Personal Injury Law Update

Should drivers who hit pedestrians face tougher penalties?

A new report from the Center for Investigative Reporting finds that most drivers responsible for striking and killing pedestrians are not jailed – or even ticketed.

The San Francisco Bay Area, pedestrians comprise 25% of the traffic-related deaths – much higher than the national average. A third of them were hit while crossing the street in a crosswalk.

California’s vehicular manslaughter law has a misdemeanor option, but most drivers did not face charges. Most kept their driver’s license.

When they were charged with a crime, punishments were usually light, and included no jail time.

“ Walkers are perhaps the most unprotected users of the transportation system. The human body is no match for 3,000 pounds of speeding steel. Autopsy reports routinely describe blood-soaked clothing, fractured skulls, cracked ribs and broken limbs.” - Center for Investigative Reporting

When the main cause of a pedestrian-car collision is a violation like speeding, not stopping at a signal, or not yielding to the pedestrian, why are prosecutors unwilling to bring even misdemeanor charges against negligent motorists who injure and kill people?

Watching for riders

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, a national project to encourage vehicles and motorcyclists to “share the road” with each other.

 

 

 

 

Motorcycle fatalities represent 14% of total highway deaths annually, despite motorcycle registrations representing only about 3% of all vehicles in the United States. Improving cooperation between all road users and motorcyclists will help to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries on our nation’s highways.

The Oregon Department of Transportation reminds drivers of cars, trucks and buses to look out for motorcycle riders, and offers these safety tips for drivers:

• Allow a motorcyclist the full lane width—never try to share a lane.
• Always make a visual check for motorcycles by checking mirrors and blind spots before entering or leaving a lane of traffic and at intersections. (This goes for bicycles, too).
• Signal before changing lanes or merging with traffic.
• Allow more following distance, three or four seconds, when following a motorcycle.

About 50% of Oregon motorcycle fatalities are single-vehicle, so motorcyclists have responsibilities, too. Obeying the same traffic laws as other motor vehicles, never riding while impaired, and always wearing a helmet can go a long way towards a safe ride.

“It doesn't matter if you’re on four wheels or two; we all have to do our part to share the road safely,” said Michele O’Leary, Motorcycle Safety Program manager for the Oregon Department of Transportation. 

Read more at the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s Safety page. 

Police and pedestrians

In Oregon, every intersection is a crosswalk. Many have no signal. Some are unmarked. And drivers complain that it can be difficult to see pedestrians on corners, and to gauge their intent to cross.

The Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) crosswalk warning systems have been very effective at reducing crashes– but these are still relatively scarce.

Police enforcement of the existing laws is necessary to driver’s pedestrian awareness – especially “sting operations”. Officers sitting at crosswalks and pulling over drivers who failed to yield improved safety at those intersections for up to a year after the police sting.

 

 

Watch a minute of this video by a Southeast Portland resident who was concerned about the dangerous crossing after a fatal pedestrian accident on his street.

This Saturday: Safe Kids Day at the Oregon Zoo

The Oregon Zoo will host the 15^th Annual Safe Kids Day on Saturday, May 4, from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Safe Kids Day is a fun and interactive safety event about preventing common childhood injuries – and it is free with zoo admission!

Child safety and injury prevention are very important: accidents are the leading cause of death for kids in the U.S.

Safety stations around the zoo make up a “Safety Safari”; kids can win prizes for completing the safari while learning about topics like pedestrian safety, head injury prevention, and pool safety.

In addition to the safety exhibits, next Saturday the Oregon Zoo is showing off new animals include a baby De Brazza monkey, a baby elephant, baby otters and penguin chicks.

Safe Kids and its regional coalitions keep track of safety resources for kids in Oregon, Washington and all over the country.

D’Amore Law Group is a proud sponsor of Safe Kids Oregon, and of this special day at the Oregon Zoo.

Most distracted driving deaths don’t involve cell phone use, study says

“Lost in thought” was the main cause of fatal distracted driving accidents, according to a new study.

Erie Insurance looked at 2 years of U.S. police reports for more than 65,000 fatal car accidents: 10% named distracted driving as the primary cause of the crash.

Out of those 6,500 fatal car crashes attributed to distracted driving, 62% of the at-fault drivers claimed to be simply “lost in thought”, or just generally distracted.

Is it likely that distracted driving causes only 10% of motor vehicle accidents that result in a death?

Consider the following:  

• In over half of fatal traffic crashes, the driver is the casualty. Assuming they did not survive long enough for a police interview, that’s a huge gap in data.

• Look at non-fatal injury accidents for the same time period: nearly twice as many of those accidents are considered “distraction-affected crashes”. Why would the number of fatal accidents be so much lower than the number of injury accidents?

• Even when it’s not the driver who is killed – for example, a pedestrian collision – is it likely that the driver would both remember exactly, and also admit, what they were doing at the exact moment of the collision?

Regardless, the Erie Insurance study on distracted driving is important because it reminds us to try to be as manually, visually, and cognitively focused on driving as possible.

Saving lives and saving money: the real worth of injury and violence prevention

National Public Health Week – April 1-7, 2013 Every year, 180,000 people die from serious injuries and violence. Not only are these events tragic and primarily preventable, they cost more than $400 billion a year in medical bills, lost productivity and other costs.

