Midland Personal Injury Lawyer

Distracted Driving

In a recent year, distracted driving claimed the lives of 3,142 people. Motorists owe their entire attention to proceeding safely, and failing to meet this responsibility can lead to deadly accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) calls texting the most alarming distraction of all—in a long list of disturbing distractions. When a motorist is driving at highway speeds, they travel about the length of a football field in about five seconds, which is about the amount of time it takes to read or type the average text.

Impaired Driving

It is well established that drinking and driving are deadly, but this fact does little to curb the dangerous practice. The alarming NHTSA statistics show:

• In the United States, someone loses their life to a drunk driving crash every 45 minutes.
•  This amounts to 32 lives a day.
• Last year, more than 11,500 people lost their lives in alcohol-related accidents, which is a full 14 percent higher than the previous year.

NHTSA reminds drivers that drunk driving fatalities are entirely preventable. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shares that drowsy driving amounts to the dangerous combination of getting behind the wheel while under the influence of fatigue. Too little sleep typically causes drowsy driving, but sleep disorders that go untreated and prescription medications can also play a role. It is impossible to pinpoint when sleep takes over, which makes drowsy driving especially dangerous. Falling asleep at the wheel, however, is not the only risk factor. Drowsiness behind the wheel can have all these hazardous effects:

• It leaves motorists less attentive to the road ahead
• It slows motorists’ reaction times, making it more difficult to adjust one’s steering or brake suddenly
• It leaves motorists less well prepared to make safe driving decisions

These statistics help establish the dangers of drowsy driving:

• In a recent year, drowsy drivers caused about 91,000 traffic accidents.
• These accidents led to about 50,000 injuries.
• Eight hundred people lost their lives in these drowsy driving accidents.

Aggressive Driving

The Insurance Information Institute (III) reports that aggressive driving is a significant factor in U.S. traffic crashes. Aggressive driving typically refers to drivers who engage in a combination of aggressive practices that put everyone on the roadway at increased risk. Some of the hallmarks of aggressive driving include:

• Driving far too fast for the driving conditions at hand
• Tailgating
• Weaving in and out of traffic
• Leaving one’s lane without any concern for safety
• Attempting to engage other drivers through obscene gestures, verbal taunts, incessant honking, headlight flashing, and more
• Driving erratically
• Ignoring traffic lights, signals, and signs
• Passing illegally, including passing on the right—or even on the shoulder
• Refusing to yield the right-of-way

Some aggressive drivers will go so far as physically tapping other vehicles. Aggressive drivers terrorize others on the road, and when you spot one, the best course of action is to alert the authorities as soon as it is safe for you. You can help prevent a deadly accident.

Speeding

Speed requires a category of its own. Speed plays a primary role in far too many of the accidents on our roadways and is the primary killer. III shares these statistics:

• In a recent year, speed alone was the primary driving behavior in fatal traffic accidents at 17.2 percent involvement (impaired driving took second place with 10.1 percent involvement).
• Excess speed has played a role in about a third of all fatal car accidents for the last two decades.
• Premises Liability Claims

Another common type of personal injury case involves accidents due to property hazards. Companies and property owners must keep their premises reasonably safe for visitors and customers. When they fail to do so, people can suffer serious injuries, and owners or businesses should be liable. Some examples of accidents that might lead to premises liability claims include:

• Slip and fall accidents
• Swimming pool accidents
• Dog bites
• Electrical accidents
• Carbon monoxide exposure
• Negligent security

If you fell in the grocery store, were the victim of an assault at a hotel, or suffered injuries in a common area of an apartment complex, discuss your rights with our Midland personal injury attorneys as soon as possible.