Driving under the influence (DUI) is a crime where a driver operates a vehicle while impaired by the effects of alcohol or drugs.   Alcohol impairs your driving abilities, both conscious and instinctive.  Your visual judgment, night vision, speed, braking and steering ability, distance, reaction time if another car makes a sudden move and all your instincts and reactions you take for granted are impaired by alcohol. 

As a Kentucky personal injury attorney I always look to see if the at-fault driver was drunk.  This increases the value of the personal injury claim, because there can be a claim for punitive damage.  Drinking and driving can have a serious impact in one’s life.

The “Jackass” star Ryan Dunn, 34-year-old, died in a car crash that happened at about 3 a.m. on Route 322 and New Street in West Goshen Township last June 20, 2011.  He was driving his 2007 Porsche 911 DT3, with a passenger who was not yet identified.  Neither survived the crash and died due to the serious injuries sustained in the accident. According to the West Goshen Township Police Department, Dunn’s car was off the road, in the woods and was “fully engulfed in flames” when they arrived to the scene. 

It was reported that Dunn arrived at a bar called Barnaby’s of America in West Chester, PA to hang out with a small group of friends.  A friend said that Dunn was not too drunk to drive for he had only 3 Miller Lites and 3 girly shots and was spending nearly a 4 hour span in the bar.  But according to a person who was inside the bar, Dunn was indeed very drunk.  Dunn even posted a photo on Twitter showing of himself drinking with friends’ hours before the fatal car accident. 

Our prayers go out to the family of Ryan Dunn and his friend. Hopefully, this terrible tragedy will help educate and bring the dangers of drunk driving further into the spot light. Organizations, such as MADD (Mothers against Drunk Driving), a U.S. non-profit group already does a terrific job in its campaign against drunk driving.  Everyone should be involved. Our loved ones are all potential victims and in danger from drunk drivers.

From a legal perspective, the passenger may have a claim against Dunn, as the driver, if this accident had happened in Kentucky. There may be factors, such as knowledge of Dunn’s drinking, which would have a negative effect on the accident case.  There may also be a “Dram Shop” case against the bar where Dunn was drinking if it can be shown they had knowledge that Dunn was intoxicated and still sold him drinks.

Pike County has one of the highest traffic death rates in Kentucky State. The County is normally ranked second or third behind larger areas like Lexington and Louisville for traffic fatalities.

Last year State Officials reported that 21 lives were lost in automobile accidents on Pike County roads. Officials say that Pike County has less seat belt usage and a higher rate of speeders than other counties in Kentucky. This is a huge problem according to officials. State and local leaders and police have begun new target enforcement in Pike County in an effort to change these habits and hope fully save lives.

As a targeted enforcement area, flashing speed limit signs are going up across Pike County- Police will have a higher and more visible presence on the highways. Police also are hoping to educate the public.  This strategy is hoped to decrease traffic accidents. They are also starting new campaigns to get more people to buckle up.

The County has also created the Pike County Highway Safety Team made up of police, citizens, and officials to discuss other new safety measures.

Pike County leads the Kentucky in finding ways to decrease traffic fatalities. Deadly car crashes are a problem for every country in Kentucky. Is this something all counties can look at? Should high accident areas be targeted? Is this financially feasible? I don’t know the answers to these questions, but if we as a community can make effort that will save even one file from a tragic car or truck accident than I believe it should be done.

Are you horrified hearing news about fatal crashes that happen daily?  In Kentucky, countless number of automobile accidents have already occurred this year but also from the past years causing deaths and serious injuries.  Is this like a trend that we just need to get used to it?  This is just the way it is.  Wrong!  We need to act now to prevent fatal car accidents caused by the negligence of distracted drivers.

Our primary responsibility as a driver is to operate our vehicle safely.  Here are some tips to keep us focused while driving. 

•       Pay attention when you are driving, even if you are familiar with the area.  Keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel.
•       Don’t text or talk on your cell phone while you are driving.  If you need to make or answer a call, pull over to a safe place.  But it is best to turn off your cell phone if possible.
•       Limit in-car distractions such as fiddling with the stereo, eating, putting on makeup and other activities that can distract your driving ability.  Too much noise and movement around you could also be dangerous because it can keep you from seeing important stuff on the road.
•       Always buckle up.  Seatbelts are savior during car accidents.
•       Use your head.  Make smart decisions, use your common sense, follow rules of the road and you’ll be a safer driver.
•        If you need some motivation on your driving, listen to those who have lost children, parents and friends as a result of distracted driving.  It will surely change your mind and move you to be a more responsible driver. 

