Phoenix Injury Lawyer Blog

Arizona authorities will join the U.S. Department of Transportation in the nationwide "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest" crackdown scheduled to last through the Labor Day weekend.

Drunk drivers are responsible for approximately one-third of Phoenix car accidents and serious and fatal car accidents elsewhere in Arizona. The Arizona Department of Transportation reports that 294 of the state's 842 fatal accidents involved a drunk driver in 2008.

Nationwide, nearly 12,000 people were killed by drunk drivers in 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which reports that someone in the United States is killed by a drunk driver every 45 minutes.

“Drunk driving is deadly, it’s against the law, and unfortunately, it’s still a problem,” said Secretary LaHood. “With the help of law enforcement around the country, we are going to continue doing all that we can to stop drunk driving and the needless tragedies that result from this reckless behavior.”

The government reports that eight percent of all drivers -- some 17 million motorists -- have driven drunk at least once in the last year. About 1 in 5 have driven in the past year within two hours of consuming alcohol. Yet 80 percent of Americans identify drunk drivers as a major threat to the safety of their families.

“Our message is loud and clear. If you drive drunk you will be arrested and prosecuted. There will be no exceptions and no excuses," said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. "And if you’re below the age of 21, there is zero tolerance for any alcohol in your system whatsoever. That’s why we’re out there with law enforcement, tackling this major safety issue head on.”

The study found that young males ages 21 to 24 were at the highest risk -- a full one-fourth had either driven after having too much to drink or rode in a car with an intoxicated driver at some point during the last 12 months.

Continue reading "Drunk driving enforcement aims to reduce risk of Phoenix car accidents through Labor Day weekend" »

At least 69 cars were involved in three separate Phoenix auto accidents near downtown on Saturday night, the Associated Press reported.

Heavy rains are being cited as a possible reason for the collisions. Monsoons in the deserts around Phoenix can bring heavy downpours without warning; flooding commonly results. A Phoenix accident lawyer should always be consulted in the wake of a serious or fatal car accident. But particularly in cases where multiple vehicles and multiple victims are involved. Determining fault and filing a claim can both be complicated by the presence of multiple parties and multiple accident victims.

Media reports indicate that six people were taken to area hospital, two with serious injuries. Several others were treated at the scene. A five-mile stretch of I-10 was closed for several hours.

About 40 people involved in the crashes were still on the highway hours later. Authorities brought water, snacks and air conditioned city buses to the scene to keep people safe until they could make arrangements for a ride home.

The USA Today reported that one collision involved more than 35 vehicles and spanned more than two miles of roadway.

The speed on the road is 65 mph but fire officials believe many vehicles were traveling much slower because of the rain, which accounts for the lack of more serious injuries. The Phoenix fire department had about 100 firefighters on the scene.

FOX News reported it was the largest Phoenix car accident on record.

Authorities cited driving too fast for conditions and following too closely as contributing factors. At least half of the vehicles had to be towed from the crash scenes.

While Phoenix car accidents account for a large portion of the state's serious and fatal traffic crashes, rural motorists could be at greater risk than they realize, according to a report published by USA Today.

Nationwide, more than half of all fatal traffic accidents occur in rural areas, despite the fact that fewer than one-fourth of Americans live outside urban cities, according to a study by the Center for Excellence in Rural Safety at the University of Minnesota.

Part of the reason may be a false sense of security felt by rural drivers, which increases the chances of drinking and driving, distracted driving and other unsafe driving practices. Eighty-four percent of respondents reported feeling "safe" on rural interstates, compare to 79 percent on rural two-lane highways and 69 percent on urban freeways.

"People seem to feel more comfortable on those roads, even though the facts show that it's more dangerous," says Lee Munnich, director of the center. "They feel more relaxed and, as a result, they are engaging in behavior that is riskier."

The only exception was for speeders, who said they felt safer on large urban freeways than on rural highways.

