How (Un)safe are Culpeper County Intersections?

If you live in Culpeper County or spend much time driving our back roads, you know that there are a number of “challenging” intersections and roads.  Some roads twist and turn as they lead up to an intersection, leaving drivers unprepared to stop as expected, and in other cases signs and lights aren’t enough to warn drivers of the hazards they face.

Poorly designed or maintained roads and intersections can be contributing factors in car crashes.  If signs are not installed correctly or if they are obscured by trees or bushes, or if road paint is missing, or if a road speed is too fast for the curve, accidents can result.

The Culpeper Star Exponent highlighted some “tricky” county intersections in a recent article.  These included:

·         Gibson Mall at U.S. 522, where a Culpeper resident recently lost his life after a T-bone crash.

·         Norman Road at U.S. 522, with a stop sign that seems to appear out of nowhere (a real challenge for drivers unfamiliar with the area).

·         Little Fork Church Road at Route 229, a stop sign hidden by trees and a poorly marked intersection combine to confuse drivers who may be unaware they’re about to enter a major highway.

If you suspect that an unsafe road or unsafe signage may have contributed to your crash, do yourself a favor and get answers by talking with a skilled Culpeper car wreck lawyer today.

A low-speed Fauquier County accident can be a serious accident

If you were hurt in a car or truck wreck in Fauquier county, you know how frightening it can be – especially in those moments just before impact when you know something very, very bad is about to happen.

Many people assume that if you are involved in a low-speed crash, you won’t sustain serious injuries.  However, that just isn’t true.  That’s the peculiar thing about car accidents: some very serious accidents involving cars that are completely totaled leave the vehicle occupants with just a few bumps and bruises, and some low-speed, boring crashes lead to serious, long-lasting injuries.

What can cause you to really suffer major pain and injury after a low-speed crash?

• If you were hit at an odd angle, the impact could jar your body in a way that causes internal damage or neck / head injury.
• If you were in an older car with less safety features, you could be hurt more than you would have in a brand-new car (but this isn’t your fault!)
• Younger passengers or frail or elderly passengers can be hurt badly in any kind of accident.
• If you or your passengers were not wearing the appropriate safety restraints, you could be hurt badly even in a seemingly simple crash.

Just keep this in mind – the accident does not have to be serious in order for you to be badly hurt.  It is the severity of your injuries that matters, not the severity of the accident.  You may feel foolish talking to a Virginia auto accident lawyer about your low-speed crash case, but if your injuries are severe then you best protect yourself by at least getting a free attorney consultation.

Could later Virginia school start times mean fewer teen car wrecks?

If you know a teenager, you know they like to sleep.  A lot.  This is normal – teens need at least 9 hours of sleep each night, sometimes more.  If they don’t get it, it can leave them unable to think clearly, delay their reaction times, and negatively affect their learning.  It can also make them more likely to cause car crashes.

Despite what sleep researches know about the effects of sleep deprivation on teenage brains, many Virginia high-schools start pretty early in the morning.  This has led researchers at the Eastern Virginia Medical School to examine crash data from teens enrolled at schools in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.

What did they find?  At high-schools that started class at 8:40am, student auto accident rates were 19.2 percent lower than high-schools that started class at 7:20am.

What does this mean for high-school students (and their parents!)  Researchers believe that later school start times may help teen drivers be more alert on the road, which could lead to fewer wrecks.  But don’t look for any quick changes – this research is preliminary, and more study is needed.

Given that car accidents are the number one killer of teenagers in the United States, anything that can be done to keep teens safe behind the wheel should be a priority.

Driving at night in Virginia? Be sure to buckle up!

It is that time of year again – time for the annual “Click It or Ticket” campaign, when local Virginia law enforcement officers keep an eye out for drivers and passengers who are not wearing their seatbelts.

However, this year there is a special focus.  Police will be on the lookout for nighttime drivers who are not wearing seat belts.  Why the special focus on driving after dark?  Studies show that after dark drivers are more likely to go without seat belts.  Not wearing a seat belt increases a person’s chance of being seriously hurt or killed in an auto accident.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is behind the campaign.  He stated at a press conference that “Wearing your seat belt costs you nothing.  Not buckling up can cost you everything.”  Not to mention the cost that the community bears in the form of emergency medical treatment, property damage, police and emergency response, and more.

