Bus Accidents

July 3, 2009

Massachusetts Traffic Deaths Drop 16% to 363 Fatalities in 2008

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is reporting a 16% drop in the number of Massachusetts traffic deaths between 2007 and 2008. 363 people died in traffic accidents throughout the state last year. 434 people died in 2007.

Worcester County and Middlesex County tied for first place as the counties with the most traffic fatalities-56 deaths each. The state of Massachusetts also saw a decline in the number of drunk driving-related deaths by 20% from 155 fatalities in 2007 to 124 deaths in 2008.

More 2008 Massachusetts Traffic Facts:
227 vehicle occupant deaths 422 drivers that died At least 61 of the drivers were younger than 21 At least 120 of these victims were not properly restrained at the time of their deaths 42 motorcycle deaths-a drop from the 62 Massachusetts motorcycle rider fatalities in 2007 75 pedestrian deaths

Nationally, the US Department of Transportation reported a 9.7% decline in traffic deaths between 2007 and 2008. 37,261 people died in US traffic accidents last year, with substantial drops in nearly every major category, including light truck occupant fatalities and passenger car occupant deaths.

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood also noted that the country had implemented major steps to improve road and vehicle safety, increase seat belt use, and decrease the number of drunk driving accidents.

More 2008 US Traffic Statistics:
2,346,000 injuries 11,773 alcohol impaired-related fatalities 5,811,000 traffic accidents 677 large truck deaths
5,290 motorcycle fatalities 4.378 pedestrian deaths 716 pedalcyclist fatalities 23,000 large truck injuries 96,000 motorcycle injuries 69,000 pedestrian injuries 52,000 pedalcyclist injuries
While the overall decline in traffic deaths is of positive note, there are still too many people getting hurt or dying in Massachusetts traffic crashes. In many instances, an injured person’s own motor vehicle or medical insurance is not enough to cover all recovery costs, medical expenses, and lost wages.

Mass. traffic deaths drop 16 percent in 2008, Boston.com, July 3, 2009
Overall Traffic Fatalities Reach Record Low in 2008, NHTSA
Related Web Resources:
View State-by-State 2008 Data, NHTSA
2008 Traffic Safety Annual Assessment- Highlights (PDF)
Continue reading

May 26, 2009

Boston Personal Injury Law Firm: Massachusetts Senate Approves Amendment Banning Texting and All Internet Use While Driving

by Altman & Altman

Last Thursday, the Massachusetts Senate included and approved in its version of the state budget an amendment banning Internet use while driving-this includes text messaging, emailing, or surfing the Web while operating a motor vehicle. Bus drivers, train operators, trolley drivers, and the drivers of other public transit vehicles would be banned from holding a cell phone while driving and would only be allowed to carry the device for emergency purposes. Transit drivers that violate the ban would be fined $500. Drivers would have to pay an insurance surcharge, in addition to a $75 fine.

The amendment is intended to prevent Massachusetts motor vehicle accidents from occurring because motorists are texting while driving and comes one day after Rebecca Solomon, a Methuen teen driver, died in a single-car collision. Police are trying to determine whether the 18-year-old high school senior was texting while driving.

Earlier this month, the MBTA imposed an emergency cell phone ban on its vehicle operators following a multi-trolley crash occurred right after the trolley driver had been text messaging with his girlfriend. Nearly 50 people were injured in the Boston MBTA accident.

According to a study commissioned by Vlingo, a Cambridge, Massachusetts speech-recognition technology maker for cell phones, 1 in 4 US drivers say they text message while driving, with younger drivers more likely to engage in this form of distracted driving behavior than their older counterparts. Among those surveyed:

• Almost 60% of teen drivers say they text and drive.
• 49% of 20 – 29 year-olds send and receive texts while operating a motor vehicle.
• 13% of motorists over 50 text while driving.
• 83% of the 4,816 online survey participants think texting while driving should be banned.

