Florida Accident Attorney Blog

With the holiday season in full swing and another year drawing to a close, Floridians are naturally in a festive mood. Between company parties and family gatherings, there's no shortage of opportunities to celebrate. Florida is also a hot vacation spot for people needing a break from the colder climates. This means Orlando and other Central and South Fla. hotels, restaurants, and night clubs are enjoying the extra holiday business boost.

However, holiday celebrations also come with the risk of people drinking and driving. In fact, according to a recent report in the Orlando Sentinel, 35 percent of all Florida auto accident deaths over the December and New Year's holidays last year involved alcohol impaired driving. That's more than one-third of Fla. traffic accident deaths involving alcohol.

Florida Highway Patrol has announced that it will be out in force this holiday season to try to curb these preventable drunk driving traffic accidents. Florida participates in the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, designed to stop drunk drivers before they hurt themselves or other Fla. motorists. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which sponsors the national campaign, estimates some 11,000 people were killed in the U.S. last year due to drunk drivers.

As an experienced Orlando, FL car crash injury attorney knows from work with clients, holiday celebrations can turn to grief in a heartbeat when someone who has been drinking gets behind the wheel and causes an auto accident. The Florida Highway Patrol advises motorists to never drink and drive, and to designate a sober driver when celebrating over the holidays. In addition, Fla. motorists who spot erratic, aggressive, or suspected drunk drivers may call in their tips to the Florida Highway Patrol from their cell phones at *FHP (*347).

Though Florida traffic accident deaths have declined in recent years, in keeping with a nationwide trend, we still have much more work to do to make Fl. roads and highways safer for all motorists. NHTSA reported that for 2008, Florida alcohol-impaired driving fatalities amounted to 875 lives lost on our roads and highways. Florida traffic deaths are most numerous in the counties with the highest populations, the top five being Miami-Dade County, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Hillsborough County, and Orange County, Florida. (Source: NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts Florida 2004 -2008)

So be careful out there while driving on Florida city streets, back roads, and highways. Have a safe and happy holiday season.

Related Florida Accident Attorney Articles:

Driving Drowsy in South Florida : Why Sleep Deprived Driving Can Be as Bad as Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol (Aug. 2011)

Florida Ranks Fourth for Worst Drivers in the Nation, Insurance Study Reports (Nov. 2011)

Sources:

Florida Highway Patrol warns drivers to stay off the road during holidays
Orlando Sentinel Dec. 20, 2011

Cops Warn “Drive Sober Or Get Pulled Over”
CBS Miami Dec. 20, 2011

Related Web Resources:

FHP CRACKS DOWN ON IMPAIRED DRIVING DURING HOLIDAY SEASON (PDF)
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles press release, Dec. 15, 2011

NHTSA: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign

It's a common site in Florida, whether you're driving up and down I-95 or cruising along a Miami, Fla. city street. Floridians are talking up a storm on their cell phones, as though they were in their own offices or kitchens. Automobiles have, in many ways, become home offices on wheels. With the proliferation of Internet enabled cellphones -- along with GPS devices, on-board DVD players, high-end stereo systems, and other tech extras available on newer cars -- yesterday's driving distractions, such as eating or adjusting the radio knobs, seem quaint in comparison.

The problem of distracted driving due to talking and texting on cell phones has received increased attention in the media -- with some public safety experts putting the problem on par with that of drunken driving.

In light of recent high-profile catastrophic motor vehicle accidents where driver texting was blamed, the U.S. government has made a recommendation sure to spark heated debate: Ban ALL cell phone usage while driving, except in case of emergency. That includes talking on cell phones, including both handheld and hands-free devices, as well as texting behind the wheel.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced this week that it recommends a total ban on cell phone usage while driving. The announcement came after a summit meeting held in the wake of a tragic traffic accident in Mo. in 2010 involving a pickup truck, two school buses and a commercial truck cab. The 19-year-old pickup truck driver in this truck accident had reportedly sent multiple text messages in the minutes leading up to the crash. A chain reaction traffic accident occurred when the pickup slammed into a tractor-trailer cab that had slowed for construction, with a school bus crashing on top of the smaller vehicle. In the end, the pickup truck driver and a teenage school bus occupant were killed, with 38 people sustaining minor and serious injuries.

A report in The Miami Herald states that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates 4,000 people killed in traffic crashes due to distracted driving, including cellphone use, last year.

