Archive for the ‘ Auto Accident ’ Category

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1
Feb

NC Troopers Crack Down on Distracted Drivers…Finally!

from WRAL.com

Wednesday, February 2, is Groundhog Day. Two important things will be happening:  Puxatawny Phil and groundhogs everywhere will be looking for their shadow… and NC State Troopers will begin cracking down on distracted drivers.

According to an article on WRAL.com, nearly 58,000 people are involved in a distracted-driving crash in North Carolina every year…more than 13,000 are injured…and 119 people die. Got that? People die because someone is texting (even though texting is illegal), or talking on a cell phone, or reading, or eating, or adjusting the radio, or applying makeup.

“I see a lot of people driving with their elbows on the steering wheel, texting with one hand,” Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeff Gordon said.

Troopers will be conducting a two day campaign, looking for distracted drivers. They will focus on portions of Interstates 95, 85 and 40 from the Virginia state line through Wake, Durham, and Johnston counties.

It’s a shame that we need a special campaign to stop distracted drivers. People shouldn’t die because another driver decides to answer a phone call.

To read the full article on WRAL.com, click here:  Crack Down

If you have been involved in a car wreck and would like to discuss your legal options, please visit the HensonFuerst Attorneys website at http://www.lawmed.com/north-carolina-auto-accident-lawyer.php. If you have questions, HensonFuerst has answers.

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31
Jan

Love Your Car? It May Lead to Aggressive Driving

If you believe the marketing hype, the model car you drive says a lot about you. Are you a shark…a jungle cat…a rugged adventurer…a road warrior…or a road princess? What made you choose your car? Does it make you feel powerful, or eco-friendly? Like a sports star, or a soccer mom?

What does your car say about you? Or, more important, how your car make you feel? According to an article on ScienceDaily,  a scientific study shows that people who view their car as an extension of themselves have stronger aggressive driving tendencies.

One third of all car accidents that result in injures and two thirds of all fatal car wrecks are caused by aggressive driving. According to the research, people who think of their car as a reflection of their self-identity—regardless of what that identity is—are more likely to behave aggressively on the road, breaking the law in the process. Similarly, people who value their possessions (cars and other things) and have a greater sense of materialism also drive more aggressively. And young people who are just beginning to drive or who have purchased their first vehicle are more likely to show off and drive aggressively.

The study findings suggest that:

“…the perception of the car as an extension of the self leads to more aggressive behavior on the road rather than increased driving cautiousness,” the authors wrote, adding that “individuals may view cars and the road space they occupy as their territory and will seek to maintain control over it and defend it as necessary.”

Unfortunately, they research just correlated attitude and driving behavior; it didn’t offer any advice. Some take-away thoughts:  Be especially watchful of flashy sports cars on the road, the kind that might make their owners feel more powerful…a teen’s first car should be purchased with safety in mind, as opposed to image…and remind yourself daily that your car is nothing more than a tool to get you from place to place. It’s okay to love your car, just not too much!

To read the full article on ScienceDaily, click here:  People Who Really Identify With Their Car

To learn more about safe driving tips, visit our website here: HensonFuerst Auto Accident page. If you have question, HensonFuerst has answers. http://www.lawmed.com/

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26
Jan

Youth In Raleigh Charged In Connection With Fatal Accident

January 26, 2012

Several young people in Raleigh, North Carolina, are learning the hard way that you don’t have to be the person behind the wheel in a fatal accident to be responsible for a wrongful death. According to WRAL News, three teens and a young adult have been charged with crimes in connection to a fatal single vehicle accident that happened earlier this month.

The accident happened on the morning of January 7th on Rainwater Road in Wake County. The driver, a 16-year-old boy, and several of his friends illegally acquired alcohol for an underage drinking party. After attending the party and drinking for several hours, the driver and the 17-year-old female victim got into his Jeep to head home. Reports from the accident show that the vehicle was traveling at 75 MPH in a 30 MPH zone when the boy lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a tree. The female victim in the passenger seat died at the scene.

In the weeks following the crash, not only has the driver of the Jeep been charged in connection with the girl’s death, but also, so have the 21-year-old man who bought the alcohol for the teens, the host of the party, and the minors who contributed money to have the alcohol purchased.

