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Articles Tagged with car accident

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for driving-844132_1920.jpgAre you aware that a simple, very common habit that you refuse to give up could end your life? Or your child’s? Or a stranger’s?

Every time you decide to save time in your busy schedule by talking or texting on your cell phone in the car, you are taking this chance.

Multiple articles, videos, and ads describe how dangerous this practice can be, showing graphic images of people crashing their car during their last text. Yet, people do not seem to be getting the message. On the contrary, recent statistics show the problem is increasing. Over the last two years, traffic fatalities have gone up 14.4%. In fact, in 2016 more than 100 people died EVERY DAY in or near vehicles in this country. Experts conclude that this surge can be explained by three things:

chicago-390441_1920 (3).jpgA new report by the Active Transportation Alliance, a Chicago based nonprofit dedicated to making streets safer for pedestrians, bikers and motorists, is surprising people in the Chicago suburbs.

Why?

Because it reveals that traffic fatalities in the suburbs in 2015–the latest year for which statistics are available–outnumbered those in Chicago by a margin of nearly 3 to 1. This is shocking to suburbanites who assume that Chicago, with its snarl of traffic, is a much more dangerous place to drive.

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for car-accident-1921347_1920.jpgIf you’ve been in a car accident, the first priority is to attend to any medical needs, particularly if there is a medical emergency.

The next priority is to get the police to come to the accident scene. The report which the police prepare after visiting the accident scene serves many important functions, including helping you get a better settlement of your case with the other driver’s insurer.

Here’s why:

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released its list of the 25 most dangerous vehicles on the road today, based on the number of fatal accidents in which its drivers/passengers were involved between 2011 and 2015. Here is that list (also see the link below for important detail as to why each vehicle is on the list):

  1. Hyundai Accent sedan Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for ford-290615_1920.jpg
  2. Kia Rio

car-2220020_1920.jpgAs I’m writing this, I feel like the old man yelling at the neighborhood kids to get off his lawn…..but I feel the question needs to be asked:

“Are all these new car safety features making driving safer, or do they lull drivers into thinking that the car will take care of problems that occur on the road so that the driver doesn’t have to?”

I am concerned especially about young drivers, who have grown up learning to place great faith in technology. Do they place too much faith, for example in:

squad-car-1209719_1920.jpgHere’s why you should absolutely call the police if you’ve been in a car accident:

(1) It’s the law. In most jurisdictions, you are legally required to report to the police when you’ve been in an accident. We are often asked whether that remains true even in the event of a minor accident, and the answer is “yes.” You should still call the police, and describe what has happened-being particularly careful to describe any injuries or significant car damage. The police may tell you that the accident is so minor that they will not be sending an officer to the scene. That’s fine. You’ve done your duty as a citizen by reporting the accident. In that event, you should still go to the police station and file your own report of the accident (and take a copy for your records). This will prove very helpful should there be a dispute later on about what happened; your fresh recollection of the accident as documented in your report filed right after the accident will be a strong proof of the truth.

(2) It’s the best way to get emergency help to the scene. Calling 911 will put you on the phone with a trained specialist who will not only get a police officer to the scene, but also will determine whether emergency medical care should be sent to the scene, as well.

driving-844132_1920.jpgMotor vehicle crashes and deaths are on the rise. Despite advances in safety technology, driving has become more deadly. The reason? Operator error. The National Safety Council found that 40,200 people across the country died in traffic crash deaths in 2016, a 6 percent increase since 2015, and the first time the total number of deaths has exceeded 40,000 since 2007.

This is the second year in a row we’ve seen a substantial jump in motor vehicle deaths. The total for 2015 was 37,757, a 7 percent increase from 2014, while the 2014 figure was less than half a percent higher than the 2013 total. The last two years represent the largest increase in traffic crash deaths in over 50 years.

Nearly 10 percent of these deaths are attributable to distracted driving. In 2015, 3,477 people died as a result of distracted driving – an 8% increase from the previous year according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA). Distracted driving can be deadly but it can also cause serious injury. In 2015, 391,000 people were injured due to distracted driving.

adult-1866883_1920.jpgThe upcoming 4th of July holiday causes many Americans to get together to celebrate. Unfortunately, some take the celebration too far, by abusing alcohol or other drugs, like opioids. These drugs impair a driver’s thinking, reasoning, and muscle coordination-all critically important to safely driving a car.

We all know that the results of this behavior are often devastating. Here’s but one statistic to prove it: in 2015, there were 10,265 deaths from alcohol-impaired drivers, alone. And these statistics say nothing of the human toll that each death inflicts on the families of the victims, and even on the life of the impaired driver and his/her family.

Sadly, some estimates calculate that as many as one in every ten drivers are impaired; the percentage is greater on holidays.

ambulance-1509645_1920.jpgSometimes, a person’s car accident injuries are so serious that there’s no decision to make: he/she must be transported by ambulance to the hospital.

But oftentimes, it’s not so obvious. The accident victim may not feel badly injured or may feel embarrassed to get into an ambulance. I’ve known people (usually men) who regard it as a sign of toughness to drive themselves to the hospital (if they go there at all) rather than take an ambulance.

If you’re wondering whether you or a loved one should take an ambulance to the hospital, keep these things in mind:

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