Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog

Two days after a 73-year-old motorist ran her vehicle through a sliding glass door at the Linden Ponds assisted-living community in Hingham, Massachusetts authorities suspended her driver’s license, according to The Patriot Ledger.

Luckily, no one was injured in the Massachusetts car accident. Linden Ponds Executive Director Ian Brown was thankful that there wasn’t much damage to the Birch Creek residential building. Sgt. Steven Dearth said Hingham police made a request for an “immediate-threat” license suspension for the North Quincy woman. Police were unable to cite the woman for a traffic violation because the accident happened inside a gated community and not on a public roadway.

Our Boston personal injury attorneys understand that there is a time, that will come for all of us, when we may no longer be able to effectively and safely operate a motor vehicle. Residents are urged to look around to their elderly friends and family members to see if any of them may be at risk for a serious accident on our roadways. This may be a tough subject to approach with a loved one, but it’s worth the conversation when it can mean saving their life.

According to officers, the accident happened when the driver was trying to back out of a handicapped parking spot in front of the Birch Creek building. Her vehicle shot over the curb and the grass and plowed straight through the sliding glass door of a ground-floor apartment. It came to rest in the bathroom of that apartment. The elderly driver was able to back out of the apartment before police arrived at the scene.

The driver said that she thought she put the car in reverse before accelerating the first time. She had actually put it in drive, according to officers. The driver has not been identified because she is not facing any charges.

Everyone ages differently. It is important to keep an eye out for warning signs in both you and your loved ones to help determine when it’s time to stop driving. According to helpguide.org, elderly drivers are more likely to get traffic citations and are more likely to get into a traffic accident than younger drivers. Fatal accident rates increase significantly after a driver reaches the age of 70. Factors including decreased vision, impaired hearing and slowed motor reflexes.

Here are 10 warning signs from AARP that may hint that you need to talk to your elderly loved ones to stop driving, for their own safety:

-Almost getting into accidents, with frequent “close calls.”

-Discovering dents and scrapes on a car or on property, such as fences, mailboxes, garage doors, curbs, etc.

-Frequently getting lost.

-Difficulty seeing or following traffic signals, road signs and pavement markings.

-A delayed response time to unexpected situations on the road, difficulty moving feet from the gas pedal to the brake pedal or confusing the two.

-The inability to judge gaps in traffic at intersections and on highway entrance and exit ramps.

-Road rage behind the wheel or having other drivers frequently honk.

-Becoming easily distracted or having a difficulty concentrating while driving.

-Difficulty turning around to check over their shoulder while backing up or changing lanes.

-Getting multiple traffic tickets or “warnings” from traffic or law enforcement officers.

We understand that it might be very difficult for you to make this call for your loved one. It’s important to remember that their safety and the safety of others comes first in this decision. Don’t be afraid to have the conversation with them if need be.
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A Massachusetts car accident left a 34-year-old Boston man dead after he lost control of the vehicle he was driving and flipped on Interstate 95 South near the Newport Avenue exit, according The Sun Chronicle.

The driver was taken to the Rhode Island Hospital in Providence where he was pronounced dead.

According to state police and fire officials, the single-car accident happened around 1:00 a.m. between the Newport Avenue exit and the South Avenue exit. The vehicle sustained extensive damage. After flipping on the Interstate, it came to rest driver’s side down with the top of the car against the guardrail. The victim was reportedly trapped inside the vehicle for about an hour. He was eventually freed by firefighters who had to use two sets of hydraulic-cutting tools and an assortment of other equipment to get him out and to prevent the car from toppling over.

Our Boston personal injury attorneys understand the a number of vehicles have a history of rollover accidents. The vehicle you choose can have a significant impact on your safety on the roadway. You are urged to check out safety ratings of vehicles before making a purchase and to understand your car’s limits when driving on busy roads such as Interstates.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation. State police accident reconstruction experts are looking into the incident. During the initial investigation, multiple lanes were closed on the Interstate for about three hours.

According to government statistics, rollover accidents account for about one-third of all accident fatalities, or about 10,000 fatalities a year over the past decade. Earlier this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a new rule aimed at enhancing side air bag systems. It seeks to reduce fatalities in the event of a rollover accident by providing more cushioning and also by preventing ejection from the vehicle.

“Safety is our highest priority,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This new standard will help save lives and reduce injuries by requiring vehicles to have a safety system that keeps occupants in the vehicle in a rollover crash.”

Ejection accounts for the majority of the fatalities that result from rollover accidents. Over the last 10 years, nearly 50 percent of those killed in a rollover accident were ejected from the vehicle. Accident studies report that most of these ejections occur through the side windows.

Through the new rule, the NHTSA will be requiring that all manufacturers enlarge side curtain air bags, make them more robust so that they stay inflated longer and set them to deploy in all types of serious accidents. The new air bags are also required to be designed so that they keep occupants from being ejected from the vehicle, even when the windows are down or when the passenger is not be wearing a seat belt. Engineers are even using special glass in the side windows — a unique glazing aims to prevent the glass from shattering in the event of an accident.

You can expect these new airbags to start showing up on vehicles as early as 2013. They will be on all new vehicles in 2017. These new airbag rules apply to all vehicles that weigh less than 10,000 pounds. The NHTSA expects that this new rule will save an average of 373 lives and prevent 476 serious injuries each year.

