Articles Posted in Cycling and Pedestrian Accidents

By

Tennessee and Georgia state law enforcement officials confirm a spike in unrestrained motorist and passenger accidents. Sadly, these statistics extend to teens and young children who were injured or killed in accidents without being properly restrained.

The Murray Law Firm hopes this new data will serve as a grave reminder to all parents, drivers and passengers to buckle up.

News 12 reports:

Vehicle crashes involving unrestrained motorist and passengers are increasing in both Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia.

Georgia and Tennessee state law enforcement officials confirmed the statistics during a major press conference at Erlanger Medical Center.

“We’ve seen a spike in crashes. Interstates have seen a 22-percent increase in crashes this year,” said one Georgia State Trooper.

Within the 12-county Chattanooga district for the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the numbers are considered disturbing. 

Since 2012, more than 1,100 unrestrained people have been injured in crashes. 142 of those cases resulted in death. Hamilton County had the highest unrestrained fatalities with 33. 

Since January of this year, 86-unrestrained motorists and passengers were injured in crashes. 28-of those injures happened in Hamilton County. But those numbers mainly account for adults.

“We still see kids in our trauma unit that weren’t restrained properly or weren’t restrained at all,” Erlanger Trauma Surgeon Dr. Lisa Smith.

Georgia had nine straight years of reduced road fatalities. But this year, numbers have spiked.

“This year, we’re up almost 20-percent in the first quarter and it’s troubling,” said Georgia Governor Highway Safety Representative Harris Blackwood.

A great majority of those fatalities involve teenage drivers.

“We’ve buried too many of most valuable resources; our children. And many times they’ve done that because they were not wearing their seat belt,” Blackwood said.

Read the full story here.

By
Wyoming Tribune Eagle

Wyoming Tribune Eagle

High School students taking part in the “It Can Wait” program, sponsored by AT&T, are using a virtual driving simulator to learn the perils of texting while driving.

Students at Cheyenne South High School were among those to take part in the “It Can Wait” program. Teens took turns driving through a virtual city, negotiating turns, avoiding traffic hazards and watching other vehicles, all while trying to respond to text messages received through a provided cellphone.

The resulting virtual accidents showed students the potential risks of texting while driving on real roads.

“It shows in just three to five seconds what can happen when you’re distracted, and the consequences can be fatal,” said Debbie Maljian of the Laramie County School District. “It can wait. No message is worth texting and driving.”

Read the full story at the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. 

Visit the Distraction.gov Teen Page for more educational resources and information on preventing distracted driving.

By
U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx (DOT)

U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx (DOT)

The Department of Transportation has released a new work zone safety campaign, urging drivers to “expect the unexpected.”

The new campaign launches during National Work Zone Awareness week and reminds drivers that work zones may change frequently from one day to the next, posing risks for both motorists and work zone employees if drivers are distracted or not paying attention.

The Department of Transportation reports:

Spring means warmer weather, orange cones and more highway workers on America’s roads. As construction season approaches, drivers nationwide should “Expect the Unexpected” – this year’s theme for National Work Zone Awareness Week. The victims of work zone crashes are typically drivers and their passengers, not highway workers, but all need to be kept safe during the construction and repair-heavy summer months.

I had the opportunity to speak to families affected by work zone crashes today at the National Work Zone Awareness Week kickoff in Arlington, Va. Though the number of work zone fatalities is decreasing, it was heart wrenching to acknowledge that, each year, we are still losing loved ones in work zone crashes.

Highway workers are a key part of keeping our roads safe – and we must do our part to keep them safe. Nowhere is this more clear than in Princeton, N.C.,  where a 36-year-old highway worker – a five-year veteran of the NCDOT – was struck and killed while working on the Goldsboro Bypass on US 70 in Wayne County earlier this week.

In 2013, the most recent year for which data are available, 579 people died in work zone crashes – a slight decrease from the 617 lives lost the previous years. This is the first decline in work zone fatalities since 2010, but it is still 579 too many.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx shares this belief and, with AASHTO, is calling on all of us to promote the vision of “Toward Zero Deaths.” As a Department, we should embrace this goal and use every tool at our disposal – but as individual drivers and passengers, we need to drive more carefully, especially through highway work zones, and avoid using cellphones and other distractions while behind the wheel.

One death on our roads and bridges is too many.

Read Full Article Here

The Murray Law Firm works tirelessly for victims and families devastated by work zone accidents and we offer our legal expertise, if needed. Anyone seeking further information or legal representation is encouraged to contact us at 888.842.1616. Consultations are free and confidential.