highway safety

Pedestrian Traffic Deaths Are At A Ten Year High – Too Much Screen Time Could Be A Cause

March 2, 2020 by Danylo Terleckyj Leave a Comment

A newly published study by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association, a not-for-profit comprised of the highway safety offices of the 50 states, better known as the organization behind the click-it or ticket campaign, is suggesting that pedestrian deaths in motor vehicle incidents are at a ten year high. The numbers seem to match the claim. Incidents of pedestrian deaths in car crashes are up while other traffic deaths are declining. Therefore, the percentage of traffic fatalities involving pedestrians now comprises a larger percentage than before. These are the worst numbers since 1990.

Bigger Cars Means More Damage

The study links the fact that there are more SUVs on the road now than before as a possible cause of the increase in fatalities. A heavier vehicle has the potential of causing greater damage than a smaller passenger car like a sedan. Pedestrian deaths involving SUVs went up 50% between 2013 and 2017.

Vehicle trends are definitely changing. People want bigger cars. Automakers are responding in kind, limiting their offerings for smaller cars in the US. For people with families, purchasing a small car or a sedan is an unlikely choice. People also feel safer in bigger cars. The perception is that larger vehicles offer greater crash safety protection. As other categories of motor vehicle crash deaths decrease, it gets harder to argue against that conclusion.

There Are More Nighttime Crashes Too

The study points to other factors as well. Nighttime crash deaths are increasing. Pedestrian deaths seem to be increasing in numerous categories. When the publishers looked at nighttime vs. daytime fatalities, instances at night were up 45% from 2008 to 2017, whereas daytime instances went up by 11%.

Any premature loss of life is tragic. Pedestrians and drivers alike would be well served by keeping an eye out for one another as both groups certainly have the right to travel using surface streets. It’s common sense that anyone who goes anywhere should try and take proper safety precautions. However, the study also looks at population growth as a factor contributing to these alarming statistics. With increasingly bigger cars and more people in a given town, there could be more opportunities where drivers and people on foot will encounter one another, meaning the more that people proceed with caution when going from place to place, the better.

We Need to Pay Attention to Distracted Driving

One more possible factor contributing to this increase in pedestrian traffic deaths is people not paying attention to the road or where they are going. We certainly have an increasing number of big cars out on the road, but we also have more electronic devices. Screen time has significantly increased since 2008.

Consumers were first introduced to the iPhone in June of 2007. Since then, the image of a person with their eyes glued to a tiny screen has become ever present. If you ever look around at the drivers next to you when you’re stopped at a red light, unfortunately, it won’t be uncommon for one of those people to be holding up a smartphone.

The evidence against allowing drivers to use handheld electronics is mounting. Illinois, among other states, has passed stricter rules regarding the use of mobile devices behind the wheel. Some researchers have equated using a smartphone while driving as similar to being drunk and getting behind the wheel. Both have been shown to slow down reaction times and decrease our ability to focus on what’s going on outside our windshields. Just think of your own experiences. If you have ever missed a turn because you were having a conversation with a passenger, imagine how poorly you drive trying to send a text message.

The one thing we all have control over is the use of our phones. Whether you are a pedestrian or a driver, there can be no debate – if you’re looking at a screen, you are not looking where you are going. If you need to check your phone, the best thing to do is go to a safe place. If you’re driving, find a safe place to pull over. If you’re walking, find a safe place to stop. When it comes to injuries or death, none should be the result of smartphone distraction.

How Dangerous is Your Car? Safety Institute Unveils Watch List

February 26, 2015 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

2007 Toyota Camry. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Buyer beware.

The Safety Institute, a Massachusetts-based not-for-profit investigating injury prevention and product safety, has released its quarterly Vehicle Safety Watch List, featuring the top 15 potential vehicle defects to look out for in 2015. It’s the third consecutive report since the Institute began rolling out its influential catalog in June 2014.

Topping this quarter’s list is the 2012 Ford Focus (steering); the 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt (electrical); the 2008 Toyota Sienna (power train); the 2011 Chevrolet Cruz (service brake), and the 2007 Toyota Camry (speed control). The Safety Institute’s assessment describes these designations as “areas that need more investigating,” as opposed to defects. The report is largely intended as a frame of reference for “lawyers, researchers and analysts,” who mine data as a way of studying persistent problems of motor vehicle flaws.

Still, according to the Safety Institute, none of these designations have been investigated by the National Highway Safety Administration or fixed by the original manufacturer. By ignoring the data collected by the Safety Institute, carmakers and the regulatory bodies designed to protect drivers and passengers are potentially leaving consumers in a precarious position.

Toyota alone has suffered through very public recalls with model years 2005-2011, resulting in class action lawsuits and settlements related to accelerating motor pedals. The suit claimed that Toyota knowingly failed to correct a dangerous problem that could have led to fatalities. In Ford’s case, the NHTSA has long been involved in a process that involves the stalling and surging of engines in the Ford Escape model. The Ford Focus produced in model years 2012-2014 was recalled recently for stall-like conditions and unexpected losses in power.

The Safety Institute’s analysis is based on death and injury claims of the early warning reports system designed by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration. The analytics aim to identify “continuing potential failures to effectively fix issues that are already known,” says the report.

“The Vehicle Safety Watch List is an example of leveraging already available data to help prioritize investigative resources,” Sean Kane, The Safety Institute’s founder and president of the board, said in a statement. “This type of tool can help identify and potentially prevent costly safety crises that not only cause harm to consumers, but take extra resources to manage.”

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the Institute’s report is the extent to which several commonly owned vehicles go unchecked by federal regulators. Granted, some of this information functions more as a watchdog than an objective presentation of facts. But a takeaway from this list and for potential victims of recall-related injuries is that they have recourse as consumers, especially when a defect is known and goes unaddressed.