“Motor vehicle crashes, falls, homicides, and other types of injury events kill more people in the first half of life than any other cause — including cancer, HIV, or the flu … The ROI in investment in public health is enormous.” – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

D’Amore Law Group is proud to invest in health and safety resources dedicated to actively preventing senseless tragedy. Kids health and safety:  Safe Kids and its regional coalitions keep track of safety resources for kids in Oregon, Washington and all over the country. Learn baby safety basics, take your car in for a free child safety seat check, or read about the most common injury risks for children at safekids.org. Driving and road safety:  Traffic fatalities are on the rise, and every day, more than 1000 people are seriously injured in a car crash caused by a distracted driver. The mission of EndDD.org is to educate students and the public on the real dangers and costs of distracted driving – and start a national conversation on how to prevent it. Public health:  Food safety, health and nutrition are a big part of national health and safety. See what the Oregon Food Bank is doing to fill the food gap for families in the Pacific Northwest. U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin talks about the goals of National Public Health Week in this short video.

Poison Control: One Thing You Should Know

Car accidents used to be the number one cause of accidental death in the U.S.; now that dubious distinction goes to unintentional poisoning.*

Poisonings are a common occurrence – about 10 million occur in the U.S. every year. Children and older adults are more likely to have poison accident, and more likely to be seriously physically injured from it.

National Poison Prevention Week reminds us that poisoning injury shouldn't be taken lightly. Every day, we are exposed to chemicals, medicines and other products that can cause adverse reactions, injury or even death if ingested or taken improperly.

If you think someone has been poisoned, call 1-800-222-1222.

Save this number. It connects you to your local poison center, any time of the day, and any day of the year. The safety experts can help you identify the next steps to take for the poisoned victim, and guide you to a doctor or hospital if necessary. The Oregon Poison Center, hosted by OHSU, takes more than 55,000 calls annually.         

____________________________________________________________________________________ *"Unintentional Motor Vehicle Traffic Accidents” are still the leading causes of death for teenagers and adults under 25 years old; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Why are Americans more distracted than Europeans?

Nearly 70% of Americans ages 18- 64 admit to talking on their phones while driving in the past 30 days.  A full 30% admitted to sending text messages.

Distracted driving is a lot more common in the U.S. than in Europe, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study, which compared drivers in 7 European countries and the U.S., found that for many Americans, using a cellphone while operating a motor vehicle has become a matter of habit –regardless of the danger.

In Britain, where there are strict laws against use, only 21% admitted talking on phone while driving.

One explanation for the disparity is that many European countries have adopted nation-wide laws on cellphone use while driving. In the U.S., laws vary by state and even by city. Although many states, including Oregon and Washington, have outlawed the use of mobile communications devices for drivers, laws are by no means uniform. Police enforcement varies widely, as does the fine or penalty.

There is a surprising cultural laxity about this issue. The huge majority of health and safety experts agree that talking on a cellphone, texting, and webbing while driving are all dangerous. Statistics show that our mobile devices are universally distracting:  even using a hands-free device can be a major distraction.

The reality is that texting while driving a car is at least six times as dangerous as driving drunk.

A few decades ago, drunken driving penalties began to increase dramatically, mostly thanks to social pressure from groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and others. At the time, at least 60% of car crashes – and most fatal accidents – involved drugs or alcohol. Now that number is closer to 30%:  still too many injuries and deaths, but a huge shift in a short time.

How long before we see the same attitude shift about distracted driving?

Block cellphone signals in cars to prevent distracted driving, researchers say

It’s an extreme idea. To reduce the growing distracted driving death toll, automatically disable cellphones in moving vehicles.

Researchers publishing in the Journal of the American Medical Association are proposing that cars and trucks should be engineered so that any hand-held device is rendered inoperable when the vehicle is in motion.

“Automobile and cell phone equipment manufacturers have the engineering capabilities to implement these safeguards, and they should be required to do so,” said Dr. Jeffrey Coben, the Director of the Injury Control Research Center at West Virginia University.

It’s a surprising conclusion. Previous studies on driver cellphone use did not even advocate for the practice to be legally banned. But cellphone use has grown exponentially in the last 10 years, and there is much more data on the number of auto accidents and fatalities caused by distracted driving. These factors led to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) calling for a full national ban on using mobile devices while driving.

The study authors suggest that a law alone is not sufficient. It can be very difficult for police officers to see what drivers are doing inside their cars, and some have suggested that accidents are actually more likely when people try to hide their phone use.

So is it remotely practical to attempt to block cellphone signals in cars? Among other objections, I expect there would be questions regarding passenger and emergency use, the cost of implementation, the variance between new and old cars, and last but not least, the necessity of such a drastic practice.

Researchers’ conclusions do not always lead to good policy – but good policy often comes from strong research. See details on the study in the Los Angeles Times, or on the JAMA website.

Related articles

Trial Lawyers Band Together to Stop Distracted Driving

WVU researchers weigh in on distracted driving

New moms are more tired, more distracted – and in more car accidents

New mothers may be the most distracted drivers on the road, according to the results of a survey by Safe Kids Worldwide and American Baby.

This isn't hard to imagine. New moms are exhausted, they’re turning around to attend to the baby in the backseat, and 78% admit to using their phones to text or call while driving. Worse, nearly 10% of the women surveyed had been in a car crash with their new baby in the car. That’s much higher than the average.

The NHTSA and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety offer a few tips to help new parents drive safely:

• Focus on the road – driving needs your full attention.
• Put your phone down – your car is not the place to multi-task.
• No eating or drinking – manual distractions are just as bad as cognitive distractions.
• No turning around – despite what your instinct tells you. If your baby is crying, pull the vehicle over and manage the situation.

Watch this video from Parents for more safe driving tips for new parents:

See also: One unexpected way your distracted driving could be tragic