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The Governors Highway Safety Association has released a study showing that in the first half of 2012 there was a jump in the national number of fatal traffic accidents involving teen drivers when compared with the number of crashes during the same period in 2011. Experts have many ideas about how to reduce the instances of teen-driver-related car accidents in Coral Gables and other communities:

1) Increase the amount of driving instruction for teens. Graduated licensing programs have already helped reduce the number of teen drivers involved in serious traffic accidents in Coral Gables and other communities. Experts agree that one of the key reasons behind driving accidents involving teen drivers has to do with driver inexperience. Teens may simply not have the behind-the-wheel experience needed in order to avoid some collisions. Getting additional on-road training and extra instruction can help ensure that teen drivers have the skills needed to drive safely. Parents can help by purchasing additional driving instruction and one-on-one driving instruction for their teens.

2) Crack down on distracted driving. According to the National Safety Council, more than 24 percent of traffic accidents involve cell phone use. About 450,000 teens are injured each year and 3,000 are killed due to car accidents, and many experts believe that distracted driving is a key contributor to many accidents involving teen drivers. Studies show that in addition to cell phone use, other passengers are a key cause of distraction for teen drivers. In fact, teen drivers who have teen passengers are more likely to be involved in an accident when compared with teen drivers driving alone or with an adult in the car.

3) Alert teens about the dangers of fatigued driving. Teens may not be aware that driving fatigued is a dangerous situation, so it is important for parents and other adults to explain to teen drivers the dangers of driving distracted and potentially falling asleep behind the wheel.

4) Have parents set rules about driving. Teens should learn that driving is a privilege, not a right. To that end, parents can help by setting firm rules – such as no texting and driving or no passengers in the car – to ensure that their teens do not take unnecessary risks as they slowly build their driving skills.

5) Insist on remedial lessons for teens who get into fender-benders. Fender benders and near accidents are often warning signs that a teen’s driving skills need additional work. Parents can help by getting their teenage driver more one-on-one instruction time and in-car instruction time from a professional driving instructor. This can help teens correct any bad habits and help them get the skills they need in order to avoid collisions.

6) Show teens the effects of dangerous driving. Local authorities have education programs designed especially for teen drivers. It is important for parents to make sure that their teens see the devastating impact that reckless driving, distracted driving, fatigued driving, and careless driving can cause.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

According to Floridainsurance.com, car collisions cost each American an average of 00 a year. There are about 43,000 fatalities related to car accidents each year. In Florida, the costs of an accident can vary from under 0 (for a minor fender bender) to millions of dollars for a serious car and truck accident in Coral Gables or another community. Of course, if you have been in a truck or car accident in Coral Gables or any other community in Florida, you know that the costs of the accident are far greater than just the monetary costs. The emotional upheaval and pain and suffering can endure for years.

Many people pay the costs for a serious traffic accident in Coral Gables:

1) The victim injured in the traffic accident. Victims who are injured in a truck or car accident in Florida often pay the highest price. They may need to get their cars replaced or repaired and they may miss income and work. In many instances, car accidents lead to serious injuries, and treating soft tissue injuries, back injuries, fractures, burns, or head injuries in Coral Gables and other communities is very expensive.

2) The family of the victim. The family of the victim often pays a high price in a serious traffic collision, as well. In a fatal accident, the family may be left with final bills, final medical expenses, funeral bills, and other costs. If the loved one was an income earner, the loss may also devastate a family’s finances for years to come.

3) Employers. Employers lose millions of dollars each year due to employees being injured in car accidents and therefore being unable to work. If the accident was a workplace accident, an employer’s insurance costs may rise.

4) Insurance companies. Insurance companies may need to pay out damages in a car accident case. The costs are covered by the insurance premiums that insurance clients pay, but in many cases insurance carriers are interested in resolving cases inexpensively and quickly. This is one reason why many car collision victims turn to personal injury attorneys in Coral Gables and across South Florida – to get fair compensation for their injuries.

5) Society as a whole. Society as a whole pays for car collisions in Coral Gables and beyond with loss of productivity, more hospital crowding, and damaged roads. Almost everyone is affected by car accidents in some fashion and everyone suffers due to the suffering, medical costs, and damage that a serious accident can cause.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

A new study out of Canada has found that opioids – even in low doses – can increase the risk of traffic accidents. According to the study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, motorists who took doses as low as 20 milligrams of opioids a day had a 21% increased risk of car-accident-related injury. Motorists with higher doses of the drugs had an even greater chance of being involved in a car accident. For example, patients prescribed 100 to 199 mg a day had a 42% greater chance of being in a car accident.

