California Injury Attorney Blog

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is putting all drivers on notice that they must "buckle up, or prepare to pay up" if stopped by a California Highway Patrol
(CHP) officer on September 17, 2009. In fact, the entire week is devoted to ensuring that adults and children are properly buckled up in their cars.

Without restraint, there is serious risk of personal injury in the event of an auto accident of any kind.

The CHP has named the day: "Vehicle Occupant Restraint Day." It should be a very interesting day on the state's highways as officers will be paying specific attention to whether drivers and passengers are wearing seat belts.

"Seat belts are your first line of defense against injuries or death," said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. "If you're not buckled up during a crash, you could be thrown through a window or even crushed by a vehicle."

The statistics are very clear. Nearly one-third of passengers who were killed in automobile accidents in 2007-2008 did not use their seat belts. Wearing a seat belt has been shown time and time again to be a very significant factor in saving lives.

In 2008, the CHP wrote about 500 citations per day to drivers and their passengers who were not wearing seat belts.

This citation figure does not include the thousands of tickets written to motorists who did not have children restrained as is required by California law. Children younger than the age of six or who weigh less than 60 pounds, must also be properly buckled up in a child safety seat in the rear of the vehicle.

According to Commissioner Farrow, "The goal is to get motorists to buckle up, not just today, everyday." He urges motorists to make it a habit whenever they get into a vehicle, as a driver or as a passenger.

The Office of Traffic Safety made the funds available to the CHP for these efforts, including overtime for officers to focus on unbuckled drivers -- which in turn it is hoped will educate the public about the dangers of riding in any vehicle without a safety belt.

Continue reading "It's No Accident -- the CHP Looks for the Unbuckled This Week " »

When you think about it, you wouldn't try to balance your check book while driving, or catch up on your summer reading either. But we all see other drivers engaging in dangerous behaviors that are likely to cause accidents, including applying make-up or texting while driving.

Many states, including California have outlawed the use of handheld cellular phones and text messaging while driving. But some lag behind and allow this dangerous behavior to continue.

A great deal has been said and written about this subject recently. That discussion was prompted, in part, by studies performed by Virginia Tech's Transportation Institute. This institute is one of the preeminent transportation research institutions in the nation and it is dedicated to conducting research to save lives, save time and save money in the transportation field.

The study on the use of cellular phones included light vehicle and truck drivers and their manual use of these devices. It concluded that "manual manipulation of phones such as dialing and texting of the cell phone lead to a substantial increase in the risk of being involved in a safety-critical event (e.g., crash or near crash). However, talking or listening increased risk much less for light vehicles and not at all for trucks. Text messaging on a cell phone was associated with the highest risk of all cell phone related tasks."

The risks for light vehicles and cars is summarized as follows:

-- Dialing a cell phone makes the risk of crash or near-crash 2.8 times as high as non-distracted driving;
-- Talking or listening to a cell phone makes the risk of crash or near-crash 1.3 times as high as non-distracted driving; and
-- Reaching for an object such as an electronic device makes the risk of crash or near-crash 1.4 times as high as non-distracted driving.

The evidence is in. Don't risk your safety or the safety of others by engaging in these dangerous behaviors while behind the wheel.

Continue reading "Dangerous Behaviors -- Texting While Driving Can Be Catastrophic" »