Posted on March 12, 2021 in Motorcycle Accidents

With spring just around the corner, many people start to get the itch for outdoor activities. If your preferred warm-weather pastime involves cruising on your motorcycle, you can start getting ready for that right now.

Before it is warm enough to go out for your first ride of the new year, you will want to make sure that your motorcycle is in top condition after having been in storage for several months. Handling the spring maintenance on your motorcycle can help you be ready for the first day where it's warm and dry enough to safely ride.

Spring maintenance helps you catch issues before they affect your safety

Seasonal maintenance doesn't just keep your bike running smoothly after a long stay in storage. It also gives you a chance to check for preventable issues, like problems with the brakes or burned-out light bulbs.

Making all the necessary repairs and performing routine maintenance before you start the bike up for the first time this year will help protect its long-term performance and keep you safer on the road.

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 Posted on March 04, 2021 in Commercial Vehicle Accidents

DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats and your local pizza delivery drivers are probably familiar sights to you by now, whether you're out on the road running errands or just looking out the window for your own delivery to arrive.

Unfortunately, delivery drivers actually have a really dangerous job — and that puts both their lives and the lives of others at risk.

High-demand deliveries can lead to bad accidents

There are numerous dangers out there for food delivery drivers, but the hazards they pose to others isn't insignificant. Way back in 1993, for example, Domino's ended it's 30-minute delivery guarantee over deadly accident claims caused by their drivers — but that hasn't stopped the problem. Many independent restaurants still push their drivers to meet guarantees in fear of losing customers.

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 Posted on March 03, 2021 in Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrian fatalities due to SUVs rose 81% over the 10 years leading up to 2019. Those caused by cars also increased, at the considerably lower, but still alarming rate of 53%. According to the Governor's Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the number of pedestrians killed by vehicles hit a 30 year high, with about 18 pedestrians killed by vehicles every day around the country.

SUVs are more lethal than smaller cars

SUV sales have increased hugely during the past few years. They are promoted as the ideal vehicle to keep you and your family safe. Unfortunately, that comes at a cost to pedestrians and cyclists.

SUVs do more damage when they hit someone. They weigh more, so impact has more force. They are also higher than other cars. The impact comes at a critical body height, where the vital organs are. Lower, smaller cars are more likely to impact someone in the legs.

Why are drivers killing more pedestrians?

There are several behaviors exhibited by drivers regardless of vehicle choice that makes being a pedestrian more dangerous than ever:

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 Posted on March 01, 2021 in Car Accidents

Automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems will soon be a reality for many U.S. drivers. It comes after a concerted campaign by road safety campaigners across the world together with the United Nations.

Most new cars sold in the U.S. will have AEB featured as standard from September 2022 after 20 car manufacturers pledged to do so. Currently, AEB systems are available as an optional extra on some vehicles only, despite the technology being used in some cars since 2006.

How effective are automatic emergency braking systems?

According to The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), cars that have AEB experienced:

• 43% fewer front to rear crashes

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 Posted on February 24, 2021 in Car Accidents

Three main considerations affect how safe you are on the road. The first is a combination of weather and overall road conditions. The second is the behavior of other drivers. You don't have control over either of these two factors that could lead to a crash.

However, you have control over your own vehicle and driving decisions, which make up the third set of road safety considerations. If you want to prioritize safety on the road, trying to adjust your driving habits for current road conditions is a smart move. So is learning to identify when drivers near you might increase your risk of getting into a serious crash.

How to identify potentially impaired drivers

Impaired drivers don't operate at their full ability. While they may normally be skilled drivers, chemical or medical impairments have decreased their driving ability. Exhaustion can have a similar effect, making it harder for someone to pay attention to the road and maintain control over their vehicle.

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 Posted on February 18, 2021 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

On average, Americans are living longer than ever, including here in northern Virginia. The Baby Boom generation is now mostly in their 60s and 70s. As the number of senior citizens with driver's licenses continues to grow, experts used to predict that fatal car accidents among older drivers would surge.

But the opposite has ended up happening. According to AARP, the number of fatal crashes per driver over age 70 dropped by 43 percent from 1997 to 2018. And in 2017, over-70 drivers had fewer traffic collisions per mile than middle-aged motorists, according to police reports.

Why are deadly accidents among seniors going down?

