Dulaney, Lauer & Thomas Blog

The US Government decides to further investigate Jeep Liberty defect

The federal government recently decided to step up their investigation into problems with Jeep Liberty upper ball joints and pursue an engineering investigation.  Despite numerous incidents reported to both the NHTSA and Chrysler themselves from Jeep Liberty owners whose vehicles have experienced this potentially serious problem, no injuries or fatalities have occurred – yet.

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Insurance Companies and the Relentless Pursuit of Profit

If you’ve tried to file a claim with your insurance company, it might not be news to you that many companies are more interested in saving money than they are in making sure you’re taken care of.  It’s no secret that most insurers use computerized software like Colossus to assign standardized values to the injuries you’ve sustained in an accident, but what can be shocking is how far companies will go to avoid paying you a fair amount for your injuries.

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Rollover risks – how safe is your SUV?

SUV manufacturers have made great improvements to vehicle safety in the last few years.  Perhaps the most impressive safety feature to have debuted is Electronic Stability Control (ESC) also known as vehicle stability control.  This is a computer-assisted safety feature that helps prevent vehicles from skidding out of control, which often happens if a driver over-corrects or swerves too hard.  According to NHTSA estimates, ESC may prevent 71 percent of the passenger car rollovers and 84 percent of the SUV rollovers that would otherwise occur in single vehicle crashes.

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Car Accident Deaths Increase Starting At Age 12

A recent research collaboration between The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and State Farm Insurance Companies found that child passengers age 12 to 16 are more likely to die in a car crash than younger children.  This risk increases with each teenage year.  The study was just released by the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

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Two drunk drivers slam into construction equipment, kill worker

A Roanoke County father of two was killed last week when not one but two drunk drivers slammed into a backhoe near which the worker was standing.  The first driver pinned the man between her vehicle the backhoe and a dump-truck, and authorities believe that when the second driver slammed into the first driver’s vehicle the man was killed.

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Distracted Tractor-Trailer Driver Takes Two Lives

A horrific tractor-trailer accident on Interstate-81 near Harrisonburg, Virginia claimed the lives of two people on February 26, 2008.  The accident happened when a southbound tractor-trailer crossed the median barrier into the northbound lane, and slammed into an Enterprise rental van.  Both occupants of the van were killed.

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New car seat rating system launched

A little over thirty years ago the first car seats came on the market in the United States.  Those of us who were around back then know how what a huge impact these seats made on child safety, and they can certainly be considered one of the top safety innovations of all times.

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So long, abusive driving fees!

Virginia’s General Assembly is working to repeal the much maligned abusive-driving fees, and the Senate unanimously agreed to give refunds to anyone who has paid fees, which range from $750 to $3,000.  The House version of the bill did not address refunds, so the two chambers still need to iron out some differences before the bill can move on to Governor Kaine for his signature.

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New Virginia DUI Law Takes Effect January 1, 2008

There’s a new law that is going to take effect in Virginia on New Year’s Day 2008. It’s aimed at making it more difficult for individuals convicted of DUI to get a license from the Virginia DMV.

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Mandatory arbitration – good for business, bad for you

Have you signed a mandatory arbitration clause when buying goods or services? Do you even know what one is?

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Is your car watching you?

How much do you know about the “little black box” – or EDR (event data recorder) in your vehicle? Chances are if you’re driving a newer car, you have one installed and you don’t even know it. Check our latest library item entitled, “The Secrets in Your Car’s Little Black Box” for more information about these devices.

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Have you talked to your teenage driver about auto safety?

Did you know that car accidents are the leading cause of death in teens and young adults ages 15 to 20? If you have a teenager or young adult in your household, what are you doing to keep them safe? With the accident-prone holiday season and a brand new year looming ahead of us, this is a great time to have a talk with the young people in your life about safe driving. The life you save may be theirs!

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