June 21, 2010

Concerns about Senior Motorists May Be Unfounded

hood.jpgAt the beginning of the decade, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted a review that indicated an explosion of the senior motorist population in the country in the coming years. This, the IIHS believed, would increase the risk of accidents involving these drivers and other motorists. Nine years later, the IIHS has revisited the issue, and conducted a study into senior motorist safety. The results have been a pleasant surprise.

There are definitely more senior citizens driving today than in the past, but they are not contributing to more accidents, nor are they being fatally injured in accidents at a greater rate. If anything, accident and fatality rates for senior citizens are actually showing a downward trend. Fatal accident rates involving elderly drivers have dropped by as much as 37% over the past decade. In the case of drivers above the age of 80 - those you would think would have the most diminished driving abilities - fatal accident rates have dropped by as much as 47%.

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June 10, 2010

New Law Reduces Speed of Indiana Drivers

road%20work%20sign.jpgUtility crews, emergency responders, police, fire personnel, and construction workers risk their lives every day in an effort to assist the residents of Indiana. With each road construction site, traffic stop and roadside response, these men and women place their own personal safety on the line.

In recent years, Indiana and Federal legislators have added safeguards designed to reduce that risk. These safety measures include a requirement for drivers to reduce their speed, change lanes whenever possible, and always yield the right-of-way to personnel responding to an emergency and requiring personnel at the roadside to wear reflective gear.

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April 12, 2010

New Federal Rule Will Require Electronic On-Board Recorders for Certain Carriers

clock.jpgThe Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is looking at the problem of driver fatigue very seriously. In the latest move designed to reduce the number of tired, drowsy and simply fatigued truckers plying our highways, the agency has passed a rule that requires electronic on-board recorders (EOBR's) to be installed on trucks of carriers that frequently violate the Hours of Service rule.

The new rule will take effect from June 1, 2012. It will require a carrier found to be in violation of the work hour rules more than 10% of the time in a single compliance review, to have the EOBRs installed in all its trucks. The recorders must be synchronized with the truck’s engine to record precise and accurate data. The device must record the truck driver name, location, duty status, date and time. After an accident, the data can be accessed through the device, helping rule out or confirm the role of driver fatigue as a role in the accident.

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March 15, 2010

Highway Accident Fatalities Lowest in More Than Five Decades

road.jpgTransportation Sec. Ray LaHood deserved to be proud this week, when he announced that according to preliminary data, highway fatalities across the country had dropped to their lowest levels in 54 years. Fatality numbers for 2009 were 9% lower than they were in 2008. The DOT estimates that there were 33,960 accident fatalities in 2009. Compare that to just four years ago in 2005, when there were 37,261 fatalities.

Obviously that's good news, although 33,000+ deaths in 365 days are still far too many to stomach for Indiana injury lawyers.

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March 4, 2010

Toyota Crisis Just One Example of Why Indiana Needs Trial Lawyers

speedometer.jpgIn all the attention that the Toyota acceleration crisis has received, one fact has become clear – the role of trial lawyers in protecting consumers when companies fail to respond to safety concerns, and federal agencies entrusted with protecting the consumer, dither in their duty to keep defective products off the market.

In Toyota’s case, reports of unintended acceleration in its vehicles began surfacing as far back as 2002, when the company first introduced its bestselling electronic throttle control systems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration however, failed to find the issue serious enough to warrant a recall. It took the deaths of four people in a San Diego accident involving a Lexus for the NHTSA and Toyota to admit that there was a problem.

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January 28, 2010

Safe Driving Tips for Indiana Parents

toy%20car.jpgYou can have laws against using cell phones while driving to prevent auto accidents. In fact, if all goes well, Indiana will soon have a ban on text messaging while driving. However, what do you do about the nonstop distractions parents face every day as they drive their children to school, and elsewhere?

For too long, the topic of distracted driving has focused on the distractions to teenagers and adults from the use of cell phones. Every day however, thousands of Indiana moms and dads drive their children to play groups, tennis lessons recitals, ballet classes, playgrounds, and more. These trips are filled with noise, tantrums and seemingly nonstop whining. They also cause the parent who is driving to experience severe stress, possibly affecting his or her driving abilities.

