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News

Car and Motorcycle Accidents

• Fiery Rollover Crash, 1 dead, Caused by Tire Tread Separation
  Aug 23, 2010

  A Miami-bound family of seven was involved in a deadly crash late July on I-75 after the SUV's right, read tire tread separated, causing the vehicle to rollover several times before catching fire.

  The 42 year old driver of the Ford SUV, was ejected and pinned under the vehicle, according to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP).  The driver, who failed to use a safety belt, was pronounced dead upon arrival.

  Four other family members, who also failed to wear safety belts, were thrown from the vehicle as it rolled over and received injuries ranging from minor to critical.

  Two vehicle occupants, ages 73 and 74, were wearing seat belts and received only minor injuries.

  The Miami family was travelling southbound on I-75 near Gainesville, Fla., after attending a funeral in Georgia.

  The fiery wreck blocked all 6 lanes of traffic for several hours, leaving only the burned frame of the SUV in the median.  FHP urges all motorists to check tire health and safety before travelling.
  
  For more information: 
  
  Tire Failure Causes Fatal Rollover
  

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• Move Over - Its the Law!
  Jul 09, 2010

  The National Safety Commission (NSC) released a safety alert last month reminding drivers of the Mover Over Act.  In this alert, the NSC estimated that 71% of Americans have not heard of the Move Over Laws, resulting in deaths and serious injuries.

  47 States have enacted some form of the Move Over Law, the Florida legislation passed the Act in 2002. Failure to comply with the law could result in a $149 penalty and 3 points on your license.

  The Move Over Law was created to protect law enforcement officers and emergency responders from reckless or distracted drivers, keeping them safer while doing their job along the roadside.

  What is this law? The NSC explains:  If you approach an emergency vehicle stopped along the side of the road, you must vacate the lane and move over.  If moving over is not an option or is not safe, then you must slow down 20 mph under the speed limit.

  Emergency vehicles include: police, fire rescue vehicles, ambulances, and tow trucks.

  The NSC also recommends that the same precautions be taken for vehicles broken down by the roadside with malfunctioning engines or tires.
  
  For more information:
  
  Roadside Emergencies - Move Over or Slow Down! Gainesville, Fl Accident Lawyer Explains the Law.

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• Florida's Interstates are some of the deadliest in the country.
  Jun 29, 2010

  Five years of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) data was analyzed. A list of the country's top 100 deadliest interstates was compiled. Rankings were based on the total number of traffic fatalities along a given Interstate divided by the length of the roadway.  Here is how Florida's Interstates rated:

  • Florida's I-95 topped the list (#1) with 1.73 fatal accidents per mile averaged over the 380 miles of in-state roadway.  
  • Interstate 4 was listed as #3 of the deadliest roadways with 1.58 deaths per mile averaged along its 132 miles in Florida. 
  • At #15, Florida's I-75 with an average of 1.14 fatal crashes over its 470 miles of Florida roadway.
  • #57 was Florida's I-10 which averaged .65 fatal accidents over its 362 miles of Florida interstate.

   
  For more information:

  7 Simple things to help make your holiday weekend safe. 

  5 Things to pay attention to for safe travels on the 4^th of July and every day on the road in Florida.

  What can I do to help keep my teen driver safe this summer and over the 4th of July?

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• Nationwide Record Low Traffic Fatalities
  Apr 05, 2010

  Nationwide highway fatalities for 2009 dropped to an all-time, 55-year low. 
  
  The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports record low traffic deaths since 1954, largely due to increased public safety campaigns. 

  NHTSA statistics show that highway fatalities dropped 8.9 percent in 2009 to 33,963 from 37,261 in 2008.  The decline in deaths is attributed to many factors, including: seat belt and drunk driving campaigns, safer cars and roads, and less overall driving in the poor economy. 

  For more information please see:

  Traffic Fatalities for 2009 Reach Record Low

  Traffic Deaths Decrease; Distracted Driving Remains a Danger

  Florida considers Ban on Texting While Driving

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• Heads up! Seat Belt Offenders Become FHP Target
  Mar 01, 2010

  From now until March 14, Alachua County drivers can expect to dish out $104 for not wearing their seat belts.

  Over the next two weeks, the Florida Highway Patrol, in an effort to increase seat belt use through its "Click it or Ticket" campaign, will actively be on the look out for the estimated 15 percent of Florida drivers who do not wear their seat belts.

  Beginning in June of last year, not wearing your seatbelt became a primary offense, which allows law enforcement officers to make a stop based solely on not being buckled up properly.

  Florida law requires those 18 and over to wear seat belts if they are riding in the front seat of a vehicle (minors must be properly restrained at all times).

  For more information:
  
  Seat belt use now a primary offense in Florida

  
  Officers to crack down on seat belt use
  
  

  Buckle - Up!  Over the next two weeks and every week!

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• Walking + Distracting Gadgets Don't Mix
  Feb 05, 2010

  With increasingly more gadgets and devices to keep people preoccupied, drivers also need to beware of those who are not in their cars: the distracted pedestrians.

  In two studies done by Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., researchers watched a popular area of campus for "inattention blindness"- a person who sees what is in front of them but does not mentally register it. They studied 347 passer-bys noting whether they were talking on the phone, texting, listening to music, etc. And to determine their level of "distraction," researchers set up an unusual sight-a clown on a unicycle.