The North Carolina wrongful death lawyers with HensonFuerst may be able to help you if you have lost a loved one because of the negligence of a drunk driver. Contact an experienced attorney today.

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9
Jan

Making Teen Driving Safety a 2012 Resolution

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Elizabeth Molloy, from WRAL.com

Car wrecks are the leading cause of death among North Carolina teens, and crashes are surprisingly common. In NC, teenage drivers are involved in car wrecks approximately every 24 minutes.

According to research, the most common mistakes that cause teen wrecks are speeding, inattention and distraction, and failure to yield. And while drunk driving is still rare among teens, it accounts for some of the most tragic and memorable motor vehicle fatalities.

One recent example—Wake County’s first in 2012—is the death of 17-year-old Millbrook High School student Elizabeth Molloy. According to an article on WRAL.com, the driver was 16-year-old fellow student Garrett Prince, who lost control of his 1999 Jeep SUV while driving 75 mph in a 30 mph zone, and ended up hitting a tree. Prince could face charges of felony death by motor vehicle, provisional DWI, careless and reckless driving, having an open container of spirituous liquor, speeding, and possession of marijuana. Jared Sink, man in the neighborhood where the wreck took place witnessed the crash and pulled Molloy from the burning wreck, said what probably everyone is thinking:  ”[It's] just absolutely tragic. To all the young people out there, there’s no taxi that’s more expensive than someone’s life.”

Parent/Teen Driving Agreement

Teens know that underage drinking is illegal, but that doesn’t stop some of them from drinking. They also know—in theory—that they shouldn’t get into a car with someone who has been drinking, but many of them disregard that advice. Why? Sometimes because the teen doesn’t have the confidence to stand up to peer pressure…or because they are afraid to call their parents for an alternate ride home…or because they don’t realize that a taxi is a viable option.

Those are some of the reasons why a Parent/Teen Driving Agreement can be an important tool. The University of North Carolina (UNC) Highway Safety Research Center and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol have created sample Parent/Teen Driving Agreements. It’s a formal agreement between parents and teens. It includes specific things that both parents and teens agree to do. Parents have found that driving agreements work well to keep teens safe when they first begin to drive on their own by making expectations clear.

The agreements are valuable once your child is old enough to be out with friends, even if he or she is not actually driving. An agreement should outline parental expectations for safety, such as never riding in a car with an impaired driver, always wearing a seatbelt, obeying the speed limit, and avoiding distractions, including texting, talking on a cell phone, eating, or applying make up. That’s the teen side of the agreement. The parent side of the agreement should given the child options for how to get out of a potentially hazardous situation, and outline how parents will support their child’s efforts to stay safe.

For example, agreeing that if a child ever feels unsafe, he or she can call home at any hour and request a ride home…without risk of punishment. (As much as parents might want to lash out at a child who has been drinking or at an unauthorized party, the goal is to get the child home safely. A strongly negative reaction from a parent might cause the child to avoid calling in the future, and possibly getting into a dangerous or fatal situation. That’s not to say that discipline can’t be taken for any rule-breaking, but the ride home should be calm and concerned—any discussions or repercussions should wait for the next day.)

We’ve done some of the research for you and attached links to three separate Parent/Teen Driving Agreements. Look at all of them, take what you like from each, and create your own custom agreement. We like the first one, from the UNC Highway Safety Research Center because it allows teens and parents to write their own agreement items in their own words—that means teens aren’t just skimming over the task without thinking. And any additional minute of thinking about driving safety is another opportunity to keep our children safe.

Sample Agreement 1:  University of North Carolina (UNC) Highway Safety Research Center

Sample Agreement 2: North Carolina State Highway Patrol

Sample Agreement 3: North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles

PROJECT IGNITION

Project Ignition, funded in part by the National Youth Leadership Council, helps students, teachers, and communities address teen driver safety. Students themselves design and lead awareness campaigns–every year, 25 grants are awarded to high schools across the country. The teams often find their inspiration from personal tragedy, but their powerful messages reach across county and state lines. Some examples of the kind of service-learning encouraged by Project Ignition are holding a mock crash on campus, and learning and applying the physics of crashes from a science class, including the potential effects of velocity and crashes on the human body.

