Posted on August 13, 2017 in Truck Accidents

Interstate highways are often praised for the way they reduce accident risks. There are few points of entry and traffic is always moving in the same direction.

There's one key point where the risk can rise, though: on-ramps. When other traffic is allowed onto the road, or when two interstates merge, accidents can be the result.

A dash cam video caught a semi accident that is a perfect example of the risk. In the video, a semi gets onto a highway with two lanes going in the same direction. It is driving next to a black sedan. The video is shot from inside the semi.

The highway mergers into a larger highway system. To do so, the two lanes first merge into one, and then that merges onto the new road.

The semi driver sees it coming and gets over. The driver of the sedan does not. He stays in the right lane, which suddenly begins to disappear right as he goes into the truck's blind spot. The sedan driver frantically tries to merge in front of the semi, but there's not enough space.

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 Posted on August 11, 2017 in Firm News

Visual clutter is a term used to refer to the multitude of items your brain has to process at once when observing your environment. It can be very distracting when driving, and some studies have shown that it could lead to car accidents.

You experience visual clutter every time you get behind the wheel. Some of it is necessary, such as road signs, traffic signals and lights. Some of it is unavoidable, like buildings and other structures built near the roadway. On top of all of this, though, you have things like billboards, advertisements and neon shop signs.

The problem is that your brain has to process and categorize all of this, all while you try to pay attention to traffic, pedestrians and cyclists. Simply driving a car can be complex, especially in modern cars with increased technology, and it's clear that visual clutter can sometimes overload the brain and hinder your ability to drive.

For instance, a study found that billboards made it harder for drivers to follow directions. They were slower to react and they made more mistakes. They also tended to drive at a slower speed. When eye movements were tracked, it was found that they spent less time scanning the road and watching traffic and more time fixating on the billboards and other signs on the roadside.

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 Posted on August 04, 2017 in Drunk Driving Accidents

Researchers have revealed new statistics that show how dangerous opioid use is when it's combined with driving. Since 1995, the number of drivers killed while using prescription opioid drugs has increased by seven times. The Columbia University study looked at drug test results for nearly 37,000 drivers to reveal these statistics.

Usually, when we think of the current opioid epidemic that is plaguing the United States, we consider the overdose deaths. However, the dangerous use and abuse of opioid drugs can also cause car accident deaths. The worst part about this is that these deaths include innocent people who were following traffic laws and completely sober.

The most common opioids involved in fatal accidents are morphine, codeine and oxycodone. Among the drivers who tested positive for having opioids in their systems, 70 percent had been taking other drugs and 30 percent had noteworthy amounts of alcohol in their systems.

One problem contributing to the many drivers found with opioids in their systems is the widespread prescription of opioids by doctors. Many patients do not realize that it's dangerous to drive and engage in other kinds of activities while they're taking these powerful and intoxicating pain medications. Also, many patients may not realize that it's against the law to drive while intoxicated by these drugs.

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 Posted on July 31, 2017 in Drunk Driving Accidents

Drunk driving continues to be a very big problem in the United States, and it will probably continue to be until we replace human motorists with computer-controlled vehicles. It's hard to believe, but 10,265 people were killed in 2015 as a result of drunk driving. These auto-related deaths account for 29 percent of all vehicle crashes.

Could it be that if drivers in Virginia and the rest of the country were more responsible, and refrained from getting behind the wheel drunk, we could save over 10,000 lives a year?

Law enforcement officers are being more proactive than ever to stop drunk drivers before they cause a serious crash. In 2015, police arrested 1.1 million drivers for being either too drunk or too drugged to drive.

According to statistics, 16 percent of vehicle crashes are the result of legal and illegal drugs. Also, 13 percent of nighttime drivers have marijuana in their blood. Recent evidence shows that people to use marijuana are 25 percent more likely to get into an auto crash.

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 Posted on July 21, 2017 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

There is no way to measure the impact that an unexpected death has on a family. That's because, when a loved one disappears from our lives permanently, we have no idea what we're missing — just a fuzzy dream of what life could have been like if our dear one had been able to stay in our lives.

At Locklin & Coleman, PLLC, we have represented numerous individuals in wrongful death actions after their loved ones were taken from them prematurely. In all of the wrongful death case examples we can name, there is one fact that's always true: There's no way that any amount of civil litigation or financial compensation can serve to fill the giant rift that's left when we lose someone close to us.

At best, Virginia civil courts can award financial compensation to the close family members of someone killed due to another person's negligence. This compensation, paid by the negligent party who was at fault for the individual's death, without fail will never be sufficient to make a hurting person whole after such a loss. However, it's the only way our society has of bringing some sense of justice.

