Traffic Safety

If Passed, “Jake’s Law” May Increase the Penalties for Cell Phone Use Resulting in an Accident

March 7, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Maryland lawmakers are considering a new bill, named “Jake’s Law,” that would increase the penalties for causing an accident resulting in death while texting or talking on a cell phone. The bill is named after a young, 5-year-old accident victim from Baltimore.

Back in December of 2011, Jake was killed when a driver, who was on the phone at the time, struck and killed him as he crossed the street. Jake, who was playing a Super Mario video game at the time of the crash, explained in his last words to his mother: “I have 43 lives.”

The driver of the car apparently did not see that traffic had slowed in response to an accident. He also did not see the sign several miles ahead of the accident that warned drivers traffic was slowing. The driver did not react until .2 seconds before impact, experts explained. This means that the driver did not even apply the brakes at all.

America’s Roads Allegedly Safe as Ever

May 31, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Despite recent major traffic incidents across the country, the Associated Press is reporting that the nation’s roads are as safe as they’ve ever been.

According to their statistics, derailments and accidents at railroad crossings have been on the decline, despite an increased reliance on trains for transporting raw materials and finished products.

Purportedly, the numbers are as follows:

A 43% decrease in train accidents, to a total of 1,712 occurring from 2003 to 2012;

A 34% decrease in accidents occurring at railroad crossings, to 1,960 over the same period;

A 19% decrease in the number of deaths to a total of 705, which breaks down to an average of approximately 70-80 per year, nationwide.

Over time, railroads have made capital investments, strengthened employee training, and explored technological advances in order to anticipate the potential problems that lead to derailment.

According to the Federal Railroad Administration spokesman,
“Last year was the safest year on record for the railroad industry.” This may come as a surprise following the Baltimore accident this Tuesday, and the derailment of a commuter train in Connecticut earlier this month.

Maryland School Kids at Risk? St. Mary’s County Police Say Drivers Ignoring School Bus Stop Signals

April 16, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

There are few things in life more precious than our youth. As the embodiment of the future of our world, children should be protected from the dangers that they have yet to appreciate. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues are all too aware of the fragility of life. This view is based on the years of experience that we have representing victims of automobile and trucking-related traffic collisions, as well as pedestrian and bicycle injury accidents.

Through the decades, we as a society have developed laws and physical safeguards to protect the populace from physical injury or death caused by senseless and unnecessary traffic wrecks, not to mention other types of accidents that may result in personal injury. As motorists ourselves, we understand the dangers that every driver, passenger, pedestrian and bicyclist faces on our state’s roadways. For the children, this is doubly important because they do not always understand the hazards that you and I see as commonplace in everyday life.

Helping kids get to a stage in their own lives where they can recognize inherent dangers and avoid them is the job or parents, relatives, educators and our community leaders. Because traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of childhood fatalities in the U.S., it goes without saying that we should all obey the runs and regulations that protect not only these young lives, but also those of our friends and neighbors.

National Safety Council Reports Highway Fatalities Rose in 2012 Above Previous Year’s Death Toll

February 26, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It would be morbid to say that an improving economy may have caused more than 1,500 additional traffic deaths last year than in 2011, but you can be sure that someone will suggest it. As Maryland personal injury lawyers, I and my colleagues have a much more grounded view of things when it comes to injuries and fatalities on our nation’s roadways; there’s never a good reason for people to be killed in senseless and often preventable traffic collisions.

Whether you’re talking about passenger cars crashes, trucking-related wrecks or motorcycle accidents, there are often one or more individuals who will be sent to the hospital with serious or even life-threatening injuries. From broken bones and serious burns, to lacerations, internal injuries and closed-head trauma, few people come away totally unhurt following a bad automobile or commercial truck collision.

Areas like Baltimore, the District, and other densely populated metropolitan centers get their share of roadway accidents. Having met with dozens of accident victims, we understand the physical pain and difficult recovery and rehab periods that many people experience following a car crash. And even if they survive the initial collision, the financial burden that can follow may be just as devastating, especially for families that are already struggling with money issues. Throw in a loss of income when a single parent is hurt or laid up in a hospital bed and the families troubles are only just beginning.

Victims of Maryland Automobile Accidents Need Not Be in a Vehicle to Suffer Injuries

February 17, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As personal injury attorneys serving the residents of Baltimore, Annapolis, the District of Columbia, as well as other areas of our state, we have met numerous people over the years who have been seriously injured as a result of a car, truck or motorcycle collision on Maryland roadways. To say that automobile accidents happen often is an understatement, but the fact is that an injury accident can happen almost anywhere.

We recall that old auto insurance admonition, which still rings true today: “Most traffic accidents happen within 25 miles of home.” Since most people live and work generally within that radius, it’s a fair bet that if and when a car or trucking-related wreck does befall a person, there is a rather strong chance that it could occur within the range of one’s home.

When one considers the results of a traffic accident, it’s also good to think about the causes, which in many cases may have been preventable. Sadly, with human nature being what it is, eliminating all roadway collisions is likely more a pipe dream than anything else. But as Baltimore injury attorneys, we also know that a traffic wreck can happen to just one vehicle, and not always due to driver error or a mechanical problem with the vehicle itself.