This year, we’d like to congratulate the two North Carolina high schools that won grants:

  • Pine Lake Preparatory in Mooresville, North Carolina. Title: “Increasing Your Survival Odds.” The Pine Lake Prep Project Ignition team will lead an in-depth 15-30 week integrating the NC Driver’s Ed curriculum to promote safe driving and better driver “road awareness” utilizing a five-prong approach: (1) mock accident scene, (2) speaker series, (3) student-based research projects, (4) obstacle course on site, and (5) service learning.
  • Lincoln Charter High School in Denver, North Carolina. Title:  ”As the Wheel Turns.” The Project Ignition team of Lincoln Charter believe that teen driving accidents are a rampant and tragic problem in their area. Their emphasis is to reduce the number of student drivers who exercise unsafe driving habits such as eating, allowing excess passengers, or driving while emotionally inept.

About HensonFuerst

At HensonFuerst, we’ve seen the devastating effects of car wrecks and DWI injuries far too often. It’s never pretty, but there is something particularly tragic when the injured individual is a young person who has barely had a chance to live. Our hearts go out the the family of Elizabeth Molloy, and all families touched by the catastrophe of a DWI wreck. We wish you peace.

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30
Dec

Top Motor Vehicle Story of 2011

Of the hundreds of blogs we write each year, hand-down the number one motor vehicle story of the year is about DWD—Driving While Distracted.  The National Safety Council estimates that about 23% of all motor vehicle crashes can be attributed to talking on a cell phone or texting while driving. That’s about 1.3 million crashes per year. In fact, just talking on a cell phone—even hands-free phones—increase the risk of a crash fourfold. That statistic makes DWD the biggest motor vehicle story of this year…or any other year in recent memory.  (To read any of the blogs, click on the title and you’ll be taken directly to the story.)

VIDEOS
In addition to blogs, we also create videos about important health, medical, and legal topics. To see all of our available videos, please visit our YouTube channel here:  HensonFuerst YouTube Channel.  Here are links to some of our motor vehicle and car wreck videos:

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5
Dec

Holiday “Booze It & Lose It” Campaign Has Begun

State and local law enforcement officers will be working to keep motorists safe this celebratory season with the Holiday “Booze It & Lose It” campaign. Checkpoints and stepped-up patrols will be conducted across North Carolina, now through Monday, Jan. 2. This is part of the ongoing effort by the Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP) to remove impaired drivers from the roads.

“Please plan ahead and designate a sober driver this season so everyone can make it home safe over the holidays,” State Transportation Secretary Gene Conti said.

In 2010, there were 1,017 alcohol-related crashes in North Carolina during the holiday campaign, which ran from Dec. 3 through Jan. 2, resulting in 31 fatalities and 728 injuries. That’s one death each day of the campaign…a steep price for a little too much holiday cheer.

In addition, officers charged more than 3,800 North Carolina motorists with driving while impaired during the 2010 Holiday “Booze It & Lose It” campaign.

Wishing all of you a safe and happy (and let me repeat: SAFE) holiday season!

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2
Dec

NC Drivers Still Breaking Simple Laws

On December 1, 35 new laws took effect in North Carolina. Of course, the NC State Highway Patrol is still trying to enforce laws already on the books, especially the “No Texting While Driving” law. According to an article on WRAL.com:

Sgt. Jeff Gordon said distracted driving is still a huge issue across the state. ”I see a lot of people driving with their elbows on the steering wheel, texting with one hand,” Gordon said.

Texting while driving—or any kind of DWD (Driving While Distracted)—has been shown to be as hazardous as driving drunk. But it doesn’t stop texters. And have you ever seen anyone try to make a three-point turn while holding a cell phone in one hand? I have…in fact, I had to wait in the middle of a road while a young man tried this circus-like maneuver in front of me. I would have applauded, but when he finally got his car pointed in the proper direction, he ended up in the wrong lane.

Another law that has been in effect for the past year and is virtually ignored is the law that prohibits large frames around license plates. (To see our video detailing the rules of this law, click here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UII9dVI5_tc)

In short, anything blocking the license plate information—not just the large numbers and letters in the center—is illegal.

