Indiana Injury Law Blog

A new survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that about 4 million Americans drove under the influence of alcohol last year. Further, the survey finds that there were 112 million episodes of intoxicated driving in 2010.

Those figures mark a substantial improvement from 2006. In fact, those numbers are a drop of 30% from 2006. However, 112 million episodes of intoxicated driving placing motorists and other drivers at risk of injuries or death, is too high a number for any Indiana car accident lawyer to stomach. Each one of those 112 million episodes of intoxicated driving had the potential to cause a fatal or injurious accident.

Intoxicated driving continues to remain one of the biggest factors in auto accidents in the United States. In recent years, the focus on distracted driving and other threats may have pushed drunk driving off the spotlight, but the fact is that driving under the influence contributes to the second highest number of auto accident fatalities every year, second only to speeding.

According to the study, there are some categories of drivers who continue to be at a high risk of drunk driving. Approximately 81% of all intoxicated drivers are men. About 85% of drunk drivers are binge drinkers. Young men aged between 21 and 34 constitute one out of every three intoxicated drivers. People in the Midwest are at a higher risk of intoxicated driving than those living in the South, Northeast and west. The most dangerous states for drunk driving are North Dakota, Nebraska and Massachusetts.

In 2009, approximately 1/3rd of all people who were killed in car accidents tested positive for drugs. The federal administration released this data to announce the launch of a new initiative to reduce the numbers of people dying in accidents caused by drugged driving.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy is collaborating with Mothers against Drunk Driving to launch a new initiative against driving under the influence of narcotic drugs. According to the report, the risks of driving under the influence of narcotics are especially high among drivers aged between 15 and 20.

The report breaks down drug use as a factor in fatal accidents, depending on the person’s age and the kind of drug. For instance, the report finds that accident victims aged 45 and above were more likely to test positive for depressants and narcotics. In accident victims aged 24 and below, marijuana seemed to be the most frequently-used drug. Additionally, close to half of the drivers had been driving under the influence of both alcohol and drugs. 40% of the drivers tested positive for both drugs and alcohol.

Indiana auto accident lawyers find that driving under the influence of drugs has the same kind of effect on driving abilities as driving under the influence of alcohol, but drunk driving has somehow not received the same attention by Indiana transportation safety agencies as driving under the influence has. Thanks to law enforcement and statewide awareness campaigns against the dangers of drunk driving, the numbers of people dying in alcohol-related auto accidents has declined substantially over the past decade. However, while all this attention has been focused on preventing DUI deaths, the number of accidents caused by people driving under the influence of drugs has increased.

Teen drivers have a 50% higher risk of being involved in an accident the first month after they begin unsupervised driving, compared to the first year of unsupervised driving. Further, they are almost twice as likely to be involved in an accident in the first thirty days of unsupervised driving, as they are up to two years of driving experience. That information comes from a study called Measuring Changes in Teenage Driver Crash Characteristics during the Early Months of Driving.

The results of the study were released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The findings were released in time to mark National Teen Driver Safety Week between October 16 and 22.
The researchers identified the three main factors that increase the risks of accidents involving teen drivers. These include inattention, failure to reduce speed while driving and failure to yield. According to the study, these three behaviors alone were responsible for about 47% of teen driver-related accidents during the first month of driving.

The results of the study show that while teenage driving skills do improve with practice, there are some skills that need further development. The type of accidents that were seen in the survey were not so much the result of a lack of experience, but the failure to develop certain specific driving skills.

The Indiana car accident lawyers at Theodoros and Rooth represent persons injured in automobile and car accidents across Indiana.

The failure of the federal administration to shut down unsafe bus companies has meant that these companies continue to operate on our streets, placing Indiana passengers at risk of accidents. There are a number of uncomfortable truths about the federal administration's policies on bus safety that are tumbling out of the closet, and Indiana bus accident lawyers are extremely concerned about the impact on passengers.

These concerns about bus safety have to do with a fatal bus accident in Virginia last month that killed four people. In that incident, the company that operated the bus was on a 10-day extension that had been granted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The company, Sky Express had a number of safety violations to its credit, and had failed several roadside inspections.

Technically, the company’s buses should have been pulled off the streets. However, the federal agency decided to grant an extension. The Virginia accident occurred during this extension, when a bus flipped over on a highway, killing four and leaving dozens injured.

It has emerged since the accident that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has since October granted such extensions to at least eight other bus operators. The extensions allow these operators to stay on the roads, while they prepare to appeal the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s decision to take them off the roads.

