South Florida Injury Lawyers

The Sun Sentinel recently reported on the tragic death of motorcyclist who was killed when he was hit by a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction.

Our Palm Beach injury lawyers and Fort Lauderdale motorcycle accident attorneys know that many times motorcycle accidents involving another vehicle are not the fault of the rider but of the driver.

As in this case, a 48-year old Coconut Creek man and father of two was killed, west of Boca Raton, when he was struck by a driver traveling south in northbound lanes. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office reports the rider was traveling north on State Road 7, near Grand Verde Way, around 3:00 a.m. on his Harley Davidson Sportster when he was hit by a 2000 Lexus GS 300.

The 60-year-old driver of the vehicle was headed south in the northbound lanes of State Road 7. When the rider saw the car he changed lanes to get out of the way. Unfortunately the driver realized he was in the wrong lane and changed lanes too. The rider was thrown from his Harley and died on impact. The driver of the Lexus crashed into the center median. It is unknown why the driver of the car was in the wrong lane and the crash remains under investigation.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 5,290 motorcyclists were killed and an additional 96,000 were injured in 2008.

According to Ride Smart Florida Florida had 402 motorcycle fatalities and 8,202 injuries in 2009.

The following was true for Florida motorcycle crashes during 2008:

-38 was the average age for fatalities.
-31 percent of fatal accidents occurred in March, April and May.
-32 percent of fatalities were from a traumatic brain injury.
-46 percent of those injured did not have insurance.
-41 percent of fatal crashes were alcohol-related.
-$47,440 was the average cost for a hospital stay.

As of July 2008, Florida requires mandatory training to get a motorcycle endorsement. Training includes at least 12 hours of classroom time and at least 6 hours of motorcycle riding time.
Keep yourself safe while riding:

-Always wear a properly fitting DOT helmet.
-Don’t speed and know your bike’s limitations.
-Never tailgate other vehicles.
-Use your signals, don’t weave through traffic or ride on the shoulder.
-Make yourself visible, use your headlights and don’t ride in vehicle blind spots.
-Use both your brakes at the same time, nice and steady.
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Following the recent tragedy involving a tour bus company in New York City, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has put passenger carrier safety on the front burner in order to reduce bus accidents in Fort Lauderdale and elsewhere in the country.

Our West Palm Beach bus accident lawyers know that tour buses and motorcoaches are a popular mode of transportation in Florida so safety should be a number one priority for the passengers who travel on them. Tour companies sometimes take a questionable approach to hiring drivers and maintaining their buses so surprise inspections should be conducted routinely to help keep the passenger carrier industry honest.

Almost 2,800 surprise inspections were conducted from March 28 through April 6 across the United States by FMCSA along with the help of state and local law enforcement officials. The surprise inspections, prompted by the death of 15 passengers traveling on a casino tour bus which crashed in the Bronx earlier in the month, came too little too late.

MSNBC reports the driver of the NYC tour bus shouldn’t have been permitted to drive the bus after investigators found he had two licenses and several traffic violations. Tickets for speeding and driving without a license were issued to the driver which led to suspension of his license when he failed to respond to the charges. Federal regulations prevent drivers who have a commercial license from having more than one license but states don’t prevent someone with a criminal record from having a commercial driver’s license to drive a bus.

The nine-day period of passenger carrier safety inspections resulted in removing almost 300 unsafe buses or drivers from roadways across the U.S. There were 156 drivers and 262 vehicles cited for out-of-service violations. There are an estimated 3,700 registered motor coach companies in the U.S. of which only 1,042 had a compliance review done in 2010.

The U.S. Department of Transportation provided an analysis of all buses involved in fatal crashes. During the period of 1999-2008, Florida averaged 27 buses involved in fatal crashes per year.

With all the tourist attractions that Florida has to offer, tour companies stay in business by transporting passengers to sporting events, amusement parks, and other day or weekend trips. Passengers who suspect or experience unsafe driving behavior or commercial carriers are urged to call 911 or report the driver or coach by clicking on FMCSA National Consumer Complaint Database to file a complaint.

Before you plan or take your next trip on a commercial bus, passengers are encouraged to check Bus/Passenger Carrier Information for reputable companies with high safety ratings.
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With the excitement of the Heat participating in the NBA playoffs and baseball season in full swing, it is probably a good time to remind motorists to drink responsibly at the game in an effort to avoid a drunk driving accident in Miami or elsewhere in South Florida.

