Traffic Safety

Baltimore Auto Injury News: Firm Helps Maryland Drivers Peer into the Dangerous World of Traffic Accidents

January 3, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Unless one is a police officer, traffic accident investigator, or traffic reporter, it’s difficult to know all of the dangerous and potentially deadly intersections and roadways throughout Maryland. In fact, it’s likely that no one person can really know the location of the majority of accident-prone areas across the state.

As Baltimore car, truck and motorcycle injury accident attorneys, even we are aware of just a fraction of the more dangerous intersections here in Baltimore, over in Gaithersburg and out in Washington, D.C. With all of the many and varied automobile and trucking-related traffic collisions that happen every year, only a computer database can really keep track of this information with any accuracy.

And so it was, until recently, that the average person could not know for certain if they were constantly exposing themselves and their families to danger by driving through a highly accident-prone area on the way to school, work or the movies. This has all changed with the advent of new, online traffic fatality mapping information offered by UK-based ITO World.

According to news articles, individuals can now see how safe (or dangerous) the steets they frequently drive on or cross as a pedestrian actually are. Since almost nobody stands at a street corner for hours each day to observe traffic collisions and pedestrian accidents, the database offered by ITO World let’s one decide if an obviously busy intersection is really a hazard to one’s health.

Maryland Auto Accident Update: Beware of New Year’s Weekend in Baltimore and Potential Drunk Driving Wrecks

December 31, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Anyone new to the Baltimore area should be advised that the city’s bars and other drinking establishments get a special pass each year regarding their operating hours during the New Year. Specifically, state law will allow bars in the city to remain open literally “24-7” from New Year’s Eve through 2am on Monday, January 2. While law enforcement efforts to curb drunken driving are ongoing, we cannot stress enough the need for caution when driving in and around the city during the holiday weekend.

Quite frankly, although drunk driving has for decades been under attack nationwide by state and federal government and law enforcement agencies, the fact remains that the same people who drink still use a car to get around. Designated driving campaigns are helpful, but it’s not hard to imagine that more than a few drunken bar patrons are going to head home this weekend without a sober ride.

Traffic wrecks involving commercial trucks may not be the primary type of injury accident during the New Year’s holiday, but car-to-car collisions are likely to be the order of the day — and night. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues have seen the result of alcohol-related car, truck and motorcycle accidents; none of which are particularly pretty.

Given the number of DWI- and DUI-related traffic incidents in any one year, it is a certainty that we will see our share of crashes in Baltimore, Rockville, Annapolis and the District this season as well. What we should all keep in mind is that the danger exists and should be avoided whenever possible.

Maryland Auto Injury News: NTSB Urges Halt to Any Cellphone Use in Cars, Trucks

December 15, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It’s all over the news and on the lips of safety-conscious people across the nation; the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has urged state legislatures across the U.S. to move to ban any and all cellphone use in car and trucks on the nations roadways. While we occasionally hear of individual state legislators condemning the dangers of texting and hands-on cellphone use, it’s not often that a department of the federal government makes such a broad and sweeping recommendation regarding the safety of all drivers.

As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my staff have seen the results of auto, truck and motorcycle accidents caused by distracted drivers. The misery and suffering that a negligent act can inflict on a person and his or her family is far worse than any minor distraction that initially caused the traffic collision in the first place. Texting, cellphones and smart phones are just one more, albeit major, distraction that drivers deal with on a daily basis.

Now, with the NTSB’s recommendation, it seems that the issue of traffic deaths caused by distracted driving (due to any kind of cellphone use) is going to be a serious topic of conversation and possible legislative efforts in the months and years to come. For anyone who wonders, the NTSB is usually associated with serious plane and train accidents, rather than with everyday automobile and trucking-related crashes, which they also investigate when necessary.

However, the 3,000-plus deaths attributed to distracted driving in 2010 — as well as the close association that cellphones and smart phones have with driver distraction — has placed this issue front and center with other serious safety-related discussions.

Baltimore Traffic Safety News: Speed Cameras Credited with Changes in Driving Behavior in Maryland School Zones

December 8, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Depending on how one looks at it, so-called speed cameras either do nothing to improve traffic safety or decrease the chances of automobile collisions in dangerous and highly accident-prone intersections and roadways. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, as well as car and trucking accident attorneys, I and my colleagues can see the benefit of most any traffic safety device or effort where innocent lives are at stake.

While it has been reported previously that certain speed camera installations have not been effective in cutting the number of traffic collisions, others argue that these “big brother” devices do help to change the behavior of drivers when the existence of these cameras is made known to the motoring public.