I know that the do’s and don’ts are easy to remember but not so easy to do.  Let’s try to ignore our phone and pay attention to the road.  Your life and others lives depend on it.

Do you think you can drive and text or talk on a cell phone at the same time?  A simple question yet crucial to preventing serious injury car accidents.  Motor vehicle crashes are the No.1 cause of death in the United States.  Motor vehicle crashes are among the top three causes of death in a person’s lifetime.  Research has found that talking on a cell phone quadruples your risk of an accident.  When you are text messaging and driving, the crash risk goes up to eight times.  So, do you think your brain just can keep up?  I don’t think so and research is on my side.

Most of us believe that our brain can work the way we’d like it to work.  We have become a society of multi-taskers but we can’t multitask.  It drains our brain.  People often think that they could effectively accomplish two tasks at the same time.  Multitasking is a myth because the human brain does not perform tasks simultaneously.  The brain actually handles tasks sequentially.  It will perform only one task at a time.  When we believe we are multitasking we are really attention switching.  Distracted driving endangers the drivers’ safety and the people on the road around him.  Dialing and texting can take a driver’s eyes from the roadway for five to ten seconds.  Did you know most crashes have less than three seconds reaction time for you to be able to avoid the car accident?  Do I need to do the math for you?

There is also inattention blindness that most distracted drivers experience.  Drivers are looking out the windshield but they do not process everything that is happening on the road in front of them.  Obviously, Kentucky drivers need to effectively monitor the surroundings of the road.  They need to seek and identify potential hazards so the driver can respond to unexpected situations.

Everyone should think first before picking up a cell phone to call or text while driving.  Is it really worth it?

Distracted driving is any non-driving activity a person engages in that has the potential to distract a driver from the primary task of driving that increases the risk of having a car accident.  Evidence shows that cell phone use is one of the most dangerous distractions for drivers and a common cause of car collisions.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration distracted driving kills approximately 5,500 people annually. Nearly 1 in 4 of these fatal accidents involves cell phone use.  Are you alarmed about this? I know it *%#*& me off!

Thankfully there are organizations, such as FocusDriven, that are active in reminding us that no phone call or text message is worth a life.  FocusDriven is a nonprofit advocacy organization for distracted driving victims, including the use of cell phones.  A newly redesigned FocusDriven website (www.focusdriven.org/summit) was launched to increase awareness about the dangers of cell phone use while driving.  The website was announced at the Illinois Distracted Driving Summit in Addison, Illinois. The summit was hosted by FocusDriven and the National Safety Council in partnership with Shriners Hospital for Children-Chicago. 

The site has a summit resource guide that includes video clips, presentations and other resources.  It also includes a searchable database of victims where photos and messages from friends and family members can be shared via a memorial wall.  Unfortunately the victims of distracted driving are increasing.  This is just one important way bring awareness to and hopefully decrease the number of fatal car accidents caused by distracted driving. 

Janet Froetscher, president and CEO of the National Safety Council said, “The National Safety Council supports FocusDriven in the fight to end cell phone use on our roadways, both in Illinois and nationwide.”  She added that they are helping FocusDriven form resources that others can use to compel change in their states through the summit.

In my own personal view, an effective summit against distracted driving should also be brought in the state of Kentucky.  Many lives here in Kentucky are lost due to distracted driving.  Our current law does not appear to be working, although four months may not be long enough to see. All I know is when I drive to and from the office I see:

• Cars swerving from lane to lane
• Cars driving slow in the fast lane
• Cars stopped at green lights
• Cars almost rear ending cars

Guess what. Almost always I see the driver on the cell phone. This is against the law, yet people still do it. It is a proven fact that texting while driving is more dangerous the drunk driving, yet people still do it. As a Kentucky personal injury attorney, I see serious car accidents caused by distracted driver more than ever. PLEASE, let’s follow the lead of FocusDriven and get the word out that distracted driving is dangerous.

