Articles Posted in Car and Auto Accidents

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A crash occurred this morning on Highway 1 near Montara State beach at about 6:45am, according to SFexaminer.com. Two vehicles appeared to have been involved in the collision, which caused one driver to drive off the road and plunge more than 100 feet to his death. At the moment, his name has not been released, and the crash is still under investigation. Interestingly, the area where the accident occurred has been a concern for its residents because that particular stretch, between Half Moon Bay Airport and Devil’s Slide, passes sensitive coastline, communities with high pedestrian and bicycle activity, and carries significant commuter and tourist traffic. According to San Mateo County’s official website, San Mateo County and the Local Government Commission are in the begining stages of conducting a participatory planning effort to improve safety and mobility on that stretch of highway. The reason for the project is, back in 2009, a 12-year old child was struck by a car and critically injured when she was crossing the highway. It turns out that more than 100 people have been injured over the last ten years from accidents along highway 1 from Moss beach to Montara. Highway traffic speed is cited by residents as a challenge throughout much of the area.

Here at the Brod Law Firm, we have handled our share of car accidents, and we have a few tips for driving coastal roads. When driving on coastal highways drivers should always remember to drive defensively, wear their seatbelts, pullover if too many cars are following-when it is safe, however-and never pass double yellow lines. Remember that when you are driving south to north, you will be driving on the inside curbs; but when driving north to south, you should use extra caution, as you are on the cliff side, with nowhere to go but off the road if forced to avoid a collision. Always allow plenty of time to get to your destination so that you don’t feel rushed and tempted to go over the speed limit. Use extra when as you navigate those especially sharp curves in the road (just think: you will be able to enjoy the scenery better if you slow down). Always be alert for animals on the road, bicycles and pedestrians–for they can suddenly appear and can startle you. And during rainy weather or times of decreased visibility due to fog, slow down.

If you or a loved one suffered injuries due to a car accident, please contact our firm for a free consultation to find out if you have grounds to file a claim. Should it be determined that you need to file a claim, our experienced car accident attorney will fight hard on your behalf to get you the compensation you deserve. Our firm has over 10 years both settling and winning complex personal injury cases, and have the expertise to successfully handle your personal injury matter.

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Last week a pedestrian was struck while jogging through an intersection at Masonic and Grove. She survived the accident, but the driver managed to break her leg as he slammed into her after running a red light. The accident is one of several that have occurred on Masonic recently. As a result, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has installed a number of traffic calming measures on Masonic over the past nine months, and additional steps are supposed to be implemented over the next few months. Some of the steps include re-striping badly faded travel lanes, painting directions for motorists to merge where a number of lanes on Masonic change, and painting 25mph on the street surfaces. The MTA has also proposed removing parking spaces and installing separated bike lanes, bike lanes that would be from either a raised curb or soft-hit posts. In addition to all of that, North of the Panhandle Neighborhood Association has officially endorsed, along with the SF Bike Coalition and the community grout Fix Masonic, the Boulevard Option for Masonic avenue, which proposes to turn Masonic Avenue into beautiful tree-lined, safe boulevard. The project would plant 200 trees along the boulevard, improve the sidewalks, paint bike lanes green, and create bulb-outs to allow safer and easier crossing at intersections for pedestrians.

These changes are much needed on Masonic, as the current layout of the street and the many vehicles that travel at high speeds make it frightening for pedestrians and cyclists. Because Masonic is flat and moves north to south between height and the Presidio, it is a main thoroughfare for many pedestrians and cyclists, all of whom should not have to worry about becoming another statistic. But that the worrying will be over soon, and we can all thank the consorted efforts of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and Fix Masonic for pushing the SF Municipal Transportation Agency to move ahead with plans aimed at calming one of the busiest and most dangerous streets in San Francisco. If you have suffered an injury while biking or walking in San Francisco, please contact our firm. We have over 10 years experience successfully settling claims for cyclists and pedestrians.