Transportation safety advocates and federal transportation officials, including Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood have been disappointed at the manner in which the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has been randomly handing out extensions. There's no reason why an unsafe bus company with multiple violations to its credit, should be given additional time to operate while its safety is under review.

This summer, Indiana motorists are likely to be sharing the road with more teen drivers, arguably the most inexperienced and accident-prone drivers in the country. Teenage motorists drive approximately 44% more during June, July and August, a fact that should concern law enforcement agencies and Indiana car accident attorneys. Not only are these drivers less experienced, but they also are likely to treat summer as one long, extended weekend.

According to estimates, the risk of an accident involving teen drivers rises dramatically during summer. In fact, according to some studies, this risk is approximately 70 % more during the summer months than during the rest of the year. Not only are teenagers driving more during the summer, but they are also driving more during the night. Driving at night time comes with its own set of challenges, which can prove too much for a teen driver to handle.

Besides, much of teen driving during the summer takes place with teen passengers. The risk of being involved in an accident increases when there are teen passengers in the car.

This summer, Indiana parents must get involved in reducing the danger of accidents involving their children. Know that your child will be driving more during the summer, and this automatically places him/her at a higher risk of accidents. Make sure that your child follows traffic safety rules strictly. Restrict the number of teenage passengers in the car. Also limit the number of hours that your child spends driving after dark. Most teen accidents occur between 19 and 12 AM.

Experts also suggest having a parent-teen driving agreement. This is a contract which spells out the rules for a teen driver. The agreement could include incentives and rewards for good driving behavior over the summer, and penalties for bad driving practices.

Across Indiana and most of the rest of the country, traffic accident fatalities in 2010 dropped to their lowest levels in decades. For purposes of analysis, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was grouped into Region Five, which also includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan. This region recorded a drop of 3.9% in accident fatalities over 2009.
Indiana's traffic accident fatality rates had already declined last year along with most of the rest of the country. Overall nationwide, traffic accident rates declined from 2009. Last year, 32,788 people died in traffic accident fatalities, compared to 33,808 traffic accident fatalities in 2010. Those were the lowest numbers on record since 1949. It was also a drop of 25% from traffic accident fatalities in 2005.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not provided any explanations for this continuing decline in traffic accident fatalities. However, Indiana car accident attorneys believe that much of this decline has had to do with increasing seat belt usage rate around the country. Across the country, seatbelt use rates have spiked over the past decade, at a respectable 84%. Besides, there's also the fact that automobiles are now back with more safety features to prevent fatal crashes. Most automobiles come packed with a range of auto safety technology, including forward collision warning systems, lane departure warning systems, side airbags and other features that help save lives in accidents.

The decline in auto accident fatalities across the country has also coincided with a continuing decline in the number of people killed in drunk driving accidents every year. DUI accident rates have declined sharply, due to harsher penalties for DUI and lowered tolerance of such practices. This has also contributed to a drop in the overall accident fatality rate.

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation is drawing attention to the special risks that motorcyclists face from drivers who are snacking, applying makeup or using cell phones while driving. Such distracted drivers have been the target of a nationwide initiative against distracted driving, and dealing with these drivers has become priority number one for the Department of Transportation. However, according to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, motorcyclists have special risks from such distracted drivers.

Motorcycle accident rates have been increasing over the past decade. Much of this increase is due to the fact that motorcyclists are now competing for space on the roads with more numbers of automobiles. Besides, motorcycles today are all-powerful, and faster than they were back in the 70s. These and other factors have contributed to motorcycle accidents, but a large number of distracted drivers on the roads now also poses serious risks to motorcyclists.

Even under normal circumstances, motorists very often fail to notice motorcyclists. A motorcyclist has a narrower field of vision, and does not fall within the motorist’s field of vision. When he is distracted by cell phones or texting devices, or because he is performing other distracting activities, the ability to see the motorcyclist becomes even more diminished. It's not hard to understand why the Motorcycle Safety Foundation is especially concerned about the effect of distracted drivers on motorcycle safety.

There are no definitive studies that show exactly how many motorcyclists are killed every year due to distracted driving. However, according to the Department of Transportation, every year approximately 6,000 people are killed in accidents caused by distracted drivers. Some of these are motorcyclists. However, it has been years since we have had an intense study into the causes of motorcycle accidents. That will soon change. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation is currently engaged in a naturalistic study into the causes of motorcycle accidents in the city. Indiana motorcycle accident lawyers would not be too surprised if distracted driving features prominently on that list.