For one thing, seniors are living healthier as well as longer. AARP notes that better physical fitness and health among Americans in their 70s compared to past generations is likely one reason for the drop in fatal crashes. By maintaining relatively good strength, flexibility, vision and mental acuity, drivers in their 70s are safer now than their parents and grandparents were.

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 Posted on February 17, 2021 in Truck Accidents

Commercial truck rollovers are one of the most visually dramatic kinds of crashes you can witness. It is also a crash that has the potential to involve other vehicles. It could affect multiple lanes of traffic or even cause damage to businesses and homes near the location of the rollover.

Rollover crashes are sometimes the result of an unusual combination of events. The trucker takes a curve slightly too fast with an improperly loaded trailer during high wind conditions. The trailer rolls and takes the cab with it.

What causes most rollover crashes in big trucks?

The vast majority of rollovers are the result of driver error. Although there can be many contributing factors to a rollover crash, research has shown that more than three-quarters of these collisions occur because drivers make mistakes at the wheel. Their best practices while driving should be proactive and cautious enough to limit the risk of a rollover occurring even when other risk factors are present. Drowsiness and lack of attention are often contributing factors.

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 Posted on February 17, 2021 in Car Accidents

Most drivers aren't involved in several accidents during their years on the road. So, when an accident happens, most drivers are flustered, disoriented and unsure of what to do. Yet, what drivers do after an accident is important. You easily can make mistakes that will impact your insurance claim.

Here are five important mistakes you want to avoid the next time you are in an accident:

1. Admit partial fault for the accident. Even if the other driver is 90% at fault and you feel you are only 10% at fault. Virginia is one of the few jurisdictions left with contributory negligence. Contributory negligence means that if the insurance company can prove that you are even slightly responsible for the accident, then you can't recover for damage to your vehicle or for injuries sustained. People who are injured or flustered due to an accident often make silly statements because they do not think before they speak.
2. Not report the accident to police or your insurance company. You may think you want to avoid reporting the accident to police and your insurance company. Maybe the other driver offers you cash to compensate for any damage your car sustained. However, if you suffered an injury or your car has damage you don't notice right away, you want to have a police report and notify your insurance company. In many situations, drivers will admit fault at the scene of the accident, but then deny that they ever admitted fault. If a police officer is present and documents these statements, it makes it more difficult for the at fault driver to get away with changing their story. If you do not report the accident to your insurance company or the defendant's insurance company then they may deny coverage for failing to report the accident.

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 Posted on February 12, 2021 in Pedestrian Accidents

There are many factors that determine how badly someone is going to be hurt in a pedestrian accident, such as the height of the individual, the type of car that hits them, exactly how the crash occurs, the time it takes for emergency crews to respond and the like.

Perhaps the most important factor is the speed of the vehicle at the moment of impact.

A fast-rising curve for injuries and death

When you plot out the speed at which cars are traveling and the odds that the accident will result in a pedestrian fatality, there is just the slightest rise from one mile per hour to about 25 miles per hour. Between 30 and 50 miles per hour, though, there is an incredible increase in the chance of a pedestrian fatality. The line shoots upward from roughly a 10% chance at 30 miles per hour to nearly a 90% chance at 50 miles per hour.

This shows just why residential speed limits are so important. Drivers often speed through these zones, feeling like the road is wide and traffic is thin, so there's no reason to drive at 25 miles per hour. Drivers often times forget that the speed limits are set, in part, to keep pedestrians safe. It's very clear that the danger pedestrians face is massively higher if drivers speed. Speed could be the difference between life and death for a child who darts into the road unexpectedly.

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 Posted on February 11, 2021 in Car Accidents

Traditionally, most drivers think of their car's headlights as something they use to see better when it's dark out. While this is certainly one component to consider, what you really need to think about is how your headlight usage may impact other drivers.

In this sense, driving with headlights on during the day may not change your own driving habits and abilities at all, but it can still help you avoid a crash by making you more visible to others.

Accidents from all directions

Headlights are brighter than running lights, so they make you stand out on the road. This reduces the odds of someone crossing into your lane and hitting you head-on, experts note. A driver who is somewhat distracted and drifting across the street may see your headlights, look up and correct their course.

There are those who argue that all you really need are your daytime running lights. Again, these can help, but they're not the best. For one thing, turning on your headlights also turns on your rear lights, which your daytime running lights do not activate. Therefore, flipping your headlights on can actually reduce the odds that you get rear-ended.

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