Posted on December 20, 2013 in Truck Accidents

Many Fairfax County drivers have just one thing on their mind while driving: getting from point A to point B efficiently. Until an accident happens to one personally, it's difficult to think about safety all the time, or to ponder the dangers of other types of vehicles. Nevertheless, the results of a study have recently emerged, reminding Virginia drivers how important safety is when sharing the road with semi trucks.

According to the Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion, the miles driven by tractor-trailers make up about 8 percent of miles traversed on America's roadways. However, these same vehicles account for 11 percent of collisions. Moreover, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about three-fourths of those killed in truck accidents were riding in passenger vehicles. About 17 percent of the victims of fatal trucking accidents were occupants of trucks, while another 11 percent were outside vehicles - either bicyclists or pedestrians.

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 Posted on December 13, 2013 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

Most people expect that over a festive holiday weekend there are bound to be a few minor and even fatal car accidents. A large amount of drivers are on the road and some are traveling a long distance during the holiday weekend. In addition to the lengthy trips and busy roads, this weekend is also a time for celebration. This could mean drinking alcohol, which also causes much concern about drinking and driving.

The recent Thanksgiving weekend in Virginia was no exception, as Virginia State Police reported 11 fatalities over the weekend. Of these 11 deaths, four featured alcohol as an element in the fatal motor vehicle accidents.

Compared to last year's 14 lives lost over the same period, this year's numbers were down, but not enough for those who experienced the sudden loss of a loved one. A single traffic-related death can traumatize a family emotionally and devastate them financially. There might be medical expenses related to the person's treatment before he or she passed away, and there are also funeral expenses to be dealt with as well.

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 Posted on December 06, 2013 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

One of the richest women in the world will not face any jail time after police said she caused a fatal car accident in Virginia. The woman, an heiress of the Mars candy fortune, told police she fell asleep at the wheel just before the October accident, when her SUV crossed into oncoming traffic and struck a minivan carrying family members to a wedding rehearsal.

Killed in the accident was a woman in her eighties. Five other occupants of the minivan were hospitalized after the accident, including a woman who was eight months pregnant and lost the child as a result of the crash.

The heiress, who was also injured in the accident, could have been sentenced to a year in jail, but a judge declined to do so after family members of the accident victims read statements in court saying that they forgave her and asked that she not be sent to jail. The heiress will instead have her license suspended for six months and pay a fine of $2,500.

After a fatal traffic accident caused by a negligent driver, victims and their families may find they have difficult emotions to work through. Some may reach a point where they want to forgive the driver and move on; others may look to the criminal justice system to see that those who would injure others through their carelessness are held accountable. However, compensation for losses from an accident is a separate issue from the criminal justice system and victims may need to be compensated regardless of their feelings about the other driver.

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 Posted on November 27, 2013 in Drunk Driving Accidents

Today's adults are generally well aware of the dangers of driving drunk, but it's easy to forget that each new generation must learn to behave responsibly behind the wheel. When they don't, the consequences can be far worse than in other types of situations. An 18-year-old Virginia man apparently caused an erratic drunk driving accident this November when he struck several vehicles.

During the early morning hours, authorities received a call that a driver was attempting to steer his vehicle into the common area of an apartment complex. The car rolled backwards down an incline and hit a vehicle that was parked nearby. The driver then struck another car, which contained an occupant who phoned the police. After police arrived on the scene, the driver then appeared to try and flee. However, at that point he struck a few other cars. One of these vehicles was a police car.

The showdown concluded when an officer, standing outside the driver's vehicle, tried to get the driver to stop ramming cars. However, the 18-year-old tried to drive his car around the officer, and wound up running over the policeman's foot in the process. That officer had to be taken to Virginia Hospital Center for treatment for his injuries, while the driver was ultimately arrested for DUI and felony hit-and-run, among other charges.

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 Posted on November 20, 2013 in Commercial Vehicle Accidents

Countless residents of Northern Virginia routinely travel into other states, particularly Maryland and the District of Columbia, for work or for play. The traffic patterns around the DC metro area can be particularly brutal, though, as commuters combine with government traffic which in turn mixes with the routes of commercial vehicles passing through the mid-Atlantic region. In such a heavily-traveled area, a tractor-trailer accident is bound to happen.

Earlier this year, in July, a terrifying commercial vehicle accident took place on the famous Chesapeake Bay Bridge. A 29-year-old truck driver from Canada crashed his truck into a Chrysler Sebring. The Sebring was driven by a 23-year-old woman, who had been traveling to Philadelphia at the time of the semi-truck accident. The accident was apparently the result of the truck driver's failure to slow down. After going through a toll plaza, the truck appeared to have been accelerating while the Sebring, which was in front of the truck, and other vehicles in front of the Chrysler were slowing down.

