Anaheim Personal Injury Law Blog

California residents who use their own vehicles for work purposes may find themselves being distracted by texts and phone calls while behind the wheel. As the mobile workforce is increasingly becoming connected, this is not surprising. Nevertheless, it is still a dangerous trend. Motus, the vehicle management workforce company, has some interesting things to say about these hazards in its 2018 Distracted Driving Report.

Motus found that the percentage of mobile workers who own smartphones rose from 55 to 77 between 2013 and 2017. In that same period, the number of car accidents that mobile workers were in increased from 5.7 million to 6.4 million. The report also mentions a substantial spike in smartphone ownership and in accidents involving property damage, injuries or fatalities between 2014 and 2016.

Traffic lights and stop signs depend on drivers in California obeying the signals or judging traffic correctly before entering an intersection. When drivers fail to do the right things, accidents causing serious injuries and fatalities sometimes result. Roundabouts, however, have emerged as an effective method for transportation officials to improve safety at the intersections of rural highways. Roundabouts slow traffic and only require people to check to the left as they navigate the intersection. The shape of the roundabouts physically forces vehicles to slow down and reduces the severity of wrecks when they do happen.

Although roundabouts do not lower the number of intersection accidents, people in roundabout crashes generally only have minor injuries instead of catastrophic ones. For example, one state transportation department spent $1.2 million to build a roundabout at a rural intersection known for disastrous accidents. Engineers predicted that the roundabout would prevent approximately $2.5 million in costs to injured people every year by limiting the force of crashes. Transportation officials expected the roundabout to lessen injuries by 89 percent compared to the previous history at that location.

It is wise after any accident to take photo and video evidence of the scene. Also, seek security footage from nearby businesses and homes that may depict the collision and gather written or recorded statements from witnesses, whether the collision involves commercial vehicles or not.

However, unlike consumer car accidents, collisions involving commercial trucks often affect many parties and generate several additional layers of legal complexity a victim must deal with when building an injury or property damage claim. Because of the massive amount of damage that such a vehicle can create, lawsuits around commercial truck accidents often take a significant amount of time to resolve. Building the strongest case possible is important for any victim.

Commercial motor vehicle drivers in California will want to prepare themselves for the annual Brake Safety Week held by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. In fact, all drivers should keep their brakes in good working order; improperly installed or poorly maintained brakes will increase stopping distance and raise the risk for accidents, especially rear-end collisions. The CVSA has scheduled its event for September 16 to 22.

During last year's Brake Inspection Day, 14 percent of the inspections that were conducted ended in vehicles being put out of service for brake-related violations. This year, the percentage of out-of-service orders may go up since personnel will be conducting mostly Level I inspections. These 37-step procedures check for driver compliance in addition to vehicle safety.