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A 48-year-old Oakland man driving to Reno with his family was killed when he crashed and rolled over on eastbound interstate highway 80 in Albany yesterday morning, according to SFGate.com. The man was driving a white Ford Explorer when he suddenly veered to the left, overcorrected, and then lost control. The SUV rolled multiple times before coming to rest. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, while his wife had a broken leg and his children, ages 10 and 12, suffered minor to moderate injuries. The wife was on the phone of the time of the crash. She was talking to family members who were also heading up to Reno. The family members told the CHP that the line went dead and when they called back, there was no answer. When they did get through after a few minutes, they heard sirens and commotion. The CHP are not sure if he was distracted at the time of the crash. They did say, however, there was no indication that alcohol was a factor.

This story brings up an important and forgotten fact about SUV’s: they are not vehicles built for safety. What is more, people die just as often in SUV’s as they do in cars, and people who drive SUV’s are more likely to die in a rollover than someone in a car. The simple truth is that the biggest SUV’s doesn’t make you safer than if you were in a large car or minivan. SUV’s make people feel they are in control and in charge, but that is just an illusion. Even though many more safety features are being built into vehicles today, many can’t afford them. Perhaps some of the newer models are safer, but it is hard to know for sure, as we still don’t see car companies making SUV’s safe in all foreseeable types of crashes, especially rollovers. Here at the Brod Law Firm, we believe the real and only way for a consumer to stay safe is to be an informed consumer. If you or a loved one suffered an injury in a rollover crash, contact our firm for a free consultation. We have over 10 years experience representing clients involved in violent SUV rollovers and can help you receive the compensation you deserve.

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A lawsuit has been filed in Alabama federal court over Freightliner heavy duty trucks manufactured by Daimler Trucks North America LLC, a division of Daimler AG. The Freightliner truck lawsuit is seeking class action status and alleges Daimler sold thousands of vehicles with defective rac-and-pinion steering systems. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. The lawsuit points out that Daimler has issued voluntary recalls of its rack-and-pinion steering systems. According to the recall notice the left hand inner tie rod may loosen over time and potentially separate from the steering rack under certain conditions, which could cause in the driver to lose control and potenially cause a catastrophic accident.

Here at thehttps://www.brodfirm.com Brod Law Firm we have safety advice for drivers when they approach commercial trucks during their everyday commute. Firstly, you should always be extra alert as you approach a large truck, as their blind spots are difficult to avoid. That being said, the following is a helpful tip for navigating a truck’s blind spot: If you can’t see a truck’s side mirrors, then that means the truck driver can’t see you. Also, you should never pass a truck on the same side it is signaling to turn. Trucks need to swing wide to negotiate turns safely, and the rear wheels follow a shorter path than the front wheels. As a result, you could get cought in the middle of the turn and collide with the truck. In addition, trucks require much more distance to stop in comparison to cars. Forcing a large vehicle to stop quickly can result in a fatal accident, so stay at a safe distance in front of trucks. And you should always use the proper procedure to pass a large truck or a bus on the highway–accelerate slightly and maintain a consistent speed while passing, and wait until you can see the entire cab in your rear-view mirror before signaling and pulling in front of it. Lastly, never attempt to cut off a truck in traffic or on the highway to reach your exit or turn.

If you of loved one suffered an injury due to a collision with a commercial truck, contact our office for a free consultation. We have over 10 years experience helping victims of serious traffic accidents get the compensation they deserve.

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According to almanacnews.com, fifty five drivers have been officially encouraged to think before using a handheld cell phone while driving. The Menlo Park Police Department issued citations to distracted drivers as they were driving through Menlo Park on April 4th and 5th -48 were cited for talking on a handheld phone while driving and 7 for texting while driving. In Atherton, the police department issued two citations for talking on the phone, and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office issued 22 citations for talking on the phone and 2 tor texting. It turns out, traffic patrols throughout California have designated April as the “zero tolerance” month for distracted driving. The other two remaining days of crackdown are April 14th and 28th. Citations will cost drivers a minimum of $159 for the first time and $279 for subsequent violations. Drives who used a hand-held cell phone or device quadruple their risk of an accident serious enough to injure someone, according to studies that claim this behavior has a severe affect on reaction time, the same reaction time as drunken driving.

