Posts tagged "Car Accidents"

Under the legal doctrine of "respondeat superior," an employer can, under limited circumstances, be held liable for injuries caused by a negligent employee. The doctrine only applies to negligent acts committed by employees acting in the "course and scope" of their job duties.

Personal injury attorneys will usually advise an injured plaintiff to bring a lawsuit against an employer for two reasons. First, it furthers the pursuit of justice by allowing the court to apportion liability to every party that played a role in causing a plaintiff's injury. Second, the employer may have better insurance coverage and more assets than the negligent employee, allowing an injured person to be more fairly compensated for his or her injuries.

In the coming months, millions of Americans will embark on their annual holiday road trips. Unfortunately, far too many will drive through the night, ignoring sleep, in an attempt to make good time and avoid traffic.

This behavior can be extremely dangerous. In fact, approximately one in six fatal car accidents are caused by drowsy drivers.

To raise awareness of the dangers of drowsy driving, the National Sleep Foundation has partnered with the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety to declare November 6-12, 2011 "Drowsy Driving Prevention Week."

Kids in cars are at a disadvantage when compared to adults. Most motor vehicle standard safety features are designed with adult-sized occupants in mind. Infants, toddlers and even tweens are usually too small to safely use seat belts and other safety restraints. Parents need to acknowledge the risks that young children face in car accidents and look for the best-fitted car seats and booster seats to safely restrain their children.

According to a 2008 report from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause of childhood fatalities for kids ages three to 14. In 2008, 5,598 children ages 14 and younger were involved in fatal car crashes. Our Sacramento car accident lawyers are ready to help parents of children injured or killed in auto accidents; however, the fewer accidents that cause injury to children, the better. Let's all take steps to keep our kids safe.

In late August, 2011, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) launched a new, nationwide campaign to stop drivers from driving drunk. The campaign, "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over," is intended to reduce the number of car accidents caused by drunk drivers by keeping them off the road.

The danger drunk drivers pose to others is well-recognized by the DOT, law enforcement officials and transportation safety advocates. Yet, drunk driving is still one of the main causes of injury and death in America, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a press release from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

You're driving home one night, maybe after a nice dinner or a few drinks at the bar. Sure, you feel a little buzzed, but you're not drunk... you've driven home in this condition (or worse) many times. And you've never had an accident. Why should you worry this time?

Suddenly, a shape appears in front of your car. There is no time to react. You just hear a dull thud and a blurred image passes by your car. Was it a deer? Was it a person...?

For the average person who doesn't engage in high-risk behavior, belong to a gang or run drugs, this is as bad as it gets. You've hit, and worst-case scenario, killed a pedestrian or someone on a bike or in another car. What do you do now?

Do you stop and try to help?

Do you run?

Most people would have the decency to stop after causing a car accident. Unfortunately, there are many reasons why people decide to leave the scene of an accident. Some have been drinking and are afraid of the consequences of a California drunk driving accident. Others are illegal immigrants worried about deportation.

Yet, no matter the reason, many of the individuals who cause hit and run accidents will eventually be caught. Imagine being interrogated by the Sacramento police or interviewed by a Sacramento hit & run accident lawyer and trying to explain why you left the scene of the accident.

The July 18^th Lake Tahoe bicycle accident that seriously injured a 12-year old boy reminds us to keep an eye out for bicyclists when driving on California's roads. The accident happened when the boy rode out into traffic on Highway 28, which begs the question: who is liable for the bicycle crash?

According to Sacramento bike accident lawyers, the answer depends on whether or not the motor vehicle driver was acting negligently or was using reasonable care when the accident happened. However, the definition of "reasonable care" is different around children than around adults. Drivers are expected to understand that children might ride out into the street without warning; if drivers have reason to believe that children are nearby, they must use extra caution.

On June 3, three young men were killed in an early morning rollover crash east of Sacramento. The driver was thrown from the vehicle and died, along with two of the three passengers.

Stephen G. Johnson, 26, of Rancho Cordova was driving a 2001 Mazda Millennia when he missed a turn and drove through the intersection of Jackson Highway and Sloughouse. The vehicle veered into a field and rolled over. Passengers Maurice M. Waters II, 20, and Christian T. Bishop, 18, were both from Walnut Creek and were also killed in the car crash.

On June 3, three young men were killed in an early morning rollover crash east of Sacramento. The driver was thrown from the vehicle and died, along with two of the three passengers.

Stephen G. Johnson, 26, of Rancho Cordova was driving a 2001 Mazda Millennia when he missed a turn and drove through the intersection of Jackson Highway and Sloughouse. The vehicle veered into a field and rolled over. Passengers Maurice M. Waters II, 20, and Christian T. Bishop, 18, were both from Walnut Creek and were also killed in the car crash.

April 2011 was the United State's first National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. In California, this meant increased enforcement and education throughout April.

Statistics shared by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show how dangerous distracted driving can be:

• In 2009, distracted driving played a part in 20 percent of injury-causing motor vehicle accidents and at least 5,474 fatalities.
• Texting while driving is as dangerous as driving with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08.
• Eighteen percent of fatal distraction-related crashes involve cell phone use.

The city of Sacramento in California is $35 million in the hole. With such a long way to go to balance the budget, lawmakers are following creative avenues to generate revenue. According to the Christian Science Monitor, Sacramento's new "crash tax" makes it the 60^th city in California to fine nonresident drivers who are at fault for - or perhaps even just involved in - motor vehicle accidents that occur within the city.

Reducing the number of fatal car accidents has long been a focus for both federal and state government agencies. By placing emphasis on the root causes of fatal car or truck accidents, officials can implement programs that make roadways safer. Recently, the National Transportation Safety Board has released statistics that show a decrease in the amount of fatal crashes that happened in 2009.

The NTSB report stated that fatalities in transportation accidents decreased 9.2 percent from 2008 to 2009. Overall, the number of fatal air, train, boat and highway accidents decreased to 35,928, from 39,569 in 2008. Car and truck accidents make up the highest number of fatalities, and these numbers showed a decrease in accidents as well. In 2008, there were 37,423 deaths on highways throughout the country. In 2009, that number dropped to 33,808. Motorcycle accidents showed a decrease as well, decreasing 16 percent since 2008.

Search giant Google has created the 2010 Google AI Challenge, which pits computer programmers from both public and private sectors - and university students - against each other in a battle over planetary dominance.

The challenge is a game called "PlanetWars." Programmers write code that goes forth and competes with other programmers' code. Competitor-programmers start with 100 ships; those with the most surviving ships after 200 turns at play get the privilege and bragging rights of appearing on the leader board.

As reported on ZDNet, the challenge is "designed to help push the limits of artificial intelligence and game theory."

The California Office of Public Safety says traffic fatalities (which often lead to wrongful death claims in cases of negligent driving) in the state most likely dropped significantly in 2009, following the national trend. The U.S. Department of Transportation will release the statistics later this year.

However, stepped-up drunken driving enforcement, decreases in driving overall and already declining statistics from the previous year suggest that the drop experienced by California in 2009 may be substantial. From 2007 to 2008, traffic deaths in California decreased 14 percent.