“Rollover crashes are the deadliest of all crash types and this is another important step in our efforts to reduce fatalities and serious injuries that result from them,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. “When fully implemented, we believe this standard will prevent on average 373 fatalities and 476 serious injuries every year.”
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Another Massachusetts jurisdiction shot down the idea of red-light cameras. Recently, residents gathered at the annual meeting in Raynham and voted 104 to 95 against the idea of petitioning the legislature for permission to install red-light cameras at a number of intersections. Reynham has a population of about 11,000 and all qualified inhabitants were allowed to vote on the issue. Residents want to keep enforcement efforts as they are and don’t agree that these cameras will be beneficial in preventing intersection car accidents in Massachusetts.

Currently, our state does not allow these red-light cameras. Lawmakers have been able so far to resist all attempts to pass authorizing legislation. American Traffic Solutions (ATS) has been trying to take their campaign to small town officials, according to The Truth About Cars. ATS is a privately-owned company that keeps looking at city officials as a means for building new business.

Our Boston personal injury attorneys understand that drivers firmly stand on both sides of the issue regarding these red-light cameras. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), roughly two-thirds of drivers in 14 big cities that have the cameras support their functions. A recent study from the IIHS even concludes that these cameras have reduced the rate of deadly red light running accidents by nearly 25 percent in these same cities.

ATS is no stranger to Massachusetts lawmakers as they’ve previously hired marketing companies to try and persuade Boston officials to launch the red-light program. Previous efforts cost more than $161,000.

Although a majority of big cities support the use of these cameras, there are some opponents. A number of residents view these cameras as an invasion of privacy and tools that are being used specifically to generate revenue for the city. Either way, the IIHS reports that that the issue has gained more supporters than opponents.

“Most drivers don’t buy the argument that it’s somehow wrong to enforce the law just because you’re using a camera to do it,” says Anne McCartt, the Institute’s senior vice president for research. “They understand that this technology is preventing crashes in their cities.”

The Institute study that was released earlier this year illustrated just how effective these cameras are. The study took U.S. cities with populations over 200,000 and compared those that have cameras to those that don’t. These red-light cameras reportedly saved nearly 200 lives in cities that had cameras from 2004 to 2008. The Institute estimates that more than 800 lives have been saved if these cameras had been operating during those years in all large U.S. cities.

Of more than 3,000 people interviewed about the cameras:

-More than 9 of 10 drivers surveyed reported that running a red light is unacceptable.

-More than 8 of 10 say that it a serious threat to personal safety.

-Two-thirds of drivers support red-light cameras.

-More than 40 percent strongly favor the cameras.

-A majority of them say the cameras have made intersections safer.

-Half of surveyed drivers know someone who has gotten a ticket at an intersection with a red-light camera.

-Nearly 20 percent have gotten a ticket themselves.

-Only about half of drivers that received a ticket believe that it was deserved.

-About a fifth of drivers said that they support cameras but are opposed to right-on-red enforcement.

-More than 40 percent of drivers support using cameras for right-on-red violations.

“Right-on-red violations usually aren’t associated with T-bone crashes, but they make intersections much more dangerous for pedestrians in particular,” McCartt says. “The survey results show cities need to do a better job explaining this issue to drivers.”
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A number of new systems may be hitting Massachusetts roadways to help track lost or confused older drivers. OnStar and GM’s signature services have always been able to locate vehicles that were equipped with these systems, but for the first time they’re available as add-ons to non-General Motors vehicles. These systems aim to keep track of senior drivers and help prevent car accidents in Massachusetts.

The Alzheimer’s Association markets a number of devices under a program called “Comfort Zone.” These devices include CalAmp tracker and the Sendum tracker. Both of the devices can be yours for less than $300, with an activation fee of $45 and a monthly fee of $44.99. For some, these systems may be worth every penny as they’re able to locate a vehicle in less than 15 minutes.

In today’s economy, our Boston personal injury attorneys understand that this might be a bit pricey. Other devices cost less than $100 to install and only charge of a monthly fee of $14.95. With these devices you can locate either a vehicle or the person carrying the device once a day.

The OnStar system was previously offered on new GM vehicles. But this week launched availability on most all vehicles. This system has a GPS-based feature that allows the contract holder to request information regarding the vehicle’s location. This information is typically obtained through a local law enforcement agency.

Some of the OnStar systems can be housed in your vehicle’s rear-view mirror. Not only is the contract holder able to locate a vehicle if it has turned up missing, but the system can also be used to get specific turn-by-turn directions.

The Silver Alert is another system that many places are using to specifically target older drivers. The program was started in Oklahoma in 2005. The Silver Alert program is designed to quickly disseminate descriptive information about a missing person. With quick information distributions, citizens in the affected area can be on the lookout for the missing person and then can notify local law enforcement with any relevant information. Silver Alerts are typically broadcast on signs on the Interstate highways and toll roads. Currently Silver Alert requirements state that a resident must be 60-years-old or older and there must be “a clear indication:” that the elderly person is suffering from some deterioration of “intellectual facilities.”

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 60 percent of Alzheimer’s patients will, at least at one point in their life, wander off and become lost. For this reason, it is important that we keep an eye on our older loved ones and to do your part to help them reach a decision about when it’s time to hang up the keys.
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