Driving at excessive speeds is a frequent factor in the truck accidents that Indiana truck accident lawyers come across. Indiana state police have confirmed that one person has been killed, and two people have been seriously injured in a truck accident on Interstate 94.

The accident involved three vehicles, and was triggered when a motorist driving a 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier lost control of his vehicle, and ended up facing south in the right lane. Just behind the Chevrolet was a Nissan Maxima which began to slow, after the Chevrolet lost control. The Nissan Maxima was struck by a semi tractor-trailer, and the impact pushed the Nissan into the Chevrolet. The passenger in the Nissan suffered serious injuries, and was rushed to the hospital. However, he had suffered massive internal injuries, and died later. The driver of the Nissan also suffered serious internal injuries, and was rushed to the hospital.

Indiana state police have cited the driver of the tractor-trailer for driving too fast for the prevailing road conditions. The tractor-trailer driver was not injured in the accident. A complete investigation will reveal the sequence of events that led to this accident fatality. However, according to the Indiana police, it does appear that the truck driver was driving too fast for the prevailing road, weather and traffic conditions.

Driving too fast does not only mean driving below the posted speed limits for. It also means driving at speeds that are appropriate, considering the traffic and weather conditions. For instance, a truck driver who is traveling in stormy winds, heavy rain or after heavy snowfall, will have to take extra precautions to avoid an accident. Whatever the kind of weather, this will include dropping speeds to retain control of the rig. Besides, a truck driver must also take into consideration traffic conditions. Speeds must be lowered if there's heavy traffic on the highway or during rush hour. That doesn’t seem to have happened here.

A new study indicates that a popular drug that is often used in the treatment of cancer may also have beneficial effects in patients who suffer from spinal cord injury. The drug, Taxol has been in use for several years now, to treat breast cancer with successful results. Scientists, who have experimented with lab mice, have found that the drug has substantial benefits in mice with spinal cord injury too.
The researchers used low concentrations of Taxol on the site of the spinal cord injury. After about 6 to 8 weeks of the Taxol treatment, the researchers tested the mice on their ability to walk on sticks. Mice that have a spinal cord injury find it hard to walk in this manner because of increased missteps. However, after the Taxol treatment, the rats actually had fewer missteps and were able to walk better than rats that were not given the treatment.
It is not entirely clear how Taxol helps treat spinal cord injury. However, the researchers believe that it has something to do with the effect of the drug on the regeneration of axons. These axons are structures in nerve cells that are responsible for transmitting nerve impulses. After a spinal cord injury, the tissue around the spinal cord injury site can be covered with scar tissue, inhibiting the regrowth and regeneration of the axons. However, Taxol seems to reduce the amount of scarring that takes place at the spinal injury site, thereby allowing regeneration of the axons.
The good news for Indiana injury lawyers is that since Taxol is an approved drug, and has been used for several years as a cancer drug, the path towards using it as a spinal cord injury treatment is easier. However, Taxol cannot be used as a treatment for spinal cord injury on its own, and also will not be able to work on older injuries.

A comparative study of all 50 states and the District of Colombia finds that a person's risk of being seriously or fatally injured in an accident increases significantly if the accident occurs on a rural road. In fact, Indiana had an accident death rate of 10.8 per 100,000 population in 2009. That is close to the national average of 11.0, and can be traced to the large number of deaths that occur here on the state's rural roads. The study found that states like Massachusetts and Washington that don't have as many rural roads, have a much lower accident death rate than states with more number of rural roads.

It has been no secret to Indiana accident attorneys that the state's rural roads are fatal accident magnets. Rural roads suffer from a number of deficiencies that increase a person's risk of being involved in an accident on these roads. For instance, for the most part, Indiana’s rural roads are narrow two-lane roads, that come with no center dividers, or any other safety aids to prevent accidents. As a result, drivers have a higher chance of being involved in crashes on these roads.

Besides, because of the absence of center dividers, many of these accidents tend to be head-on accidents that cause serious injuries or fatalities. There are other reasons why rural roads in Indiana are so dangerous. These roads don't feature high on the priority list for state law enforcement agencies. Indiana's law enforcement agencies have strained resources, and most of their efforts are directed in urban areas. It’s the reason why you see fewer campaigns against intoxicated driving or distracted driving on rural roads. It's also why you see fewer numbers of officers pulling cars over and ticketing people for violating seat belt and child restraint laws on these roads. This contributes to a higher number of fatalities on Indiana's rural roads every year, which adds to the state's overall accident fatality toll.

