Maryland Injury Attorney Blog

While the invention of Internet enabled smartphones has brought a world of information and communication to our fingertips, it’s also created a serious traffic safety challenge — both here in Maryland and across the U.S.

Your grandparents never could have imagined that one day people would be typing messages to and from each other on small hand-held devices — while driving an automobile. However we’re living in an age of instant, wireless communications, and there’s no going back. This poses a never-before seen problem to traffic safety advocates and lawmakers. How do we get drivers to stop talking and texting, put down their cell phones, and FOCUS on the road?

Some high profile cases in the national news this week have shone a harsh light on texting while driving. These include the first homicide texting while driving case on trial in Massachusetts, and a New Jersey case where lawyers representing two motorcyclists who lost limbs in an auto crash sought to name the sender of text messages in a distracted driving lawsuit (a judge determined the text-sending girlfriend of the motor vehicle driver charged in this case cannot be held liable).

Maryland drivers are no strangers to this frightening scenario. You’re stopped at a red light in say, Baltimore. Just as the light turns green and your foot hits the gas pedal — another car shoots through the intersection in front of you, running his or her red light. You slam on your brakes, gasp for breath, and thank your lucky stars you weren’t broadsided and hurt, or worse.

As a Baltimore County car accident injury lawyer, I know from work with injured and grieving clients that not everyone is so fortunate in this all-too-common scenario. Motorists who run red lights can cause devastating crashes resulting in motor vehicle damage, bodily injury, and death — all to save a minute and avoid sitting at the traffic light.

Some national transportation experts believe that extending yellow traffic light times might cut down on the incidence of drivers running red lights, and curb not only traffic violations but intersection auto accidents. Opponents believe that drivers would adapt to longer yellow light times, and those inclined to race through intersections to beat the red lights would do so anyway.

It’s become a tragic and all-too-familiar news story: A driver involved in a fatal car accident was found to be texting or talking on a cell phone right before the deadly crash occurred.

Often the driver is a teenager, an inexperienced youth operator just learning the rules of the road. However studies have shown that adults can be just as guilty of texting while driving as their teenagers. And while the problem of texting and driving may have overshadowed using cell phones while driving, the latter remains a serious traffic safety concern on par with drunk driving.

The U.S. Department of Transportation declared April as National Distracted Driving Awareness month. With good reason.

If you grew up in my generation, going for a Sunday drive along Maryland back roads was a leisurely family pastime. We kids piled in the back of the sedan or station wagon, with dad at the wheel and mom riding shotgun. Life was a lot simpler in those days.

Looking back, it’s a wonder more of us weren’t injured or killed in Maryland car accidents. We had none of today’s driving laws or vehicle safety equipment in place. No child or infant car seats, no air bags, no anti-lock brakes, and no cell phones if you did run into trouble. The cars may have had seat belts, but we weren’t required by law to wear them. When it comes to traffic safety and preventing auto crashes in Maryland, we’ve come a long way since we were kids.

Thanks to adoption of traffic safety laws, public awareness campaigns, and vehicle improvements, national motor vehicle death rates are back down to the 1961 level. The U.S. Census reports that in 2009, a total 33,808 persons were killed in motor vehicle accidents in this country. That’s as low as it’s been since the early 1960s. Maryland had 547 traffic deaths in 2009. Still, every one of these Maryland traffic crash deaths means someone’s life was cut short. A family was left grieving.

Though Baltimore County commuters might beg to differ, Maryland has recently been ranked as one of the safer states in the country for motorists. (See related Maryland Injury Attorney articles below.) Now a new study released by a national highway traffic safety advocacy group ranks Maryland among states given a “green light” for basic traffic laws on the books.

However many aspects of Maryland traffic laws and regulations could use improvement, as the study authors — and experienced Baltimore County car accident injury lawyers — would agree. Let’s take a brief look at the study findings and recommendations.

Maryland’s basic traffic laws were given “green light” passing grades by the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. The group is comprised of consumer, insurance, health, safety, and law enforcement representatives and conducts a national survey of traffic laws by state every year. Its report titled 2012 Roadmap to State Highway Safety Laws looks at 15 basic traffic laws covering a range of safety areas, including use of motorcycle helmets and seat belts, texting while driving, Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) programs, child safety seats, and ignition interlock devices for convicted drunk drivers.