NEW LAWS

One of the news laws of 2011 is “Laura’s Law,” which helps take repeat drunk driving offenders off the road. The law was named for Laura Fortenberry, a 17-year-old young woman who was killed by a drunk driver who had multiple previous driving-while-impaired offenses. With this law, convicted drunk drivers with certain aggravating factors will face larger fines and more time behind bars.

The “Run and You’re Done” law attempts to prevent high-speed chases by allowing the sheriff to seize the chased car if the suspect is charged with a felony. If the suspect is convicted of the felony, the car will be sold and proceeds will go to local school districts.

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1
Dec

North Carolina Troopers Say New Laws Not Working

December 1, 2011

North Carolina state law enforcement says that new laws against texting while driving and hidden tags created last year to keep the state’s roadways safer have done little to eliminate the problems. WRAL News reported yesterday that state troopers are issuing citations for as many–if not more–citations for the texting and driving than they ever have before.

A statewide ban on texting and driving went into effect in in 2009, but the state offered almost a year of leniency before beginning to strictly enforce the regulation. North Carolina State Trooper, Sgt. Jeff Gordon, stated that in the first three quarters of this year, the State Highway Patrol has written more than 650 tickets to drivers who were texting behind the wheel.

Another major problem law enforcement is still facing is the problem of hidden tags on vehicle. Gordon says that often times large plate frames obstruct the information on a tag. Since a law was enacted over a year ago banning the use of anything that may obstruct tag information, troopers have issued tickets on 130 separate occasions for the infraction.

The North Carolina Car Accident Lawyers with HensonFuerst often work with victims of accidents caused by distracted driving. If you have been hurt in an accident due to another driver not paying enough attention to the road, contact us by filling out a free initial consultation form to discuss your case with an experienced team of attorneys.

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23
Nov

Thanksgiving “Click It or Ticket” Campaign Underway

The Governor’s Highway Safety Program’s “Click It or Ticket” campaign is in force throughout North Carolina, from now through Sunday, November 27, 2011. The Thanksgiving “Click It or Ticket” campaign is designed to crack down on motorists who are not wearing their seat belts.

“It is the law to wear your seat belt, no matter where you are seated in a vehicle,” said N.C. Department of Transportation Secretary Gene Conti. “I remind all citizens to buckle up; it could save your life.”

That’s not an overstatement. In 2010, 425 motorists who were not wearing seat belts died in crashes on North Carolina roads. According to the director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP), Becky Wallace: “The single most effective way to protect yourself and your loved ones this holiday season is with the simple action of buckling your seat belt.”

Although the campaign runs for only a week, the overall goal is to increase seatbelt usage every day of the year. When “Click It or Ticket” began in 1993, only about 65% of North Carolinians wore seat belts. Today, our seat belt usage rate is 89.5%. Not perfect, but a dramatic improvement.

From all of us here at HensonFuerst, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday!

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17
Nov

One Dead In Rowland Crash Involving Three Vehicles

November 17, 2011

A wreck involving a car and two tractor-trailers in Rowland, North Carolina, has left one person dead. According to WRAL News, the accident happened Thursday around 5:00 AM, along the northbound lanes of I-95.

State Troopers say the driver of one of the tractor-trailers crashed after veering into the center of the road and over correcting. The truck then overturned and skid to a halt, blocking lanes in both directions. A car traveling in the same direction behind the truck did not have time to respond to the wreck and the two vehicles collided. Another tractor-trailer traveling southbound swerved to miss the overturned truck and ran over the passenger side of the wrecked car, killing the person in the font seat of the vehicle.

The crash affirms North Carolina’s number six spot on the top ten states with accidents involving tractor-trailers. Reports by the North Carolina Highway Patrol show that most of those accidents occur because of driver fatigue and safety/maintenance issues with the vehicles. Channel 11 News reports that in 2009, out of the 9.3 million trucks that passed through North Carolina weigh stations, 50 percent had maintenance issues that needed to be addressed. Of those, 12 percent were deemed inoperable and taken off the road immediately.

The North Carolina Truck Accident Lawyers with HensonFuerst understand the dangers that tractor-trailers can pose to drivers on highways and have experience helping victims that were involved in accidents with big rigs at no fault of their own. If you have been hurt, get in touch with us today so we can talk with you about your case.

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