As Indiana brain injury lawyers, we know that in many cases, surgery soon after a traumatic brain injury, can enhance the person’s chances of survival and facilitate a quicker return to a normal life. A new study shows that brain injury surgery can also be helpful in elderly patients, but it also comes with certain risks, especially within the first year after the surgery.

Out of the elderly patients in the study who had surgery after brain injury, approximately one third died in the hospital after surgery. Further, about 50% of the patients died within one year after surgery. That doesn't mean however that brain surgery does not benefit seniors. Among those elderly patients that had brain surgery, and were monitored over a period of 42 months, there were favorable outcomes. Two thirds of the survivors of brain injury surgery had a favorable outcome as seen over 42 months. This was demonstrated by their Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended score of at least five. Overall, the researchers say that they are happy with what they saw in elderly patients with brain surgery over an extended period of time of several months, but the results for patients over a period of one year, were a little disappointing.

There also seem to be a lot of other factors that determine outcomes for elderly patients with brain injury who have surgery. For instance, patients who were admitted to the hospital in a conscious state were much more likely to have favorable outcomes, then those who were unconscious when they were taken to the hospital. Besides, the degree of independence at the time of discharge from the hospital also seems to play a big role in the type of outcome.
Brain injuries among the elderly can be caused due to slip and fall accidents, or as a result of high impact auto accidents including car/truck/motorcycle accidents in Indiana. These can also be the result of violence, assaults and gunshots.

Most of us will need to rent a car at some point in time. However, few will bother to determine that the car we are renting is on not a recall list. For two young women in California, that failure came at a heavy price when the rented Chrysler PT Cruiser they were driving in exploded into flames after a crash, killing them instantly. The Cruiser had been recalled by Chrysler one year earlier due to fire hazards, and been loaned by Enterprise Rent-a-Car, one of the biggest rental car companies in the country.

Now, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced a probe into whether rental car companies conduct repairs of recalled cars, and whether these repairs are complete. The NHTSA investigation comes after auto safety group Center for Auto Safety petitioned the federal administration to investigate recalled vehicle repairs at rental car companies.

In the Enterprise case, the parents of the two women, who were sisters, filed a lawsuit against Enterprise, and awarded $15 million in damages. However, Enterprise denied until the very last minute that it was responsible for the crash. While it's too late for the two young women who died in that accident, there is still time to prevent other deaths involving rental cars in Indiana and around the country. During the trial, former employees of Enterprise testified that the company had no firm policy in place that prevented vehicles that were on a recall list from being rented out to consumers if there were no cars available on the lot.

Indiana car accident lawyers would never tolerate auto manufacturers selling cars that have been recalled, before these were fixed. It makes no sense therefore, that we fail to prevent rental companies from renting out these same recalled cars to innocent consumers, who have no idea they're possibly driving a dangerous and defective machine. The NHTSA needs to come down harder on rental car companies that place innocent motorists’ lives at risk.

Nine schoolchildren were injured when their school bus was involved in an accident with a commercial truck in southwest Indiana last week. According to news reports, the semi truck sideswiped a school bus on State Road 57 about 95 miles southwest of Indianapolis. According to the school superintendent, the bus had stopped for a child to get down, when it was sideswiped by the truck. Nine students on the bus were injured seriously enough to be taken to the hospital. The truck driver also sustained minor injuries in the accident.

As Indiana truck accident lawyers, we see that in any accident involving a truck and another vehicle, it’s the occupants of the other vehicle who have a much higher risk of being injured. Even when the other vehicle is a large motor vehicle like a bus, the risk of injuries is always present in a collision with a commercial truck. Investigations into this truck accident must look at what the truck driver could have done to prevent this collision.

Besides, this accident should also raise questions about school bus safety for Indiana's children. We have no information about whether the bus involved in the crash was equipped with seatbelts. However, children in a school bus can be at a higher risk of injury when they are involved in an accident, and have not been restrained by seatbelts. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has not mandated seatbelts on all school buses, in spite of the fact that so many school bus accidents leave children injured every year. A child who is unrestrained in a school bus has a much higher risk of being thrown about, or even worse, ejected from the bus during an accident. In spite of these risks, the FMCSA has failed to mandate personal restraint systems on all school buses.

The economic costs from motor vehicle accidents in the US, including those from hospitalization expenses and lost income, exceed more than $99 billion a year. That information comes from a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and published in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention. The data that was used for the study came from the year 2005, the last year for which the data was available.