One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a driver or passenger in a crash is being thrown from the vehicle – especially in a rollover crash.  Wearing a seat belt prevents this from happening greatly improving a vehicle occupant’s chance of survival.

Virginia law enforcement officers will be out in force in Culpeper, Warrenton, and surrounding areas making sure you and yours are buckled up properly.  Don’t risk a ticket or serious injury – make sure you always buckle your seat belt any time you get into the car.

Drowsy Driving in Virginia: A Serious Problem

There have been several accidents lately in the Culpeper area where drowsy driving – or driving while tired – was a contributing factor.  Just this week there were two separate accidents involving drowsy drivers who crashed when they nodded off behind the wheel.  Then there is the tragic case of the man who fell asleep while driving and killed four people on Rt. 3 near Stevensburg.

Drowsy driving does not get the kind of public attention that drunken driving gets, nor do police officers patrol for tired drivers, nor are there any tests to determine if drivers are too sleep to drive safely.  However, it is still a big issues – can it can lead to serious injury or death on Virginia roads.

Poll numbers tell a grim story.  Some sixty percent of American adults claim that they have driven while feeling tired at some point in the past year.  Even worse, 37 percent claim to have actually fallen asleep while driving – and 13 percent of those fall asleep while driving at least once a month.  Four percent – that’s about eleven million drivers – have gone as far as to cause a crash because they fell asleep at the wheel.

Drowsy driving crashes cause an estimated $12.5 billion in losses every year.  If the recent local accidents tell us anything, it is that this problem is very real and very serious.  At this point, without public outreach and education, it is only a matter of time before the next drowsy driving crash.

Are you affected by the latest Toyota recall?

A new recall has been issued for Toyota vehicles, this time for what is being called sticky accelerator pedals or sticky throttles.  Because of a manufacturing defect, the throttles are experiencing early wear and tear, which can cause them to stick open even when pressure is removed from the accelerator pedal.

If the throttle sticks, the car’s engine will continue to rev and the vehicle will continue to accelerate even when the driver takes their foot off the accelerator pedal.  This could lead to serious accidents, like those seen last year that were blamed on Toyota’s eerily similar floor-mat recall.

The recall affects the following Toyota vehicles:

·         2009-2010 RAV4,

·         2009-2010 Corolla,

·         2009-2010 Matrix,

·         2005-2010 Avalon,

·         2007-2010 Camry,

·         2010 Highlander,

·         2007-2010 Tundra,

·         2008-2010 Sequoia

In addition, the 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe is affected, as it is a sister vehicle to the Matrix and was designed and built by Toyota for General Motors (GM).

Winter weather causes traffic accident headaches for Virginia police

Virginia police have been busy cleaning up after errant motorists this holiday season.  Snow, rain and ice have made driving on Virginia roads and highways more dangerous than usual.

According to a Virginia state police spokesperson, in a single recent snowy weekend, troopers had to handle 135 traffic accidents and 395 disabled cars on Northern Virginia roads. 

In addition, troopers received 6,780 calls for service.  1,153 of those calls were for cars that had been in an accident, and 1,969 were for calls involving disabled vehicles.

The recent spate of bad weather has police reminding drivers to take it easy on Virginia roads.  This holiday season, stay safe and remember to:

• Slow down and drive at a speed that is safe for weather conditions
• Don’t drive if you have had too much to drink
• Pull over if you are too tired to drive safely
• Pay attention to the road – don’t talk on your phone, send text messages, eat, groom, etc. while driving
• Give snow plows and other large vehicles plenty of room to maneuver in bad weather

Please read more about winter driving in our law library article “How Negligent Drivers Contribute to Serious Winter Car Accidents”.

Has enough been done to make Route 3 safe?

The two-lane section of Route 3 near Stevensburg has been the site of a number of serious and deadly accidents over the years, including a two-car crash that took four lives near Clay Hill Road in March. 

