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Author: Anthony Proffitt

Categories
Motorcycle Accidents

CDC reiterates ‘Helmets Save Lives’ stance

Quite often motorcyclists argue that they should have the freedom to decide whether they wear a helmet when they ride. Some don’t like the restriction of wearing a helmet, even if it offers protection.

Others would argue that in the case of motorcycle accidents, helmets save lives. And the statistics certainly seem to back that up, as evidenced by new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Rather unsurprisingly, the research shows that fewer motorcyclists die in the states that require motorcycle helmets. On top of that, about five times as many no-helmet bikers are killed in states with laws that are less restrictive.

Only about 12 percent of no-helmet deaths occurred in one of the 20 states that require everyone to wear a helmet. Data focused on a total of 14,283 motorcyclist deaths between 2008 and 2010. Over 6,000 of those motorcyclists were not wearing a helmet.

In addition to the number of deaths, the research found that helmets cut down on costs as well. In 2010, for example, it is estimated that helmets saved more than $3 billion in economic costs in the U.S. alone. That reportedly includes lost work productivity and medical expenses.

It’s not all or nothing. Some states mandate that teens and other riders wear helmets. And a handful of states don’t require riders to wear helmets, but require that they carry higher amounts in medical insurance.

Some say it shouldn’t matter what the bikers themselves want. The lead author of the study says simply, “These laws save lives.”

Source: Ocala.com, “CDC: Motorcycle helmet laws reduce deaths,” June 14, 2012

Categories
Car Accidents

Cars will soon warn each other about impending collisions

Wouldn’t it be nice if our cars were able to sense that a crash was about to happen? It might sound like something out of “The Twilight Zone” but it’s about to come a reality. Technology has progressed to the point that cars will be able to “communicate” with each other to warn of potential car accidents.

Later this summer, the government will begin a year-long test that will involve about 3,000 volunteer drivers. It’s unknown when the technology might become commonplace; it may depend on how the test goes.

Here’s an example of how it could work. Say you are about to drive through a busy intersection on a green light while going 45 mph. Unbeknownst to you, there is a driver about to speed through the intersection on a red light. Even before you can see the vehicle, your car knows about it. It sends a row of red lights flashing just below the windshield. You brake and stop just in time to avoid getting T-boned by the other car.

How does it work, you may ask? The cars would communicate over wireless networks, sometimes 10 times per second, with other vehicles that have the same technology and that are within about 1,000 feet. The information is then analyzed by a computer and warnings are sent to the driver if necessary.

It may be hard to imagine, but in a few years’ time, your car may be telling you what to do. And it may just save your life.

Source: Sun Times, “Cars avoid each other by ‘communicating’ with each other,” Joan Lowy, June 10, 2012

Categories
Drunk Driving Accidents

Man facing vehicular homicide charges for hit-and-run

A couple of weeks ago, we told you about a horrific hit-and-run accident that left two people dead. Police arrested the driver shortly thereafter, and now a grand jury has indicted him on six counts for his role in the fatal car accident.

The crash happened when two women ran out of gas outside a Knoxville residence. A man who lived there came out to help them and gave them gas. Before the women could leave, a car came speeding down the street and hit one of the women and the man. They both died, as did the woman’s unborn fetus.

As it turns out, the Tennessee man who was behind the wheel had a previous DUI conviction, and had also been arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia. For the recent incident, a Knox County grand jury recently returned a six-count indictment against him. He is seeing three counts of vehicular homicide, as well as one count of DUI, one count of reckless endangerment and one count of tampering with evidence.

The 22-year-old man recently graduated from the University of Tennessee. He turned himself in last week and was being held on $300,000 bond. His attorney says that he hopes he will be released, either by posting bond or having it reduced. He’s planning to plead not guilty to the charges.

A police affidavit, however, indicates the man admitted to his roommate that he hit the victims after a night of drinking. Someone he knew later called the police.

Source: WBIR, “Recent UT grad charged in triple-fatal hit-and-run; has previous DUI conviction,” June 7, 2012

Categories
Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

Two killed in chase; officers ‘acted appropriately’

When people try to evade police, they are putting themselves at risk. Not only could they be later facing legal consequences, but traveling at high speeds may endanger their own lives. Sadly, it’s not all that uncommon.

Two Tennessee men were killed in a car accident in Loudoun County earlier this week when a police chase turned deadly. The chain of events was apparently set off by a report of two burglaries in the area.