It's a staggering estimate, and more than $70 billion of that huge amount, went towards meeting hospitalization and medical-related expenses of accident victims. What's more, according to the agency, the study only took costs from hospitalization and lost wages into account, and did not include additional expenses, like the increase in auto insurance premiums after an accident.

As we expected, motor vehicle accidents account for the lion’s share of economic costs every year. In 2005, these accounted for approximately 71% of all costs, or $70 billion. Motor vehicle accidents here include accidents involving passenger cars, light pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles.

Motorcycle accidents costs touched $12 billion, pedestrian accident costs equaled $10 million and bicycle accident costs equaled $5 billion in 2005. Some groups like pedestrians and bicyclists had a lower share of the total number of fatal and nonfatal accidents in 2005, but accounted for a substantially larger percentage of costs. That's because motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians have a much higher risk of suffering extreme or severe injuries that can add to their medical expenses.

A $99 billion price tag is completely unacceptable, especially when you consider that most auto accidents are entirely preventable. Lowering accident-related costs will involve implementing and enforcing seat belt laws, encouraging the use of child safety seats, implementing tougher GDL laws for teen motorists, requiring that all motorcyclists and bicyclists wear helmets, and cracking down harder on intoxicated motorists.

The Indiana auto accident attorneys at Theodoros and Rooth represent injured victims of car and motorcycle accidents, and help them recover rightful compensation for their losses.

Last week, a group of Italian and American researchers unveiled a dramatic discovery at a conference in Australia. The group had used stem cells from mice hair follicles in order to treat spinal cord injury in mice. The results were very encouraging. Mice with spinal cord injury were able to regain movement after being given the stem cell transplants.

Researchers presented a video at the conference which showed a mouse with spinal cord injury regaining movement in its limbs, after receiving stem cell transplants from its hair follicles. The researchers are hailing this as a major breakthrough in the treatment of spinal cord injury using stem cell therapy.

There is hope that such therapy may also be used in humans with great success. The mice were treated with similar stem cells that were found in human hair follicles, and even these cell therapies were found to be equally beneficial. Researchers believe that there is enough reason to hope this stem cell therapy will benefit humans too.

Approximately, a quarter million Americans live with spinal cord injury. These occur most often in auto, truck and motorcycle accidents. In fact, auto accidents are the number one cause of spinal cord injury in the United States. However, these can also occur during slip and fall accidents, or as a result of violent assaults. Treatment for spinal cord injury has been painstakingly slow to develop, although advances in stem cell therapies hold much promise for Indiana personal injury lawyers.

Spinal cord injuries often leave their victims with one of two conditions - paraplegia and quadriplegia. A paraplegic will only have control over the lower limbs of his body, whereas a quadriplegic will have loss of movement in both upper and lower limbs. For many of these persons, the search for an effective and long-term cure, is elusive. The only hope comes from the use of stem cell transplants to rejuvenate and repair damaged nerve and tissue.

A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety indicates that hundreds of motorcycle accident fatalities every year can be prevented if motorcycles come with antilock brakes. According to the study, the risk of being involved in a motorcycle accident decreases by 37% if the motorcycle is equipped with these antilock braking systems, compared to motorcycles that are not.

Those findings are corroborated by another analysis conducted by the Highway Loss Data Institute. This analysis showed that motorcycles that come equipped with antilock brakes had up to 22% fewer claims for damages, compared to motorcycles that did not come with these systems. Antilock brakes can reduce the risk of motorcycle crashes by releasing the brake pressure that can contribute to accidents when the motorcyclist applies the brakes. In motorcycles without antilock systems, braking can cause the wheels to lock, possibly contributing to a flip over with serious consequences.

The rising rate of motorcycle accident fatalities has been of concern to Indiana accident lawyers for a few years now. In 2008, the number of people killed in motorcycle accidents across the country crossed 5,000. That was the highest figure since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began recording such fatalities in 1975. This spike in motorcycle crash realities has continued even in spite of major strides made in controlling other highway accident fatality rates.

Helmet laws have helped prevent such accidents across several states. In Indiana however, motorcycle helmet laws only apply to motorcyclists below the age of 70. Approved helmets dramatically reduce the risk of the motorcyclist suffering a traumatic brain injury in an accident.

The Indiana auto accident attorneys at Theodoros and Rooth represent injured victims of car and motorcycle accidents, and help them recover rightful compensation for their losses.

Traumatic brain injury, or TBI often occurs in severe automobile and truck accidents, workplace disasters and other accidents. The degree of impact on a victim's life is defined by the severity of the injury. A minor TBI for instance, would include a concussion, while severe injuries can result in a person being dependent on care even for his basic needs.

