Posts tagged "fatal accidents"

The California Office of Traffic Safety released some concerning news last week, concluding that even more Californians drive while taking dangerous drugs than drive drunk. According to the results from a statewide voluntary survey of weekend drivers, 14 percent of participants tested positive for various illegal and prescription substances.

These results have serious consequences for California motorists and pedestrians. Drunk driving is a leading cause of fatal crashes in the state and this new survey suggests that drugs are just as much of a problem.

Like 39 million other Americans, many Californians will be hitting the road in the next few days to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with loved ones. Many drivers might not know that Thanksgiving week is one of the most dangerous times on our highways.

In 2010, 431 people died in fatal traffic accidents on Thanksgiving Day alone - more than any other holiday that year. On average, the Thanksgiving week saw 798 fatal accidents between 2005 and 2010. This is a big increase from the overall average of 748 weekly fatalities for those years.

Drivers should be aware of several factors that can combine to cause motor vehicle accidents.

Earlier this week, we discussed a trucking accident that tragically killed a California family. The crash happened after a semi-truck failed to slow down to avoid stopped cars sitting in heavy traffic. That truck hit the family's cars at full free-way speeds of 75 miles per hour.

According to the wrongful death suit, driver fatigue was a big factor in the wreck. This post will look at some ways in which this issue could affect the case.

Federal safety rules require truck drivers to get plenty of rest so that they can stay alert on the roads. Before driving, truckers must have 10 continuous hours of off-duty rest time. Rested drivers can then spend 14 hours of "windshield time" behind the wheel before they have to take another 10 hours to rest and recover. These rules exist to prevent fatigue-related problems like impaired judgment or slowed reaction times.

After a California family died in a horrific trucking accident last month, the family's surviving loved ones filed a wrongful death suit against three truck companies and their drivers. Among other allegations, the suit claims that one of the drivers violated federal safety rules and that a safer driver could easily have prevented the fatal wreck.

This trucking accident occurred in September while the family was driving across country to move home to California from the east coast. The husband was driving one car while his wife rode with their two sons in a second vehicle.

Although wrong-way crashes are thankfully rare, they often involve alcohol and are usually extremely dangerous when they do occur. Both of those characteristics were present in a California crash that killed two people.

The alleged drunk driving accident happened shortly after 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday. A 68-year-old man drove a Ford F-150 onto Highway 152 near San Jose. He headed down the highway and straight into oncoming traffic. The truck smashed head-on into another car that had been driving in the right direction.

Exciting action movies usually translate poorly into the real world and illegal drag racing is no exception. After a major Hollywood blockbuster glamorized drag racing in 2001, races began occurring more frequently in American cities, often with destructive consequences. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association reported that drag races killed 153 people between 2001 and 2010.

This month, a criminal prosecution arising from a fatal car accident put drag races back in the news. A mother and her 2-year-old daughter died after a 23-year-old driver slammed into their car. The driver was participating in a drag race at speeds exceeding 85 miles per hour when the crash occurred. His passenger, a 13-year-old boy, also died. The driver will now serve a 45 month prison sentence.

Our last post covered some statistical insights into older drivers and vehicle safety. Although younger drivers cause more accidents than elders, the rate of crashes does increase as drivers pass age 80. Drivers over age 85 are often in accidents that involve catastrophic injuries or fatalities.

In response to concerns about the increasing risks that face elder drivers, states have begun to implement a variety of different safety measures. This post will look at some approaches.

To start with, one expert lays a conceptual foundation by pointing out that age is less important than health conditions. The problems that lead to impaired driving abilities tend to increase with age-but age itself is not the essential problem.

In late August, California received a painful reminder that older drivers may pose a larger safety risk than other motorists. A 100-year-old man backed his car into a group of school children, hospitalizing a number of them. With older drivers and car accident injuries back in the news, we are posting a two-part series on elder drivers and vehicle safety.

Today's post will present some accident trends involving older drivers. Check back later this week for an explanation of some steps that different states are taking to prevent these crashes.

Earlier this year a teenage driver lost control and killed a father and daughter in a town just east of San Francisco. This weekend saw a similar pedestrian accident in nearby Walnut Creek. A pickup truck drove onto the sidewalk and smashed into a group of four pedestrians, killing a 52-year-old mother and severely injuring her daughter-in-law.

The accident occurred shortly after 6:00 p.m. last Saturday night. The victim, a math teacher from Santa Barbara, was in Walnut Creek to visit her son and his new wife. The family was walking along a downtown sidewalk when the driver of a pickup truck crashed into them at high speed.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended recently that all non-emergency cellphone use while driving be banned across the country. The NTSB would like to see all states ban all cellphone use in order to reduce the number of fatal car accidents caused by distracted drivers.

Last year, the official total of fatalities from these accidents was 3,092, but the number may actually be higher since a distracted driver may die in a crash without leaving evidence of the distraction.