Many of the listed defects have resulted in class action lawsuits against car manufacturers like Toyota and Ford. Whether your vehicle’s problems – and perhaps your injuries – are the result of a defect like those described in the report, and whether you may be part of a class, are questions often more easily answered with the guidance of a lawyer. An assessment can help determine if a class action or another lawsuit is the route for you. If you’ve been injured due to a faulty product and you believe there are others in a similar situation, a class action might be appropriate, and you should consider consulting with an attorney.

Your particular accident may not result in significant injuries, but collectively, the value of a class action suit is that it carries weight in the courtroom by consolidating resources. If you’re a victim of a faulty or recalled product, you may qualify for a class action claim. By offering free, one-on-one consultations, we can help you determine if this might be the route for you.

Why Aren’t More Trucking Laws Being Passed?

February 2, 2015 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Last week we wrote about the pressure facing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to keep our highways safe with stricter regulations for truckers. Here’s more about necessary improvements to our laws so that everyone is safer on the road.

Large-truck accidents accounted for nearly 4,000 fatalities in 2013—the fourth straight year that the number of truck-related deaths has risen, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. That’s a 17 percent increase based on numbers collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In a statement, the NTSB recommended that trucking companies explore more ways to manage driver fatigue and sleep disorders, afflictions that have been the source of several deadly accidents on the road. Sleep deprivation and mandated driving hours remain constant topics of discussion among safety experts and legislators, some of whom find themselves arguing opposite ends of the spectrum. The NTSB also unveiled its “Most Wanted List” of transportation improvements for 2015, including strengthening the safety of commercial trucking through increased industry oversight.

The statistics come at a time when Congress voted to tamp down trucking regulations last year, part of an ongoing trend of legislation that effectively weakens driving limitations and mandated driving hours. An example of one such amendment, passing on a 21-9 vote by the Senate Appropriations Committee in early June, rescinded a provision that required drivers to take breaks between the hours of 1-5am. The vote passed despite widespread opposition by safety advocates, transportation experts and the White House, all of which expressed concern for those driving at high speeds in the wee hours of the morning.

Also from NTSB: Highway regulators have failed to act on more than 100 recommendations over the last year to improve truck safety, as trucking lobbyists aggressively seek to protect the working rights of operators and those who maintain clean driving records. It’s a proverbial game of cat and mouse in the eyes of many.

The Board says that safety should be the industry’s highest priority, though recent amendments and deregulations seemingly prove otherwise. When it comes down to it, trucking accidents are increasingly preventable, thanks to new technology such as vehicle sensors. At this stage, sensors are more of a suggestion than a requirement.

So why aren’t more laws being passed to prevent accidents from happening?

The cynical person might chalk it up to the nature of the system — high price of doing business in a fast-paced world. But others, like Steve Pociask, President of the American Consumer Institute, in an opinion piece for the Daily Caller, points out that revisiting transportation reform should be a higher priority for the 114^th Congress, whether it be new laws and regulations or revisiting long-standing laws to determine what’s working and what isn’t. But assuming the issue gets swept under the rug, it’s safe to conclude that accidents will continue to happen.

Advocates Aim for Stricter Requirements for Commercial Drivers

January 29, 2015 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

For years, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has faced a bevy of criticism for failing to institute stricter training requirements for operators of large commercial trucks. That criticism has turned into action, according to the New York Times, which reports that safety advocates and at least one labor union has filed suit in federal court over FMCSA’s lack of progress. It seems it was only a matter of time.

In a span of ten years, says the Times, Congress has twice ordered the FMCSA make changes to its training measures, only to see the FMCSA bypass the requisite deadlines. The federal organization has made incremental improvements over the last decade, but not enough to satisfy a growing contingent of safety groups and those who say the FMCSA’s so-called improvements are akin to a running joke. Currently the FMCSA requires a minimum of ten hours in the classroom and a driving test before allowing drivers with big rigs onto the road, only after the “relatively simple process” of filing for a commercial license.

That doesn’t satisfy people like Henry Jansy, general counsel at Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, who took a harsh line with the FMCSA, saying “There’s just no excuse anymore. This should be basic stuff. People are dying because of the lack of training out there.”

Making matters worse for the FMCSA is the rising number of fatalities related to large commercial trucks. The Times points out that traffic related fatalities have reached a new low, however accidents involving large trucks have steadily increased; fatalities are up by four percent and serious injuries up by 18 percent since 2012. Based on data from the Transportation Department, an additional 200,000 accidents with large trucks caused damage but no injuries.

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) reports that Illinois tractor-trailer accidents account for nearly 11% of traffic deaths over the last five years. In 2005, Illinois eighteen-wheeler accidents caused a little more than 200 of the nearly 2000 total traffic fatalities.

Some safety points to note from the IDOT:

In Illinois, fatal crashes between trucks and other vehicles most often occur:

On Tuesday through Friday, between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., when the weather is clear and the road is dry
Due to speed or improper lane use
When the truck driver is between 28-43 years old and the driver of the other vehicle is between 20-30 years old
When the driver (of the truck OR the other vehicle) has fallen asleep or has been drinking

Avoid these four blind spots when driving near or around a large vehicle:

Don’t return to the driving lane until you can see the entire front of the truck in your rearview mirror
If you can’t see one of the truck drivers’ side mirrors, he or she can’t see you either
If you can’t see the truck driver in one of your side mirrors, he or she can’t see you
Don’t enter the area between the curb or shoulder and the truck if the truck is signaling a turn

Additional safety points:

Some other safety information to be aware of when you encounter larger vehicles on the road include things like weight difference, the risk of underride and override, stopping distance, and “splash and spray.”

Reviewing and remembering these basic principles can help keep you safe on the road, and prevent the unexpected.