Automobile fatalities rate increase each year, especially among young drivers in Kentucky. As a parent of a 17 and 22 year old daughters this concerns me. I have seen many gadgets and programs that are available to educate or prevent serious injury and fatal accidents among student drivers. Parents and teenagers should take a look at this newly launched smartphone application by WirelessESP that keeps young drivers, or anyone for that matter that is addicted to texting while driving, safe on the road called the “Speedbump”.
Speedbump is a GPS vehicle tracking device invented by a teen named Jon Fischer and ensures teen driving safety which respects their privacy and independence. It’s the world’s first mobile application that allows parents and teen drivers to talk and encourage safe driving habits. The application can be used to set and detect realistic speed limits on any type of road whether it is residential, secondary or highways. It monitors and issues instant alert to parents not only when the teen is driving but also when they are a passenger in an unsafe driving situation.
Another positive factor of this application is that it protects teen privacy. This can be huge when trying to convince your children that this is a good and valuable resource. Speedbump only sends reports when there is a violation of the speeding, distracted driving or curfew rules that have been agreed upon. So, if your teen is driving safely, Speedbump never reports their location.
Speedbump is available for Android phones and will be offered for other platforms in the future. The application can be downloaded from the company’s website (www.speedbumpGPS.com) with price starting at just $9.99 per month.

For Kentucky parents who worry with their teen driving or even just riding a car, Speedbump is a valuable solution. It will help erase your worries and give you peace of mind. Most importantly it will help you monitor and ensure that your young drivers are obeying the rules you have in place while they are driving or riding in a car. Act now and encourage safer driving! As a personal injury attorney I hope this device may help make your children safer drivers, give you peace of mind as a parent and a help to prevent a serious car accident.

            Governor Steve Beshear signed the Cell Phone Text Messaging Bill into law in Kentucky on April 25, 2010. It is about time. I hope this bill will have its intended impact and prevent serious automobile accidents caused by inattentive or distracted drivers. 

Under the new law, any driver under the age of 18 is prohibited from using a cell phone in any manner while driving.  This applies to an instruction permit, intermediate license or a full operator’s license.  There is one and only one exception to this.  That is to summon medical help, law enforcement or a public safety agency in the case of an emergency. 

            There are also provisions that relate to ALL drivers. Anyone who is operating a motor vehicle cannot write, send or read a text-based communication such as text message, instant message or electronic mail while operating a motor vehicle.  My understanding is that there will be warnings issued on violations until January 1, 2011. 

The fine for a first offense is a mere $25.00. Second offenders on up are fined $50.00 plus court costs. These fines appear to be a mere slap on the wrist. What if a bicycle accident victim is seriously injured or killed by someone who is texting while driving? Is a $25.00 fine going to send a message and act as a deterrent? I would propose much harsher penalties, maybe even prison time and a charge of manslaughter in extreme circumstances. Texting while driving is said to be more dangerous then drunk driving. The penalties should at least be the same!

            Two weeks after the Cell Phone Text Messaging Bill was signed into law I was traveling down I-64.  Ironically I was near the Frankfort, where the bill was signed and debated.  I was passed by a driver who had a laptop computer wedged between the passenger seat and the dashboard. The computer faced him and he was typing as he passed me going well over the speed limit!  I had a “Did I really just see that?” moment.

We really need to use some common sense when we are driving a car.  I believe the Text Messaging Bill is a good start; however, I don’t believe the penalties are harsh enough to have a real impact. It didn’t faze my friend with the computer wedged in his front seat.  Inattentive driving can cause can cause severe consequences, such as brain injury, paralysis or even death. 

There are efforts nationally, such as Oprah Winfrey’s “No Phone Zone.” This is a push to get teenage drivers to enter into a contract abstaining from texting while driving or even using a cell phone in the car.  What a great idea! My 16-year-old daughter helped to get signatures and pledges at her high school.  Her class was able to get over 100 students to sign a contract or pledge not to use a cell phone while driving. 

This is a good start but as I said, Kentucky needs to go further with penalties and enforcement.  For now, we’ll take what we have and hope that all Kentuckians use common sense to prevent serious motor vehicle accidents and fatal accidents on our roads.

The March 26th accident in Hart County, Kentucky is the second worst traffic accident in Kentucky history.  The worse occurred on May 14, 1988, when 27 people were killed in a bus crash caused by a drunk driver outside Carrollton, Kentucky. I was a young prosecutor at the time and was horrified by the accident. I still get a chill every time I drive pass the memorial sign on I-71.

       I would describe The Munfordville truck accident in the same one word: “horrific.” A semi truck traveling south in the early morning hours crossed the median, went through the cable barriers into the oncoming traffic and hit a van head on killing 10 of its passengers  The driver of the truck was also killed.  Several families and communities suffered great losses that morning. My heart goes out to them.

       The 10 people in the van were traveling from Marrowbone, Kentucky to Iowa for a wedding.  They were members of the Mennonite faith. As the grieving process continues with family, loved ones and communities touched by this tragedy are looking for an explanation as to why and how this happened.

