Articles Posted in Car Accidents

Per a 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, about 10.5 million people in the 12 and over age group admitted to driving under the influence of illegal drugs in the year before they were surveyed. The age group that had the highest percentage of drivers that drove while on drugs was the 21 to 25 young adult demographic.

At Altman & Altman, LLP, our Boston car accident lawyers represent victims that have suffered serious injuries or lost loved ones in Massachusetts drugged driving accidents. Contact us today.

A drug doesn’t have to be illegal for it to impair one’s driving abilities, potentially causing a serious traffic crash. Even some over-the-counter medications may impair one’s vision, hearing, judgment, and abilities to react, act, respond, and process. Mix drugs with alcohol and the combination can be lethal for everyone involved.

Our Boston personal injury law firm represents victims that were involved in serious Massachusetts motor vehicle crashes. There can be many reasons why a traffic crash might happen. Drunken driving, distracted driving, drugged driving, speeding, carelessness, recklessness, drowsy driving, and auto defects are among the more common causes. Another cause of auto injuries and deaths is driver inexperience, which is common among teen drivers. Many of them lack the experience behind the steering wheel that can only come from years of actually operating a motor vehicle.

In the last few days, three tragic auto accidents involving teens in three different states have been a powerful reminder that teen driving can be dangerous. In Ohio early Sunday, six teenagers were killed when the stolen SUV that they were riding in overturned on a guardrail. The driver and five of the passengers died. Two other teens survived the collision.

Also on Sunday in Texas, five teens in a Chevrolet SUV were killed when the vehicle they were in crashed into a gasoline tanker. According to officials, the driver, age 16, failed to halt at a stop sign and collided with the large truck at an intersection. Everyone in the vehicle, including two sisters, died.

In Illinois, four teens were found dead in a sedan in a creek bed on Tuesday morning. The two girls and two boys ranged in age from 15 to 17.

According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, per miles driven, teen drivers are three times more likely than older motorists to be involved in a deadly collision. Auto crashes continue to be the number one cause of youth fatalities in this country.

The common causes of motor vehicle crashes that we mentioned above are some of the same reasons that Massachusetts teen driving accidents happen. That said, our Boston car crash lawyers cannot stress how the inexperience of youth can truly impact a teen driver’s ability to navigate challenging road conditions, bad weather, emergency situations, and rush hour traffic.

Ohio to Texas to Illinois: Toll of teen driving deaths rises, Los Angeles Times, March 12, 2013

Teen Drivers, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Massachusetts Teen Driving Guide, DMV

More Blog Posts:
Recent Tragic Car Crashes A Reminder that Teen Driving Can Be Dangerous, Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog, March12, 2013

Former Middleboro, MA Teacher Dies in Tragic Car Crash, Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog, March 12, 2013

Child Left Alone for Hours on Cambridge, MA School Bus, Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog, March 12, 2013 Continue reading

At least 30 fans were injured today when a racecar at the Daytona International Speedway flew from the track through the fence and into the grandstands. No fatalities have been reported.

The racecar collision involving multiple vehicles happened as they came toward the finish line. A car, driven by rookie racer Kyle Larson went airborne as it collided with the wreck, entering the grandstands. Pieces of the vehicle also landed in the crowd, including one of its tires.

According to Joie Chitwood, the Speedway president, 14 people were transported to hospitals while 14 others were injured. However, local officials believe the numbers may be a little higher. Chitwood says that even though fans were lined along the fence where Larson’s vehicle crash-landed through, there was a buffer there and all safety protocols had been in place.

Even though texting while driving has been banned in Massachusetts, this doesn’t mean that people are not engaging in distracted driving habits that are just as risky albeit legal. A Boston Globe article today reports on just this trend from the results of an operation carried out this month by police officers in West Bridgewater who were looking for drivers that were interacting with their cell phones while operating their vehicles.

51 motorists were pulled over for texting while driving. 37 of these people were given warnings or $100 citations. However, 14 were let go because, according to them, they weren’t actually texting but, rather, they were looking at directions or dialing the phone to make a call. Both activities are distractions, but both are legal to do on the road. Still, they can cause Boston car accidents.

Such distinctions between what is legal and what isn’t among distracted driving habits can make it tough for police to determine who is actually breaking the law by texting while driving and who is just getting ready to make a phone call or using their device as a map.

At Altman & Altman, LLP, our Boston injury lawyers represent clients injured in Massachusetts motor vehicle crashes that were caused by other negligent parties, and although following asleep at the steering wheel might not seem like an intentionally reckless act, if a driver causes an traffic collision as a result, it can be grounds for a Massachusetts personal injury or wrongful death. Auto accidents caused by asleep or drowsy drivers occur more often than one would like to think.

A recent report from the CDC revealed that 4.2% of adults admitted they had fallen asleep while driving at least one time in the last month. Our Boston car accident law firm doesn’t have to tell you that this is the equivalent to having a moving car on the road with no one at the steering wheel.

The report’s findings come from a survey of over 147,000 in DC and 19 states in 2009 and 2010. The report’s lead author, Dr. Wheaton, said that although a 4.2% national average seemed high, the actual number of motorists that actually do fall asleep while operating a more vehicle is more. She noted that the reason for this is sometimes a motorist may doze off for just a couple of seconds and not even realize it. While adult drivers in the 25 to 34 age range were most at risk of falling asleep while driving, senior motorists in the 65 and older age group were the ones least like to nod off. Also, more men drivers than women fell asleep.