The National Transportation Safety Board recently recommended that states lower their DWI thresholds from .08 percent to .05 percent.
The NTSB is an independent federal agency that does not have the ability to make regulations but makes recommendations to state and federal agencies that often become regulations. For example, the NTSB's prior recommendation to lower the drunk driving limit to .08 from .10 was adopted by states, as was its recommendation to raise the drinking age to 21.
The California Highway Patrol suspects that the driver of a Land Rover who caused a fatal accident on SR-56 last week was driving under the influence of drugs. The 18-year-old man was arrested by CHP after he crossed the center median on SR-56 and hit a car traveling in the other direction. The 22-year-old driver of that car passed away from injuries sustained in the crash.
This accident raises the question: How dangerous is driving under the influence of drugs?
Many people believe that driving under the influence of drugs is less dangerous than drunk driving. That perception could be the reason so many people choose to get behind the wheel after doing drugs. According to a 2007 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 11 percent of drivers on U.S. roads on weekend nights are driving under the influence of illicit drugs. In 2009, 12.8 percent of drivers between the ages of 18 and 25 admitted to drugged driving at least once in the previous year.
Of 13 small SUVs that were tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, only one -- Subaru's 2013 Forester -- received a good rating in small overlap crash tests. Eleven SUVs received "marginal" or "poor" ratings, indicating that they pose dangers to car occupants.
The tests determine how vehicles perform when 25 percent of their front ends collide with cars or other objects. These tests simulate a scenario that occurs frequently on roads in California and throughout the U.S. In fact, small overlap frontal crashes account for more than one fourth of all car and SUV accidents that cause serious injury or death.
Texting while driving has become so ingrained in our teenagers' culture that many teenagers refuse to put down their phones, even if that simple action would save their lives.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), texting while driving is now the number one cause of teenage driving deaths. While drunk driving deaths have gone down, texting while driving deaths continue to increase. More than 3,000 teenagers die every year from texting while driving, compared with 2,700 drunk driving deaths.
When we write about recovering compensation after California car accidents, we often tell injured victims they should "hold the driver accountable," especially when the driver made a reckless decision such as the decision to drive drunk. Yet, there is another side to the story that plays a role in many personal injury cases: The driver's guilt.
In a recent interview with San Diego NBC 7, the uncle of a teenage driver who hit a mother and her children in Rolando, California, explained her distress. "She can't sleep ... She was having terrible chest pains. She's saddened. She's terribly saddened," he said.
The teenager hit the pedestrians last Friday (May 10) after she reached for a spilled coffee cup. She lost control of the car and careened onto a sidewalk where the mother was walking with her two children. One of the children suffered multiple broken bones, including a broken leg, collarbone and pelvis.
At the end of April, Honda recalled tens of thousands of vehicles because of a defect in the cars' stability control systems. We raised the question: will we see an increase in auto defects caused by electrical systems?
It seems so. Perhaps the best cars to examine for electrical issues are electric and hybrid cars. This week, for example, General Motors issued a recall of 38,197 hybrid vehicles because of circuit board malfunctions in their generator control modules. The defects can result in lower battery charge, which could cause the engine to stall and, in some cases, can ignite car fires.
It’s a well-known fact: Some teenagers act recklessly. The parts of their brains involved in decision-making and rewards are not fully developed, which can lead to dangerous decisions, such as driving under the influence of alcohol or texting while driving.
Surveys in recent months have shown the extent of the problem: Nearly half of all teenage drivers admit to texting while driving and 25 percent admit to driving drunk or under the influence of drugs.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is investigating a limousine fire that killed five women during a bachelorette party.
The 1999 Lincoln Town Car was on the Hayward-San Mateo Bridge when a passenger smelled fire. The limo driver pulled over, but only moments later the entire back of the limo was engulfed, trapping five of the women inside, including the bride.
A biker was seriously injured after he hit a rock on state Route 78 last weekend. According to San Diego state police, the man has suffered a fractured neck as well as a broken ankle.
It is no secret that motorcycles are a dangerous form of transportation. Motorcyclists are 28 times more likely to die in accidents than car occupants. In 2008, 560 people died in California motorcycle accidents. Many more faced serious injuries, including head injuries, broken necks, severe road burn and fractures.
Last Friday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer fell off his bicycle and suffered a proximal humerus fracture in his shoulder. He was taken to a hospital where he underwent shoulder replacement surgery. Like many cyclists, Justice Breyer is no stranger to bicycle accidents. He has been injured twice before in bike accidents, including a serious car-and-bike accident in 1993.
Recovering Compensation After a Bike Accident
Many people do not realize that their car insurance also covers car-and-bike accident injuries. If, for example, you were injured by a car that turned into your bicycle, you can bring a claim against the at-fault driver's insurance company. In cases where the driver does not have insurance or enough insurance to cover your injuries, however, you can bring a claim against your own uninsured / underinsured motorist policy even though you weren't driving at the time of the accident.
