Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Defective automobile parts and components can result in minor accidents and even fatal crashes. Depending on what vehicle systems or safety equipment fail on a passenger car or truck, the resulting wreck can cause injuries from cuts and bruises to internal bleeding and even fatal brain trauma or serious spinal damage. As Maryland injury lawyers and auto accident attorneys, Lebowitz & Mzhen, LLC has the experience to represent individuals injured in as a result of another person’s negligence.

A recent article shows that some fatal accidents are not a result of defective equipment, which brings into question the human factor. Driver error is one of the largest causes of traffic accidents. Depending on vehicle speed and road conditions the ultimate result can be devastating to the occupants involved in a sedan, sport utility vehicle (SUV) or pickup truck accident.

According to reports, investigators’ post-crash inspection of a Maryland State Police cadet's Ford F-250 pickup truck showed no specific defects or height violations, which could have led to the fatal head-on crash that left a Parsonsburg man dead in an earlier accident.

Police officials reported that investigators inspected the truck and found there were no mechanical defects or equipment violations, this according to Greg Shipley, a Maryland State Police spokesman. The vehicle was reportedly inspected by the state police automotive safety enforcement division following the fatal collision on Route 346 on a Friday morning in late November.

Police reports indicate that the cadet’s pickup came to rest on top of the Mercury Sable driven by 19-year-old Shawn Michael Williams. According to police investigators, Williams’ car crossed the center line and collided with the westbound Ford F-250 driven by Travis William Dennis, a 20-year-old Pittsville resident and Maryland State Police cadet.

Cadets are typically hired at around 18 years of age as civilian employees who assist state troopers. According to police, the cadet program is supposed to expose candidates to the duties and responsibilities of a trooper and in doing so help them prepare for the state police academy.

The investigation of the fatal collision is ongoing and could take another month or so to complete.

No violation found in Old Ocean City Road fatal, DelMarVa.com, December 2, 2009

Will a recent decision by officials in Washington, D.C., to eliminate the annual vehicle inspections previously required of District residents result in more auto accidents, injuries and deaths? That’s a good question and one that will require at least a few years to assess. As Maryland car accident attorneys and personal injury lawyers, our first thought is for the safety of all drivers and pedestrians on this state’s roadways. Will cars owned by D.C. drivers be anymore accident-prone? Only a mechanic can know for certain.

A recent op-ed piece brought this to mind. Since a poorly-maintained vehicle is much more likely to have something go wrong, it would seem logical that we might see more accidents involving the vehicles driven by District of Columbia residents, such as failed brakes, incorrectly aimed headlamps, breakdowns on the highway and other traffic hazards.

As of October 1, citizens of Washington, D.C., will apparently have one less annual concern, but the rest of us may pay for it in increased accidents. According to reports, the District has ended its safety inspection program, although this doesn’t include anything related to a vehicle’s emission system -- hence, emission inspections will continue as usual.

The District’s decision was reportedly made in an attempt to trim the cost of maintaining a car in the D.C. area, which will increase property taxes and also cut administrative costs. This supposedly will allow D.C. a better chance to tackle their budgetary issues.

To some, the elimination of the annual inspections is a drastic measure than may leave some wondering about the ultimate savings if, in fact, it leads to more accidents, stalled cars, and worse traffic tie-ups. Apparently, many safety experts have also expressed alarm at the prospect of un-inspected vehicles driving around the Maryland and Virginia landscape.

The District is apparently leaving any safety inspection requirements to local municipalities. Virginia is one of only 18 states that actually requires annual or biannual safety inspections, while here in Maryland the law requires a safety inspection only at the time that a car is sold.

The major concern here is, of course, safety on the road, which will impact drivers in multiple jurisdictions. All we can say is drive carefully when in D.C.

Editorial: Time for Inspection, loudouni.com, October 8, 2009

In a move that could portend a rash of car, SUV and light truck accidents down the road, the District of Columbia has announced that it will be ending safety inspections for most privately-owned vehicles beginning on October 1. As a Maryland auto accident and personal injury lawyer, I have seen first-hand the human cost and property damage resulting from poorly maintained passenger cars.