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 Posted on November 14, 2013 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

When Virginians go through driver's education programs, they're usually cautioned against passing at the wrong time. Passing another vehicle is generally only done under ideal circumstances, such as good weather, road markings that indicate passing is allowed and the lack of traffic in either direction. Attempts to pass at the wrong time can easily result in fatal car accidents and the resulting death and funeral expenses for the victims' families.

In Lynchburg last month, a fatal accident claimed the life of a passenger in one of the vehicles involved in the wreck. A 29-year-old driver of a Dodge Ram attempted to pass another vehicle near Graves Mill Road and Gristmill Drive. The Ram, which police say was traveling at a high rate of speed, struck the other car, which was also a Dodge pickup truck. A 73-year-old man, who was injured in the crash, was driving the vehicle that was hit. His passenger was also severely injured and passed away later at Lynchburg General Hospital.

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 Posted on November 07, 2013 in Car Accidents

In heavily-populated areas, such as Northern Virginia, the urban and the suburban combine to make cities and neighborhoods unique. One drawback of such an area, though, is the significant congestion on local roads and highways. When someone gets into a car accident in a rural area, there is frequently just one or two cars involved. When a car crash takes place in a more populated locale, there is a chance that many more vehicles and injuries may be involved.

A recent auto accident in Virginia Beach involved nine vehicles in a set of chain reaction effects. The episode began when a police officer attempted to pull over a vehicle on suspicion of fictitious tags. Instead of pulling off to the side of the road, though, the 22-year-old driver apparently fled instead. His car spun out and struck a Ford Taurus as well as a Toyota 4Runner on Cleveland Street. The 22-year-old's vehicle, still spinning, also hit two parked cars and may have pushed another parked car into yet another vehicle.

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 Posted on November 01, 2013 in Drunk Driving Accidents

Most drivers believe there is no more dangerous a situation than drunk driving. The effects of a drunk driving accident can be terrifying, from fiery crashes to the lives lost as a result. However, thanks to ubiquitous cell phone technology, there is now another behavior that can produce very similar results: texting while driving.

According to one Virginia State Police trooper, the behavior of a driver who is texting mimics that of a driver who is intoxicated. Drivers who text tend to swerve, which can result in crossing lanes or a head-on collision. Studies tend to agree with the trooper. A study from the University of Utah revealed that reaction time tends to be delayed as much by texting as it is by having a blood alcohol content of.08 percent. In Virginia, this BAC level means that a driver can be ticketed for DUI.

In Virginia, there are strict laws against both drunk driving and texting while driving. A trooper can stop a person seen texting while behind the wheel, and the texting driver can be fined $150 for their first offense. Virginia police can also subpoena a driver's phone records to prove texting. According to a study from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, the possibilities of an accident can double or even triple when a texting driver attempts phone-related tasks.

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 Posted on October 25, 2013 in Truck Accidents

Drivers in Virginia are accustomed to encountering various types of vehicles on the road. From large cement-churning trucks to small smart cars and even scooters and bicycles, there are countless different modes of transport on Virginia roadways. However, some can pose a serious danger to other motorists and their passengers, as a recent truck accident shows.

On Route 288 in Chesterfield, a logging truck driven by a 23-year-old operator ran off the left side of the southbound lanes. The large vehicle overturned, and the resulting truck crash spewed logs that wound up in the road's travel lanes. Two vehicles hit the truck and logs, and a 27-year-old man lost his life in the tractor trailer accident. The driver of the log-laden semi-truck was charged with reckless driving.

For anyone on the road, there's probably nothing scarier than seeing a semi-truck overturn or spill its contents onto the road. The vast majority of the time, though, either scenario is preventable. Drivers who transport materials must follow certain safety protocols that prevent contents from falling off and hitting other vehicles. Likewise, truck drivers must follow the same rules of the road that other drivers do; as a result, crashes that lead to spilled contents can often be traced back to negligence or recklessness.

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 Posted on October 16, 2013 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

Northern Virginia and the DC metro area are both home to many wealthy residents. When powerful figures are involved in fatal car accidents, though, the victims of those crashes still have the same rights under the law as anyone else. Recently, the co-owner of the Mars candy company, a woman in her 70s, apparently caused a fatal crash.

Earlier this month, the woman was driving her Porsche SUV in Aldie when she crossed the road's center line. Crossing lanes can easily portend disaster, and this instance was no different. The SUV hit a minivan, and an 86-year-old passenger in that vehicle died at the scene of the wreck. According to a spokesperson for the Mars co-owner, she has been filled with sorrow since the accident.

While a driver's grief is highly understandable in an incident like this, the family of the deceased is bound to feel even more pain. A car accident victim can experience a emotional shock and physical injuries, and if a fatality occurs the financial surprises can haunt surviving family members. Many families have to deal with funeral expenses, loss of income, medical expenses incurred prior to the victim's passing and, finally, mental pain and suffering.

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