Opioids are a class of drugs commonly used to treat pain. Codeine, morphine, hydromorphone, oxycodone, and the fentanyl patch are all examples of opioids. One concern for the study’s authors is that opioids are being prescribed increasingly often to help patients manage chronic and acute pain. Unfortunately, these medications have side effects that can affect alertness, which can lead to traffic accidents. What does this mean in terms of car accidents in Coral Gables and other Florida cities? It means that if you are taking any prescription medication, you should take some precautionary measures to help prevent a traffic accident in Coral Gables or your Florida community:

1) Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about medication you are prescribed. The medication may have side effects that can affect your ability to drive. Discuss side effects and when it is safe for you to return to driving.

2) Visit the same pharmacy for all your medication needs and get to know your pharmacist. Look for a pharmacy that keeps track of your medication and can alert you when your medications may interact and produce more side effects. Also, speak with your pharmacist. Often, a pharmacist can give you important information about medicine safety and possible side effects to look out for.

3) Limit driving or hang up the keys until your body has adjusted to a new medication and your doses are stable. When you first start a new medication, you may notice more side effects and your doctor may be adjusting the dose to ensure that you are getting the right medication. According to Dr. David Juurlink, this can be one of the riskier times for being involved in an accident, because your body is still getting used to the substance. You can help avoid a car accident or pedestrian accident in Coral Gables or your community by only returning to driving when it is safe to do so.

4) Let your pharmacist and doctor know about any over-the-counter or natural medication you are taking. Some all-natural vitamins and supplements and over-the-counter medications can also have serious side effects that can increase your risk of a car accident or truck accident in Coral Gables or your community. Natural and over-the-counter medications can also interact with your prescription medication, so discuss everything you are taking with your doctor and pharmacist.

5) Keep an eye on your symptoms – they can lead to injury, too. In some cases, the symptoms of the condition you are treating with medication can put you at risk of an accident. For example, if you are in chronic pain, your mobility may be limited and this can affect your driving. In some cases, symptoms can develop if you are allergic to your medication, and these reactions can affect your ability to drive. Discuss symptoms with your doctor and pharmacist when evaluating your ability to drive safely.

6) Make sure you are getting adequate rest. Some researchers have speculated that patients who are in chronic pain may be at increased risk of car accidents because they are not sleeping well due to their condition. There have been many studies showing that fatigued driving can lead to car accidents and truck accidents in Coral Gables and communities across the country.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

If you are a parent and have a young driver in the house, keep in mind that young drivers are at greater risk of Coral Springs car accidents when compared with adult drivers. According to research studies, this may be because teen drivers have less driving experience and, as a group, are more prone to risk-taking. As a parent, there are several things you can do:

1) Don’t assume that your teen is safe if they are too young for a driver’s license. Even if your teen is too young for a driver’s license, they may be getting rides with their older friends who have cars. Set rules in place early – well before a 16th birthday. Make sure your teen knows not to get into a car with a drunk or distracted driver. Have your teen know that they can always call you to get a safe ride home – no questions asked

2) The car should be home by 10 PM. Night driving is very different than driving in the daytime, and night driving puts a teen driver at a greater risk of a Coral Springs truck accident or car accident. Until teens develop their driving skills further, they should be prevented from driving too late at night. Parents may also wish to get them some one-on-one instruction with a qualified driving instructor for night driving.

3) Put some rules in place. Have written rules about driving or riding in cars. These rules should include rules about no drinking and no distracted driving. They can also include rules about the number of passengers in the car.

4) Have consequences in place for rules violated. If a teen driver drinks and drives, drives distracted, or otherwise violate the rules that parents have set up for safe driving, the teen should face consequences – such as loss of driving privileges or the loss of other privileges. If your teen knows that they will lose driving privileges or other privileges by driving distracted, they may choose to put their mobile devices and other distractions away when driving.

5) Sign a pledge with your teen not drive distracted or drunk. Signing this sort of pledge together shows that you are both committed to avoiding distracted driving and drunk driving. There many online pledges that you can sign as well as online certificates and pledges that you can print out and sign with your teen.