Time and again, texting while driving is proving to be a dangerous habit that can cause serious motor vehicle injuries or deaths. Teenagers that text while driving are a high-risk group when it comes to getting involved in or causing a Boston motor vehicle crash. A new Nielsen study says the average teen sends almost 80-text messages daily. The habit, which even adults find hard to break, can prove fatal when an inexperience teen driver is texting while behind the steering wheel of a car.

Massachusetts Senate Budget Bans Texting while Driving, Insurance Journal, May 26, 2009
Mass. high school student dies in car crash, Telegram.com, May 21, 2009
Driving While Texting Still Popular Despite Bans: Survey, VOXEO, May 20, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Cell Phone Driving Laws, GHSA
National Safety Council
Continue reading

January 27, 2009

Seat Belts and Air Bags Together Are Key to Preventing Spine Fractures During Motor Vehicle Accidents

by Altman & Altman

New information in the February 2009 issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine offers convincing evidence that the combined use of seat belts and air bags is the best protection that auto accident victims can have from sustaining spine fractures. The findings are based on an examination of over 20,000 motor vehicle crash victims who were treated in Wisconsin hospitals between 1994 and 2002.

According to the study:
• The number one cause of spinal cord injuries is motor vehicle accidents.
• Becoming involved in an auto crash in a vehicle equipped with air bags and while using a seat belt lowered the chances of an accident victim sustaining a spine fracture.
• Just 14% of the drivers and front seat passengers who were victims of motor vehicle crashes had the protection of both a seat belt and an air bag.
• 38% of the accident victims were not using seat belts.
• Out of the 2,530 victims with spine fractures who were part of the study, 64 of them died in hospitals.
• Kinds of spine fractures: 1,067 of them were cervical fractures, 1,034 were lumbosacral fractures, and 565 were thoracic fractures.
• Auto accident victims that were using an air bag and not a seat belt had a greater chance of sustaining a severe thoracic spine fracture.

Evidence from the study was based on information about air bag and seat belt usage combined with spine fracture incidences. Some 20,276 auto accident victims were part of the study. All of the individuals had be either front seat passengers or drivers, 16 years of age or older. They also had to not have been thrown from the vehicle during the crash, and complete ICD-9CM data had to be provided.

One of the authors of the study, Marjorie C. Wang, MD, MPH from the Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, says that federal and state governments should dedicate more resources toward making sure that motor vehicle occupants use air bags and seat belts together.

Spinal Fractures
A spinal fracture is when at least one vertebrae in the back or neck breaks. While many spine fracture cases are not serious enough to warrant surgery, more serious spinal fractures can result in spinal cord injuries, paralysis, severe pain, and death. Failing to treat existing fractures can lead to progressed deformity and the ability to live a healthy, normal life.

Research: Air Bags/Seat Belts Important in Preventing Spine Fractures, Huliq News, January 26, 2009
Spinal Fractures, Spine Universe.com

Related Web Resources:

Journal of Neurology: Spine

Spinal Cord Injuries, Medline Plus Continue reading

January 20, 2009

Investigators Probe Cause of Massachusetts Bus Accident that Injured 5 People

by Altman & Altman

In Massachusetts, an investigation is taking place into a bus crash that occured last Sunday night in Grafton. Five people were injured and taken to UMass Medical Center in Worcester.

The bus, carrying 30 passengers, was headed to the Mohegan Sun casino when its driver crashed through a Massachusetts Turnpike guardrail and stopped in the woods. The reason for why the bus went off the road is unclear. Bus driver Jian Kang Chen works for Sunshine Travel Services. The Massachusetts bus company has offices in Quincy and Boston.

Sunday was a tough time in general for Massachusetts drivers to be on the road. Due to heavy snow, a winter advisory was issued that lowered the speed limit on Massachusetts highways to 40 mph. Throughout the state, snowfall was between 4 and 6 inches.