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 Posted on July 14, 2017 in Drunk Driving Accidents

Drunk driving is one of the most dangerous and selfish things that the average Virginia resident can do. Each time someone decides to get behind the wheel of an automobile after drinking, they are placing countless lives at risk of death and catastrophic injury. Although most drunk drivers make it home safely, some do not, and the aftereffects can be devastating.

Since 2012, Virginia DUI laws have required all convicted drunk drivers to install ignition interlock devices. A year later, 8,500 ignition interlock installations had taken place in the state.

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Virginia has done well to institute life-saving drunk driving restrictions. However, the organization recommends further efforts stiffen drunk driving laws by elevating the offense of driving drunk with a child in the car a felony. MADD also recommends that suspected drunk drivers, who refuse to take a blood alcohol content test be required to have an ignition interlock device.

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 Posted on July 07, 2017 in Car Accidents

Auto accidents wreak havoc on communities throughout the United States and Manassas, Virginia, is no different. Most people who live here know of someone who died or was catastrophically injured in an auto accident and many of these individuals were hurt or killed as a result of negligence, recklessness, inattentiveness or unlawfulness.

At Locklin & Coleman, PLLC, we wish that there was a solution that would prevent drivers from acting negligently and unlawfully, but drivers are human — and humans make mistakes. Although technologists have made considerable advances in recent years to take the "human" element out of the driving equation through driverless cars, we're decades away from having human drivers replaced with computers. Until then, Virginia residents will need to brave the hazards and dangers of sharing the roadway with potentially reckless individuals.

There is, however, one thing that community members can do to help reduce instances of death and injury caused by negligent and unlawful drivers. This involves bringing more attention to the problem of reckless drivers by holding them accountable in court for the destruction, death and injury they cause.

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 Posted on June 30, 2017 in Drunk Driving Accidents

America is a place that welcomes many people with open arms. As such, each year, thousands of international students make their way to the United States. They take classes, enjoy the scenery and travel the country to send photos and information back to the people they care about in their home countries.

It's a tragic event when one of those students is hurt as a result of negligence in the United States. A June 19 report discussed two students who were hit by a suspected drunk driver; one suffered a serious brain injury, and the other struggles to use her legs.

The two girls came to the United States in March 2017. One was an avid cyclist. Both were struck on May 14 by a suspected drunk driver.

It was around 2 a.m. when the crash happened near Virginia Beach. The driver of a Nissan had struck them both, dragging a bicycle behind her vehicle. Both girls were left lying in the roadway.

One suffered severe brain injuries, and it wasn't clear if she would survive. She did, and now she has much to do to recover. The other has injuries to her legs and ankles that makes it impossible for her to go to the bathroom on her own.

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 Posted on June 23, 2017 in Truck Accidents

Semitrucks are giant behemoths that cause catastrophic injuries and damages whenever they get into a crash. To make an analogy, an 18-wheeler getting into a collision with a compact car is like a mountain versus molehill. This is why strict federal laws exist to govern the driving habits and maintenance standards that apply to truck drivers and their vehicles.

Unfortunately, in spite of these laws, truck accidents are everyday occurrences on our nation's roads. Many of these crashes are the direct result of truck driver negligence or unlawful behavior relating to issues such as:

— Trucker fatigue: Truck drivers are limited to driving for a certain amount of consecutive hours. They must receive specific amounts of rest each day, which can vary depending on how many days they've been on duty, and how many consecutive hours they've been on duty. Failure to follow these regulations can result in a fatigued truck driver who could fall asleep at the wheel or have poor reaction times.

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 Posted on June 16, 2017 in Car Accidents

Being in a car accident can be nerve-wracking. Even if you escape without an injury, you'll likely be rattled and you won't be thinking clearly. For this reason, you need to have a post-accident action plan to carry out — and you should write it down and keep it in your glove box.

At Locklin & Coleman, PLLC, after representing countless victims of car accidents, we have put together the following steps that everyone should consider taking immediately following an auto collision:

— Get medical care: The first thing to do after an accident is to check for injuries. Call 911 and ask for an ambulance to attend to yourself and anyone else who is injured.

— Stay where you are: You could get in serious trouble if you leave the scene of an auto collision, even a minor one. Always stay where you are and wait for authorities to arrive.

— Protect the crash site: The condition of the crash site is essential to make sure that police can piece together who was at fault. If your vehicle is in danger of causing another accident, you can move it. Otherwise, leave things as they are, and set up road flares or traffic cones to alert other drivers that may be passing by.

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