Single-vehicle crashes are also more prevalent on rural roads, where drivers are more likely to crash into trees, utility polls or other stationary objects. Safety advocates think the study reveals over confidence and a fallacy in the way people perceive risk.

"The more people perceive they have control, the less they perceive a situation as being risky," said Peter Kissinger, CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. "The transportation community has tended to underemphasize rural road safety -- there's a long history of underinvestment in rural road safety in this country."

Continue reading "Phoenix car accidents a common danger -- but motorists could be at increased risk in Arizona's rural areas" »

Police are blaming speed for a deadly Phoenix car accident that killed two motorists Friday night and left a 19-year-old man hospitalized in critical condition.

ABC15 reported that a 2002 Mercedes was traveling west on New River Road when it failed to make a curve west of I-17. Police say the speeding vehicle rolled over several times and burst into flames. All three occupants were ejected during the crash.

A 35-year-old woman and an adult male were killed.

Speeding is the leading causes of serious and fatal accidents in Arizona. About 1 in 5 Arizona car accidents are blamed on speeding drivers, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. In 2008, a total of 41,567 crashes blamed on speeding were responsible for the death of 304 motorists and the injury of 13,653.

No other driving behavior was responsible for more injury accidents or more deaths on Arizona highways.

Nationwide, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that speeding is a factor in one-third of all fatal crashes, leading to 11,674 deaths in 2008.

The economic costs of speeding are estimated at $76,865 a minute, or nearly $1,300 a second.

The federal government reports that 373 motorists were killed in Arizona traffic accidents blamed on speeding in 2008. Only Alabama, California, Florida, Illinois, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas reported more speed-related deaths.

Two victims of bicycle accidents earlier this month have turned to Phoenix bicycle accident lawyers at Abels & Annes for representation.

Both accidents occurred in Chicago, Illinois. On August 6 at about 7 p.m., an 11-year-old boy was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike on the sidewalk along 98th Street in Chicago. The Oldsmobile left the roadway, struck the child, and fled the scene. An alert witness was able to provide a license plate number to police. The boy was taken to the hospital with multiple injuries.

In the second incident, a woman was riding her bike on the bike path near Solider Field at about 7 p.m. August 14. Police report she was struck by a taxi cab that did not stop at a bike crossing. Instead, the 2008 Crown Victoria taxi cab accelerated through the crossing, striking the cyclist with the car's left front fender.

The accident occurred on the Lake Shore bike path near Burnham Harbor in Chicago. The 24-year-old cyclist was transported to the hospital with back pain as well as multiple cuts and abrasions. She is seeking follow up treatment with an orthopedic doctor.

As the weather cools in Phoenix and the surrounding areas, tourists, winter residents and cyclists will share the roads in larger numbers. Avoiding a Phoenix bicycle accident requires motorists to share the road and yield the right of way. Attempting to crowd a bike rider, or ignoring his or her rights to the road, is a recipe for disaster.

The Arizona Department of Transportation reports a total of 1,989 bicycle accidents in 2008. Fourteen riders were killed and 1,565 were injured.

Continue reading "Phoenix bicycle accident attorneys agree to represent pair of bike crash victims" »

A man has died in an Arizona pedestrian accident that occurred Tuesday night at the intersection of 7th Avenue and Camelback Road in Phoenix, azcentral.com has reported. The Phoenix Police Department has closed the intersection for an investigation.

Police are stating that the pedestrian had just gotten of the train at the intersection and was crossing the street. He was struck and killed by a southbound vehicle. It is being reported that the victim is not a local resident and may be from another country.

The police are still investigating the accident and do not yet know if drugs or alcohol played a role. It has not been reported if the pedestrian was in or near a crosswalk.

Both the accident intersection and the 7th Ave. rail station are still closed.

According to the Arizona Department of Transportation, in the year 2008 alone there were 1,524 pedestrian crashes in Arizona. That represents 1.27 percent of all accidents state wide. 124 pedestrians died in accidents that year (which is down from 157 deaths in 2007).

