Over 500,000 Large Truck and Commercial Vehicles were involved in accidents in the United States in 2010. Over 100,000 people sustained serious injuries in those accidents. Tragically over 5000 people died in these accidents according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Semi trucks referred to as “80,000-pound unguided missiles” by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, present a significant danger to all drivers and passengers on highways and roads in America. These risks are greater when truck drivers involve themselves in distracted driving or drowsy driving.

There have been many reported accidents caused by a distracted truck driver. One tragic incident happened in 2010 in Hart County, Kentucky.  The use of a cell phone brought about tragedy for a family and friends in a van. The National Transportation Safety Board (NSTB) during the investigation of the fatal accident found out that the truck driver had used his cell phone 69 times in the 24-hour period before the accident. This includes one phone call at the time of the accident. NTSB concluded that a distraction caused by using a cell phone led to the fatal accident.

The NTSB recommended that cell phone use, including talking on both hand-held and hands-free technologies, be banned for commercial drivers excluding emergency situations. Since the NTSB do not have the power to implement the ban, its recommendation could be a spring board for federal rule-making agencies and state legislators to act.

Authorities are also trying to make sure that truck drivers get enough rest so they won’t be fatigued while at work. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is in the final stage of changing the rules about hours-of-service regulations. At present, drivers have an allowable 11 driving hours in a day, changing this rule would limit drive time to 10 hours per day. The proposed rules mandate that drivers take at least 1 hour of break time during the day. Proposed modifications would also require drivers to include two overnight periods before their workweek would restart.

As a personal injury attorney, accidents involving semi trucks are often tragic and result in death, expensive medical bills or long-term rehabilitation. Both of these changes will defiantly save lives.

As parents, our number one priority is our kids. I have two daughters and am probably over protective. We set a lot of limitations, precautions and care for them. It is hard to trust others with our kids, maybe even with our own parents (their grandparents!).

Guess what? Maybe we are wrong. There’s a new study which shows that children are less likely to be injured if grandparents are driving as compared to the parents. That is your kids are more likely to be involved in a car accident when they are with you. I find this unbelievable!

The study was based on data from nearly 12, 000 children from 15 U.S. states between 2003 and 2007 injured in car crashes involving children younger than 16. This study was published in the journal Pediatrics. Dr. Fred M. Henretig, an emergency medicine physician at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, is the lead researcher on the study. 0.7 percent of children were injured in the crash when grandparents were driving compared to 1 percent when parents were the one driving.

Older drivers are just not as safe. That is the general consensus. We think that grandparents driving is worse because they used old cars and they lack knowledge in new technologies.

There are factors that Dr. Henretig cited as reasons for the lower injury risk of children when with their grandparents.

* Grandparents drive at a lower speed
* Grandparents do not following the car in front of them quite as closely,
* Grandparents think that grandchildren are special cargo,
* Grandparents are less distracted than busy working parents tend to be.
* Grandparents focus on their driving and refrain from distractions like using cell phones, fiddling with the radio, eating while driving or thinking about their work.

The bottom line is that the risk of being injured in a Kentucky car accident goes down when we care about what we are doing and are not distracted. Focus on driving and your risk of being injured in a car accident will likely decrease.

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.

There is a no texting and driving law in Kentucky.  What effect will it have on the way Kentucky drivers behave behind the wheel of their cars and will the law prevent serious car accidents?  There are states that have had cell phone laws in effect for two years or more, including New Jersey.  Since the law has been instigated in New Jersey there has been more than 252,000 citations issued across the state.  Despite this number at least one survey shows that more New Jersey motorists are using their cell phones while driving than ever before. Oddly the number of crashes involving cell phones and distracted driving has dipped slightly since the law went into effect. 

           The New Jersey law has stronger prohibitions than the Kentucky law. New Jersey prohibits texting while driving and talking on a handheld phone while driving.  The penalties in New Jersey are similar to those in Kentucky. Motorists only face a $100.00 fine plus court costs for a violation. The crime of using a cell phone in a car while driving in New Jersey is a primary offense. This means the police can pull you over just for that activity alone. 

            Unfortunately laws don’t change behavior overnight.  We can look back at seatbelt laws when they were first passed.  People fought the new laws. Many did not wear seatbelts. They saw no benefit. It had to be proven to them. Now there’s hardly anybody that gets into a car that does not buckle up. 

             What is the answer to speed up the process of the new anti-texting law? Is it public awareness?  Campaigns using billboards and commercials appear to be helping. 