After that collision, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) began an investigation to determine what could be done to make this deadly section of Route 3 safer.  Today, a number of safety improvements have been made to the road, including:

• Wider, paved shoulders
• Embedded reflective markers along the roadway
• A center rumble strip
• Flexible warning posts marking the edge of the road
• Extra-wide pavement markings
• Rumble strips across lanes where the road curve begins
• Stop bards at five roads that intersect in the curve area

All of the above changes were completed on schedule in mid-November, and were done to give drivers as many visual cues as possible to warn them that they are entering a curved part of the road.  The safety improvements are expected to cost around $291,000, and so far VDOT has paid $158,082.

According to officials, the ideal safety upgrade would be to turn this section of Route 3 into a four lane road instead of a two lane road.  However, that one change would cost $18 million, making it unfeasible at this time.

Will these improvements make Route 3 safer, and protect the lives of motorists?  It is definitely a step in the right direction.  However, the most important changes would be for individual drivers to pay attention and slow down.  Unfortunately, those changes aren’t up to VDOT – they’re up to you and me.

Drivers: Put SAFETY FIRST during the Thanksgiving Holiday

As the long Thanksgiving weekend approaches Virginia State Police are urging drivers to be extra careful when they hit the road with their friends and family.  Most of all drivers are urged to buckle up and to ensure that all of their passengers are buckled up, too.

One officer recounts a tragic traffic accident that shaped his belief in seat belt use.  A family an SUV crashed and flipped over.  A 10 year old girl who was sleeping in the cargo area without any restraints was ejected from the vehicle and killed at the scene of the crash.  The rest of the family in the SUV were not hurt in the crash.

This is exactly the type of horrific, preventable crash that police would like to avoid seeing on Virginia roads this year.  However, despite outreach and education efforts not all road users are getting the message that seat belts save lives.

There were 31 fatalities on Virginia roads for the last two four-day weekend travel periods, and 39 percent of those killed were not restrained.  This means that a disproportionate number of those not wearing seat belts are killed in crashes, and many of those deaths may have been avoided had proper restraints been used.

Other contributing factors to the number of accidents over holiday weekends are tired and distracted drivers.  Drivers are especially prone to being tired during holiday weekends, when celebrations with their friends and families sometimes leave them exhausted.

Read our holiday travel tips in our car accident & injury law library.

Ford expands recall to include 4.5 million more U.S. vehicles

Speed control deactivation switches made by Texas Instruments and installed in millions of Ford vehicles are the subject of yet another recall by the automaker.

The suspect part is a cruise-control deactivation switch that received power at all times from the vehicle and had the potential to short-circuit.  A short-circuit could cause the vehicle to catch fire even when not in use.  However, some switches do not receive power at all times yet are included in the latest recall.

These Texas Instruments switches have already been involved in six other recalls, starting in 1999.  Before this most recent recall, about 10 million Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles from 1992 to 2004 were part of these recalls.

The current recall brings the total number to over 14 million vehicles, which according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is a record for a single problem.

The latest recall is for an assortment of Ford and Mercury vehicles.  The automaker plans to send out recall notices to vehicle owners the week of October 26 with the goal of completing notification by December 7. 

The current Ford recall covers the following vehicles:

• 1992-2003 Ford Econoline vans
• 2000-3 Ford Excursion diesel vehicles
• 1995-2002 Ford Explorers
• 1997 and 2002 Mercury Mountaineers
• 1993-97 and 1999–2002 F-Series Super Duty diesel vehicles
• 1995-97 and 2001-3 Ford Rangers
• 1995-2003 Ford Windstars
• 1994 F53 Motorhomes.

Need help after a car or truck accident?  Suspect that something other than driver error caused your crash?  Contact the Warrenton or Culpeper based attorneys at Dulaney, Lauer and Thomas for help today.

Culpeper’s E-911 emergency response system receives praise

What could be more frightening than calling 911 from your cell phone after a bad car accident but not knowing your exact location – and as a result emergency rescue efforts are delayed?  Contrary to what you might think not every cell phone – and not every emergency response center – is equipped to transmit or ascertain cell phone location information.

Fortunately for residents of Culpeper County, the local E911 center recently received state recognition for a newly implemented program intended to save lives and better manage emergency resources.