As Indiana personal injury lawyers representing victims of accidents across the state, we frequently come across persons who have suffered a severe brain injury. Unfortunately, there has been little advancement made in treatment for TBI, and no new treatment program has been approved for at least the past three decades. That could change soon, as researchers begin clinical trials into the benefits of progesterone therapy on TBI.

Studies conducted 25 years ago seem to indicate that progesterone, a hormone that is typically used to treat menstruation problems, can actually have a protective effect on damaged brain tissue. It may prevent inflammation, and could check further damage. The new trials will include more than 1,000 patients who will be injected with the progesterone hormone a few hours after the injury. For the treatment to work, the hormone must be injected within a period of four hours after the person suffers a TBI. The treatment must then be continued over the next four days. The study promises to result in possibly new treatments for TBI that can limit the impact that an injury can have, and prevent death.

Medical experts, doctors and brain injury lawyers in Indiana will be watching the trials closely. We hope that the trials lead to a new treatment program that uses progesterone to limit the extent of TBI.

This month, an Indianapolis woman died in a tragic pedestrian accident after she was hit by two separate drivers in a span of minutes. The woman was crossing a street when she was hit by a first vehicle. She had barely recovered from that impact when a second vehicle hit her. The first vehicle driver stopped after hitting the woman, and saw the second accident. The second driver however didn’t bother sticking around to help the woman. He fled the scene of the crash. The victim was rushed to the hospital, and died a couple of hours later.

The New Year seems to have begun with a terrible start for the family of this young woman who was just 32 years old. The woman also seems to have been on duty at the time of the hospital. She was working for a nursing center called Regency Place of Castleton. At the time of the crash, she was on her way to pick up something for a patient when she was hit by the car. The litigation in this matter is likely to be complicated because Workers’ Compensation laws could also apply.

This accident is yet another reminder of how careful motorists should be driving in the kind of bad weather we have seen over the past few weeks. Driving on slick streets requires extra attention to the road. Driving at high speeds can place you at risk of hydroplaning or sliding off a road when you apply the brakes. With more snow-covered days expected, we would advise motorists to above all drive slowly. Stay buckled up, and look out for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists and other people who may be in your blind spots.

The Indiana personal injury lawyers at Theodoros & Rooth represent injured victims of auto accidents in and around the state of Indiana.

Indiana auto accident lawyers are looking forward to the passing of a new law that would ban text messaging while driving for all motorists. New statistics released by the National Safety Council should ensure that the bill receives support in the legislature. The bill which seeks to ban text messaging while driving for all motorists in Indiana has received support, and as Indiana personal injury lawyers, we remain optimistic that the bill will pass.

Last week, the National Safety Council released new data which shows that 28 percent of all auto accidents are caused by motorists using cell phones while driving. The NSC estimates that up to 1.4 million accidents are caused by motorists having conversations on their cell phones while at the wheel. Approximately 200,000 accidents are caused by motorists texting while driving.

Also last week, the Department of Transportation and the National Safety Council announced the launch of a new group dedicating to supporting the families of victims of accidents caused by distracted driving. The group is called FocusDriven, and hopes to galvanized public opinion and pressure state legislatures in the same manner that Mothers Against Drunk Driving has done for intoxicated driving. FocusDriven plans to increase pressure on states to enact their own legislation to minimize distracted driving

In an ideal world, we would not need a law that tells us to switch off anything that takes our attention away from the road. However, our experience and practice as Indiana auto accident lawyers tells us that awareness and education activities are never enough to tackle any safety problem. There must be strong laws that ban unsafe practices, and strict enforcement of these laws.

As Indiana auto accident lawyers, we frequently monitor new developments in auto and highway safety. It has been very encouraging to note a widespread public preference for cars that are safer. Seatbelts and airbags are two of the most important safety devices you could have in your car, but as the New England Auto Show last month revealed, Indiana motorists will soon be able to choose many more high tech auto safety features to prevent accidents and injuries.

Many of these features are now also coming with more affordably priced models. You shouldn’t have to be wealthy to able to afford a car that protects you in an accident. Some of the better features that we hope become more and more widely used in cars in Indiana are:

1. Forward Collision Systems
These are built to detect objects or vehicles in front of your vehicle, and prevent collisions.

