eye out for motorcyclists.

Source: Patterson Irrigator, “UPDATE: Grayson man dies in Hayward motorcycle crash,” Mar. 7, 2013

A new app has been placed on the market. It is supposed to help novice motorists gain driving experience in varied situations. The hope: maybe we can reduce a couple of avoidable car accidents.

Parents wish that the driving test included jaywalking pedestrians or snow blizzards, but that is just not the case. Nevertheless, how do we prepare new teen drivers for the unpredictable experiences of the road?

A new app, Time to Drive, helps new drivers create goals – specifically to gain experience in unique driving situations. The technology helps drivers track what driving experience has been accomplished (and what has not). The goal is to place new drivers in varied driving situations, when possible.

The problem is that teen car crashes are on the rise. Also, an Allstate Foundation survey of 2,093 youths and parents suggests that 64 percent of parents are looking for resources that can help manage and assist new drivers.

If you are interested in the app, you can obtain it through the Apple iStore. Hopefully, the technology will be available for Android users soon.

It is almost impossible to prepare a new drivers for the hurdles that they may (or may not) experience in their lifetimes. However, recent technology is making solid efforts to reduce the accidents that could have been easily prevented.

If you have been a victim of a serious car accident that was caused by another's poor driving habits, you may benefit from speaking with a qualified personal injury law attorney in your neighborhood.

Source: USA Today, "Honk if you love apps that protect teen drivers," Larry Copeland, April 8, 2013

Every parent fears the day when their teenager starts driving. California has comprehensive graduated driver licensing laws, but new and inexperienced drivers are still highly at risk.

Studies show that a teen driver is significant more likely to die in a fatal car accident during their first year of driving that at any other point after that. Statistically, more U.S. teens are killed by auto accidents than any other hazard. So what can parents do to help keep their teen drivers safe when traveling without them?

Many parents in Oakland and around the country are turning to vehicle monitoring technology, ranging from low-tech and inexpensive to high-tech and very expensive. The cheapest and easiest low-tech option is to put a bumper sticker on the car that asks: “how is my driving?” The bumper sticker also includes the parent’s cellphone number so that other drivers can call or text about how the teen is doing.

For those who want a more discrete way to monitor their teen drivers, a GPS service called “Geofencing” might be the way to go. Parents determine how fast the teen can drive and where the teen is allowed to go. If the teen travels outside the predetermined area or drives too fast, the service sends an alert to his or her parents.

At around $900, the most expensive option is a device and service called “Drivecam.” First, a dashboard camera is installed in the vehicle. Then, the camera is activated if the teen does something dangerous while driving. The company’s data center reviews each of these videos and reports back to the teen’s parents. The company also reportedly gives tips and feedback to help teens improve their driving skills.

Technological advancements like these would certainly give many parents peace of mind. But whether their teenagers will be happy about an arguable invasion of privacy is another matter.

Would you ever install monitoring equipment to keep tabs on your teen driver? What do readers think?

Source: CBS New York, “Seen At 11: New Technology Could Help Teens Stay Safe Behind The Wheel,” Apr. 4, 2013