Currently, 35 states ban texting while driving and 30 ban all cellphone use by novice drivers. Ten states ban all handheld cellphone use by drivers, including California.

As discussed in the previous post, a common sleep disorder called sleep apnea affects a significant minority of truck drivers, creating an imminent hazard on our roadways. If left untreated, sleep apnea causes chronic fatigue, which can lead to fatal drowsy driving truck accidents.

Sleep apnea is treated by setting those with the condition up with a CPAP machine. The sleeper wears a mask over their nose and mouth while sleeping and the machine pumps air through a tube into the sleeper, which prevents their airway from closing and keeps them asleep to get needed rest.

A common sleep disorder has also been found to be common among semi-truck drivers and can lead to preventable drowsy driving accidents. A recent news piece on WCNC tells the story of a fatal semi-truck accident and explains that the truck driver who caused the accident had struggled with sleep apnea for years.

Sleep apnea is a condition when the back of the throat closes while a person is sleeping. This cuts off breathing and causes the sleeper to wake throughout the night, which disrupts necessary deep sleep and causes chronic fatigue.

The 29-year-old driver, who authorities say was responsible for a multiple-vehicle fatal accident, was arrested as soon as he was released from a San Jose trauma center. California Highway Patrol Officers arrested the man on charges of felony driving under the influence and felony vehicular manslaughter.

The accident occurred in the early morning hours, just before five o'clock, on Sunday morning north of Salinas. The crash involved three cars, one of which burst into flames after the collision. A 43-year-old Salinas man was killed in the crash.

A world class ballroom dancer, who was described as a rising star in the international ballroom dancing world, died Sunday after suffering head trauma in a motorcycle accident. In addition to dancing and competing in international dance competitions, the 30-year-old woman also taught at some of the most respected ballroom instruction schools around the Bay.

The accident happened at just after four in the afternoon on a wooded road in San Mateo County. The motorcycle collided with a Honda Civic travelling in the other direction. The accident remains under investigation to determine the exact sequence of events that led to the crash.

A California man lost his life in a four-vehicle collision on Monday morning. The chain-reaction crash occurred on State Highway 12 just west of the Solano County line. The fatal accident involved three passenger vehicles as well as semi truck that was hauling a bulldozer. The bulldozer had been used to fight wildfires in the area over the weekend.

According to an article in the San Jose Mercury News, the man who lost his life was driving his Ford westbound when he crossed over the center line into the oncoming lane of traffic. His car was struck head-on by the semi truck. The collision knocked the Ford back into the westbound lane where it struck a Toyota minivan that had been following the Ford.

A man who bled to death at Olympic National Park after being gored by a male mountain goat had allegedly told the park about an aggressive goat before his death. However, it is unknown if he was complaining about the same 370-pound animal that killed him. According to park officials, there is no way to be sure.

The wrongful death claims, in addition to personal injury claims against the park, are totaling more than $10 million.

Not merely a dog bite case, a fatal pit bull attack on a pregnant wife occurred recently in Pacifica, California. Pit bulls are often in the news for attacking people. Historically, these dogs were bred and trained to fight. However, the breed was never raised to kill humans.

So-called "backyard breeding" is commonplace among pit bull owners because they can sell puppies for hundreds of dollars. However, many such breeders do not obey local laws regarding the required treatment of the dogs.

When a motorist negligently drives and causes an injury accident or a fatal accident, the victim or the victim's survivors are legally entitled to seek compensation from the negligent driver. There are many forms of negligent driving, including driving while intoxicated, driving too fast, driving while distracted, failing to yield and failing to watch the road. The effects of the above types of negligent driving are well understood. However, a new and less understood type of negligent driving is now having a large impact on California roads.

Like drunk driving, driving while drugged or high hurts a driver's judgment and reaction time. With the increased prevalence of medical marijuana in California, the rate of drugged driving has skyrocketed over the past few years.

Amusement park owners can be legally responsible for the injuries suffered by their guests. If a guest is injured by a dangerous condition in the amusement park or because of improperly maintained and operated rides, then the amusement park owners are obligated to compensate the injured guest the injuries.

As millions of Californians flock to amusement parks this summer, they were horrified to learn of a fatal amusement park accident last week. A 29-year-old Army veteran died in a fatal accident on a roller coaster. The U.S. Army Sergeant was riding a roller coaster that was capable of speeds near 70 miles per hour and heights higher than 200 feet when he was ejected from the ride.

Late last month, a 90-year-old woman drove through the wall of a nursing home, killing two in the fatal car accident. An investigation indicated that the elderly driver apparently applied pressure to the gas pedal rather than the brake, sending the vehicle careening through the wall of the building.

The fatal accident has called to the light the issue of older drivers behind the wheel and whether they are proficient in their abilities.