Car Accidents

August 27, 2011

Teen Drivers Hit the Road this School Year Increasing Risks for Car Accidents in Indiana for Everyone

A recent teen car accident in Veedersburg killed two Fountain Central High School students. Three teens were involved in the single-car accident that happened on the Kingman Road, according to Commercial-News.

Two of the teens were airlifted to local hospital. One was transported by ambulance.

The Fountain County Sheriff’s Department reports that two of the teen motorists died shortly after arriving at the hospital. The third was last listed in stable condition at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Local sheriff deputies are investigating the accident.Our Northwest Indiana car accident attorneys understand that car accidents are the number of cause of death for teens in the United States. As the new school year begins, we encourage all parents to discuss the importance of safe driving habits with their teen drivers. Many of these fatal accidents can be prevented with proper driver education and practice.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, motor-vehicle accidents account for most accidental teen deaths. About eight teens ages 16-19-years-old died because of traffic accidents each day in 2009. If calculated per mile driven, young drivers of this age group are approximately four times more likely to be involved in a car accident than drivers in older age groups.

The CDC reports that there were approximately 3,000 teens killed in car accidents in the United States in 2009. Another 350,000 teens were injured in traffic accidents throughout the year.

Although these young drivers, ages 15- to 24-years-old, account for 15 percent of the entire U.S. population, they make up approximately 30 percent of the costs resulting from motor-vehicle injuries — or about $26 billion a year.

Here are some safe teen driving tips for parents to discuss with their young drivers:

-Set a good example. Make sure that you practice all of your own advice and safe driving habits when you’re driving with your teen in the vehicle.

-Allow your child to have plenty of supervised driving time. Practice helps them to be more prepared for the hazards they’re going to face on our roadways.

-Make sure you ride with them during various driving conditions. Ride with them during early morning hours, during the evening, in the rain and through the snow. All of this practice will help prepare them for unavoidable conditions.

-Don’t allow them to drive with any passengers for the first six months after receiving their license. Passengers can be some of the most influential distractions and contribute to the risks of a fatal car accident.

-Require that your child call or text you when they arrive and when they leave their destination.

-Give them a curfew. Accident risks increase during evening hours.

-Create a parent-teen driving contract between you and your teen to help lay down ground rules that everyone can agree on. Make sure you lay out the consequences of breaking one of these rules too!

Teen drivers are more likely to underestimate dangerous driving situations or not be able to recognize hazardous driving situations. This ability comes along with experience, so get out there and practice with your young driver.
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August 15, 2011

Students Head Back to School and Risks of School Bus Accidents in Indiana Increase this August

by Burton A. Padove

It’s that time of the year again when students head back to school. It’s also a time when we start seeing more injuries and deaths as a result of school bus accidents in Indiana and elsewhere in the country. In an attempt to reduce the risks of potentially fatal accidents involving our big, yellow buses, the Indiana State Police has issued a number of school bus safety tips that parents are urged to review with their children.Our Highland personal injury attorneys understand that more than 25 million young students across the country ride the school bus to school every year. Unfortunately, there are a number of injuries and deaths each year because of accidents involving school transportation. It has been estimated, by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), that more than 130 people die every year as a result of traffic accidents that involve a school bus. The Administration also estimates that roughly 11,000 people are injured in these incidents.

To help keep our young bus riders safe, the Indiana State Police offers the following school bus safety tips:

-Make sure that your child can fit everything that they need to take to school with them in their backpack so there are less distractions for them while boarding the bus.

-Make sure they’re at least 5 minutes early to the bus stop so that they’re not forced to rush.

-Always make sure that young children are supervised by a responsible adult at the bus stop.

-Make sure that your child knows to wait at least 3 giant steps, or 6 feet, away from the road when waiting for the bus to arrive.

-Require that your child stays on the curb until the bus driver signals to them that it’s okay that they approach the bus.

-Tell your child that if they drop something near the bus to alert the bus driver and never to bend down and grab it. A number of accidents happen this way, when a bus driver can’t see a child near the bus.

-Make sure you’ve secured all your child’s draw strings. This way they won’t get caught on the bus’ door or handrail when getting on or off the bus.

-Remind your young student to talk quietly when they’re on the bus.

-Make sure your child knows the importance of keeping the bus’ aisles clear.

-Tell your child that they are to remain seated on the bus and to keep their hands, arms, head and other objects in the school bus’ windows at all times.

Recent analysis of statistics concluded that the people that are most likely to be injured in a school bus related accident were people that were on the bus (46%). About 41 percent of the injuries were sustained by those who were in other vehicles and the remainder of the injuries occurred to bicyclists, pedestrians and other unknown persons.

The Indiana State Police will also be conducting a number of bus safety inspections throughout the year. They conduct safety checks each fall and winter. They’re also likely to conduct spot checks and post-crash inspections to help ensure the safety of your child and the safety of other travelers throughout the entire school year.

We’d like to wish all of our young students a safe and happy school year and remind everyone to keep safety as a top priority.
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August 8, 2011

Motorists Most Likely to Die in a Car Accident in Indiana during the Month of August

by Burton A. Padove

Drivers beware! August has repeatedly been ranked as the most dangerous month out of the year for motorists on our roadways. There are more fatal accidents during this month than during any other time period of the entire year, according to MSN.This is the time of the year when more and more motorist travel throughout the state to venture out on summer vacations. More traffic means an increased risk of fatal car accidents in Highland and elsewhere in Indiana. The large number of road construction projects in the state doesn’t exactly help the flow of traffic either.

Our Highland car accident attorneys understand that an increase in traffic can return fatal results on our roadway. Motorists are asked to travel with extreme caution and use their defensive driving skills to help avoid a car accident during the month of August. These accidents are often preventable with cautious and alert driving habits.

“A large proportion of crashes happen in late afternoon and early evening in general, but especially in August,” says Russ Rader, a spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concludes that more Americans die on our roadways in traffic accidents during the month of August than during any other month out of the year. Each year’s statistics all the way back to 1994 return the same conclusion.

If you calculate each month’s fatality rate per 100 million miles traveled, then August tops the charts with a death rate of 1.09. September follows at a close second with a death rate of 1.08 and then July with a death rate of 1.04. March is the safest month to travel in the U.S. as it has an average death rate of 0.94 per 100 million miles traveled.

According to the NHTSA, August witnessed an average of 93 motorist deaths each day in 2009. This means that someone died on our roadways every 16 minutes.

The IIHS reports that, from 2005 to 2009, 7 of the 25 deadliest days on American roadways happened during the month of August.

The following are the deaths each day of the week typically experienced during August:

-Mondays witness an average of 79 deaths.

-Tuesdays typically see about 69 deaths.

-Wednesdays experience an average of 78 deaths.

-Thursdays witness about 84 deaths.

-Friday usually see about 102 roadway deaths.

-Saturdays are the most dangerous times on our roadways as they average about 123 deaths.

-Sundays are the second most dangerous time to be on our roadways as they see about 107 deaths.

Weekends are typically when we see more alcohol-related car accidents on our roadways. To help stop this problem, Indiana State Police are setting up increased enforcement efforts to crackdown on intoxicated drivers.

A number of enforcement agencies will be participating in the statewide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign that is taking place now and will run through the first week of September.

“We know when impaired drivers are more likely to be on the roadways and our troopers will be out during those times,” said Lt. Jerry Williams of the Indiana State Police.

Throughout this time, law enforcement agencies will be setting up checkpoints throughout the state during the campaign to bust drunk drivers. Approximately 10,000 agencies will be participating in an attempt to make the month of August a little safer for everyone.
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