2. Face Recognition Monitors
These futuristic devices work by taking a picture of your head while you are driving and monitoring for sudden jerky movements, like when you begin to nod off. As soon as the system notices such signs, it sounds a warning. Considering the lack of attention paid by Indiana’s lawmakers to the problem of drowsy driving, this system may be the next best thing to preventing the serious accidents that result from fatigued driving

3. Post Collision Systems
These do a number of things in the seconds after an accident - shutting off the fuel pump, unlocking the doors and turning the car’s hazard lights on. The seconds after an accident can set off complications like a fire, and this system prevents such adverse and dangerous events.

4. Active Head Restraints
These protect the head in the event of an accident, by adding extra padding around the skull.

The increased use of seatbelts and air bag systems has been credited with contributing to the decline in the national highway fatality rate. With more advanced features on their way or already here, Indiana auto accident lawyers will be hoping for a further decrease in those rates.

As Indiana personal injury lawyers, we are encouraged at Governor Mitch Daniel’s announcement that the state has recorded the lowest auto accident fatalities in 2008. But we would advise caution against over optimism.

Statistics for 2008 show that there were 680 auto accident fatalities in Indiana this year. Governor Daniels compares that to the 670 deaths in that occurred in Indiana in 1925. Considering that there are at least 8 times more automobiles on the highway now than in 1925, it means that motorists in Indiana are 8 times safer now than they were then.

There is no doubt that these statistics are encouraging. Much of it has had to do with increased enforcement by Indiana state police. There have been more numbers of motorists cited, arrested and warned for traffic violations. In fact, 2008 marks the first time that police have issued approximately 1 million citations, arrests and warnings. Voluntary organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving have also done their bit to increase awareness about the dangers of intoxicated driving.

However, as far as Indiana personal injury lawyers are concerned, 680 deaths is 680 deaths far too many. We still don’t have a comprehensive cell phone and texting ban in place which could bring down those fatality rates further. Besides, we also have to take into consideration the fact that 2008 was a dismal economic year, with high unemployment and financial worries keeping Hoosiers home instead of out driving on the streets.

None of this is to take away from the accomplishments of state police who have done a commendable job of cracking down on intoxicated driving. But it would be dangerous if we choose to sit back and rest on these accomplishments.

Indiana’s highways will be increasingly clogged with millions of motorists traveling over the holidays. Adding to the danger from these increased numbers of motorists is that fact that many of these motorists will be driving under the influence of alcohol. Other motorists will be in a hurry to get to a celebration. In short, there are going to be a number of factors at play, increasing the risk of accidents for Indiana motorists.

Indiana state police this year are participating in enhanced enforcement activities. The holiday enforcement program is called Operation CARE (Combined Accident Reduction Effort). State police have stepped up their enforcement activities, and are cracking down especially hard on speeding motorists, and drunk drivers. Also, if you choose to ride or drive a car without bothering to buckle up, there is a high change you will be caught and fined.

Besides Indiana police troopers, there are also commercial motor vehicle inspectors out during the Christmas holiday to enforce regulations. Inspectors will conduct spot checks of commercial trucks to make sure that no one is injured because of malfunctioning trucks.

As Indiana auto accident lawyers, we know the kind of crazy driving that can set in when motorists are buzzed about the holidays. The holidays can be safe for all if we all just remember a few simple points:

• Never drink and drive.
• If you plan to drink at a party, plan how you will get home before the first drink, and not after the tenth when you can barely see straight. Make arrangements to sleep over at a friend’s place, have someone drive you home, or take public transportation.
• Always wear seatbelts while driving or riding in a car.
• Drive within speed limits.
• Remember that there are going to be hundreds of the motorists on the road you are traveling on, and not all of them will be fit to drive.

We should be used to the kind of accident risks we face in winter, considering the amount of snow and ice we see on Indian’s roads at this time every year. Unfortunately, the season’s first snowfall continues to take many motorists and truckers in Indiana by surprise, contributing to accidents.

This week, Indianapolis saw its first snowfall of the season, and not surprisingly, a series of accidents caused mainly by vehicles unprepared for the snow. Several interstates were backed up, and I-65 was the scene of a multi-vehicle accident involving five cars. There have been no serious injuries or fatalities reported, but as the days go by, we can expect more freezing weather, snow-covered streets, slick roads and poor visibility.

As Indiana personal injury lawyers, we are also concerned about “peephole driving.” We see far too many motorists in Merrillville and around Lake County, driving without bothering to remove the accumulation of snow and ice from the top and front of their cars. It’s frustrating to see cars, SUV and light trucks plowing through the roads, covered completely in snow and ice, except for a small patch in the front windshield where the driver has bothered to clean enough snow for him to be able to see the road ahead. This is incredibly foolish behavior, and only increases your chances of an accident.