This past January the county’s new E911 system was implemented, and already at least one life has been saved according to Culpeper County’s director of emergency services.  The system that was implemented - The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials’ Emergency Medical Dispatch Program – uses a combination of software and training to improve dispatcher’s ability to provide medical assistance while trained emergency responders travel to the scene.

County officials hope that the new system will not only improve the odds for accident and crime victims but will also cut expenses.  A more timely and efficient emergency response means less cost, and in these strained economic times that is a great thing.

Culpeper County is one of 24 municipalities across the state to have implemented this system.  County E911 dispatchers handle about 80,000 calls each year for Culpeper town and county.

You can read more about challenges facing some E911 programs in our library article, “Will Emergency Responders Be Able to Find You After a Crash?”

What is really killing motorists on Route 3?

Next week we will all get to find out what VDOT recommends to make Route 3 safer.  Some of the ideas they have suggested so far to reduce the number of serious auto accidents are rumble strips in the center of the road, enhanced warning signs, and flashing lights.  But, will changes like this really make a difference?

VDOT has indicated that the road isn’t the problem, it’s the drivers.  According to VDOT, preliminary study data has shown that 85 percent of drivers on Route 3 exceed the 55 mph speed limit.  In addition, the most recent fatal accident was caused by an allegedly intoxicated driver who drifted into the wrong lane.

Distracted drivers and aggressive drivers are also becoming more of a problem on Virginia roads.  There is only so much that can be done to the roads themselves to keep us safe from this kind of driver behavior.  Ultimately, something needs to be done to better educate drivers about the consequences of their actions – and perhaps the punishments for bad or dangerous driving need to be harsher.

The results released next week should be interesting.  And this is an important study, because Route 3 is a major link between Culpeper and Fredericksburg.  Some citizens have expressed concern that the portions of Route 3 that are only 2 lanes instead of 4 (near Stevensburg and near Culpeper town limits) are an issue.  We’ll find out soon if VDOT agrees.

Just how dangerous is distracted driving?

In 2007 – a year with record high motor vehicle fatalities for Virginia – 1,026 people died in auto crashes.  But fatalities aren’t the whole story.  There were also 145,405 vehicle accidents which resulted in 68,822 being injured, some severely.

Sure, these statistics are bad, but accidents happen, right?  That’s the perception that Virginia officials want to change.  With driver inattention contributing to a large majority of auto accidents in the state, authorities are looking for ways to get the word out to Virginia drivers that their behavior has to change.

Do you know just how dangerous certain distracting behaviors can be when you’re behind the wheel?  Check out this data from Virginia Tech Transportation Institute Naturalistic Driving Study, Relative Risk Estimates for Crash/Near Crash Inattention Events:

Driver behavior and associated increased risk for an accident

1. Reaching for a moving object: 9 times more likely to be involved in a crash
2. Driving drowsy: 4 times
3. Looking at an external object : 3.7 times
4. Reading: 3.4 times
5. Dialing a phone: 2.8 times
6. Applying makeup: 3 times
7. Eating: 1.6 times
8. Reaching for a non-moving object: 1.4 times
9. Talking on hand-held phone: 1.3 times

We hope Virginia officials are successful in getting the word out about the dangers and risks of distracted driving.  Even one preventable accident caused by a distracted driver is one too many.

Group advocating child passenger safety wins NHTSA public service award

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) presented Safe Kids Buckle Up with their Public Service Award at the annual Lifesavers conference in Nashville, TN.  Safe Kids USA runs a comprehensive child passenger safety program, and the award cited the organization’s “outstanding contributions to the safety of America's children on and off the road and for leadership in improving occupant protection legislation”.

This isn’t the first time that Safe Kids Buckle Up has been recognized as providing and excellent and much needed service.  The program received a Governors Highway Safety Association Peter K. O’Rourke Special Achievement Award in September 2008.  The award cited Safe Kids Worldwide as “the largest child passenger safety program of its kind, teaching parents and caregivers how to correctly use car seats, booster seats and seat belts”.  In addition, the program was commended for providing car seats to needy families for little or no cost.

In June 2008 the program was also recognized by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) when they received a Safety Leadership Award.  They were honored for installing more than one million child safety seats for families all across America.  The NTSB Chairman said that he believed the organization had saved hundreds of children’s lives with their program.