6) Get your teen additional driver training. Most teens can get a driver’s license with only a very limited number of practical in-car hours and many of those driving hours do not include very focused one-on-one instruction. Additional one-on-one training with a trained driving instructor or defensive driving classes can help develop skills and can reduce the risk of a Coral Springs traffic accident. Racing classes can also be a fun way for your teen to hone skills.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

We’ve all seen drivers who simply look forward, leaning towards the windshield. While drivers do need to focus on the road in front of them, however, driving is about using one’s mirrors and being aware of what is all around the car. Good drivers need to use their mirrors and check their blind spots regularly to prevent a Coral Springs traffic accident. There are many reasons why just focusing ahead can cause a Coral Springs car accident:

1) It can cause a driver to cut someone off. Drivers who do not check their mirrors and blind spots to see who is behind them and beside them when they change lanes can cut off someone who is traveling too closely. In some cases, this can easily lead to a Coral Springs truck accident or car accident.

2) It can cause a driver to drift into lanes without signaling. Not being aware of drivers behind you can make signaling seem less important. Seeing other drivers around you and being aware of them reinforces the fact that you need to warn others before you change lanes or make any unexpected moves.

3) It can mean discourteous driving. Not being aware of drivers behind and beside you can mean that you are not anticipating other drivers and therefore not being courteous. For example, you may not notice that the driver behind you is trying to speed up so as not to be caught running a red light, or you may not notice that a driver is trying to merge behind you. Being aware lets you drive more courteously, which is safer and helps prevent road rage as well.

4) It can mean being unaware of dangerous drivers behind you. In many cases, preventing a Coral Springs motorcycle accident or traffic accident means driving defensively – something you can only do if you are aware of the traffic beside you, in front of you, and behind you. Noticing traffic around you in time can help you prevent a serious car accident.

Keeping your eyes on the road is important, but it is also important to remember that keeping your eyes on the road means using your mirrors and checking your blind spots, too. Being aware of everything around you means safer streets for everyone. Of course, being aware of traffic around you also means eliminating distracted driving. Driving while distracted makes it all but impossible to keep a close eye on all traffic, which is one reason why distracted drivers are more likely to be in an accident – they tend to only look ahead when driving.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

There is a lot of press coverage about Coral Gables car accidents and Florida car collisions caused by distracted driving, but a new study from the Society of Automotive Engineers suggests that incorrect use of turn signals causes many more traffic accidents each year – up to 2 million accidents nationally each year.

According to the study, drivers either fail to turn their signals off or completely neglect using the signals when changing lanes 48% of the time. Researchers also found that drivers do not use signals correctly 25% of the time when making a turn. This means that drivers on US roads fail to use turn signals correctly 750 billion times each year – or about 2 billion times each year. This results it about 2 million accidents, while distracted driving is linked to 950 000 collisions each year.

While drivers are required to use turn signals, the lack of compliance shown in the study is a serious concern. Significantly, this is the first time that the problem has been studied by researchers and experts at the Society of Automotive Engineers hope that the study’s findings will result in more awareness of the problem. Using turn signals correctly is vital in preventing Coral Gables truck accidents and traffic accidents across the country.

While no studies have been done to determine how much police focus on enforcement of lack of turn signals, researchers believe that there is less focus on incorrect use of turn signals, when compared with red light running and other traffic violations. Researchers at the Society of Automotive Engineers do believe that in addition to more enforcement, technology may be able to help with the problem. Devices that can turn off signals automatically after a driver changes lane, for example, might be able to help. Devices that remind drivers to turn on their signals when they fail to do so could also possibly help drivers become more aware of the problem and more likely to eventually start using turn signals consistently. The Smart Turn Signal system is already available and is getting some approval from experts. However, making the device standard in vehicles may still be far off into the future.

In the meantime, there are several things that drivers can do to help avoid Coral Gables traffic accidents. Being aware of turn signal use and using turn signals correctly is a good place to start. Helping to raise awareness about the importance of turn signals is another important step. Using turn signals is vital in ensuring that other drivers know your intentions.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

In Florida, a state with a high percentage of elderly residents, the debate about elderly drivers has been a long-standing discussion. There are some studies that suggest that older drivers are not at greater risk of car accidents than younger drivers. However, there are also studies such as the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study and the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, which found that between 1999 and 2004, the rates in car accidents for seniors ages 75 to 84 is about the same as for younger teen drivers. The studies found that for drivers who are over 85, the death rate is about four times higher than it is for teen drivers.