       There have been some answers from this ongoing investigation of The National Transportation and Safety Board, who are investigating the crash.  The cable barriers were found to be properly installed and up to safety standards. Unfortunately there is little that can stop a truck loaded with auto parts. We know that there were no skid marks on the roadway. We can only guess as to why the driver of the tractor trailer did not brake.

       Information from The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has identified the trucking company from Alabama involved in the accident as Hester. Hester has had a poor safety rating from federal regulators and repeatedly failed roadside inspections.  The FMCSA gave Hester a rating of 88.4 based on a review of inspection in February.  The scoring range goes from 1-100, 100 being the worst score. Any score of 75 or more is considered deficient.

       The truck involved in this tragedy had been cited with problems ranging from lights, brakes, and emergency equipment.  These problems were identified in six roadside inspections since 2008.  There have not been any citations issued in 2009 or so far in 2010.

       A spokesman for the American Trucking Association said that based on the safety score the trucking company should not have been in operation. I will look with interest as the NTSB goes through their investigation. What will the driver’s log show? Was the vehicle in proper working order? Was there brake failure?  These are questions that any truck accident attorney would be interested in pursuing a wrongful death claim, as well as family and friends who are looking for answers. Although there is nothing that can be done to reverse this tragedy I hope the parties who are responsible will be held accountable. Based on the track record of Hester there is a good chance this accident could have been avoided.

As a Kentucky accident attorney clients frequently ask me “how do you get paid?” How much money do I need to have to hire a personal injury attorney? Do I have to give you money up front to take my case?  The answer is NO. 

Almost all auto accident attorneys or personal injury attorneys take cases on what is called a contingency fee basis.  A contingency fee means is you do not pay anything up front and you do not pay your attorney on an hourly basis. A personal injury attorney is paid a percentage of what they recover or settle your accident case for at the end of the case.  In most cases the contingency fee is 33and1/3% or 1/3 of the recovery. Sometimes the fee may be 40%. Generally, if there is no recovery, you do not owe the attorney a fee.  This is good for you, the accident victim.

You do not have to pay anything up front at the time you hire an attorney. While you are treating with doctors and while you are off work you don’t have the extra money to hire an attorney.  The attorney will get paid at the end of the case.  A personal injury attorney will charge you nothing unless he wins your Kentucky accident case. The bottom line is you don’t have to worry about coming up with any money to hire an attorney in an auto accident case.  A contingency fee is almost always offered. That is the way the accident attorney will be paid and you will be able to get good representation.

We all know that seat belts save lives. Wearing seat belts prevent serious auto accidents. I have hammered this home to my daughters since they were old enough to understand. I wouldn’t turn the car around in the drive way without making them buckle up. Maybe I was a bit over the top, but as a personal injury attorney and a former prosecutor I have seen fatal auto accidents and serious injuries that could have been prevented had these accident victims been wearing their seat belts.

I remember the first time I really came to understand this as if it was yesterday. I was working as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Jefferson County. I was a member of the Fatal Accident Support Team. I was called out to the scene of fatal accidents in the middle of the night. I drug myself out of bed to an accident scene that involved drunk driving. This was in the late 80’s not long after the horrific Carrolton, Kentucky Bus Accident.

I arrived at the accident scene in the south end of Louisville. When I arrived I was advised as to what had happened. I was asked to review a search warrant to obtain a blood sample to be use to prove the intoxication level of the drunk driver. After I had done my job the investigating officer took me over to the car of the accident victim. He said the driver, an elderly man, was not wearing a seat belt. I am sure I was being tested since I was only three years out of law school. At that time the police officer took my right hand and placed it on the chest of the deceased. It felt like jello. Every bone had been crushed. I realized at that moment that seat belts save lives. My perspective of seat belts had been changed forever.

Why do so many Kentuckians refuse to wear seat belts if they save lives? We have all seen the “Click It or Ticket” campaign. Over 23,000 people are cited for not wearing a seat belt annually on Kentucky roadways. We know that it is against the law and it prevents injuries and deaths.

I saw a video on CNN that might change your opinion of seat belt usage. It is an original approach to road safety advertising from the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership. The title of the piece is “Embrace Life. Always Wear A Seat Belt.” Check it out. It is powerful! It drives home the point that not wearing a seat belt will affect you and your family. Take care of you and your loved ones. Wear a seat belt and prevent car accidents that can change your life. Drive safe Kentucky.