We applaud the Safe Kids Buckle Up program for the excellent work that it does keeping America’s children safe.  You can read more about child safety in our library articles “New Report Shows Car Seats Save Lives in Auto Accidents”, and “Focus on Infants: Is Your Child Passenger Safe?”

Getting drugged drivers off the road

We all know that drunk drivers are a problem on Virginia roads, but what about drugged drivers?  These are the men and women who take perfectly legal prescription drugs that affect their ability to drive a car or truck and then they get behind the wheel anyway.  You may not realize it, but drugged drivers are such a big issue that police officers are being trained to spot them on the roads before they cause auto accidents and injure innocent people.

While illegal drugs that affect driving ability are also a problem, law enforcement officers are seeing more and more drivers on the road while under the influence of legal medications.  People either fail to read the warning labels on their prescriptions that state they should not drive while taking the drug or they simply discard the warning.  Many common drugs like the popular sleep aid Ambien are part of the problem, as people are so accustomed to taking them that they don’t think twice before getting behind the wheel.

However, it won’t be easy to get drugged drivers off the road.  There are several challenges, including:

• A lack of law enforcement officers trained to recognize drugged drivers
• No clear legal limit for drugged driving, similar to the BAC limit for drunk drivers
• No legal tests available for traffic enforcement officers to quickly test drivers to determine if they’re under the influence of a legal or illegal drug

If you suspect that you’ve been the victim of a drugged driver, then you should speak with an attorney.  Contact the experienced Virginia auto accident attorneys Dulaney, Lauer & Thomas, LLP at (800) 741-1012 for Culpeper or (888) 907-2631 for Warrenton today.

Treatment Options for a Traumatic Brain Injury

Have you sustained a traumatic brain injury from a car accident, fall, work-related accident or some other catastrophic event?  You are not alone.  Every year, over 1 million people across the United States will have a traumatic brain injury and unfortunately, thousands will die.  Many of the traumatic brain injury cases are caused by car accidents.

If you have a traumatic brain injury, also known as TBI, you may require long-term or lifelong assistance in order to perform daily activities.  This type of head injury often leads to permanent disabilities that affect cognition, behavior and sensory processing.  Even though brain damage cannot be reversed, there are treatment options available to improve the patient’s quality of life.

A traumatic brain injury occurs when there is a sudden jolt or blow to the head or when the head is penetrated.  This injury disrupts the function of the brain and results in serious brain damage.  There are many symptoms of traumatic brain injury, which depends on the severity of the injury.  Mild cases may cause loss of consciousness, headache, confusion, lightheadedness and fatigue.  Moderate to severe traumatic brain injury cases may show the same signs, but could also include such symptoms as repeated vomiting, seizures, dilation of pupils, slurred speech and weakness in the extremities.

Immediately following an accident that causes a traumatic brain injury, medical personnel will work on stabilizing the victim to make sure that oxygen is flowing to the brain and the rest of the body.   Treatment options for a traumatic brain injury may include physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.  Surgery is sometimes required, depending on the damage to the brain. 

When a traumatic brain injury is caused by negligence, either in a car accident, work accident, fall or other event, you may be able to recover compensation to pay your medical expenses, lost wages and other costs associated with your injury.  Contact the Virginia serious injury attorneys at Dulaney, Lauer & Thomas, LLP at 888-907-2631 for the Warrenton office or 800-741-1012 for the Culpeper office.

The article, Traumatic Brain Injury Caused by Car Accident or Other Event, has more information on this subject. 

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.

Unfortunately, neither chamber has found a way to make up for the $65 million that was expected to be generated by the fees for Virginia’s transportation budget.  The shortfall is even more worrisome right now because economic woes and the downturn in the housing market is marring Virginia’s economic outlook.  Some Democrats are calling for an increase in the gas tax, however it is unlikely that Republicans will agree.

How can Virginia make up this shortfall?  One thing is certain, $65 million is a large amount of money to suddenly go missing from the transportation budget.  We hope our lawmakers can find a way to keep the budget balanced, as one thing is for sure – our roads and highways – and our drivers need that money.