According to distraction.gov, distracted driving is any non-driving activity a person engages in that has the potential to distract them from the primary task of driving and increase the risk of crashing. There are three types of distracted driving:

• Visual-taking your eyes off the road;

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According to SFWeekly, a speeding driver suffering from a bout of road rage beat a woman and her boyfriend walking through the Excelsior neighborhood earlier this week. Early that morning, the couple was walking across the street at Persia Avenue and Madrid Street when a driver speeding in a green car sped passed them. The woman looked at the driver and yelled out “whoa.” Then the driver made a U-turn, stopped the car, got out, and started beating the woman. The passenger of the car also jumped in on the attack and began punching the woman. The victim’s boyfriend tried to help her, but the men punched him and broke his nose. Both suspects got back into the car and sped off. But the best part of the story is what happened next, an incident of sweet justice that underlines the fact that many criminals are not so smart: one of the men left his driver’s license and DMV papers on the street where the beating occurred. Amazingly, at that moment, the couple still had their wits about them, and they were able to grab the papers and call the police, who were able to broadcast the name of one of the suspects. Both men were quickly found and arrested. The cops described the incident as “the best arrest of the day.”

The inability to handle anger, and/or deflect it, is usually the major factor behind road rage. More often than not, the typical road rager may be violent in other parts of his or her life, and exhibit one or all of the following personality traits—selfish, addicted to power, angry, and vindictive. But sometimes just the tension of a daily commute can turn a normally calm person into a road rager. Whatever the case may be, it is obvious that there is a need for anger management on the roads so that fewer drivers and pedestrians are victimized. Here at the Brod Law Firm, we heard many stories of car accidents that were either the direct or indirect result of road rage. If you or loved one suffered an injury due to a car accident, contact our firm for a free consultation today.

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According sfexaminer.com, Presidio Boulevard was closed Tuesday afternoon after an SUV struck and severely injured a pedestrian. The elderly driver says he wasn’t paying attention when he struck a woman in the crosswalk at the intersection of Park Presidio and Anza Street around 2:30pm. Officer Eric Chiang said that a 92-year-old driver in an SUV was attempting to make a left turn from Anza boulevard to Park Presidio to head south when he struck the pedestrian. The injured woman is estimated to be in her 50s, and her injuries are life-threatening.

A report put out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) underlines the fact that many collisions occur, like in the case above, due to driver inattention, meaning the driver looked away from the forward roadway. Driver inattention is broadly defined as any point in time that a driver engages in a secondary task, exhibits symptoms of moderate to severe drowsiness, or looks away from the forward roadway. The categories of driver inattention are operationally defined as follows:

Secondary task distraction-driver behavior that diverts the driver’s attention away from the driving task. This may include talking/listening to hand-held device, eating, talking to a passenger, etc.

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A week ago today a 57-year-old man from Pacifica was killed when a driver who was speeding and running multiple red lights plowed into his car on Geary Boulevard on Thursday, according sfexaminer.com. Leonid Stoliarov died on impact around 2:15 a.m. at the intersection of Arguello Boulevard. Frank Mabry, 31, of Walnut Creek was arrested in the crash. He was booked on Felony vehicular manslaughter, misdemeanor speeding, misdemeanor unlicensed driving and two counts of running a red light. According to reports, witnesses to the accident, including a Muni driver, rushed to the victim’s assistance but were unable to revive him. Before the collision, witnesses saw the driver speeding eastbound on Geary Boulevard in an Audi. He ran multiple red lights, including one at the intersection of Arguello Boulevard. The victim’s car was t-boned on the driver’s side as it crossed Arguello. Police are trying to determine whether Mabry was drunk or on drugs at the time of the accident.