Detractors likely point to reports documenting the use of more than a half-dozen speed cameras in and around Baltimore County a couple years ago; those 15 cameras apparently resulted in an initial drop in speeding by (and hence the issuing of speeding tickets to) motorists in a number of school zones. At the same time, however, the number of car accidents was reportedly not affected. Baltimore police deduced that although drivers did indeed slow down, the accident rate in those areas was apparently unaffected.

Baltimore Traffic Safety News: Maryland Drivers Face Dangerous Roads in December Due to Increased Drunken Driving

November 30, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As mentioned prior to Thanksgiving, the end-of-year holiday season appears to be a good excuse for some Maryland motorists to drink and drive, making the state’s highways and secondary roads more dangerous for the rest of us. As Baltimore auto accident lawyers and personal injury lawyers, we know how a simple ride to school, work or the store can turn into a life or death struggle to survive a horrendous traffic accident.

Sadly, the message that drunken driving is a danger to everyone — perpetrator included — has not made it to the ears of those most responsible for these kinds of accidents. As a result, drivers in Gaithersburg, Annapolis, Rockville and the District can expect to face continued threat of roadways collisions caused by drunk drivers.

This is not just a theory of ours, but a fact that recent news articles already have confirmed. According to reports, Drunk driving arrests are already up this season based on the opening weeks of a statewide law enforcement safety initiative. Injuries from auto, truck and motorcycle accidents are just as painful and debilitating whether they are caused by distraction, aggression or impairment from alcohol or other substances.

According to news reports, the interval between Thanksgiving and New Year’s has come to be regarded by traffic safety experts as one of the most dangerous times to be driving on Maryland roads. These experts point to a new crop of young adults who don’t remember Maryland’s targeted anti-drunk driving enforcement efforts begun in the late 1980s and carried on into the early ‘90s. Nearly 20 years ago, as news articles remind us, police agencies first began to notice a disturbing trend in drinking and driving. Now, with a new generation coming of age, those older initiatives are apparently not in the current consciousness, hence the renewed enforcement efforts of late.

Police departments across the state arrested nearly 20 drivers for driving under the influence on Thanksgiving eve, a figure that is practically two times that of last year. (The night before Thanksgiving has over the past several years become known as the most dangerous time due to the large number of motorists who likely drink and drive.)

Baltimore Auto Accident Update: 25 Percent of Maryland Traffic Accidents Caused by Smartphone Use, Other Electronics

November 28, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Many people could be spared painful injury and potential death were it not for automotive negligence on the highways and surface streets. Every week in and around cities like Rockville, Gaithersburg, Frederick and Washington, D.C., occupants of passenger cars and city buses, pedestrians crossing urban streets, and motorcyclists are hurt or killed as a result of another person’s inattention.

As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, I and my staff have seen the results of traffic accidents caused by distracted driving. It makes little difference to the victim of an automobile or commercial trucking accident whether the individual who caused the accident was drunk, under the influence of prescription drugs, eating a hamburger, or texting a friend on their cellphone; the injuries are the same and the recovery typically slow and many times painful.

For those lucky enough to survive a high-speed collision, rarely do they walk away without a scratch. Usually, some kind of bodily harm occurs following a roadway collision, such as broken bones, cuts and bruises, and spinal injuries. Of course, not every accident is the result of inattention, but the large number that are could perhaps be reduced if drivers took a moment to consider their actions behind the wheel.

Recovering medical and rehabilitation expenses following a bad auto wreck can be difficult, which is why it’s always advisable to consult with a qualified personal injury lawyer. These days, many people have a hard enough time making ends meet, much less pay for a hospital stay that resulted from a car crash caused by a negligent party. Getting one’s medical bills covered is a priority for families whose earnings are already stretched to the limit.

Baltimore Automobile Safety News: Rte 235 Traffic Accidents Prompt St. Mary’s County to Add Red-light Cameras

November 25, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Personal injuries can result from most any activity. Whether one lives here in Baltimore, over in Frederick or out in Washington, D.C., it is a certainty that you or someone you know has been witness to a car, truck or motorcycle accident during your driving career. Many times, when someone calls our firm, it is because that person or a close family member has been hurt due to another individual’s negligent actions.

Malice is not the only cause of traffic-related collisions, just as it is not always the reason for a trip and fall incident or a medical error that has out someone into a nursing home. Very often, accidents that cause injury are a result of carelessness or distraction at a critical time. In the case of passenger car and trucking-related wrecks, the simple yet dangerous act of using a smart phone can and does lead to a serious and sometimes fatal roadway collision.

