Articles Posted in Automobile Accidents

“Don’t drive too fast.” “Be careful with your mother’s car.” “Keep your eyes on the road.” “Be home by your curfew.” All typical warnings parents give to their teenagers when they hand over their car keys to them — and pray they come back home alive. Now, 21st century parents need to tell their teenagers, “No talking on your cell phone while you’re driving” and, more recently, “No texting and driving.”

Problem is, an alarming percentage of adults aren’t practicing what they preach.

A new study released by the Pew Research Center shows that adults are as guilty as youth of sending text messages while operating a motor vehicle (see link below). Scores of traffic safety reports show that distracted driving is a primary cause of serious and fatal car accidents in Maryland and around the country. Some scary statistics:

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has released a report stating that by 2025, the number of drivers aged 65 and older will amount to 25 percent of drivers in the U.S. — a potential driving safety issue that states like Maryland might not be fully prepared to handle. Of note:

> Most states’ driver licensing systems and alternative mobility/transportation programs are not adequate to handle an influx of older drivers on the roads — drivers who may have medical or functional impairments (e.g., related to visual perception, speed of processing, navigation and maneuvering) and/or be on medications.

As any experienced Towson car accident injury attorney will attest — no one is a perfect driver. However, certain groups of drivers such as teenagers and senior citizens have special considerations when it comes to driving safety and avoiding serious traffic accidents in Baltimore County, Maryland and around the state.

Maryland is among the states being praised by the national Governors Highway Safety Administration (GHSA) for getting creative when it comes to promoting seat belt use, in an effort to reduce Maryland car crash injuries and deaths.

The Maryland Highway Safety Office (HSO) has partnered with 7-Eleven convenience stores and Chick-fil-A chicken restaurants, which have donated gift cards for buckled-up motorists checked at Maryland seat belt checkpoints. The HSO is running a second incentive program called “Buckle Up for a Buck,” where police give a dollar to motorists who are observed wearing their seat belts; banks donated the bucks. Both programs involve the charity of Maryland businesses and reward citizens for wearing their seat belts without draining federal or state dollars. (Source: GHSA Press Release, “States Launch Massive Seat Belt Use Crackdown,” May 24, 2010.)

Any experienced Harford County, Maryland car accident attorney will tell you: Maryland seat belt laws aren’t in place to encroach on anyone’s freedom or to wrinkle their neatly pressed work clothes. Seat belts save lives. They prevent serious injuries that can occur in Maryland traffic accidents, including devastating and often fatal spine and head injury.

Last week, a four-vehicle chain reaction car accident on Route 50 westbound in Kent Island, Maryland, sent three people to Anne Arundel Medical Center with injuries. While an accident reconstruction team investigation was underway, this case illustrates what can happen when morning traffic in Maryland meets up with road construction and bridge repair.

According to news reports, the accident occurred on Route 50 westbound near Romancoke Rd on Kent Island, before the Route 8 overpass. (Kent Island is on the Chesapeake Bay in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore region.) Reports state that on Thursday May 13 around 5 a.m., a four-car collision occurred where a road construction crew was clearing out from doing bridge maintenance work.

The Maryland Transportation Authority reported that the accident occurred where traffic had been stopped to allow the construction crews to exit the bridge. Witnesses reported debris strewn all over the road, which was closed down during rush hour traffic for hours.

It’s been a rough winter for drivers in Baltimore, Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic region. First, we’ve been pummeled with the heaviest snowfall and fiercest winter storms on record. We’ve endured driving bans; public transit shutdowns; airport, school and government office closures; and of course, runs on supermarket staples and shovels. The Baltimore Sun reports we are up to 79 inches of snowfall this winter; that’s on par with the average height of an NBA player (Source: NBA.com 2007-08 Player Survey: Height).

Emergency crews are struggling to clear Maryland highways and streets as Mother Nature keeps dumping more snow on us. The good news, according to state officials, is that Maryland drivers have heeded the warnings and stayed off the roads, resulting in no auto accident fatalities during the latest storms (as of Feb. 10). As if multiple blizzards haven’t caused enough peril and stress on Baltimore County roads and area highways, Maryland drivers are also dealing with large-scale auto safety recalls.

Earlier this year, Toyota recalled millions of vehicles with serious gas pedal problems. Initially, the problem was thought to be caused by floor mats ensnaring the accelerator pedals. (A highly publicized case in California resulted in the motor vehicle deaths of several people, when the driver of a Lexus was unable to slow down the car, which accelerated to speeds in excess of 100 mph before crashing.) Later, Toyota stated a problem may exist in the accelerator itself of certain vehicles; consumers reported the gas pedal was slow to rise when they removed their foot from the pedal.