Gainesville, Ocala, Lake City & Inverness, Florida Accident Attorney and Alachua County DUI Lawyer Blogs

Traffic Deaths Decrease; Distracted Driving Remains a Danger

As an accident attorney, I congratulate our nation's drivers for bucking up and making responsible decisions regarding alcohol use.  I also applaud law enforcement for successful "Click it or Ticket" and "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest" campaigns. Way to go.

While automobile fatalities dropped to a 55-year low due to overall safer driving habits, distracted driving remains a major contributing crash factor. 

Despite all-time low motorist fatalities, distracted driving remains a contributing factor in 80 percent of all crashes and 60 percent of near-crashes. My advice as a personal injury lawyer - it's time to put the cell phone down.

The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics show that texting while driving is equivalent to driving with a BAC of more than 0.08-and yet we continue to put ourselves, passengers, and fellow drivers at risk.

Remember distracted driving doesn't only include texting. It's also dangerous to eat, talk on the phone, listen to loud music-or any other activity that takes a driver's mind, eyes, or hands off the wheel and road.  

Clearly, we have a long way to go to make our roads safer. But already, 19 states and the District of Columbia have texting bans in place.

So, what is Florida doing to eliminate distracted driving? As of March 2010, Florida's legislature is considering a texting bill to prohibit texting while driving. Join me in supporting a texting ban!

Driving Distractions 101

Distraction.Gov - The Official Website for Distracted Driving

Nationwide Record Low Traffic Fatalities

Florida Considers Ban on Texting While Driving 

A Tragic Reminder To: Keep Your Distance, Pay Attention, and Buckle Up!

There was a Tragic and Deadly SUV Accident in Lake City, last month, one that reminds us of some extreemly important road safety topics. Here are the brief details of the crash:

Wesley S. Outlaw was driving his Nissan SUV on I-75, approaching a car driven by Robert J. Nye. Outlaw had to swerve off the road to avoid a rear-end collision with the car. He was unsuccessful in his attempt to avoid the crash, and the left front of his SUV hit the car.

Outlaw then overcorrected to the left and his SUV rolled over several times. Not wearing a seatbelt, he was ejected out of the car onto the highway, and was run over by a GMC Yukon whose driver swerved but could not avoid hitting Mr. Outlaw's body.

Outlaw died instantly from the impact. He was only 24 years old. The drivers and passengers of the other vehicles involved in the accident were not injured.

As an accident lawyer, my heart goes out to all involved in this tragic crash.  Could this gruesome accident have been avoided?  We may never know, however, there are some important topics to discuss and be reminded of in its aftermath: to drive without distractions, to not tailgate, and to always make sure to buckle up!

Distracted driving is the leading cause of vehicle crashes, some say as high as 80% of accidents are caused by some type of distracted driving, from chatting, texting, etc.  Driving requires our full attention. Pay attention to the road and keep both eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.

Tailgating or following too closely is against the law. According to Florida Statute 316.0895, "The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon, and the condition of, the highway."  Tailgating is a form of aggressive driving; behaviors that are linked to half of all car crashes according to the National Road Safety Foundation and are often accompanied by speeding - a deadly combination.  For more information on safe following distances, please see: Four Factors You Should Keep in Mind When Keeping Your Distance.

Remember, wearing a seat belt is the law and one of the most effective things you can do to save your life, reduce your chance of traumatic brain injury, and keep you restrained inside your vehicle to avoid being run over by another vehicle. 

Be safe on the road, buckle up, pay attention to the road and give yourself room to stop safely.

Reminder: Always buckle-up, especially on our rural roads!

Last Monday evening outside of Belleview, on County Road 25, two cars collided, leaving an 18 year-old, pick-up truck driver, in a coma with multiple serious injuries, and the other victim still in the hospital.

Our hearts and sympathies go out to the families of these young men.  As an accident lawyer, I would like to take this time to remind everyone again to always buckle up and to be extra safe out there on the rural roads that surround Gainesville and Ocala.

There is no way to know if the driver of the pick-up that reportedly veered into the incoming lane, and who was not wearing his seat belt at the time of the crash, could have had a less severe outcome if he had been buckled up. However, statistics show that seat belts, when worn properly, decrease severe injuries by 50 % and are the number one thing you can do to prevent Traumatic Brain Injuries .  

Additionally, rural two-lane highways in the Southeast are the largest and most deadly class of roads.  Another statistic of interest here is that 75% of crash deaths and injuries occur within 25 miles of home and more than half of all injury-producing motor vehicle crashes involve low speeds under 40 m.p.h..  So, even if you think that you are going "just down the road" and going slowly, you still need to buckle up!

Please be careful out there and buckle-up! 

And always remember to avoid distracted driving, keep: 2 hands on the wheel, 2 eyes on the road, and pay attention to driving.

Vehicle vs. wildlife - reminders for all of us.

A woman and her son were lucky when they encountered a 130 pound deer on the road near Panama City yesterday and they escaped with only minor injuries; however, unfortunately for the deer the accident was fatal as it crashed into the vehicle's windshield.

What can all of us in Alachua and Marion Counties and the surrounding rural areas learn from this encounter?  As a personal injury lawyer, I can say that there are a few important things for all of us to be reminded of by this accident.

First, you never know what is up ahead of you on the road, so it is very important to always be prepared; both hands on the wheel, both eyes on the road, your mind on your driving, and follow the speed limits.  One can only imagine that there may have been a quite different outcome to the story had the driver been driving distracted by texting, celling, or some other form of multitasking at the time the deer presented itself in their path.

Another important point, and one that I have written on before is that deer do not carry insurance to cover your injuries if you are in hurt in an accident with one, which as we all know is common place in these parts of Florida.  Hopefully, the driver of the vehicle that hit the deer had at least the minimum insurance required in Florida ($10,000 of PIP and $10,000 of property damage to cover damage to the other person's vehicle if you are at fault in an accident), if so, then her PIP coverage would allow them to recover 80% of their medical expenses from the crash (up to $10,000), but they would not have any insurance to cover any damages to their car - this is where collision insurance comes into play.  So, make sure to protect yourself with adequate insurance, here are my recommendations.

Lastly, this is a good time for us to be reminded to always buckle up, and make sure all your passengers do as well.  This couple was extremely lucky; often encounters with wildlife can result in loss of control of the vehicle, resulting in major injuries and even death to the humans as well as the unlucky wildlife.

In summary. always buckle up, follow the speed limit and pay attention with both hands on the wheel, both eyes on the road and your mind on the task at hand - driving! And make sure you protect yourself, family and your passengers by carrying adequate insurance.