Sadly, driving under the influence of alcohol has become one of the common features and causes of accidents today. According to the NHTSA, alcohol related motor vehicle accidents kill someone every 31 minutes and injure someone every two minutes in US alone. Each year, crashes related to alcohol ingestion in the United States cost about $73 billion. The ratio of lethal accidents in that are alcohol-related is roughly four times greater at night than during the day. Any driver who likes to drink should keep in mind the legal limit is .10% and that the effect of alcohol absorption is gradual and depends upon the rate at which one becomes drunk. What is more, if a person drinks faster than the alcohol can be eliminated, the more it accumulates in the body, which results n higher and increased levels of alcohol in the blood. In other words, it doesn’t take a lot of alcohol or time for a person to become intoxicated.
If you or a loved one suffered an injury due to an accident caused by a driver who was under the influence, feel free to contact our office today for a free consultation. We have the expertise and astute legal skills to get you the compensation you deserve.

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Today, ktvu.com reported that the return of rain to the Bay Area yesterday kicked off a week of projected stormy weather with problems on roads across the region, particularly in Sonoma County where the California Highway Patrol responded to dozens of accidents. One CHP officer described the driving conditions as “crazy” as he explained how officers raced from one emergency call to the next all day yesterday. They responded to more than 40 crashes across Sonoma County during yesterday’s storm. One of the worst accidents left two people seriously hurt in a head-on crash on highway 121, and the CHP shut down the highway for about an hour while the wreckage was cleared. The CHP attribute the combination of rain and high speed as the cause of the accidents, as well as the fact that people forget they need to slow down and give extra space between them and the car in front of them when it rains. In fact, one driver, a 16-year-old girl-landed in a creek on Bodega Highway and suffered minor injuries. Another driver, a 70-year-old man, suffered minor injurs after he crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with another car on state Highway 116. The driver, who was allegedly under the influence of prescription medication was arrested on suspicion of DUI. Yet another driver escaped injury after his Toyota rolled over and landed on its top.

It is true that motorists have a dont’s feel safe while in the rain and wind and seem to be out of control while driving in a storm. Gusty winds and rain do make driving tricky-wind causes drivers to feel they have less control over their steering and rain causes motorists to hydroplain-and both circumstances create a greater risk for accidents. Motorists better get used to hazardous driving conditions, though, as meteorologists have projected a couple of wet weeks for the Bay Area, as a string of cold winter storms coming through the Gulf of Alaska are heading for Northern California. The strongest system will move through the area today.

If you or a loved suffered an injury due to an car accident on wet Bay Area roads, please contact our office for a free consultation. We have over 10 years experience working with victims of car accidents, and we are happy to answer any questions you may have regarding a claim.

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According to SFAppeal.com, six people were injured at around 2am on Sunday Morning after a taxi cab and limousine collided in an intersection near Nob Hill. After they collided, the limousine struck and shattered the bottom sleeve of a nearby light post. Two pedestrians were hit with the debris. Four victims were transported to San Francisco General Hospital and two victims were transported to St. Francisco Memorial Hospital-all were diagnosed with non-life threatening injuries. At the moment, it is unknown how many of the victims were passengers, drivers or pedestrians. Witnesses have reported that the collision may have been the result of one of the vehicles running a red light.

Sadly, accidents like this are not surprising. Taxi drivers in san Francisco are notorious for driving over the speed limit, pushing the time allowed to cross at a yellow light, changing lanes without checking over their shoulder-and generally placing passengers in danger. On the flip side of that is the unfortunate fact that passengers don’t always think top buckle up, nor are they encouraged by drivers to do so. The combination of all these factors makes for a disaster in waiting.

Despite taxi driver reputation, San Francisco taxi companies are common carriers, which means they are under obligation to provide a certain standard of care, what is referred to as “the highest duty of care.” As a passenger, you want any taxi you use to abide by this and adhere to this standard, since any time you get into a taxi, or any motorvehicle, there is the potential for an accident to happen. Taxis must be in safe and in good working order, and seat belts must properly function. Drivers of taxis must be familiar with city streets, obey all speed limits, and comply with right of way and traffic light rules. As for limousines, most people don’t know that limousines are not officially licensed taxis. They may or may not have insurance. You can tell when a limo is licensed and compliant with Public Utilities Commission Insurance requirements, as they will have a “TCP” number on the front and rear bumpers.

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