Maryland Auto and Truck Injury Accident Update: There’s Extreme Danger Involved in Any Roadside Stop

January 15, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It is safe to say that most people understand the gravity of being involved in a car-pedestrian traffic collision, yet many people appear to expose themselves unnecessarily to the dangers associated with walking to close to the shoulder of an active roadway or crossing at busy intersection without carefully assessing the traffic situation. Compounding these everyday dangers is the fact that many pedestrians are also involved in using highly distracting smartphones and other electronic devices when walking on-foot near heavy vehicular traffic.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, I and my colleagues understand the potential for serious injuries that can come with being caught up in a car, truck or motorcycle accident; that of bodily injuries ranging from minor cuts and bruises to critical, life-threatening injuries such as closed-head trauma, spinal cord damage, injury to internal organs and severe cardiopulmonary events. Any one of the latter problems would be cause for life-saving efforts by an emergency room medical team, all of which could have be avoided with a little extra caution on everyone’s part.

These kinds of fatal and near-fatal accidents should never be invited due to a simple loss of focus on a pedestrian’s part; however, nobody can control the actions of another person, such a car or commercial truck driver who crashes into another vehicle or bystander. Seeing that just standing too close to a busy city intersection is dangerous, consider the folly of stopping on the shoulder of a high-speed interstate with car and trucks passing just feet away at speeds upward of 55 to 65mph, maybe more.

Traffic Safety Update: Rubbernecking, Like Distracted Driving, Can Cause Maryland Roadway Collisions

January 7, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Anyone who has read this column at any length knows that roadway collisions are one of the leading causes of death among adults and children here in the United States. For children, especially, car crashes amount to what is truly known as the primary killer of small children and infants. Whatever the cause, the loss of any life is a sad and regrettable event; but the loss of a young life is a tragedy beyond words.

As Baltimore automobile and trucking accident lawyers, I and my colleagues are committed to helping those families who have lost a loved one in car truck and motorcycle-related traffic collision. When it comes to car accidents, one of the most common reasons that police and traffic safety experts point to is driver error. And much of what occurs in the way of driver error can be chalked up to distracted driving.

More than anything, we as drivers have an obligation to ourselves, our families, passenger riding with us, as well as other drivers with whom we share the road to be as alert and on-task as we possibly can be, regardless of the situation. We would even go as far as saying that anyone who cannot apply themselves 100 percent to the job of operating a motor vehicle should probably not get behind the wheel of a car, SUV or minivan any time soon.

History of Fatal Traffic Accidents on Maryland Rte 32 Prompts Discussion on Adding Lanes in Clarksville

January 3, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

With one of the most deadly holidays — traffic-wise — behind us, it’s perhaps a good idea to review the dangers facing motorists these days. Car, truck and motorcycle collisions happen all of the time, but for some of us we find it hard to accept that people are dying in traffic wrecks all across the country on a daily basis; and maybe while you are reading this very sentence.

As Maryland personal injury attorneys, I and my colleagues understand that nobody can eliminate traffic deaths completely, save removing every car, bike and commercial delivery truck from the roadways. But as we have alluded, that is not a practical solution to the problem of highway fatalities in Maryland and across this great country.

Over in Clarksville, the stretch of Rte 32 between Interstate 70 and Rte 108 has long been the scene of many a fatal traffic wreck. Yet people are still arguing over what should, could and might be done to make that section of roadway safer for individuals and families living in the area or just passing through.

Baltimore Automobile Injury News: Traffic Safety and the Factors Behind Teenage Driving Accidents in Maryland

December 31, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Passenger car accidents involving teenage drivers are a common occurrence here in the Baltimore area, as well as in Bowie, Rockville, Annapolis and the District. What many people tend to forget is that teen’s simply do not have the experience and (some may say) wisdom that comes with age, or at least many years behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. As Maryland auto accident and personal injury lawyers, I and my staff know how easily anyone can be hurt in a car, truck or motorcycle/scooter crash, which is why we advise caution whenever driving in dense traffic or through busy parts of town.

Here in the United States, automobile collisions are the most common kind of fatal accidents that take the lives of thousands of teens every year. Representing about a third of all deaths among teenagers, traffic wrecks have been named by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) as one of the greatest caused of teen fatalities; citing, in the past, roadway crashes as the killer of about eight young people (aged 16 to 19 years) every single day, while injuring more than three-quarters of a million teenagers annually.

Since driving-age teens have the highest traffic accident rate of any age group, we are never that surprised when we hear of a bad accident — whether a serious injury collision or a fatal wreck — that has involved at least one young driver. But, sadly, even though our law firm knows that teenagers account for a percentage of fatal accidents, it doesn’t change the fact that a family who has lost a child has a long road ahead of it in terms of coping with that loss.

Despite Fatal Car Accidents, Maryland’s Highway Authority Says Seneca Hwy Speed Limit Will Stand

December 22, 2012 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When most people think of a car, truck or motorcycle wreck, the most common image is that of two or more vehicles sitting damaged by the side of the road. While many passenger car and commercial truck-related collisions involve multiple vehicles, we do see numerous instances of single-vehicle crashes that involve just one car or truck. As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, we have represented dozens of individuals who have been hurt in an injury-related accident, be it auto, nursing home, medical malpractice or other incident that results in bodily injury.

The fact is, when it comes to roadway accidents, some crashes are caused not by another driver, but by the roadway itself. Weather conditions come immediately to mind, but there are other kinds of problems that can result in a traffic wreck. One area of personal injury law involves defective roadway claims. Many times, a car, truck or bus crash can because the actual road surface is intrinsically unsafe or has been temporarily made unsafe due to outside causes.

Passenger cars, commercial vehicles and two-wheeled motor vehicles all require a certain amount of friction between the road surface and the vehicle’s tires to maintain steering and directional control. Most people in cold-weather states know this very well, since an icy or snow-covered street can be slippery to the point of loss of control, either when steering, braking or accelerating. The same can be said when it rains, though less so in most circumstances.