             What can Kentucky learn from New Jersey?  In my opinion the penalties are not strong enough to inhibit texting while driving.  This is especially true with those who have grown up using texting as the primary communication tool. It is second nature to them. The penalties need to fit the crime.  If somebody is seriously injured or is killed by a driver distracted by texting the penalties and charges should be in line with the damage that is done.  An automobile is a deadly weapon if not treated with respect. My old boss, former Commonwealth’s Attorney and Jefferson Circuit Court Judge, Ernie Jasmin, used to say that an automobile in the hands of a drunk driver was a deadly weapon with a license to kill. It is exactly the same for a texting driver.  If you use a motor vehicle carelessly and cause a serious Kentucky automobile accident you should pay the consequences. It’s time to take the next step and beef up the law in Kentucky.

We all mourned the tragic truck accident in Hart County that was among the nations deadliest in the last 20 years.  The investigation is showing the cause of this accident is due to distracted driving by the truck driver. Kentucky has enacted a law that prohibits texting while driving. This activity would now be a ticketed fine in Kentucky.  Is this really a sufficient deterrent? Should we go as far as Utah and make this an offense that would be considered a murder or manslaughter?  I believe this is something that should be considered.  What is the best way to prevent distracted driving and driver fatigue?

Kentucky drivers and trucks do not get along.  Almost nine percent of the fatal crashes that occurred in 2008 involved trucks.  These figures are consistent with nationwide statistics. This is of even greater concern when you consider that only about 4.6 percent of state’s registered vehicles are trucks.  This disparity in the number of fatal accidents caused by trucks as opposed to smaller vehicles is attributed to the difference in size and weight between large trucks and cars. This is according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 

Not everyone believes that trucks are more dangerous.  The American Trucking Association contends that trucks don’t cause a disportionate share of the fatal accidents when you take into account the hours and miles that a truck driver will spend on the road in any given day or week.  It is contended that the safety record for trucks is better now than it has ever been.         

I feel safe in saying that the March 26 accident in Hart County will lead to changes in Kentucky’s laws and how they affect trucks.  When a company is fined or has a history of violations, I believe Kentucky needs to be more stringent in its penalties in allowing these trucks on our roads.  We all know these vehicles are more dangerous.  We just have to figure out a better way to monitor them. 

In that vein, a new federal regulation was implemented last month. This regulation requires trucking companies that repeatedly violate driver time limits to install electronic recorders in their trucks. These recorders will keep track of how long a driver spends behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer.  This should be an important tool in preventing trucking companies from manipulating the system and forcing their drivers to log longer hours than they should. 

Interestingly, these monitors are not required for all trucking companies, but only those flagged during on site compliance reviews.  Those flagged are a very small percentage of the trucking companies in the United States.  Should these monitors prove to be effective maybe they will eventually be required on all trucks. 

In hindsight, Hester, the owner of the truck involved in the Hart County accident, had numerous violations. These violations were not found as part of an on site review. Consequently, the new regulation would not have required Hester to place these devices in their trucks. 

Another recent change requires some truck drivers to use electronic on board recorders to replace their paper log books, which were easily forged.  Under the new rule, a carrier must use the device if a compliance review finds that they have violated hours of service rules more than ten percent of the time.  What amazes me is that it is projected that 5,700 interstate carriers will have to use the device after the first year.  This tells me that forging time logs runs rampant and it is a major cause of driver fatigue and fatal automobile accidents that occur.

I hope these rules will make it harder for trucking companies to violate the time requirements for their drivers behind the wheel.  This in turn will keep driver fatigue to a minimum, prevent truck accidents and help keep our Kentucky roads safe.

            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.

Texting while driving is a national concern.  The problem is extensive. You see it on interstates, rural roads and subdivisions. We see it every day on our Kentucky roads. Texting while driving has been termed an epidemic. It has been compared to drunk driving, and is perhaps more dangerous.   

A new group, called FocusDriven has developed a program that is patterned after the Mothers Against Drunk Driving.  This program grew out of the Summit on Distracted Driving which was held last year in Washington, D.C. The Summit was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation.  FocusDriven is urging people to break the habit of texting while driving.  They have indicated that texting is similar to any other addictive behavior.  People have become addicted to their cell phones.   

I hope that FocusDriven is as successful as MADD has been in pressuring legislatures and spear heading changes in laws against drunk drivers that cause fatal automobile accidents.  

Safe driving is something that we all should be concerned with.  Distracted driving is not safe driving.  Initially FocusDriven will be operated as an army of people traveling the country helping to convince people to put their cell phones away while they are behind the wheel of a car. The group is led by Jennifer Smith whose mother was killed by a driver who was talking on a cell phone in 2008.   

There are numbers and statistics to support the statement that distracted driving has become a national epidemic.  In 2008, 5,870 people lost their lives in crashes reported to police in which at least one form of driver distraction was listed on the police report as a cause of the accident.  An additional 515,000 people were injured in these accidents.  Distracted driving, as listed on a police accident report, is not just texting while driving.  It  also includes other forms of distraction such as: 

·        cell phone use;

·        eating;

·        drinking;

·        talking with passengers;

·        using in vehicle technology;

·        the use of peripheral electronic devices. 

            The percentage of those distracted and listed on accident reports has increased since 2004 by 3 percent.  My guess is that this number has gone up since the last statistics were reported.   

            Believe it or not the less than 20 age group has the highest proportion of distracted driving.  I say this tongue in cheek. It is obviously no surprise. This group encompasses 16 percent of the accidents caused by distracted driving.  I know this statistic is not surprising but there is good news.  The percentage drops to 12 percent for the ages 20 through 29.   

Statistics show that a driver that uses a handheld device is four times more likely to get in a crash.  We just need to put the cell phones down.  It is the hope that FocusDriven will be a valuable resource for those who have lost loved ones as a result of an accident involving texting while driving and other distracted driving.  They will also focus on prevention much as the Mothers Against Drunk Drivers have. 

            Additionally the Department of Transportation has put an emphasis on putting an end to distracted driving.  It is a top priority for them.  They have launched a federal web site.  This web site has information on distracted driving.  Use these resources to educate yourself. If you text while driving get information that will help you stop. If you know someone who has a problem, give them this information. It could save a life.

            We have made it 2010.  How many people have made their New Year’s resolutions?  I have a suggestion every Kentuckian should resolve to be a safer driver. We must attempt to make our Kentucky roads safer.  How can we avoid serious automobile accidents?  How can we avoid striking a pedestrian or a bicycle? How can we be more careful and avoid motorcycle accidents?  The answer is obviously yes.  In getting 2010 off to a good start I decided to give you my top ten ways to be a safe driver.  Here we go.

            10.       Pay attention to what is going on around you. 

            9.         Expect the unexpected.  You never know when you’re going to have to react.  I’ve been trying to teach this lesson to my daughter as she learns to drive.  I’ll let her tell you some of the stories at a later time. 

            8.         Don’t tailgate. 

            7.         As a bicyclists you must obey the rules of the road.  Don’t ride on the sidewalks.  Make sure that you are aware of what the cars are doing.  Remember cars can’t see you as well as you see them. Drivers of cars need to watch out for bikes too. Remember that bikes have the same rights as cars. 

            6.         Motorcycles don’t needlessly speed and be aware of what cars are doing. When I ski I need to watch out for other skiers as well as snowboarders, who go down a hill differently then a skier. I have to be aware of this and respect the differences to avoid an accident. A driver of a car needs to have the same respect for other vehicles that are on the road. 

            5.         Avoid road rage.  A calm driver is a safe driver. 

            4.         Be courteous.  This goes along with No. 5. Let another car into traffic.  Don’t cut them off.  It won’t kill you. This goes a long way toward helping to control a driver’s temper and traffic running smoothly.  Remember everyone is trying to get somewhere in a hurry and where they are getting is just as important as where you are going. 

            3.         Remember a yellow light means to stop, not speed up and try to get through the intersection.  If you can stop safely you should.  A yellow light only means that you should clear the intersection if you are in it. If you speed up at a yellow light sooner or later you will cause an accident. 

            2.         Make sure your car is in safe working order.  Make sure the tires, brakes, etc. are all working properly. Have your mechanic check your car out. It is a lot cheaper than being in an accident. 

            1.         Drumbeat please – don’t be a distracted driver.  Get off your cell phone.  Don’t text.  Don’t  look up phone numbers.  Don’t put on your makeup.  Distracted Driving is the No. 1 cause of accidents in America today overtaking drunk driving (which you obviously shouldn’t do either, so we will make it 1A). I actually saw a young girl try to text and drive on the snowy roads last night on the way home. She probably ended up in a ditch some where.

            I’m sure I could easily have a top 25 list of ways to avoid automobile accidents. I hope this gets your mind thinking on how you can avoid automobile accidents and be a safer driver on our Kentucky roads.  Nobody is a winner if there is an accident.  Let’s keep them to a minimum this year.