Curious what else our lawmakers have been up to in this General Assembly session?  Check out our article here.

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.

The Transportation Department has just unveiled its new five-star rating system for car seats, which focuses on rating each seat’s ease-of-use.  The ratings have four components: instructions, installation, labels, and how easy it is to secure your child in the seat.

But don’t rush out to buy a new seat yet based just on the five-star rating.  Officials have stressed that the new ratings only assess ease-of-use, and do not rate how effective a seat is in protecting a child in a crash.  While this may seem surprising, keep in mind that parents really struggle with installing seats correctly, and improperly installed seats and incorrect use of the child safety harness are major causes for concern.

Looking for more car seat information?  Visit the NHTSA’s Child Transportation Safety Tips page.  Tell us what you think, will this new rating system help?

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.

The study examined nearly 10,000 passenger deaths involving 8- to 17-year-old passengers, and found some unfortunate results:

• More than half of the deceased youths were riding with a driver under age 20

• Nearly two-thirds were not wearing any kind of restraint or safety belt

• More than three-quarters of the crashes occurred on roads with posted speed limits above 45-miles-per-hour

• One-fifth of fatal crashes involved alcohol

Researchers have found that as children age, they are more likely to ride in vehicles with drivers other than their parents.  These other drivers include classmates, friends, or older siblings – and these often younger drivers don’t practice the same safe driving as their parents.

The researchers made the following recommendations:

1.      Insist on seat belts. All occupants should buckle up on every trip,every time.

2.      Set a good example. Don't drink and drive. Avoid distractions like cell phones. Obey the speed limit.

3.      Set rules about safe passenger behaviors. Discuss what's helpful or distracting to a driver.

4.      Monitor your child's travel. Know where he or she is going, with whom, how they are getting there, and when they will be home.

5.      Know and trust the driver. It's not safe for your child to ride with a teen who has less than one year of driving experience.

These are great recommendations, and we urge all parents to insist that their children and teens follow them.  Do you have any other safety tips for parents with children or teens?  Leave us a comment and let us know.

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.

Another important safety feature added in recent years to many SUVs are side curtain airbags.  These help protect drivers and passengers in an accident, and in a rollover they can help reduce injury and the risk of ejection from the vehicle.  ESC will be mandatory on all new vehicles in 2012, side curtain airbags in 2013.

These are great safety features, but if you are unlucky enough to actually roll your SUV, you might be depending on one often overlooked feature:  roof strength.  To date, auto manufacturers have claimed that there is no proven link between roof strength and occupant safety, and they have resisted calls to increase the strength of all SUV roofs.  However, a recent IIHS study debunks this myth, and claims that there is a clear correlation between roof strength and occupant safety.  The results of this study were just released by IIHS this month, so it remains to be seen how the auto industry will react.  Perhaps there will be a new mandatory safety feature added to the federal government’s list?

You can read more about the IIHS study and SUV rollover safety in our library article, “Are Manufacturers Taking the Threat of Rollovers Seriously Enough?”

Do you drive an SUV?  Have you been compelled to purchase a newer vehicle in order to take advantage of the latest safety features?  Leave us a comment and let us know.

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.

If you experience a problem with your 2002 – 2006 Jeep Liberty’s upper ball joints separating unexpectedly, you should immediately report the incident to NHTSA.  It’s easy to do and you can file a report online at Safecar.gov using this link.  You can also contact Chrysler directly, just make sure you also report the incident to NHTSA.

Defective products like this highlight the importance of doing as much research as possible before you select a new or used vehicle for purchase.  Find out more about auto safety in our legal library, where you can read articles like “How Safe is Your Automobile?”, “Are Manufacturers Taking the Threat of Rollovers Seriously Enough?”, “Who’s Looking out for Vehicle Safety?” and more.

Experienced a problem with a Jeep Liberty or other vehicle and want to vent about it?  Let us know about your experience with recalled or defective automobiles by leaving us a comment.

Do laws banning cell phone use while driving really work?

Have you ever used your cell phone while driving?  Maybe just that one time, when it really was an emergency?  Do you think that you’d be persuaded to pull over to a safe place and come to a complete stop any time you had to make or accept a call on your phone if - in order to reduce the number of auto accidents - the law called for it?

