Articles Posted in Car and Auto Accidents

The Sacramento Bee is reporting on a tragic Northern California car accident. On Thursday May 10, 2012, a collision claimed the life of a driver in a north Lake Tahoe community. California Highway Patrol investigators report that Thomas Heron, a sixty-seven year old resident of Carnelian Bay, was driving a Toyota Tacoma on Highway 28 in the vicinity of Ridgewood Drive. Heron was travelling eastbound when his vehicle drifted across the solid double yellow traffic lines and into oncoming, westward traffic. The Tacoma struck a Toyota Tundra, piloted by an unidentified fifty-four year old driver. The collision between the pick-ups occurred at 11:43 A.M. and resulted in Heron’s death. Reports indicate the driver of the Tundra was also injured in the crash.

Police have not yet released a statement concerning the cause of this collision and we do not wish to speculate about the factors that contributed to this specific crash. As your Sacramento car accident law firm, The Brod Law Firm team is constantly reminded that a wide range of factors can contribute to a traffic crash. We hope that reading our blog helps remind community members of some of these factors and thus helps prevent future Sacramento automobile crashes.

One factor that is often overlooked is driver fatigue. In 2005, the AAA Foundation for Traffic studied the problem of driver fatigue. Referencing statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”), the article suggested that a conservative estimate would by that 100,000 people are involved in police-reported collisions that directly stemmed from driver fatigue. These crashes included an estimated 1,500 fatalities, 71,000 injuries, and $12.5 billion in financial losses. Many experts feel these numbers underestimate the impact of drowsy driving, noting the difficulty of determining when fatigue is the root cause of a collision.

On a daily basis, our San Francisco accident law firm is reminded that every accident is unique. Accidents can have a myriad of causes and often multiple factors are at play in a single San Francisco car accident. Most people are aware of the dangers posed by drinking and driving, texting behind the wheel, and reckless driving behaviors such as speeding, fewer people consider the impact that a driver’s health can have on automobile safety

One health issue that is of growing concern in our country and our state is diabetes. Few stop to consider the issue but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued statements noting that, in some cases, diabetes can impair a patient’s ability to drive and can lead to accidents on the road. Blood sugar levels that are either too high or too low can leave a patient feeling dizzy, sleepy, or confused and can also cause blurred vision. In more extreme cases, dangerous blood sugar levels can lead to loss of consciousness. If diabetes is not well-controlled, long-term effects can include nerve damage and visual impairment

Most individuals with diabetes can drive safely, but diabetics should be vigilant about monitoring there health status. It is vital that patients discuss safe driving with their health care providers. Monitoring blood glucose levels is important for the health of a diabetic patient and is even more crucial when the patient is behind the wheel. For some patients, keeping healthy snacks in the glove compartment can be a useful in case glucose levels drop suddenly. Low blood glucose levels can inhibit a driver’s ability to focus on the multiple tasks involved in driving safely. All drivers should have regular vision checks but this is particularly important for diabetics given the impact the condition can have on visual strength.

Individuals pursuing a personal injury claim often sue cities and other public entities for causes of action such as “Dangerous Condition of Public Property”. The City of Los Altos has decided to turn that concept back on one of its residents, Mark Choo.

According to the Los Altos Town Crier, on November 22, 2010 Katharine Edgecombe was driving a Land Cruiser that rear ended another car at a crosswalk. That car, driven by Conny Marx, allegedly slammed forward into two women crossing the street. The two women are filed a complaint on November 1, 2011 against the City of Los Altos, Katharine Edgecombe, and Conny Marx to recover for damages resulting from the accident. Five months later the City of Los Altos sought to include property owner Mark Choo in the case by naming him in its cross-complaint. The city alleges that a tree near his duplex impeded visibility at the crosswalk and that Mr. Choo is liable for damages.

It is generally the plaintiff’s role to name defendants in a suit for damages. However, according to California Civil Procedure Section 428.70, a defendant may bring a cross-complaint against a previously unnamed party, known as a third party defendant, if the original defendant could recover all or part of the judgment he owes from that third party defendant. This convoluted definition becomes clearer when using the example of the above case. The City of Los Altos may be found liable for the dangerous condition of public property, which might include the view obscuring tree. In turn, the City of Los Altos has filed a cross-complaint against Mark Choo saying that he is fully or partially responsible for any damages that can be attributed to the overhanging tree. The suit will not determine whether Mark Choo is liable for any wrong-doing, but whether, as the homeowner closest to the tree, he is responsible for any damages it causes.