UPDATE: ABC News is now reporting that the vehicle involved in the accident was traveling at approximately 90 mph. The driver of the speeding car hit the pedestrian, then hit two other cars, and continued on to strike a building where the vehicle caught on fire.

The vehicle was traveling so fast that the pedestrian victim was severed in half. Drivers of the two other vehicles involved were injured and taken by ambulance to area hospitals.

The pedestrian has been identified as Ramzy Khalil.

Click here to view the story and accident photos posted by AZFamily.com.

A recent Arizona bike accident has police looking for clues, according to AZCentra.com. The Mesa bicycle accident happened two weeks ago Sunday and has left a 29-year-old bicyclist in critical condition. Police are looking for information, as the cause of the accident is unknown.

The accident occurred near 1100 South Country Club Drive by a Wendy's restaurant. Mesa police officers found him lying in a curb on the southbound side of the street around 8:00 p.m. They identified him from a driver's license on his person.

The bicycle rider was taken to Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical by ambulance. He sustained serious injuries, including a spinal fracture, a head laceration and internal bleeding in his head.

The Mesa Police Department is still investigating the accident and they are trying to figure out if he was hit by a car.

If you have any information about the accident, please immediately contact the police department at 480-644-2211.

An elderly Yuma man was reported at fault in an Arizona car accident that involved two separate accidents, including a collision with a tractor-trailer, the Yuma Sun reported.

Our Phoenix injury attorneys reported this week on the challenges faced by older motorists. But in this case the 79-year-old driver is blaming the accident on a stuck accelerator pedal.

Yuma police said the man was driving a 2002 four-door Dodge eastbound on 24th Street when he reported that the accelerator pedal stuck. He swerved to avoid traffic but struck a 2002 Volvo semi before continuing eastbound. He made it through the stop lights at 1st Avenue and continued on toward the intersection at Arizona Avenue before he was involved in a second collision.

He then rear-ended a 1993 Ford F-150 work truck. A passenger in the truck was taken to Yuma Regional Medical Center. The elderly driver of the Dodge was flown to a Phoenix hospital.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that 4,268 motorists over the age of 70 were killed in car accidents in 2008. Unlike most national statistics, which have been in steady decline over the past two decades, significantly more older adults were killed in traffic accidents than the 3,775 who died in 1975. The elderly population has also doubled during that time, from 14.5 million to 27.5 million.

Continue reading "79-year-old driver blamed for two separate Yuma, Arizona car accidents" »

As our Phoenix injury lawyers often report, teenagers are most at risk of being involved in a serious or fatal accident. But the growing population of elderly drivers is among the largest challenges safety advocates face with the aging of the Baby Boomers in coming years.

The problem will be especially acute in retirement areas like Florida and Arizona. The percentage of seniors over the age of 75 who have retained their driver's licenses has increased in the last decade, from 73 percent to 78 percent. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports there are 30 million senior drivers on the road -- a number that could double in the coming two decades.

A report by the Government Accountability Office found that drivers over the age of 75 were more likely than any other age group to be involved in a fatal crash. And the Washington Post reports that drivers over the age of 75 were twice as likely to say they planned to drive into their 90s than those ages 65 to 74. The resulting conversations about safety are taking place in family rooms across the country.

The debate about how to intervene when a parent or elderly relative refuses to hand over the keys "is happening all across the United States in families up and down the streets every day," said Elinor Ginzler, a senior vice president of AARP. "It's a huge issue."

Compounding the issue of the country's aging population are the medical advances that are permitting people to live longer.

"In the old days, or even 20 years ago, people just did not live long enough for this to be a problem," said Elin Schold-Davis, head of the American Occupational Therapy Association's Older Driver Initiative, who notes that some older drivers are taking potent medications that fog concentration. "People are living with a level of impairment that is unprecedented."

The NHTSA reports that 183,000 drivers over the age of 65 were injured in traffic crashes in 2008. A total of 139 older drivers were killed in Arizona car accidents.