Bus Accidents
Bus accidents can result in serious injuries for passengers, who usually are not wearing seatbelts, as well as any other motorists and pedestrians involved in the collision.

Many buses are common carriers. This means that bus drivers must exercise even greater caution than other motorists to make sure that their passengers and other people on the roads are safe.

If you are injured in a Massachusetts bus accident, there are steps that an experienced Boston personal injury lawyer can take to successfully pursue financial recovery on your behalf if another party was negligent. Not only can a negligent bus driver or bus operator be held financially responsible for your personal injury or your loved one’s wrongful death, but the manufacturer of a defective bus or another driver may also be liable.

Bus Accident Facts:
• Some 360 million people ride buses every year.
• There are at least 30,000 commercial buses that travel on US roads.

Bus crashes in Grafton, Boston.com, January 19, 2009
Inquiry launched into Pike bus crash, Boston.com, January 20, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Sunshine Travel Services
Continue reading

August 19, 2008

NHTSA Releases 2007 Traffic Accident Statistics

by Altman & Altman

This month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released its 2007 Annual Assessment of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Fatalities and People Injured data. Statistics for last year indicate a 3.9% percent decrease in traffic accident fatalities between 2006 and 2007.

Overall traffic accident deaths for 2007 was 41,059, down from 42,708 in 2006, with injuries also decreasing from 2,575,000 in 2006 to 2,491,000 in 2007.

Other 2007 US Traffic Facts:

Passenger vehicle deaths: 28,933 Injuries: 2,221,000
Motorcycle deaths: 5,154 Injuries: 103,000
Pedestrian Deaths: 4,654 Injuries: 70,000
Bicyclist Deaths: 698 Injuries: 43,000
Large Truck Occupant Deaths: 802
The NHTSA also provided 2007 traffic accident statistics for the state of Massachusetts: 417 deaths.

According to US Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters, the decline in total motor vehicle deaths can be attributed to more aggressive law enforcement measures at both the state and federal levels, as well as the manufacturing of safer motor vehicles.

Read the Summary of the 2007 Annual Assessment of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Fatalities and People Injured (PDF)

Related Web Resources:

Massachusetts Highway Department

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Continue reading

March 8, 2008

Series of School Bus Accidents Raise Issues of Children’s Safety

by Altman & Altman

A recent string of school bus accidents across the United States have caused parents to question the safety of the transportation vehicle normally considered the safest type of transportation for school kids.

Just this week, three people were injured, including one student on Friday near Zoarville, Ohio, when a school bus was involved in a multi-vehicle collision.

On Monday, a Georgia school bus carrying 27 junior and high school students overturned on the drive to school. 11 children were taken to the hospital for medical attention. Injuries included back and neck injuries.

On Tuesday, in Harrisonburg, Virginia, 28 people suffered injuries in a multi-crash collision involving a car and two school buses because the 70-year-old bus driver of one of the buses ran a traffic signal.

Last month, four students died and 14 people were hurt in Minnesota when a school bus struck a van and then a pickup truck before tipping over.

On February 27, five junior high school students were seen by hospital staff because they were involved in a rollover collision that occurred because the driver turned the bus too fast.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that 25.1 million kids ride 474,000 school buses to and from school throughout the United States. In 2005, 8,000 children sustained injuries in a school bus accident. Some 17,000 kids are treated in emergency rooms because of school bus crashes.

Common causes of school bus-related injuries include:

• School bus crashes • Kids getting off the bus and being struck by the bus or an approaching motor vehicle • Children slipping and falling on the buses • Kids getting hurt when the driver steps on the breaks or turns to quickly

Common causes of school bus accidents:

• Speeding • Driver inattention • Driver inexperience • Lack of driver training • Poor road conditions
Federal law does not require that school buses provide seat belts for kids.