Each city has its own distinct municipal code, and many across the Bay Area make residents responsible for trees on sidewalks adjacent to their property. Los Altos Municipal Code 9.20.025 indeed makes residents responsible for the maintenance of trees, shrubs, and other growths adjacent to their property and specifically puts the liability on them for property damage or other claims arising from such plants. The code also requires that all trimming and perform in accordance with certain standards found in the municipal code and the American National Standards Institute.

One more complicating factor: Mark Choo claims that because the tree interferes with the power lines, PG&E instructed him not to trim the tree. According to him, PG&E comes out to trim the tree every 18 months. However, on its website PG&E provides a number to call if a resident thinks a tree near high voltage power lines poses a danger.

Whether the tree was a substantial contributor to the accident or not, the City of Los Altos is using the statutes and codes in place to shift its monetary liability from the city as a whole to an individual resident, illustrating the importance of investigating thoroughly in every case the possibility of non-apparent defendants.
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U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is calling out for a federal law against talking or texting on a cell phone while driving, MSNBC reports. Currently 37 states have laws on the books that specifically prohibit texting while driving, while 10 prohibit talking on a handheld cell phone while driving. LaHood added that the Department of Transportation is currently researching whether hands free devices actually make driving safer.

Lately, the statistic that has been trotted out again and again that using a cell phone while driving is as dangerous as driving while drunk. For instance, the website Distraction.gov by the U.S. Department of Transportation cites a University of Utah study and states, “Using a cell phone while driving – whether it’s hand-held or hands-free delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.” From government departments to the Discovery Channel’s the Mythbusters, many are making the comparison.

Drunk driving is firmly embedded in American drivers’ minds as unacceptable behavior, although 1.44 million DUI and DWI arrests were made nationally in 2009. Likewise, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration recently conducted some driver surveys which show a contradiction between belief and behavior regarding cell phone use and driving. According to their research, 90% of respondents said it makes them feel they are in peril as a passenger when the driver is using a cell phone. Yet, most admit to receiving calls while driving. The NHTSA survey also reports that drivers 25 years and younger are two to three times more likely to text and drive than older drivers.

Until the the education effort to make cell phone use and driving as unacceptable as drunk driving, the numbers of drivers who text or talk by phone will increase as more Americans who grew up with smart phones start driving. A 2009 study by the Allstate Foundation reported that 49% of teens admitted to cell phone use while driving (the number was 57% in a State Farm study), while 23% admitted to drinking and driving. It may be inferred that the education effort still has a long way to go.

LaHood also used the comparison, saying the drunk drivers used to get cabs from police officers but now they get jail time. He believes that enforcement should also be much stricter when it comes to cell phone use, according to the Chicago Tribune. The many comparisons beg the question, how far will the responsibility for texting and driving and other cell phone use go? In California, under Section 53150 of the Government Code, a drunk driver may be liable for the costs associated with sending emergency responders to the site of an incident caused by his actions. Furthermore, debtors in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court may not discharge personal injury judgments that were a result of drunk driving (11 USC Section 523(9)). Interested parties may want to watch for future developments in this area of the law to see how close the comparison between driving under the influence and cell phone use while driving converges, not only on statistics but enforcement and punishment as well.
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Drivers tend to be wary of teenage drivers, who are four times more likely to get into an accident than drivers 20 years and older. Teenage drivers are more accident prone because, in general they take more risks, have less experience with driving, and are more distracted by their passengers.

Another group of drivers fall into this category as well: drivers of all ages with ADHD. Drivers who live with ADHD are also more likely to be distracted by noisy passengers, radios, cell phones and even day dreaming. SF Gate reported recently that ADHD drivers struggle with attentiveness, which makes them less likely to identify and react to dangers on the roads. ADHD drivers are also susceptible to impulsive or aggressive behavior off and on the road. Teenagers with ADHD are four times more likely than their peers to get into an accident and seven times more likely to get into a second accident.

The combination of a teenage driver and a driver with ADHD is unnerving, and in any case, driving safely will continue to be a struggle into adulthood. Drivers with ADHD often have many minor accidents in their driving career. Yet, ADHD drivers can improve their driving skills by coming up with strategies to stay focused on the road.

Parents of children with ADHD should set down guidelines to help their child become a safer driver. Life with ADHD is different for every child, so parents may want to observe their child while driving to become more aware of what presents the biggest distractions. Parents may also observe their child to see if their child exhibits any sort of impulsive behavior behind the wheel. Additionally, the 2006 study “Manual transmission enhances attention and driving performance of ADHD adolescent males: pilot study” reported that the male teenagers observed benefitted from driving a car with a manual transmission. Apparently, the focus needed to prevent grinding gears or sputtering forced the drivers to pay more attention. The teenagers also felt more in tune with the car. Of course, some may find the focus needed to shift the gears distracts from what’s going on around them on the road. Once again, each person experiences ADHD differently.

