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Los Angeles Personal Injury Law Blog

Teen Driver Fatalities May Have Increased in 2011

  • 11
  • April
    2012

Beginning in the mid-1990s, many states reformed their licensing programs for teens by implementing Graduated Drivers' Licenses (GDL). Since states began using GDL programs, the number of fatal car accidents involving teenagers has dropped substantially. In fact, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reports that in the eight years prior to 2011 the number of teen-driver fatalities declined each year.

Sadly, the GHSA reports that statistics from the first half of 2011 show that there is a good chance the eight-year decline is over.

Using data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the GHSA reports that there was an 11 percent increase in the number of teen-driver fatalities (defined as 16- and 17-year-olds) during the first six months of 2011 as compared to the first half of 2010. According to GHSA numbers, 16-year-olds car accident deaths rose by 13 over the previous year - a 16 percent increase - and the number of 17-year-old driver fatalities rose by eight over the previous year - a 7 percent increase.

USDOT Proposes Limit on Built-In Electronic Devices

  • 28
  • March
    2012

The federal government would like automakers to limit drivers' ability to use built-in vehicle technologies like Sync or OnStar that allow cellphone use and texting while the car is in motion. Transportation secretary Ray LaHood recently proposed voluntary steps that would create safety standards for the entertainment, communication and navigation devices that are now ubiquitous in new cars.

The proposed safety standards are limited to electronic devices that are not necessary to safely operate the vehicle and would apply to devices that cause undue distraction by taking the driver's eyes off the road or occupying a driver's hands for more than a brief moment.

California's Senior Drivers Rank Third ...

  • 14
  • March
    2012

Older drivers in California recently received some deflating news: the state's senior drivers are ranked among the most dangerous older drivers in the United States, at least according to one study.

The study conducted by the national transportation research group TRIP ranked the states according to the number of fatal accidents involving seniors, and California ranked third - the rankings included both seniors killed in accidents and seniors being involved in accidents that killed other drivers or passengers. According to TRIP, only Texas and Florida had more recorded fatal car accidents than California, the state with the most senior drivers.

Will Black Box Technology Prevent Car Accidents?

  • 29
  • February
    2012

When there has been an airplane crash, the aircraft's black box is instrumental in investigating the event and understanding why the accident happened. With this in mind, regulators are considering whether the same type of technology would be helpful in understanding how car accidents occur.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is considering whether or not to require automobile manufacturers to include black boxes, also known as event data recorders (EDRs), in new vehicles. If this technology is installed into automobiles, it will create a record of an accident that will allow law enforcement to piece together how an accident happened and who was at fault.

EDR technology has been installed in cars with airbags since 2006, but the NHTSA proposal would require manufacturers to use more sophisticated systems in their products in order to collect more data. According to the National Research Council, the more robust versions of this evolving technology would be particularly helpful in cases where there is a malfunction in the electronics system of an automobile.

Friends in the Car Increase Risks for Teen Drivers

  • 14
  • February
    2012

A teenager's crash risk increases when friends are in the car. Now, thanks to separate studies at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance, that assumption has been proven, according to a story in Healthland.time.com.

Statistics document that U.S. teens are four times more likely to be involved in a fatal traffic accident ─ making car accidents the leading cause of death. The two new studies ─ both published in the Journal of Adolescent Health ─ explain how passengers affect a driver's performance before a crash.

A study of 198 teen drivers by behavioral researcher Jessica Mirman at Philadelphia's Children's Hospital found that most teens understand the risks of driving and follow the rules set by their parents. Yet the small percentage of teens identifying themselves as "thrill seekers" did not accurately perceive their driving risks and reported that their parents did not closely monitor their time behind the wheel. This group was most likely to drive with several passengers in the car.

Study: Tripling in Number of Pedestrian Accidents Involving Headphones

  • 31
  • January
    2012

To prevent injuries while crossing the street or railroad tracks, we are taught as youngster to stop and look both ways before crossing the road or tracks. What is often overlooked is the notion of listening for potential dangers, including warning sirens and whistles. And, it is this not listening that has led to a rise in injuries for pedestrians who wear headphones.

In January 2012, a new study published in the journal Injury Prevention reported that accidents involving pedestrians wearing headphones have tripled in less than a decade. Looking at numerous sources, researchers found that there were 116 fatal or serious-injury accidents involving pedestrians wearing headphones (accidents involving cell phones were excluded) in the United States from 2004 to 2011.

Firefighters, Navy Seabees Are Heroes After Highway 101 Accident in CA

  • 18
  • January
    2012

A heroic rescue after a California car-and-truck accident has made nationwide news. The car accident occurred on Highway 101 when a truck rear-ended a BMW. The truck fell into a ravine, bursting into flames and killing the truck driver. Meanwhile, the BMW hung on a bridge, 100 feet over the ravine. The family members - a mother, her baby and her 10-year-old daughter - were trapped.

Members of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department acted quickly to get the family out of the car. The Navy Seabees also stepped in to help, using a forklift to stabilize the car.

Highway Safety Advocates Refute Arguments Against HOS Changes

  • 21
  • December
    2011

The ongoing bureaucratic process to reform federal trucking safety regulations features plenty of detailed scientific arguments about the risks caused by truck driver fatigue, including deadly truck accidents. The primary regulatory response to this problem is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) proposed changes to the Hours-of-Service (HOS) rule.

Proposed changes to the HOS rule would create marginally tighter restrictions on how many hours drivers can spend behind the wheel, how much time they must spend off duty and other factors that influence whether commercial driver's license holders become overtired. Not surprisingly, some trucking industry groups have taken a hard stand against overdue safety measures that could affect their profits.

OMG! Texting and Driving is Dangerous

  • 08
  • December
    2011

In late November 2011, the Department of Transportation announced its latest campaign to combat distracted driving. The new campaign, which is called "OMG," is aimed at educating teens of the dangers that distracted driving pose and to reduce the number of car accidents.

Commenting on the new campaign, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood stated, "Teen drivers are particularly vulnerable to distracted driving, which is why we are making an effort to ensure they understand the dangers."

The campaign, which will run through December 2011, consists of two new public service announcements (PSAs) that will air in approximately 525 movie theaters and on an estimated 12,000 screens atop gas pumps around the country. According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) release, the two PSAs will target teenagers through the use of images of shorthand that teens often use while texting.

Report Says Half of Child Booster Seats Are Unsafe for Children

  • 21
  • November
    2011

A new report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an insurance industry safety group, says that the safety of children's booster seats has improved in recent years, but half still do not ensure that a child is properly placed when wearing a seat belt.

The IIHS evaluated booster seats on how well they fit four- to eight-year-old children who outgrew forward-facing child-safety seats but who must be raised up to fit behind a seat belt properly, reported USA Today.

Proper positioning of seat belts is vitally important because of the risk of serious personal injury to children from the seat belts themselves during car accidents. If a seat belt does not cross the child's lap and shoulder correctly, the belt can cut into internal organs in a crash.

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