Articles Posted in Traffic Safety

Driver negligence comes in many forms. Causing an accident because one is drowsy, hung over, or worse, drunk are all potential negligence suits waiting to happen. Add to that the possibility of maiming or killing another individual and a driver could be facing prison time and other civil penalties. But these are but several of the numerous causes of automobile and trucking-related crashes.

One hot button issue, which is now part of Maryland state law, is the use of cell phones in a moving vehicle. As a Maryland auto and trucking accident attorney and a Washington, D.C., personal injury lawyer, I have seen the result of distracted driving for years. Cell phone use is high on everybody’s list of major distractions — texting being one of the biggest distracters of all and one of the most likely causes of traffic collisions across the country.

Finally the state of Maryland has a new law on the books that prohibits talking on a hand-held cell phone when operating a motor vehicle. The Maryland General Assembly approved legislation last spring and now it is illegal for motorists across the state to use a hand-held cell phone while driving.

Well, it’s happened once again. Baltimore, MD, and Washington, D.C., have both made the very bottom of the Allstate insurance company’s “Best Drivers Report.” As a Maryland auto accident lawyer and personal injury attorney, I won’t say that I expected this, but the statistics show what many people probably already know — that car, truck and motorcycle accidents do seem to happen with alarming frequency in and around the state.

The Allstate report lists nearly 200 cities across the country, all of which fared better than our nation’s capital, which is why I always suggest to friends and associates to be extremely careful when traveling on our publics roadways. Single- and multiple-vehicle collisions are not uncommon in cities such as Annapolis, the District, Owning Mills and Columbia, among others, which makes defensive driving a necessary pastime here in Maryland.

According to the report, Baltimore was right behind D.C. in the poorest showing for 2010 — just like in 2009. Allstate ranked the metropolitan areas using insurance claim data from the 2007 and 2008 calendar years. The result of those findings showed that the average driver living in the Washington area is involved in a traffic accident once ever 5.1 years. What this also means is that D.C. drivers are, amazingly, 96 percent more likely to have an accident than an average driver anywhere else in the U.S.

The phrase, “It takes two to tango,” may seem a bit flippant when referring to something as serious as traffic accidents, automobile crashes and fatal car and truck collisions, but the point to be made here — at least when driving your loved ones around — is always use your head because someone else might not be using theirs. As Maryland car accident attorneys, we make this statement with more than a little experience in representing victims of severe and sometimes fatal traffic accidents; passengers and drivers alike.

Anyone who has taken the wheel of a motor vehicle — car, SUV, minivan, pickup truck — knows that accidents can be lurking almost anywhere. One of the most important things a driver can do to avoid a serious auto wreck is to take the extra time to be sure traffic is clear when crossing an intersection or making a turn onto a busy, high-speed roadway.

Most driver education courses attempt to hammer this point home with students, but over time some drivers tend to forget those early lessons and in doing so may even create their own rules of the road. According to a recent article, police have increased traffic patrols along a stretch of U.S.15 at Hayward Road due to potentially dangerous traffic conditions. Apparently the high incidence of car and truck collisions in that area of Fredrick County has necessitated the added enforcement.