Finally, ADHD experts suggest that drivers of all ages plan out their route beforehand and leave plenty of time to make it to their destination, to avoid making impulsive U-turns or falling into other aggressive behaviors when lost.

The number of children diagnosed with ADHD has increased by 66% in the last ten years, according to a study cited on Science Daily. With more children and adults alike being diagnosed with ADD and ADHD, drivers should take notice. You cannot infer from looking at a car’s driver how the driver may respond to a dangerous situation, which is why it is important to always drive defensively.
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The Brod Law Firm represents individuals who were injured in car accidents in Oakland and throughout Northern California. Gregory Brod is an experienced Oakland personal injury attorney and our law firm can help victims receive compensation for their injuries. While we are here to help you put together the pieces after an accident, we also believe in putting prevention first. All drivers should recognize that driving is a responsibility and young drivers in particular should be taught to always make safety a priority when behind the wheel.

The Oakland Tribune reported on a serious car accident that occurred on Wednesday night near Napa. A fifteen year old girl was driving on Buhman Avenue in the area south of Congress Valley Road. The teenager was speeding when she lost control of her vehicle at a curve and crashed into a tree head-on. Although the car, a 1992 Honda Civic, was only intended to seat five, there were a total of seven teenage occupants in the vehicle at the time of the crash. All of the car’s passengers were taken to Queen of the Valley Medical Center with three (males aged nineteen, fifteen, and fourteen) suffering major injuries. The driver of the car reportedly fled the scene of the accident. Alcohol is not believed to have been a factor in the collision.

According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the accident rate for teenage drivers is higher than for any other age group. In 2007, 217 drivers between the age of fifteen and twenty died as a result of car crashes in California. That year, accidents claimed the lives of 161passengers of young California drivers, 148 occupants of other vehicles involved in collisions with teens, and 67 victims who were not in a vehicle. Teenage drivers are especially at risk for being involved in a crash when they are transporting passengers. For sixteen and seventeen year old drivers, the risk of a fatal crash is 3.6 times higher when they have a passenger and the risk increases with a higher number of passengers. The crash rate is also higher at night with the accident rate per mile after 9 P.M. being three times higher than during daytime hours.

Our Sacramento car accident lawyer knows that collisions can take many forms. For most people, the first images that come to mind when thinking about a Sacramento car crash involve a high-speed highway collision or an alcohol-fueled incident. However, our Northern California personal injury attorney knows that accidents can have many causes and that each incident is unique.

This week, The Sacramento Bee carried a report detailing the results of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The study focused on accidents resulting from a driver mistakenly pressing on the gas when they intended to hit the brake pedal. Study directors examined a North Carolina database of crashes including four hundred gas pedal accidents and also looked at news reports detailing nine hundred crashes stemming from pedal mistakes. Interestingly, the study found that nearly two-thirds of driver involved in accidents stemming from a pedal mistake were female. This is particularly notable since men account for a greater percentage of all crashes, with male drivers accounting for sixty percent of drivers involved in all collisions.

Age also played a significant role in gas pedal crashes. Both the news reports and the North Carolina data examinations found that a high percentage of pedal confusion cases involved drivers over seventy-six years of age. The state database found a similar number of accidents involved drivers under age twenty. The news report analysis attributed four times as many accidents to seniors in contrast with teens. Seniors accounted for forty percent of such accidents and teen drivers were involved in ten percent of the incidents covered in news reports. Overall, the examination concludes that age is a significant factor in pedal confusion crashes. The article suggested that this age disparity may be influenced by teenagers and the elderly having less robust functioning in certain areas of the brain. Areas of the brain involved in executive functioning develop later than other functions and only reach full capacity in early adulthood. These functions include the ability to plan, organize, and fully focus one’s attention. Brain functionality in these areas may also begin to decline with age. Tests examining executive functioning also found that older drivers experience a drop in ability.

Lately, there has been a lot of buzz around GM’s bounce back from the brink of death and the future of its Chevy Volt. This year the focus has shifted somewhat to the fruits borne by research and development departments of companies like Volvo and Google. Both recently showed off innovations that take some off the pressure of drivers, hopefully increasing safety on the roads.