As the month ends, more numbers of drivers will hit the highways to travel over the holiday season. This only increases the risk of crashes. As Indiana auto accident lawyers, we would advise these tips for safe travel during winter:

• Keep your windshields clear of snow and ice while driving.
• When visibility lowers, switch on your headlights not only to see other vehicles, but also to allow them to see you.
• Avoid using cruise control.
• Keep within speed limits. If the roads are covered with snow, lower your speeds as appropriate.
• Keep enough distance not just from the vehicle in front of you, but also from the vehicles in the adjacent lanes. Strong winds can push your vehicle out of its lane.
• If road conditions are becoming worse, see if you can take an alternate route that will help you avoid bad weather, or put off your trip all together.
• Keep yourself aware and informed of road and traffic conditions. The Indiana Department of Transportation has a new website TrafficWise that gives motorists a look at current road and traffic conditions, as well as forecasts for the next few hours. We believe this is an important tool for motorists.

As Indiana auto accident lawyers, we have been very concerned about the high accident risks of texting while driving. Teen motorists in particular, are at particular risk for such behavior. In fact, according to the New York Times earlier this year, American teenagers sent and received a staggering average of 2,272 text messages per month, in the last three months of 2008. That works out to 80 messages a day. It’s fair to assume that at least a few of those messages were sent when the driver was behind the wheel.

Those numbers have been confirmed by a new Pew survey, which shows that at least a quarter of American teens between the age of 16 and 17, have texted while driving. At least 50 percent of teens aged between 12 and 17, say that they have been passengers in cars with an adult driver texting at the wheel. Experts are already speculating that the number of texting teen motorists may be actually much higher than the survey shows.

What is very worrying to Indiana personal injury lawyers is the number of teens who are used to their parents texting while at the wheel. Some of this parenting behavior, as vocalized by the teens in the study, is excessive. One teen told the surveyors that his father frequently texted while at the wheel, gripping the steering wheel with his knees, while using his hands to text. Other teens admitted that adult members of their family frequently and constantly indulged in text messaging while driving.

There are two causes for concern here

Large numbers of American teens admitted to text messaging while driving which, according to a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, increases the risk of an accident by 23 times
Many of our teens are being initiated into these driving practices simply by observing their reckless parents.

Teen motorists face enough pressure from peers. They don’t need to be exposed to dangerous driving practices by their parents. As Indiana auto accident lawyers, we hope that parents will take their responsibilities of being role models for their children more seriously.

As Indiana trucking accident lawyers, we regularly follow developments in the trucking industry. It's encouraging to see that the American Trucking Association has thrown its weight behind a new bill that will ban texting for all drivers, including commercial motor vehicle drivers and passenger vehicle drivers.

The texting bill is called the Avoiding Life Endangering and Reckless Texting By Drivers Act, has been introduced by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and will require that states ban texting within the next two years, or risk losing 25 percent of their annual highway funding. The texting ban is especially important in the light of the recent Distracted Driving Summit in Washington, that focused on motorist distractions, including texting and cell phone use.

While the support for Senator Schumer's bill has been good to note, we wish the trucking industry would also recognize the dangers that arise when truckers use computers in their cabs. Trucking groups have been quick to support a texting ban, but not as keen on banning the use of these computerized devices. More and more companies are investing in computers in truck cabs that allow them to send out new orders and messages to truckers around the country. These computers can be a serious distraction to truckers. Studies have shown that truck drivers don’t always pull over when they need to use their computer. This means that the operator of a 57-foot long, 80,000 pound truck could be distracted by the computer in his cab, endangering the safety of motorists nearby.

The American Trucking Association has also adopted policy statements that have the potential to impact truck safety in Indiana and around the country. It has expressed support for the use of onboard safety systems on trucks. These safety systems like brake monitoring systems, automated transmissions and vehicle stability control systems can minimize the risk of accidents. However, the ATA insists that trucking companies be offered financial incentives to adopt these systems.

The ATA is also calling for promoting driving education among new motorists to include awareness of driving safely around 18 wheelers. As Indiana truck accident lawyers, it's a matter of concern to us that motorists may be unaware of basic trucking safety facts, like the fact that an 18-wheeler takes a much longer time to come to a complete stop after the brakes are applied. Besides, truck drivers may not be able to see a motorist if he falls in the trucker's blind spot. New motorists can benefit from learning how to drive safely around a tractor trailer.