Galveston-Texas City, TX Metro/Personal Injury - Plaintiff Blog

At a time when overall highway fatalities continue to decrease, those involving motorcycles are increasing in both overall number and fatality rates, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents

The most common type of motorcycle accident occurs when a vehicle violates a motorcycle's right of way at an intersection, according to the Department of Transportation. Generally, this happens when a car turns left in front of an oncoming motorcycle.

Another common cause involves vehicles following motorcycles too closely. Motorcycles take longer to stop than many anticipate. If a rider attempts to stop with both breaks too quickly the bike will slide and balance can be lost.

Distracted driving has received a great deal of attention in recent months as an emerging threat on our nation's roadways. No matter the activity - whether it be texting, talking on a cell phone or using a GPS device - experts agree that distracted driving is a dangerous practice.

However, statistics recently compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for 2010 indicate that drunk driving is still responsible for more fatal motor vehicle accidents than distracted driving. According to the NHTSA, about nine percent of traffic fatalities in 2010 were caused by distracted driving while nearly 31 percent of deaths were linked to alcohol use. Of course, this does not mean that distracted driving is safe.

Every day in the United States, more than 800,000 vehicles are operated by someone using a hand-held device while driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Use of cellphones is the primary type of distracted driving, which NHTSA defines as any activity that involves a driver:

• Taking his eyes off the road
• Removing his hands from the steering wheel
• Taking his mind off of the task of driving safely

In 2009, more than 5,400 people died and some 448,000 were injured in crashes attributable to distracted driving, according to NHTSA. Many of those were directly attributed to cellphone use.

In light of all of the indicators that using a phone while driving makes the roads more dangerous for everyone, many states have passed legislation banning the use of cell phones in some form while driving. The Texas state legislature tried to add Texas to the list of such states during the 2011 session but Gov. Rick Perry vetoed the bill, despite overwhelming support for the proposed law in both the House and the Senate. The disagreement between the executive and legislative branches highlights the debate in Texas between those wanting legislation banning cell phone use while driving and those who believe there are more effective ways to accomplish the goal of reducing auto accidents attributable to distracted drivers.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 20 percent of motor vehicle accidents involving injuries in 2009 involved distracted drivers. Of those accidents, 998 - or about 18 percent - involved a driver using a cell phone. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that a driver using a hand-held cellular device is four times more likely to get into an accident that injures him or her. A University of Utah study showed that drivers using cell phones had reaction times as slow as drivers with a .08 percent BAC.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) may implement rules that will lower the speed limit for trucks to 68 miles per hour, and compel truckers to install an electronic control monitor - a device that would ensure that these vehicles do not exceed the new speed limit. The rule would affect heavy commercial trucks that weigh more than 26,000 pounds.

Although the process for implementing this rule will begin in 2012, it's uncertain whether or not this rule will be passed. NHTSA says that the decision will be made, in part, based on the results of a study being conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The agency is also taking into consideration over 3,000 comments it has received from those who support and oppose implementing the rule.

According to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, distracted driving is a deadly epidemic on America's roads. To help stop this grave danger, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has launched a new safe-driving campaign called Talk. Text. Crash.

In April, 2011, TxDOT implemented the Talk. Text. Crash. program to raise awareness of the dangers associated with distracted driving and to encourage Texans to put down their cell phones while driving. Karen Peoples, TxDOT Traffic Safety Coordinator, said the intent behind the initiative is to "get the great people of our state to limit their distractions" while driving.

Safe driving requires drivers' complete attention and coordination of their eyes, hands, ears, feet and brains. Any distraction from that coordination, such as talking or texting on a cell phone, is dangerous and can lead to car wrecks resulting in severe injuries or even death.

In May of this year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hosted a forum with federal officials, safety experts and the trucking and bus industries meant to open a discussion about what is currently being done to prevent deadly truck and bus crashes.

Although fatalities resulting from truck accidents have dropped to 3,200 in 2009 from over 5,200 in 2005, authorities are worried that the decline is due only to a general decline in driving due to the weak economy.

Large coaches and buses carry over 700 million passengers every year in the U.S., of whom an average of 20 die in motor vehicle accidents. Tour buses were involved in 338 fatal crashes between 2000 and 2009.

A report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows an increase in the level of drug involvement among drivers killed in car accidents from 2005 to 2009. While the NHTSA said that drug involvement does not necessarily mean the driver was impaired or that drug use caused the crash, drivers under the influence of drugs can be dangerous and heighten the risk of car wrecks when driving impaired.

The NHTSA created its report using drug-involvement information collected through its Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). According to the NHTSA, FARS collected data in three categories: whether the driver was tested for drugs, the type of test conducted and the test results. FARS also collects information on the presence of legally-prescribed medicine, over-the-counter medications and illegal drugs in people fatally injured in car accidents, including:

• Narcotics
• Steroids
• Stimulants
• Depressants
• Inhalants
• Hallucinogens
• Cannabinoids
• Phencyclidines (PCP)