Volvo was one of seven companies, along with the European Commission, to fund research in the SATRE project. SATRE stands for Safe Road Trains for the Environment, and refers to a train of semi-automated cars controlled through sensors and cameras by a lead driver. In January 2012, SATRE successfully conducted its first field test of a “platoon”, in which a larger lead vehicle controlled a line of cars behind it as it drove along the motorway. The SARTRE project claims that the semi-automated trains of cars could save up to 20% in energy expenditures per car. The train could potentially reduce congestion and allow drivers to participate in activities that are usually deemed dangerous when behind the wheel, such as reading, eating, and playing on media devices. When drivers choose to leave the train they send a signal to the lead car, which then provides a space gap for the car to exit. SATRE plans for the trains to use existing infrastructure and consumer vehicles for the project to make it easier to expand. The goal of the project is firstly to reduce traffic congestion and energy costs. Secondly, it aims to increase safety on freeways, as driver error is responsible for 87% of all accidents and the project decreases the need for the driver to constantly stay alert.

Volvo has also promoted automated technology within its own company. In March 2012, it showed the Volvo V40 at the Geneva Motor Show. The car has sensors in its grill that detects the distance of objects from the front of the car, and is meant to prevent crashes with pedestrians. If the sensors predicts a possible impact it beeps an alarm to the driver. If the driver does not respond, the car automatically brakes. In the unfortunate event that the Volvo does hit a pedestrian with its front bumper, a pedestrian air bag inflates from the hood and covers one third of the windshield to limit head injuries to the pedestrian. The hood also lifts somewhat to increase the hood’s absorption of force and decrease injuries. This type of airbag works well in sedans, and the company AutoLiv has tested front edge airbags and bumper airbags on SUV’s, which impact pedestrians’ abdomens more than their head. The study Injury Mitigation in SUV to Pedestrian Impacts found that these airbags reduced injuries to the upper abdomen by more than a third and in some instances by half.

Google is also looking for technologies that make driving safer and more convenient. It publicly debuted its self-driving car in March 2011, but attracted a lot of attention last month when the Los Angeles Times reported that one of its cars took the blind Steve Mahon for a ride. The car chauffeured Mr. Mahon through city streets to grab a bite at Taco Bell and pick up his dry cleaning. The self-driving car could make driving safer on both urban roads and highways by automating the route. Nevada was the first state to legalize self-driving cars on its roadways in February 2012.
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In addition to being your San Francisco personal injury law firm, the team members at The Brod Law Firm are also proud Northern California residents. As members of the community, we share the concerns of our fellow communities. We hope this blog keeps you informed about legal matters, including matters related to San Francisco auto accidents and other developments in personal injury lawsuits in Northern California. We also hope this site helps you make smart choices in a tough economic time so that you have the peace of mind to enjoy all our region has to offer.

California has long been known for our driving-oriented culture. As a result, the increase in prices at the pump hits out region particularly hard. The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Sunday that the average price per gallon of gasoline nationwide has risen eleven cents in the past two weeks. Nationwide, the average price per gallon of regular grade fuel is $3.93. In California, the statewide average did fall a penny but remains significantly higher than the national average at $4.31 per gallon. Prices in Fresno are the lowest in the state while the Los Angeles area has California’s highest average price.

Fuel prices impact our residents directly and can also have a significant effect on the tourism industry. Here are some tips for making the most of your gas money:

Our Oakland car crash law firm is always concerned when we read about collisions in our area. Each Oakland car accident is unique but we try to take lessons from each story we come across to try to prevent future incidents.

The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting on a fatal early morning crash in the Oakland hills. The crash occurred around 4:20 A.M. on Highway 13 in the area south of the Park Boulevard exit. A large tree that reportedly measured nearly forty feet in height had fallen into the roadway, spanning all southbound lanes of the freeway. Four passengers were in Toyota Camry when it hit the fallen tree. The driver stopped the car in the center median and all four passengers stepped into the right shoulder of the highway. A second vehicle, a Ford F-150 pickup truck, then hit the tree, causing the truck to become airborne and strike the occupants of the Camry. Nineteen year-old Kevin Lacanlale, the driver os the Camry was killed. Lacanlale, who was living in San Leandro, was a UC Berkeley student and originally came from Washington state. One of the Toyota’s passengers was trapped when the crash knocked a portion of the fallen tree onto an embankment. She was freed by Oakland firefighters using a chainsaw. The driver of the pickup-truck, a fifty-nine year old man from Pittsburg, and the surviving passengers from the Camry were taken to the hospital and treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.

It can be difficult to know what to do in the moments following a crash. Safety should always be a first priority. If you are unable to get out of your vehicle, or it would be unsafe to do so, remain seated with your seatbelt fastened and put on your hazard blinkers to alert other drivers to your situation. If your car is not too severely damaged, you should not leave the scene of the accident but should move the vehicle to a safe location and turn on the hazard lights. If you have an emergency kit, set up cones, warning flags, or emergency flares in the vicinity of the accident. As soon as you and your passengers are safe, call 911 to alert the authorities and get additional assistance. Be sure to tell the dispatcher if you and your vehicle are in an area where a secondary crash is possible.