Despite the growth of legislation restricting or banning cell phone use while driving, experts remain doubtful that such laws will make any difference to drivers at all.  Cell phone use is so pervasive in our society that most people can’t resist answering or making calls while they drive, even if there is ample evidence that distracted driving is dangerous.

In this situation, technology might be the best answer.  Some experts believe that the use of voice-recognition technology that allows drivers to perform so-called distracting tasks without removing their hands from the wheel will make our roads safer.  Manufacturers are also evaluating the layout of controls in new vehicles, to ensure that drivers can do what they need to drive without becoming unduly distracted.

Regardless of what experts may think about the usefulness of these laws, public sentiment will continue to pressure lawmakers into banning cell phone and texting while driving.  We just need to remember – the phones aren’t the problem, it’s the people in the driver’s seat who need to treat driving as their primary responsibility each time they get behind the wheel.  And if it’s a law that makes that happen – well maybe that isn’t such a bad thing after all.

Motorcyclist pays the ultimate price on the GW Parkway

A motorcycle accident on Memorial Day claimed the life of a military man stationed at Fort Belvoir, when he lost control of his motorcycle and it plunged over an embankment on the GW Parkway.  Tragically, the victim had already survived a near-fatal accident a year earlier, when he was seriously injured after rear-ending a van that pulled out in front of him.

The victim’s father was quoted as saying that "those sports bikes are just too powerful.  They're too much for anybody to be on the road on. They should only be for racetracks."  This sentiment is echoed by others who have called for restrictions on the power and speed of powerful sport-bikes, also know as super-bikes, which are built on a racing platform but are sold for consumer use.

Some of these sport bikes can be bought with up to 200 horsepower engines, meaning the ride can be exhilarating for an experienced biker – or deadly for an inexperienced rider.  However, the rider who lost his life Memorial Day was far from an inexperienced rider.  It remains to be seen what caused the accident that took his life.

More information about motorcycle safety can be found in our law library:  Motorcyclists – How to Protect Yourself on the Road and Are Motorcycles Getting Deadlier?

How is Virginia’s transportation budget battle going to affect you?

You may have heard the news – the Virginia transportation budget is expected to fall short by $600 million this year.  The federal government is giving Virginia less money than expected, and there’s less money coming in from gas and consumer taxes thanks to high oil prices and the sorry state of our economy.  What does this mean for the roads in your neighborhood?

Basic maintenance will probably be unaffected, however new roads or road improvements – even projects designed to improve safety – will be shelved until a later date or not completed at all.  The General Assembly is trying to fill an estimated $385 million gap for next year’s state highway maintenance and generate more than $500 million in funding for the congestion-clogged regions of Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.

To help the budget, Governor Kaine has recommended a tax increase, which wasn’t well received at the General Assembly.  Virginians aren’t likely to embrace paying higher taxes right now either, considering how much they’re already paying for gas and how their homes have plummeted in value.

When are lawmakers going to stop bickering and work together to do something about the congestion and poor state of our roads?  Preferably something that does not include taking even more money from an already cash-strapped population.

The Top 5 Causes of Virginia Traffic Accidents

If you’ve spent any time driving in Northern Virginia, then you probably have your own personal list of driving pet peeves, the things you think other drivers are doing to contribute to accidents. If asked, many people would cite accident reasons like aggressive driving, cell-phone use, distracted driving, following too closely and more.

Care to see how accurate you are? Here is the list of top 5 causes for traffic accidents in Virginia for all age groups:

1. Following too close: 29,551 (40%)
2. Failure to yield: 22,799 (31%)
3. Speeding: 7,217 (10%)
4. Driver distraction: 6,420 (9%)
5. Ran traffic control: 7,044 (10%)

Does this list surprise you at all? If you find tailgaters frustrating, then you have good reason to be concerned about their actions as a full 40% of all Virginia crashes are caused by tailgating. Failure to yield the right of way isn’t too far behind, and these two accident causes explain a full 71% of Virginia crashes.

Looking for more driving statistics and safety tips? Check out our law library for articles like “The Top 5 Causes of Traffic Accidents by Age Group”, “How Safe is Your Automobile?”, and more.