Innocent victims of these kinds of accidents may have just cause to bring a civil suit against the injuring party via a personal injury lawsuit. Such as claim is quite common if the victim or his family believes that the injury was caused either by intentional act or careless one. Needless to say, a defective or poorly designed consumer product can also cause harm to an individual, in which case the manufacturer, and even the distributor of that defective product — may be sued based on a plaintiff’s argument that the negligent party was legally responsible for the injury(s) sustained by the injured party.

‘Tis the Season for Drinking and Driving? Thanksgiving Holiday May Pose Dangers on Maryland Roadways

November 23, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, but the holiday weekend will continue for several days. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, we feel it is important to advise caution when venturing out onto the state’s highways and surface streets during the coming holiday. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), 42.5 million motorists nationwide will be hitting the roads this holiday weekend.

Here in Maryland, experts estimate that nearly 90 percent of residents will at one time or another be driving during the coming days — 800,000 people traveling to destinations all across the state. With this in mind, it is essential to remember that Thanksgiving has in many parts of the country become known more as drinking holiday than for the traditional family gatherings of the post.

As Maryland auto and trucking accident attorneys, I and my staff know that roadway collisions can and do happen everyday. While crashes of any kind are quite common, motor vehicle wrecks involving alcohol can make up more than 30 percent of all fatal incidents. Driving during this coming holiday weekend should be undertaken with caution and eyes wide open.

Although gasoline prices are more than 15 percent higher than a year ago this time, traveling by car is still one of the more cost-effective modes, especially when going relatively short distances of 100 miles or so. The gradual rise in fuel prices is not likely to limit the number of cars, trucks or even motorcycles on the road this weekend.

Safety when driving is an important consideration when noting the increased number of cars on the road when compared to other traveling-related holidays. According to the AAA, Thanksgiving holiday traffic represents is the first significant increase in vehicular traffic of the entire year to date. Based on news reports, Memorial Day travel was, one the whole, unchanged from previous years, while the July Fourth and Labor Day holidays saw slight decreases in travel.

Maryland Auto Injury Update: Nationwide, Male Drivers More Likely to Drink and Drive than Females

November 14, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Disconcerting as it may be, a recently released study by the national Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows that men are more inclined to operate car, trucks and motorcycles while under the influence of alcohol than are females. As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we are hardly surprised at the finding of this study, which clearly indicates that male drivers take to the road more often while intoxicated than most any other segment of the driving public.

Although is certain that not everyone who gets behind the wheel of a car, motorcycle or commercial motor vehicle is legally intoxicated, it can be said that many people who do operate motor vehicles while impaired to some degree may not actually realize the chance they take with their lives, much less the lives of innocent people all around them.

Here in Baltimore, as well as Gaithersburg, Rockville, Annapolis and Washington, D.C., even persons who are stopped by police and subsequently charged with drunken driving, may actually be surprised that they had a blood-alcohol content (or BAC) of 0.08-percent or more.

If only for this reason, the Maryland State Police and local law enforcement departments continually try to enforce our anti-drunk driving laws. Of course, a portion of those motorists arrested for driving while impaired are actually under the influence of doctor-prescribed medication; some are even high on illegal drugs.

Regarding the CDC’s report, men nationwide are reportedly four times more likely to drive drunk than women motorists. Based on news reports, the study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates why men many times find themselves being ticketed for drunken driving more than women.

Baltimore Personal Injury, Auto Accident News: Despite New Law, Texting Still Poses Danger to Maryland Drivers

October 27, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As most everyone understands by now, texting while driving is one of the more dangerous activities that a motorist can undertake while operating a passenger car or commercial truck. Since the advent of text-capable cell phones and now smart phones, thousands of traffic accidents have been attributed to drivers texting or being otherwise distracted.

Numerous studies have been conducted been conducted over the years most of which link texting directly to, or as a contributing factor in, roadway collisions. Many of these car, truck and motorcycle crashes were serious enough to require hospitalization; some of them were tragically fatal to the driver and/or occupants of one or both vehicles involved. As Maryland personal injury attorneys and automobile accident lawyers, we know how a seemingly simple distraction can cause a driver to miss or ignore a dangerous situation developing on the road.

In fact, one of those studies from a couple years back cited the chances for a traffic accident occurring when a commercial truck driver was texting at more than 20-times in the absence of texting. While that study was based on data collected directly from video observations of truck drivers in-cab and also from trucking accident reports, one could easily assume that the average passenger car driver is at least as likely to get into an accident while texting as any commercial driver, if only because truckers are on the whole trained professionals who drive for a living.

In any event, the study out of Virginia Tech’s Transportation Institute found that the main reason why texting while driving is so dangerous is the fact that the operators eyes must look away from the road and focus on a relatively small display screen. Experts tend to agree that taking one’s eyes off the road for more than two seconds while operating a passenger car or truck represents a dangerous driving condition.