Anaheim Personal Injury Law Blog

Opioids cause psychomotor and cognitive impairment, so those who take opioids and drive raise their risk for a car crash. In California and across the U.S., the opioid crisis is contributing to car crash rates, but there is debate as to whether rates are rising. One study shows that while 2% of crash initiators had opioids in their system in 1993, that percentage was 7.1% in 2016. On the other hand, fewer opioid prescriptions are being written.

A study in JAMA Network Open has touched upon this controversy but has not cleared it up. Instead, researchers looked at the possible role that opioid use has in fatal two-car crashes. Using NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, they looked at 1,467 opioid-using drivers who were involved in such crashes and discovered that 918 of them were the crash initiators.

Drowsy driving is a major hazard on roads in California and across the country. Unfortunately, the problem becomes worse when daylight saving time ends each year, according to traffic safety advocates.

The National Sleep Foundation reports that over 6,400 Americans are killed and 50,000 are injured in drowsy driving car accidents each year. This occurs even though a AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety survey found that 96% of U.S. drivers identify drowsy driving as a top roadway safety hazard. Studies show that setting clocks back an hour can increase fatigue-related crashes by interrupting the sleep patterns of drivers, making it harder to concentrate and stay alert behind the wheel.

Each year, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance sponsors Operation Safe Driver Week to promote awareness among commercial and passenger car drivers regarding negative driver behavior. Although the CVSA is an organization that focuses on commercial vehicle safety, it recognizes that safety on California roadways and throughout the nation depends on all drivers, in all types of vehicles, adhering to the rules of the road.

According to the CVSA, 94% of all vehicle crashes involve some contribution of driver behavior. If, through the issuance of the 46,752 citations and 87,624 warnings made during this year's Operation safe Driver Week, accidents involving semi-trucks and tractor-trailers can be reduced, everyone wins. Speeding, including violation of the basic speed law and driving too fast for the road conditions, was the number one violation for which commercial drivers were cited. Others high on the list included failure to wear a seat belt, failure to obey a traffic control device, use of a handheld phone and improper lane change.

California motorists may have noticed several high-profile road rage incidents in the news lately, including the story of a Wisconsin woman who was shot dead while trying to teach her teen son to drive. Unfortunately, these incidents are not isolated.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, fatal road rage accidents have spiked significantly. In 2006, there were only 80 deadly road rage incidents, but that number skyrocketed to 467 in 2015. Meanwhile, a nonprofit news agency reported that incidents involving drivers who threaten other drivers with a gun or fire a gun at other motorists jumped from 247 in 2014 to 620 in 2016. In addition, a survey from the American Automobile Association's Foundation for Traffic Safety found that almost 80% of U.S. drivers admit to displaying anger, aggression or road rage behind the wheel in the last 12 months. For instance, 51% admit they have tailgated on purpose, 47% admit to yelling at other motorists, 45% admit to honking their horn out of annoyance or anger, and 33% admit to making obscene gestures. Worse, 24% of those polled said they have tried to block another vehicle from making a lane change, 12% said they have purposely cut off other vehicles, 4% said they have left their vehicle to confront another motorist, and 3% have actually hit another driver on purpose.