Maryland Injury Attorney Blog

Earlier this month, we reported on how NHTSA officials working with NASA engineers concluded that the problem with “runaway Toyotas” (i.e., cars accelerating out of control) was mechanical, not electrical. The problem that resulted in numerous traffic accident fatalities was, the report stated, caused by mechanical issues with the gas pedals due to faulty design or ill-fitting carpets and floor mats. The problem was not, the report’s authors concluded, electrical in nature, as some Toyota owners and auto critics theorized.

The sticky gas pedals are back in the news, however.

Toyota is now recalling an additional 2.17 million vehicles to repair problems linked to their Nov. 2009 safety recall for gas pedal problems due to “floor mat entrapment.” Over the last few years, several cases of Toyota drivers unable to slow down their cars resulted in a number of fatal car crashes. The New York Times reports that Toyota is adding Lexus luxury vehicles and popular SUVs to the gas pedal recall list, including the Toyota Highlander and Toyota 4Runner (see link to Toyota recall portal below for full listing of recall vehicle models and years).

Distracted driving is a serious hazard on Baltimore County roads and highways — particularly when cell phones are involved. A few years ago, talking on cell phones while driving was the primary culprit. Now the widespread availability of text and data enabled smartphones means drivers not only talk on their phones behind the wheel, but send, receive, and read text messages. You know the tell-tale signs when you see them: driver’s head is down, cell phone is in their hands, thumbs are typing away — and their attention is not on the road. Cell phone use while driving causes deadly motor vehicle accidents in Maryland and everywhere else in the country.

The National Safety Council reports 1.6 million auto crashes a year in the US caused by talking and texting on cell phones. And the Maryland State Highway Administration estimates that more than 380 people have died in Maryland due to distracted driving auto crashes in the last 5 years. Now a Baltimore County lawmaker wants to add teeth to the Maryland law that restricts cell phone usage while driving.

Delegate James Malone, a democrat from Baltimore County, Md., is sponsoring legislation that would give Maryland police more clout in enforcing Maryland’s cell phone use while driving ban, which is currently a secondary offense. Malone would like to see the ban become a primary offense, which would give Maryland police the right to pull drivers over if they’re observed using their handheld cell phones while driving. Currently in Maryland, the police can only issue a cell phone use citation if the driver is pulled over for a separate violation.

Last year, Toyota drivers in Baltimore County, Maryland and around the country had reason to be concerned. The auto manufacturer that built its reputation on safety and reliability was involved in one of the most massive worldwide consumer safety recalls in history of some 8 million vehicles.

The safety recalls occurred after reports of fatal auto accidents involving “runaway Toyotas” — that is, cars that couldn’t be stopped from accelerating out of control. Drivers reported sticking gas pedals that were slow to rise when foot pressure was removed, and cars that failed to decelerate despite the drivers releasing the gas and leaning hard on the brakes.

The car accidents that prompted the recalls and a subsequent government investigation occurred over a number of years, involving different models of Toyotas. Now U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has released a report on the investigation regarding Toyota’s problems.

Remember when the only people who drove pickup trucks in Maryland were farmers, construction workers, and other working people with loads to haul? That was back when a family-sized vehicle was called a station wagon — and modern innovations such as all-wheel drive, GPS navigation, and onboard entertainment systems weren’t even on the drawing board.

Fast forward a couple decades down the road, where more and more Americans started feeling like they too should be driving a truck, or something of that stature. Something that would be a presence on the road. Enter the sport utility vehicle or SUV. Now seems like practically every other car on the road is an SUV. SUVs of every shape, size, and color. Some the size of tanks (the Hummer, for example). The size is what’s causing headaches for the insurance industry — and for consumers who find even minor fender benders can be costly, in dollars and injuries.

As an experienced Baltimore SUV accident injury lawyer knows from work with injured clients — when an SUV is involved in a traffic accident with a car in Maryland, the smaller vehicle tends to be on the losing end. One of the problems, says the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), is the mismatched bumper heights.

As experienced Baltimore car accident injury lawyers will attest — winter driving in Maryland can be mighty challenging. This is true for any Baltimore County resident who commutes to work on Maryland highways and roads, maybe over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge or into Baltimore City on a daily basis. Snow and ice make the experience that much more interesting.

Winter weather is often cited as a contributing factor in serious Baltimore County car accidents. Sometimes, it’s a challenge just to get out of the driveway.

Which explains why, after Mother Nature dumps a snowy load on Maryland, we see the inevitable “moving igloos” chugging down our streets and cruising down our highways. By that we mean cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs driven by people who didn’t clean the snow and ice off their vehicles. You know the ones…where the driver is peering out a tiny hole in an icy windshield that hasn’t been fully defrosted. If you’ve been behind one of these mobile snow cones when the 10-inch cap of snow or 3-inch sheet of ice on the car roof lets go–you know what a driving hazard this problem can be.

When was the last time you had a heart-to-heart talk with an elderly parent or grandparent about their driving abilities? As uncomfortable as that might be, it could be a life saver. A Baltimore news source reported that the AAA found that on average, more than one Maryland senior citizen is killed weekly in an auto accident. One a week.

That statistic might be surprising to some. However Baltimore traffic accident injury lawyers know what can happen when elder drivers lose their ability to safely helm an automobile on Maryland roads, highways, and city streets.

Too often, we hear a Baltimore, Maryland area news story about a senior citizen who lost control of their vehicle and caused a serious or fatal pedestrian accident or car crash. The AAA urges families to have those frank discussions about when it’s time for seniors to stop driving. Other factors to consider for senior driving safety:

This past August, Ford Motor Company and the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) issued a safety recall for the Windstar minivan. Windstar model years 1998-2003 manufactured and sold in Canada and several cold-weather states — Maryland included — are at risk for axle cracking, corrosion and failure, which could lead to serious and even fatal auto accidents.

Ford stated that Windstar minivans sold, owned and operated in snow belt states like Maryland are at greater risk for axle corrosion and failure, due to rock salt used to treat slippery roads. As anyone who’s driven on Baltimore County, Maryland roads on bad winter days knows — the rock salt and sanding truck is a welcomed sight. But that salt can accelerate rust and corrosion on the undercarriage of a motor vehicle, which is the problem Ford describes on Windstars manufactured with “heat-treated axles.” The initial recall of more than half a million Ford Windstar minivans has been expanded by several thousand, bring the total number recalled to 612,000.

Baltimore County auto accident injury lawyers stay current on automotive safety recalls such as this one from Ford. Experienced Maryland traffic injury attorneys are aware of laws surrounding automotive product liability and consumer protection. If you live in Maryland and drive an older Ford Windstar minivan, you’d best contact your local Ford dealer and get the vehicle inspected, to avoid a possible traffic accident.