Officers were reportedly searching for a Chevy bronze pickup truck that was involved in the burglaries. An officer responding to an alarm at one of the burglarized businesses, Good Fellas Tobacco and Beer Outlet, on Highway 72, spotted the pickup. He called other officers, who took off after the truck. That’s when the chase ensued.

The driver of the Chevy truck would not pull over and ultimately crashed after a couple of miles when the driver lost control. The 45-year-old driver was killed, as was a 31-year-old passenger. Another passenger was injured and taken to a nearby hospital.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol was investigating the accident, but there doesn’t appear to be any wrongdoing by the police officers, at least according to the police chief. He says that the incident was reviewed and that the officers’ actions were in accordance with policies in the department.

The police officers were not injured in the incident. News reports didn’t indicate the condition of the injured passenger, who was recovering at UT Medical Center.

Source: WBIR, “Loudon officers involved in fatal pursuit ‘acted appropriately’,” June 5, 2012

Categories
Car Accidents

Teens may encourage fellow drivers to put the phone down

There are all sorts of laws aimed at protecting teen drivers and passengers. In addition to laws that limit talking on a cellphone while driving, and banning texting while driving, there are also graduated licensing laws in some states to slowly introduce teens to driving.

A new study, though, finds that one way to get teens to put down their phones while they are behind the wheel is to listen to fellow teenage passengers. And it may be preventing car accidents.

Of course, having teen passengers in a car driven by a teen is a risk in itself as a study earlier this year showed. In April, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety issued a report that revealed that teenage drivers are much more likely to die in a crash if they are carrying teen passengers in the car.

But a new survey by Consumer Reports finds that nearly half of the 1,000 teens surveyed said that they were less likely to talk on a cellphone while driving if they had peers in the car with them. In general, 27 percent responded that they had texted while driving, and 47 percent had talked on a non-hands-free phone.

But teens overwhelmingly said that they believe that distracted driving is a big problem. And 49 percent of them reported asking a fellow teen driver to put down a phone to avoid distracted driving.

It’s hard to know what to make of the data. Does it mean that all the news stories about the dangers of texting and talking on the phone while driving are finally starting to get through? We can hope.

Source: Chicago Tribune, “Can teens prevent friends from texting while driving?” Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, May 30, 2012

Categories
Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

Police nab hit-and-run driver in deadly Knoxville crash

Running out of gas is an annoyance, but it’s usually not dangerous. However, when people are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, tragedy can strike. That’s especially true when other drivers approach the area in a reckless manner. That appears to be what happened in a fatal accident in Knoxville early yesterday morning.

Two women, one of whom was several months pregnant, apparently ran out of gas outside a man’s Knoxville residence on Washington Pike at about 2 a.m. They sought help from the man, who got them some gas and fueled up their car.

The women hugged the man as a thank-you just as they were about to leave. Just then, a Ford SUV came barreling down the road at a high speed and crashed into the man and the pregnant woman. The other woman avoided being hit.

Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene, and the woman’s unborn child did not survive either. The driver of the SUV, meanwhile, fled after striking them.

It’s not clear yet exactly how, but officers found the SUV yesterday and were able to identify the driver. They indicated they would issue arrest warrants once they finished processing the vehicle. Authorities won’t publicly identify the driver until he is arrested, but that appears imminent. The man has already hired an attorney to represent him, according to reports.

It’s not known what charges he could be facing, but they will likely be serious.

Source: Local 8 Online, “Police find driver, SUV in deadly hit and run,” May 30, 2012

Categories
Car Accidents

Several students recovering after serious Knox County wreck

As recent research has shown, a teen driver with multiple teen passengers in the car is more likely to get into car accidents than a teen driving alone or with older passengers. A recent wreck in Knox County seems to lend credence to that argument.

An 18-year-old woman was driving a Subaru with five teenage passengers. According to Knox County officers, the teens left someone’s house late at night and were “goofing off.” Driver error apparently led the vehicle to miss a turn, and it crashed into a tree on Mourfield Road near Bluegrass Road.

Many of the students, including seniors who graduated from the Christian Academy of Knoxville last week, were injured. One, a basketball player at the school, underwent surgery over the weekend after she suffered internal injuries and head trauma. She also suffered several facial fractures.

Doctors say that she has made good progress as she recovers at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. In the meantime, her friends, family and others at the school were keeping vigil. All of the passengers involved in the crash stayed with the family at the hospital.

Other injuries suffered by passengers in the vehicle include a broken leg and elbow, concussions and other more minor injuries. At least three of the passengers riding in the Subaru were not wearing seatbelts, according to reports.

No drugs or alcohol are suspected in the crash, but charges are pending against the driver. Police are citing “reckless driving” as the cause of the wreck.

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, “CAK grads injured in wreck recovering,” Megan Boehnke, May 29, 2012

Categories
Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

Car safety contributes to falling crash fatality rate

According to federal statistics, fewer people are dying in fatal car accidents on U.S. highways than ever before, or at least since records were first tallied back in 1921. While a number of factors are at play, the biggest is perhaps car safety and technology.

U.S. highway traffic deaths have fallen by about 25 percent since 2005. That’s a sharp decrease in a short number of years. As new technology is introduced into more and more new vehicles, the number of deaths will likely continue to fall.

It’s not often that the federal government mandates changes to all vehicles, such as when the seatbelt was first required about 40 years ago. However, last year, electronic stability control was added as a requirement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Rear cameras are becoming more popular and may be added to the list as well.

Generally, there are two types of technology at play here: active and passive.

Active technology is designed to prevent accidents from happening in the first place. Examples include active lane keeping, forward collision avoidance and blind spot monitoring. It used to be that only the most upscale models of vehicles would offer features of this kind voluntarily. However, now we’re seeing more advanced features available in even entry level models of cars. That not only reflects companies’ need to compete, but more affordable electronic hardware.

Passive technology, too, is becoming more and more mainstream. It’s intended to reduce accidents when an accident does occur. Many vehicles offer multiple air bags, while some are rolling out inflatable seatbelts that can particularly aid very old and very young passengers who are prone to internal injuries.

Passive and active technology are clearly succeeding in reducing the number of deadly accidents, as evidenced by the most recent numbers.

Source: MSNBC, “Highway deaths plunging as cars become safer,” Paul A. Eisenstein, May 22, 2012

Categories
Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

Driver surrenders for fatal hit-and-run crash in Knoxville

When people leave the scene of a serious car crash, they are often putting the lives of others in danger and complicating police and accident investigations.

A crash in Knoxville that left a passenger dead earlier this month has resulted in the arrest of the driver, who apparently fled the scene on foot. The fatal car accident happened on Castle Street last week, according to the Knoxville Police Department.

The man was apparently driving a Nissan Altima north on Castle Street, while a Ford vehicle was traveling in the opposite direction. The driver of the Ford apparently noticed that the Nissan was swerving back and forth across both lanes. The vehicles collided head-on in the northbound lane of the road, and the driver of the Nissan apparently fled on foot. A large bag of marijuana was later found in the car.

A 23-year-old front-seat passenger in the Nissan died in the wreck. Two other passengers in that vehicle, ages 22 and 23, respectively, were treated at University of Tennessee Medical Center. They were later released.

The 73-year-old driver of the Ford and his passenger was also injured in the crash. They were also treated and released from the University of Tennessee Medical Center.

The driver of the Nissan, meanwhile, was wanted for questioning by police. He reportedly turned himself in over the weekend, and police say charges are likely to be filed against him for his role in the accident.

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, “Man believed to have been involved in fatal crash surrenders to police,” Lance Coleman, May 19, 2012

Categories
Car Accidents

Study: Just thinking about your phone can cause an accident

If you decide to turn off your phone for your commute home, are you less likely to get into a car crash than if you were talking on it? It’s possible, but a new study suggests that merely thinking about your phone can cause crashes, and hence qualify as “distracted driving.” If you’re worried about missing a call while your phone is off during the drive, is that in itself dangerous?

According to the study, just thinking about receiving a text or a phone call while driving is enough to raise the risk of a car accident. Researchers noticed a link between people more attached to their phones and the number of car accidents they were involved in.

For the study, 384 psychology students were surveyed about their level of “cellphone attachment.” Researchers then followed them over a three-year period. Those who were found to be least attached to their phones got into 25 car crashes per 100 people annually. On the other end of the spectrum, those most attached to their phones got into 38 crashes per 100 people. That seems to indicate a link between car accidents and attachment to cellphones.

What really matters, researchers say, is what’s going on in your head. Sometimes that can be far more distracting then answering a phone call. It’s always good to think twice before picking up a cellphone while driving. Perhaps is also good to have a clear mindset before getting behind the wheel.

Source: The Atlantic, “Can simply thinking about your phone lead to a car crash?” Brian Fung, April 30, 2012