Our personal injury lawyers in Fort Lauderdale enjoy a good game as well as the next person. But we also understand that far too many fans try to drive home while intoxicated. Affording the hefty price of beer at stadiums and arenas is one thing. Don’t think for a second you can afford to drink and drive and risk the chance of killing someone in a drunk driving accident.

Earlier this year, the University of Minnesota completed a study on fans at sporting events and the amount of alcohol that was in their system as they left the stadium. Bloomberg Businessweek reported that the study found that 1 in 12 fans who were tested were legally drunk. The study used two different sports venues, though did not announce which ones. They tested the blood alcohol concentration of a total 382 willing participants following a total of 16 professional football or baseball games. Of those tested, 8 percent of fans were found over the legal limit when given the breathalyzer test. In addition, the fans who tailgated prior to the game were 14 times more likely to leave the game intoxicated than fans who didn’t tailgate before the game. One in four tailgaters responded that they had at least 5 alcoholic drinks while hanging out before the game. The study found that older fans over the age of 35 were 9 times less likely to be drunk than someone who was under 35.

An interesting note about the respondents, only an average of 20 fans volunteered after each game and the majority of participants were male. A small percentage of respondents, only 14 percent were age 51 or over while 55 percent were between the ages of 21 and 35.

I am sure everyone has attended a sporting event at least once with an annoying fan who is wasted beyond belief. The alarming thing about this particular study is that sports venues are filled with tens of thousands of fans. If 8 percent of fans who leave the arena are intoxicated and they try to drive home at the same time, the odds are pretty good that someone will be involved in a drunk driving accident.

Unfortunately, CF News 13 reports that it isn’t only drunk drivers we need to be concerned about. Alcohol-related incidents like vandalism and assault occur quite frequently inside the stadium when fans have had too much to drink.

The article suggests that fans should do the following to avoid becoming a statistic:

-In Florida, heat can lead to dehydration so drink water in between each alcoholic beverage.

-Be sure to eat plenty of food while you drink. Not only does it fill you up but it keeps you hydrated and slows your ability to drink more.

-If you drink, know your limit and cut yourself off well before you reach it. If you have had too much to drink, ask a responsible party to drive you home or sit with you in the parking lot long after the game has ended.
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Throughout April, the National Safety Council (NSC) and FocusDriven are asking American’s to be considerate of other motorists on our roadways and request that drivers stop using their cell phones behind the wheel during the inaugural National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. It is estimated that nearly 30 percent of all accidents — roughly 1.6 million crashes each year — are the result of drivers using cell phones and texting while driving.

Distracted driving significantly contributes to the number of West Palm Beach car accidents.

Our Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers recognize that cell phone usage and the use of other hand-held devices cause the greatest number of accidents. We urge you to practice safe and focused driving this month, and every other month of the year.

Both organizations, the NSC and FocusDriven, are encouraging motorists to commit to putting away their cell phones while operating a motor vehicle for the entire month. They’re suggesting drivers put their phones away, in the glove compartment or in their trunks, to reduce the temptations of using their device while driving. Motorists are also encouraged to change their voice mail to alert callers they may be driving.

National Distracted Driving Awareness Month was created last month as a resolution by Rep. Betsy Markey (D-CO). It was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in a 410-2 vote on March 23. It was greatly influenced the 9-year-old Erica Forney who was hit and killed by a distracted driver in 2008.

According to Distraction.gov, there are three types of distracted driving:

-Visual Distraction. This occurs when you take your eyes off the road for any reason at all, whether it’s because of the radio, another passenger or a hand-held device.

-Cognitive Distraction. This is when your mind is focused on something else besides driving. This can happen when a driver is irritated, tired, upset, etc.

-Manual Distraction. This is when you literally take your hands off the wheel. This is common with the use of cell phones and hand-held devices. With manual distraction, cognitive and visual distraction usually follow.

“If drivers can go one month without using their phones while driving, they will find out – as many of us have – work still gets done. Many drivers realize most of the calls they thought were so important, really aren’t. It is our hope drivers will decide to make the change permanently. Doing so will make our roadways safer for everyone,” said Jennifer Smith, FocusDriven president and founding board member.

Police-reported accidents provide alarming statistics:

-In 2009, there were nearly 31,000 fatal accidents in the United States. In those accidents 33,808 vehicle occupants died.

– In 2009, approximately 5,500 of those 33,808 motorists were killed in accidents involving driver distraction.

-The number of accidents involving drivers that were reportedly distracted at the time of the accident increased from 7 percent in 2005 to 11 percent in 2009

-Drivers under the age of 20 had the highest proportion of distracted drivers that were involved in fatal accidents. The younger age groups also recorded the most fatal distracted driving incidents.
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