The federal government offers driving resources for older adults and families. Topics include:

-Adapting the vehicle for older adults
-Understanding and influencing older drivers
-Driving safely and aging gracefully
-Family and friends concerned about an older driver
-Safe driving for older adults
-Driver transition education
-Talking with older drivers
-Screening and evaluation
-Medication and older drivers

Continue reading "Senior motorists a growing safety issue - older drivers at increased risk of Phoenix car accidents " »

AZCentral.com is reporting that a Phoenix car vs. truck accident shut down Interstate 10 Westbound for around four hours on Thursday morning. The closure was from 75th from 83rd. The accident reportedly involved a Mercedes that crashed into a semi truck at a high rate of speed.

The Phoenix accident took place around 6:45 a.m. and witnesses have told DPS officers that the Mercedes was traveling around 100 mph. The car was carrying two passengers and a driver.

The driver of the Mercedes lost control at some point near 75th. The vehicle then ran off the road into a dirt median, then drove back on the interstate, striking a semi-truck. The semi then lost control and left the roadway, stopping in the median.

A female passenger and the driver of the Mercedes were injured in the accident and taken by ambulance to area hospitals. It has not yet been reported if drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash.

The interstate was shut down after the crash for westbound traffic, causing heavy traffic.

Click here to read the story as reported by AZFamily.com.

The vast majority of teens continue to engage in dangerous behavior while behind the wheel -- despite knowing better, the USA Today reported.

As our Phoenix accident attorneys reported recently on our Phoenix Injury Lawyer Blog, Arizona is one of the few states that have no laws banning teenagers or adults from using cell phones or text messaging while behind the wheel.

FOX 11 reported earlier this year that the Arizona Senate shot down a proposed ban for the second year in a row.

The USA Today reports Arizona joins just 11 other states with no laws aimed at combating distracted driving: Florida, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North and South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, and New Mexico and Hawaii.

The new survey by Seventeen Magazine found that nearly 90 percent of teen drivers engage in distracted driving behavior, including talking on a cell phone or text messaging, despite knowing that it puts them at increased risk for an accident.

"Teens do continue to drive distracted even when they recognize the dangers," says William Van Tassel, manager of AAA's driver training programs. "Driving is the first real adult responsibility, but let's face it, they're still teens whose brains aren't fully developed."

The survey of 1,999 teens ages 16 to 19 found that 84 percent were aware that distracted driving increased their risk of an accident. Yet 86 percent admitted to engaging in some form of distracted driving, including texting, using a cell phone, applying makeup, eating or traveling with four or more passengers in the car.

Other findings of the study include:

-Older teens are more likely to engage in distracted driving than newly licensed teens ages 16 or 17.

-Teens driving their own vehicle were more likely to engage in distracted driving than teens having to share a vehicle.

-Reasons teens cited for distracted driving included: Didn't think they would get hurt (35 percent); made driving less boring (22 percent); and the need to be constantly connected (21 percent).

Continue reading "Teens at high risk of Phoenix car accidents caused by distracted driving -- despite knowing better" »

Ten teenagers were injured in a Phoenix car accident when their SUV struck a brick wall and rolled over before colliding with another vehicle, AZ Family reported.

Serious injuries were reported among the teenagers, who range in age from 13 to 16. One of the teenagers was reported in extremely critical condition. The accident happened at 28th Street, just south of Thomas Road.

All of the teens were riding in a white SUV; an unknown number were ejected from the vehicle during the crash.

Channel 13 News has since reported that two of the teenage boys were killed and eight others remain hospitalized. The station also reported that the accident involved another vehicle.

The two adults in the second SUV were not hurt.

Rarely a week goes by when our Phoenix injury lawyers do not report on the dangers young drivers face on the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that car accidents are the number one cause of death for teenagers ages 15 to 20.

The Arizona Department of Transportation reports that 62 passengers under the age of 20 were killed in traffic accidents in 2008. A total of 2,816 passengers ages 15 to 19 were injured. Twenty-eight young drivers were killed and 3,533 were injured.