  Not surprisingly, only 25 percent of cell phone users remembered seeing the clown. They were also more likely to have slower reactions and change directions. This shows how distracted pedestrians increase their chances of drifting off sidewalks, as well as, not seeing an oncoming car, person, bicycle or object.

  According to one New York Times article , a little over 1,000 pedestrians went to the emergency room in 2008 because they were in an accident while using their cell phone. One woman said she was so "lost in conversation," she ran into a parked truck.

  For more information:

  Test your Awareness: Do the Test
  
  Drivers Aren't the Only Ones Distracted; Pedestrians are too!

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• New PIP Case Law in Florida
  Jan 20, 2010

  Several Florida Appellate courts have recently upheld the auto insurance companies' tactic of cutting off or denying injured Florida citizens their Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits without ever being examined by an insurance doctor. 

  Since the inception of Florida's PIP law in 1972, insurance companies have had the right to conduct an independent medical examination, done by their own doctors. After a physical examination, the insurance doctor decides whether the policy holder requires medical care. If this doctor, hired by the insurance company, deems the policy holder has no further need of medical care, the insurance company can then deny benefits, despite the insured's treating physician's diagnosis and medical treatment plan. 

  Now, according to new case law, the insurance company's doctor can make this decision without ever meeting, talking with, or examining the insured. The courts have determined that an insurance company can cut off or deny benefits solely based on a doctor's review of medical records.
  
  For more information:
  
  Expereinced Personal Injury Attorneys may be able to Prove Insurance Fraud

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• Alachua Police Department and Three Motorists Found Negligent in a Fatal Crash
  Oct 28, 2009

  On September 4, 2009, a jury found the Alachua Police Department and three motorists negligent in a crash that took place on I-75 at the US 441 exit on October 12, 2007.

  Earlier on the morning of October 12, police had closed down a section of I-75 near exit 399 due to a fatal traffic accident and was directing traffic off the highway. Steve R. Bogue, an employee of the FL Transportation Inc., was driving a company's truck back from Georgia. He did not slow down or brake as he approached the road closure.  His truck rear-ended another truck with such force that it, in turn, slammed into a commuter van with the employees of the Gainesville Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Bogue died from his injuries. Claudette, DeRosett, a passenger in the van received permanent bodily injury and traumatic brain injury from the crash, and sued Fl Transportation Inc., since Bogue was driving in his capacity as an employee of the company on the day of the accident.

  Florida is a pure comparative negligence state, allowing the jury to assign blame to each person who was responsible for the accident. The attorney for FL Transportation Inc. argued before the jurors that they must consider many factors in deciding who was negligent: the decision to close the highway, the actions of the police department, whether there was advance warning of the detour given to the drivers, actions of other drivers, slow speed of the commuter van etc.

  The jury found that the Alachua Police Department was 35% at fault, the driver of the commuter van was also 35% at fault, and Bogue and the driver of the second truck were each 15% negligent. Florida Transportation Inc. was not found negligent at all.

  For more information, see:

  Comparative Negligence - Do You Know What it Means For Floridians?

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• Serious injury and a fatality from two Summer go-kart accidents.
  Sep 22, 2009

  Over the summer there were several motor vehicle accidents involving go-karts on public roads. Go-karts are not authorized by law to be driven on public roads; here is a brief news summary on two of these accidents.

  On July 6, 2009, a teen was injured when a pick-up truck hit his go-kart on Dixie County Road 346 south of Old Town. Brandon Houtsma, the driver of the pick-up truck, hit the go-kart driven by Patrick Allen, 15, who failed to stop at an intersection. Allan suffered serious injuries from the accident and was taken to Shands at the University of Florida. Both Allan and the passenger of the go-kart, Seth Daily, 21, who was not injured, were wearing seatbelts, but not helmets. Houtsma and his passenger were not injured.

  On August 23, 2009, a 13-year-old teenager, riding a go-kart on the streets of Miami, died when his go-kart was hit by an SUV. The teen had to be airlifted to the nearest hospital where he died from the severity of his injuries. The SUV driver will not be charged.
  
  For more information, please see:
  
  The ABCs of off-highway and recreational vehicle use: ATVs, go-karts, and golf carts
  
  Enjoy the Fall weather - 2 things you should know to be safe and legal on your off-road vehicle

   

   

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• Van crashes into concrete wall with 11 unbuckled children on-board.
  Sep 17, 2009

  On September 7, 2009, Amanda J. Nelson, 34, was driving a van carrying 11 children to a Little League game in Tampa, FL when she failed to pay attention to slow-moving traffic. She went off the road to avoid crashing into a car in front of her, causing her van to hit a concrete wall.

  Nelson failed to buckle up the children, ages 3 to 15, and she herself was not wearing a seat belt. None of the children sustained serious injuries, but Nelson's own daughter, 7, was severely injured and transported in a critical condition to St. Joseph's Women's Hospital.

  Nelson has prior seat belt violations. She was cited for a seat belt violation in 2000 and then again in February of 2006 for driving children without a car seat in the vehicle. In addition, her driver's license has been suspended six times, and she has also been cited for knowingly driving with a suspended license and for speeding.

  Police is currently investigating the accident. Charges against Nelson have not yet been brought.
  
  For more information, please see:
  
  Protect Your Child on the Road - Follow the Law & Be Safe!
  
  Florida Law Regarding Child Safety Seats and Adult Seat belt Use - Do You Know What It Says?

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