Single-car accidents, as well as multi-vehicle crashes can be caused by the failure of a single critical vehicle system. Will D.C.’s decision mean more fatal collisions and non-fatal injury accidents around the area? Only time will tell, but one thing I know is that automotive safety is something that everyone who travels on our public roads should be concerned about.

According to a recent news article, budget concerns have led to decision. Along with the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles, the Fenty administration has persuaded the D.C. Council to approve the change this year as a way to save $400,000. Although the safety inspection program is being terminated, emissions inspections will still be required every two years for all cars and trucks -- as required by federal regulations. Under the latest decision, but motor vehicles that are not used for commercial purposes will no longer have to prove that they are road-worthy.

The move concerns many people that area roads will soon be flooded with unsafe cars that could cause more accidents. Safety advocates and city mechanics who do inspections question the wisdom of the new policy in a community where they say thousands of residents fail to properly maintain their automobiles.

"You have an entire generation that is woefully unaware of when a car has real problems," said John B. Townsend II, a spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, who said 35 percent of inspected vehicles failed inspection last year in the District. "It's not only about unsafe roads in the District, but Maryland and Virginia as well."

The new policy will make the District the first jurisdiction in the mid-Atlantic region to drop all safety inspections for most private vehicles.

In Virginia, vehicles are required to pass inspection every year. Maryland does not have annual inspections, but used vehicles are supposed to be inspected before they are sold or transferred.

D.C. Ending Safety Checks On Private Cars, WashingtonPost.com, September 15, 2009

Deaths and injuries in Maryland, as well as across the country, caused by collapsed SUV and passenger car roofs as a result of vehicle collisions and rollover accidents could be reduced in the future thanks to new federal government requirements for greater roof-crush protection. For the first time in more than 30 years, automobile manufacturers will have to engineer their vehicles’ roof and body structures to meet a higher standard -- the roofs of future vehicles will have to bear three times the curb weight of a vehicle.

Nearly a decade in the making, will this new requirement save the lives of auto accident victims? Unfortunately, the rules only cover vehicles with gross vehicle weight ratings up to 6,000 pounds (curb weight plus maximum passenger and cargo weight), which will leave out some full-size SUVs and pickup trucks. Still, it is a step in the right direction to reduce vehicle injuries.

Our experience as Maryland Auto Accident Attorneys tells us that there will always be accidents that threaten the lives and well-being of drivers and passengers. At Lebowitz–Mzhen, LLC, our skilled legal professionals have seen the results of roof crush injuries and deaths. We can only hope that the new standards will make a difference.

Based on the previous, three-decade-old standards, a vehicle’s roof was required to withstand a force equal to only 1.5 times the vehicle’s curb weight, but NOT TO EXCEED 5,000 pounds. This last point was the fatal flaw in the old standard, especially for victims of rollover accidents and other vehicle crashes where the roof collapsed into the passenger space. This type of structural failure during a vehicle accident can cause great bodily harm, including traumatic brain injury.

Over the years, the mass of SUV’s, light trucks and other passenger vehicles has increased, while the 5,000-pound maximum has remained unchanged. Comparing the old standard to the new, the roof of a current 3,700-pound SUV is required to hold up under a maximum of 5,000 pounds, even though 1.5 times the curb weight is 5,550 pounds. Under the new standard, with no maximum, the roof of a future 3,700-pound SUV will be required to withstand 11,100 pounds of force -- more than twice the previous 5,000-pound maximum.

Also of benefit will be a change in testing procedures. The new standards call for crush pressure to be applied first on one side and then the other side of the roof. According to reports, some safety advocates have for years asked for a two-sided test, arguing that it better duplicates what happens when a vehicle rolls. In a roll, pressure is applied to one side, weakening the roof. Then, as the roll continues, more pressure is applied to the other side.

Government Improves Roof-Crush Standards, NewYorkTimes.com, May 5, 2009