3 injured in TV school bus, car collision, Timesreporter.com, March 7, 2008
Concerns for Kids’ Safety on the Rise After Spate of Yellow Bus Accidents, FoxNews.com, March 5, 2008

Related Web Resources:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

National Coalition for School Bus Safety
Continue reading

February 14, 2008

Thousands of Massachusetts Drivers Have Been Involved In Multiple Motor Vehicle Accidents

by Altman & Altman

Approximately 87,000 Massachusetts drivers have been in at least two motor vehicle accidents from 2002 through June 2007. 8,400 of these drivers have been in three crashes. Some 1,100 were in four auto collisions. Some 220 people have been in at least five accidents. Yet a number of these drivers continue to return to the roads. There are 4.7 million Massachusetts drivers.

The Boston Globe looked at 750,000 accident records from the Registry of Motor Vehicles. According to the study:

• Males are more frequently involved in motor vehicle accidents than females.
• Drivers 25 years of age and under are involved in 30% of the crashes.
• Fridays, after midnight, and after rush hour are the times when accidents are most likely to occur.

According to state and public safety officials, common causes of motor vehicle accidents in Massachusetts include:

• Negligence • Aggressive driving
• Driver inexperience • Bad road designs • Bad weather
In one recent deadly hit and run accident, the driver, Craig P. Bigos had at least six tickets and two motor vehicle crashes on his driving record. He was also driving with an expired license. Bigos allegedly hit a 13-year-old pedestrian while text messaging. He faces a motor vehicle homicide charge.

In 2004, a repeat offender heading to a methadone clinic struck a 55-year-old man in Kingston. In 2005, a 76-year-old Upton farmer, who has been in five accidents in six years, drove his tractor into a truck driven be an off-duty cop.

Accidents waiting to happen, Boston.com, February 10, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles

2004-2006 Massachusetts Crash Statistics
Continue reading

February 12, 2008

Jury Awards Brain Damaged-Massachusetts Woman Hit by MBTA Bus $10 Million Personal Injury Verdict

by Altman & Altman

A jury in Massachusetts has awarded Louise Scialdone, a 58-year-old Somerville resident, $10 million in her personal injury lawsuit against the Massachusetts Transportation Bay Authority (MBTA). The total sum, interest included, is nearly $12.8 million.

Scialdone sustained a traumatic brain injury when an MBTA bus hit her on February 4, 2004. Scialdone used work with the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance as a clerk.

Scialdone had a walker because she suffers from arthritis. She was struck while waiting for the bus at the stop on McGrath Highway.

October 30, 2007

Massachusetts Pedestrian is Struck by MBTA Bus in Quincy

by Altman & Altman

A 62-year-old female pedestrian sustained serious leg injuries today after being struck by a MBTA Bus while at the Quincy Center MBTA station in Quincy, Massachusetts.

The bus accident took place at around 6am at the bus pick-up area. According to the bus driver, he was just leaving the bus way, after dropping off passengers, and turning left when the accident happened.

Police are investigating the accident.

Buses are “common carriers.” This means that the bus driver and bus company owes the public the “utmost duty of care” in ensuring that they do not injure pedestrians, bus passengers, or other motor vehicle riders when on the road. Bus drivers and carriers are therefore held to a higher standard of negligence than regular motor vehicle drivers. This is why, if you are injured in a bus accident in Massachusetts, you should speak with an experienced personal injury attorney that knows how to deal with bus crash cases.

Injuries that can be sustained in a bus accident include:

• Broken bones • Traumatic brain injuries • Internal injuries • Neck injuries • Burn Injuries
Common causes of bus accidents:

• Driver negligence • Inattention • Improper maintenance • Bad weather • Text messaging and cell phone use while driving • Defective products
Public buses are usually owned by a local, regional, or state transportation department. Filing for compensation from a government body, a government employee, or its insurance company can be a lot harder to do than filing a claim against the insurance company of a car driver or motorcyclist.

Pedestrian Struck by MBTA bus, the Patriot Ledger, October 30, 2007
Related Web Resources:

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Continue reading