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January 27, 2010

Indiana Tractor-Trailer Accident Takes Two Lives

shattered%20glass.jpgIndiana residents were again reminded of the devastation caused by semi tractor-trailer accidents when they awoke last Sunday to the news of a crash involving a tractor-trailer and a passenger van.

According to early reports, a passenger van traveling north on Interstate 65 near Edinburgh was struck from behind by a semitrailer. The accident occurred around 3:30 a.m. on the darkened interstate.

The full-sized passenger van, filled with family members, was returning from a kite flying competition in Atlanta, Georgia. The van carried 18 people. All the passengers in the van were from one Chicago area family.

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January 21, 2010

More Highway Highway Safety Laws Needed to Minimize Indiana Accidents

Stop%20Sign.jpgLast week, a safety group handed out its annual report card for highway safety. Indiana received a mediocre rating for the strength and effectiveness of its highway safety laws. Coming as it does during the first month of a brand new year, Indiana personal injury lawyers hope that the government takes seriously the issues brought up by the report card and its recommendations.

The report by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety called Road Map to State Highway Safety Laws, rated all states based on the kind of highway safety laws they have in place to minimize accidents, prevent fatalities and reduce injuries. Fifteen basic and essential highway safety laws relating to teen driving, drunk driving, adult occupant protection and other aspects of highway safety were taken as bench marks.

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January 19, 2010

Indianapolis Tow Truck Driver Injured

skid%20mark.jpgIndiana State Police responded to a call concerning a near fatal accident on the Indianapolis east side this past Tuesday morning. The accident occurred around 9:00 am when the driver of a van hit a tow-truck driver on westbound I-70.

Indianapolis Police report that the tow truck driver, Mark Daily was outside his vehicle, helping a broken-down car on the side of the highway. While he was working, a van ran over him. Police say that the driver of the car, 40-year old Ronald Stevens, failed to obey the law that requires a driver to move to another lane when service vehicles and emergency personnel are present. He was cited for unsafe lane movement and following too close.

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January 8, 2010

Indiana Personal Injury Lawyers Look Forward to Texting While Driving Ban in 2010

cell%20phone.jpgThe New Year promises to usher in new state and federal laws of the kind that Indiana personal injury lawyers would really like to see. Our state continues to lag behind many in its approach to the safety issues arising from motorists texting and using cell phones while driving. We currently have a ban on all cell phone use by motorists below the age of 18. However, there is no law yet that bans texting while driving for all.

A new bill introduced by Senator Travis Holman (R-Markle) will ban texting and sending emails behind the wheel for all drivers. The bill was filed in the legislature last year, and a non budget session of the legislature which begins on January 5th, has the bill on its agenda. The momentum against cell phone use while driving is gaining momentum in Indiana, and the bill has received support from legislators, Indiana personal injury attorneys and the public.

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January 1, 2010

Increased Indiana Highway Construction Could Mean More Accidents in the New Year

barricade.jpgIndiana is in the midst of a massive 10-year highway construction development blitz, but given a poor nationwide record of enforcing work zone safety standards, personal injury lawyers here will be concerned about the increased risk of accidents and injuries from these development efforts.

In 2006, the Indiana Department of Transportation introduced Major Moves, a highway development plan that includes at least 200 new highway construction projects and 200 preservation projects across Indiana. The plan was initiated as part of efforts to boost development, facilitate easier transportation and generate jobs. All that has been great, but the plan has also meant dozens of highway projects active across the state, at any given time.

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December 10, 2009

Indiana DOT Launches New Website to Prevent Accidents

Road%20Conditions.jpgAs Indiana personal injury lawyers, we are constantly monitoring efforts by our state to prevent automobile accidents, especially those that result in fatalities and catastrophic injuries. With winter here, the chances of accidents increase because of the challenges of driving in adverse weather conditions. That is why we are encouraged to see the Indiana Department of Transportation (DOT) using technology and the Internet to keep motorists in informed about road and traffic conditions that affects their safety.

The DOT has set up a new website at www.trafficwise.in.gov to keep motorists informed of road conditions. The website launched just before the Thanksgiving holiday, which kicks off a high-risk season for accidents in Indiana.

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