The US Census Bureau predicts that by 2030, there will be 9.6 million residents in the US who are 85 years of age or older, meaning more elderly drivers on the road. This has raised concerns about the dangers for drivers and pedestrians. According to experts, there are many risks for elderly drivers when it comes to Coral Springs traffic accidents. For example, dementia and a number of other age-related illnesses are often slow to be recognized, yet can cause problems with cognition and driving skills even before diagnosed. As well, elderly drivers may have vision problems which have not yet been diagnosed or treated but which may be serious enough to cause Coral Springs car accidents.

There have been a number of suggestions made about ways to reduce car accident rates among elderly drivers:

1) Improve transportation options to reduce car dependency. One of the reasons many elderly drivers are reluctant to give up their driving privileges is because they worry that doing so will reduce their independence. Offering a number of transportation options, including shuttle services and other low-cost options, can help make it easier for the elderly to get around without having to rely on their cars.

2) Create legislation that would make it mandatory for seniors to renew their licenses in person. According to a 1995 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, this is the only method that has been scientifically tested and found to reduce fatal car accidents among seniors.

3) Mandate more frequent health and eye checks for senior drivers. While this proposal has been suggested, it has raised quite a bit of controversy. Of course, adults at any age can develop eye problems and health conditions which can make it dangerous for them to drive. Some people claim that asking only senior drivers to get eye checks and health checks for driving privileges is discriminatory. Others, however, argue that since the elderly are more susceptible to health related problems that can affect their driving ability, such tests could reduce the number of Coral Springs pedestrian accidents and traffic accidents.

4) Mandate regular road tests for elderly drivers. Some legislators have proposed instituting regular, even yearly, road tests for senior drivers. Again, this is controversial because it suggests that drivers of certain age groups are more dangerous than drivers of other age groups. Nevertheless, some experts have suggested that such regular testing would help reduce the number of Coral Springs traffic accidents.

5) Improve communication between health care providers and the DMV. In many cases, healthcare providers are the first to realize that a person has a serious condition which could potentially affect their driving abilities. Some have suggested that better communication between healthcare providers, occupational therapists, and others would help improve safety for all drivers, including senior drivers.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog

There is no doubt that texting while driving is dangerous. Each year, Coral Gables car accidents are caused by distracted driving. In fact, car collisions across Florida are caused regularly by drivers who are thinking about or engaged with someone other than driving. Numerous studies have shown that the use of mobile devices while driving is dangerous – yet Florida remains one of only 15 states not to ban texting while driving.

Last year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) called for a national ban on all mobile device use while driving. The NTSB wants to ban not only texting and driving, but the use of any mobile device for any reason other than an emergency. The agency even wants to prohibit hands-free devices. The recommendation comes after a number of high-profile studies have suggested that mobile devices play a role in many traffic collisions. According to the National Safety Council, 28% of all car accidents in the US are caused by drivers who text or talk on cell phones while driving. As well, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced that in 2011, 3092 traffic fatalities in the US occurred in crashes that were caused at least in part by a distracted driver.

Some experts have compared distracted driving to drunk driving. At one time, there were few laws and social pressures to prevent people from driving after drinking. However, growing awareness about the dangers as well as increasing numbers of Coral Gables drunk driving accidents and US drunk driving accidents pushed legislators and the general public into action. New laws, coupled with public education have made most Coral Gables drivers aware that drinking and driving leads to Coral Gables traffic accidents.

There has been a similar trend with distracted driving, argue experts. At one time, cell phone use while driving was not seen as a serious problem. However, advocacy groups and even celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey have spoken out about the dangers of distracted driving.

Legislators in a number of states have passed laws banning texting and driving. Federal rules already prohibit commercial drivers from texting and driving. If experts are correct, the wide-spread acceptance of the dangers of distracted driving is next, and distracted driving will be seen as socially unacceptable – and may be as widely illegal – as drunk driving.

Until a ban is in place across the nation, Florida lawmakers continue their efforts to pass legislation regarding distracted driving. Advocacy groups in Coral Gables and across Florida continue to raise awareness about the issue and each day drivers make the right decision to turn off their mobile devices before getting in their cars. The court system also allows victims of distracted drivers to take legal remedies. If you have been injured in a Coral Gables pedestrian accident or traffic accident caused by a distracted driver, you can seek legal redress for your injuries, medical costs, lost income, and other damages.

Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog