car accident rates

Published on: July 25, 2011

New Traffic Signal Implemented in Response to Increased Car Accidents

More streets across the country will soon be privy to a new style of traffic signal. Drivers in Michigan, Nevada, and various parts of California and Ohio are already flooding Internet search engines with variations of one question, “What does new flashing yellow arrow mean?” The new variation on the left turn signal, which originated in Reno, Nevada, means that left turns are permitted as long as drivers yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians. The hope, and apparently the impact, is to decrease the number of auto accidents at intersections thereby greatly reducing the number of injuries.

The traditional steady yellow arrow and the green arrow retain their original meanings. The yellow continues to indicate that motorists should be prepared to stop or complete their turns if already in the intersection. The green arrow, of course, gives turning motorists the right of way.

The change comes as regulators explored methods to promote safety and efficiency – and decrease the number of car accidents that happen as a result of the current signal system. USA Today reports that in Kentucky there has already been about a 30% reduction in left-turn collisions, although some deem it’s early to thoroughly evaluate success. Undoubtedly, the new signal may help address what some call the “yellow trap condition.” Personal injury lawyers have known about this trap for years. The trap occurs whenthe driver waiting to turn left is lead into the intersection when it may actually be unsafe to do so. During the signal change from "permissive" movements in both directions to a "protected" movement in one direction, a yellow trap occurs when the left-turning driver’s permissive left-turn is ending. It is said that the flashing yellow arrow eliminates the yellow trap without requiring louvers (slats over the light that prevent it from being seen until the driver is close to the first signal in the set) or other visibility-limiting devices.

Published on: July 17, 2011

Incidents of Young Drivers and Car Accidents on the Rise with Availability of Mobile Apps

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

According to a poll by The US Department of Transportation and Consumer Reports, 63 percent of people under 30 acknowledged driving while using a handheld phone and 30 percent said they have sent text messages while behind the wheel. A total of nearly 5,500 people in the United States were killed in distracted driving accidents in 2009.

Although I am a personal injury attorney, and accustomed to the horrors stemming from car accidents, these are staggering numbers. However, I’m convinced that distracted driving has become an even greater problem with the rampant use of smartphones and an increased number of young drivers wielding them – especially with the plethora of apps available. The main problem is that “science hasn’t caught up to looking at the effects that mobile app usage can have behind the wheel of a car," says researcher Lauren McCartney.

Apple alone has more than 425,000 apps.So it comes as no surprise that the University of Alabama Youth Safety Lab found use of popular cell phone apps pose an even greater risk to young drivers. Additionally, the speed of these 3G devices undoubtedly makes internet and app use while on the move an ever-growing temptation for America’s young people. And incidents of distracted driving are sure to continue on an upward trend as the phones and apps alike become more affordable. Douglas Mcintyre, reporting for Aol’s Daily Finance, found a recent report by Comscore which stated that "74.6 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in April 2011, up 13 percent from the three-month period ending in January 2011."

Published on: June 18, 2010

Georgia’s Anti-Distracted Driving Efforts Likely to Decrease Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The Governor’s Highway Safety Association has just released a report that outlines the different steps states have taken to combat distracted driving and thereby prevent auto accidents. The report will be of special interest to persons injured in auto accidents and their lawyers because Georgia has just passed a law that bans text messaging while driving for all motorists.

The report titledCurbing Distracted Driving: 2010 State Safety Programs details the activities and programs undertaken by various states to deal with the problem of distracted driving causing accidents. Georgia ranks very well in certain sections of the report. The state has included distracted driving as part of its Highway Safety Plan. However, Georgia does not collect data about distracted driving-related auto accidents. The National Safety Council estimates that approximately 28% of all accidents nationwide are linked to distracted driving.With statistics like this, it’s about time that Georgia also began collecting data about distracted-driving related auto accidents.

The report also contained the results of a survey conducted in 2008 by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia focusing on teen motorists. The survey found that only 28 % of teen motorists believed that talking on the cell phone while driving makes a difference to driving safety.A significant number of motorists in the survey, 57%, said that they had seen their friends talking on the phone while driving a car. However, only 19% had witnessed a friend texting while driving.