It’s that time of the year.  It’s cold outside.  The Christmas decorations are everywhere.  We are all eagerly anticipating the Christmas holiday.  Children are awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus. Parents are heading to the stores trying to get that perfect gift. We have all seen “Jingle All the Way” with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad and Phil Hartman, and unfortunately that is the way the holidays make a lot of people act. Another thing that comes with the holiday season is downright stupid driving. 

I was driving down US 42 on the way to work and a car swerved over into my lane and almost ran me off the road.  I looked over only to see a teenage girl, texting on her phone, totally unaware that she had almost caused an accident.  I honked at her, which I probably shouldn’t have done. I then gave her the universal signal for “What were you thinking?” (Both hands extended in the air) She looked over at me with a puzzled look on her face and then went straight back to texting and driving.  She is a ticking time bomb; eventually she will be involved in an automobile accident. I hope no one is seriously injured.

I know inattentive driving is not limited to Christmas time. But this close call made me think that we need to be much more aware of what is happening on our roads in Louisville, Kentucky, in order to avoid an automobile accident.   There are always people that are not thinking clearly while they are driving. They text, eat, read, put on make up, and on and on. Distracted drivers are dangerous. You have seen this as you drive down the road.  I saw a bicycle on the road in this cold weather without any reflectors and the rider was dressed totally in black and it was night and pitch black.  I hope he made it home.  It would be a minor miracle. 

As we get closer and closer to Christmas, tempers are going to flare as shoppers are trying to get to the malls. We will all rush out to get that last minute gift. I urge everyone to be  extra careful during this time.  Be a little more cautious.  Take a little more time.  Try not to be in a hurry.  I know that this is a hard task, but we need to look out for the other car. If you don’t you are risking being in a serious auto accident.  You need to expect the unexpected.  Just because you have a green light does not mean the other person will be paying attention.  Look as you go through to make sure that the other person sees the red light.  You need to have your escape route planned.  Don’t let a car wreck destroy your Christmas holiday.  Be aware that people are not paying as much attention. You must pay twice as much attention to have a safe and accident free holiday season.

Utah has recently upped the ante. They have passed by far the toughest law in the United States against the growing epidemic of texting and driving. Get caught texting and driving in Utah and you are looking at prison time of up to 15 years if you cause a death and a fine of up to $10,000.00. If they are merely caught texting and driving the punishment is up to 3 months jail and up to a $750.00 fine. A far cry from the absolutely nothing that is on the books in Kentucky.

I believe it is time for the Kentucky legislature to take this issue under serious consideration and pass a tough law. I have way too many clients that have been injured due to a distracted driver. Whether they are texting, dialing a number on a cell phone or picking something up off of the floor it is dangerous. The consequences are severe and can change the direction of the accident victim’s life.

Utah’s new law became affective in May of this year. The penalties for texting are comparable to those of drunk driving if someone is killed in the accident. If you are texting while driving in Utah your actions are considered reckless. Choosing to text and drive is considered to be the same thing as choosing to get behind the wheel drunk.

This law is the harshest response to multi-tasking behind the wheel and is sure to be a topic of discussion at the National Summit for Distracted Driving this fall. Some studies show that talking on a cell phone while driving is as dangerous as driving with a blood alcohol level of .08, which is the legal limit in Kentucky.

There could be some problems with proving the conduct of texting and obtaining a criminal conviction under the Utah law. How do you prove someone was texting and driving? There is no test to prove that you were texting like there is for drunk driving. A breathalyzer makes the prosecutions’ job fairly easy.  A witness could be easily discredited. They only see the action. It could be texting or it could be dialing a phone number. Maybe the best evidence will be statements of the offender. Any statements can be used if they are made spontaneously. This coupled with the phone would be sufficient proof, but how do the police get access to the phone before the text messages are erased? Maybe a warrant, but this takes time.

I wonder whether the texting activity is the same as dialing a phone. It is the same action. It takes the same level of concentration. Should the Utah law be expanded? Should a distinction be made?

The Utah law also presumes the driver knows the risk of texting and driving. This is important because it goes a step further than many other such laws where it must be proven that the driver is aware of the risks associated with the activity before engaging in that activity.

What will Kentucky do? I really don’t have a clue. I believe penalties need to be put in place to deter this very dangerous activity. It is at an epidemic level. You will see people looking to their cell phones as you drive to and from work. This inattention causes accidents. Personally I believe that criminal penalties that include prison time for causing a death are appropriate. This will save lives, prevent auotomobile accidents and make our Kentucky roads much safer.