Miami FL car accident injury lawyers work with families when someone is injured or killed in a traffic accident, due to the fault of another driver. Many factors may contribute to a Florida driver making a fatal error in judgment. Sadly today, the electronic devices that make our lives more convenient have in fact become a serious and sometimes deadly distraction for drivers.

Debate will continue at the state level as to how Florida and other states will respond to the NTSB recommendation. The Miami Herald reported that Florida State Rep. Irv Slosberg (D-Boca Raton) is sponsoring a bill for 2012 (HB 187) that would prohibit use of hand-held cellphones and other electronic devices by drivers under 18 and for all schoolbus drivers. In addition, The Palm Beach Post reports that in the Florida Senate, Sen. Thad Altman (R-Viera) has a bill (SB 930) that would ban youth younger than 18 from using a phone while driving, and Sen. Nancy Detert (R-Venice) is behind a ban on texting while driving (SB 416).

Currently, Florida has no such restrictions on using cell phones while driving.

Sources:

Federal safety experts urge crackdown on behind the wheel texting, cellphone use
Associated Press via Miami Herald Dec. 13, 2011

NTSB Recommends Nationwide Ban on Driver Cellphone Usage
FoxNews.com Dec. 13, 2011

Florida not so friendly to NTSB-suggested ban on texting, phoning while driving
The Palm Beach Post News Dec. 13, 2011

Related Web Resources:

Highway Accident Report: Gray Summit, MO: Collision Involving Two School Buses, a Bobtail and a Passenger Vehicle, August 5, 2010
NTSB website, collected Dec. 13, 2011

State Cell Phone Use and Texting While Driving Laws
Governors Highway Safety Administration Dec. 2011

As an experienced Fort Myers FL car accident injury lawyer knows all too well -- teenagers, alcohol and/or drugs, and driving is a dangerous and potentially fatal combination. Now a new government study shows a link between parents who drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and their children's likelihood to repeat the same high-risk driving behaviors.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released a report entitled, "Data Spotlight: Adolescents Living with a Parent Who Drives Under the Influence Are at Increased Risk for Driving Under the Influence Themselves." Data was collected from households surveyed from 2002 to 2009, across the U.S. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual average of 932,000 youth ages 16 to 17 (11.5 percent) drove under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs in the 12 months prior to the interview.

The study found that parents play a key role in preventing their teens from drinking and driving, and thereby helping them avoid drunk driving car crashes. Too often we read newspaper headlines in Florida about promising young lives cut short because teenagers were partying and drinking under aged, got behind the wheel, and then crashed their automobile. The SAMHSA study concluded that parents who model responsible driving behaviors can help their teenage drivers learn to do the same.

However the study also found that in homes where one or more parents drove under the influence of alcohol or drugs -- the children were far more likely to engage in the same destructive driving behavior. Of note:

18.3 percent of 16 and 17 year olds living with a mother who drove under the influence of drugs or alcohol also drove under the influence – as opposed to 10.9 percent of the adolescents who lived with a mother who had not driven under the influence.

The influence of fathers on teens drinking and driving seemed to be even more profound...

21.4 percent of adolescents living with a father who drove under the influence also drove under the influence, as opposed to 8.4 percent of adolescents living with a father who did not drive under the influence.

The agency offers a number of resources for parents who want to teach their children the realities of drinking and driving (see Resources links below). Florida parents might consider these statistics specific to teen driving and drunken driving (DUI) accidents in the Sunshine State:

• Fatalities of teen drivers and passengers (ages 15 to 19) fell by more than 20 percent between 2008 and 2009 -- from 193 to 153 deaths. However, teen drivers continue to over-represent in terms of crash frequency, posting the highest rate of crash involvement of any age group.
• Of the total 2,563 Florida motor vehicle crash deaths in 2009 (all ages), 1,004 (39.2 percent) of these now deceased individuals had been drinking prior to the fatal crash. (Source: Florida Traffic Safety Facts 2010 : Fatalities, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles)

Sources:

New report shows that adolescents are far more likely to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs if they live with a parent that drives under the influence
SAMHSA Press Release Dec. 6, 2011

Adolescents Living with a Parent Who Drives Under the Influence Are at Increased Risk for Driving Under the Influence Themselves (PDF)

Related Web Resources:

UnderageDrinking.SAMHSA.gov

Traffic Safety Marketing: Youth Access to Alcohol

If the unthinkable -- a serious traffic accident -- occurs in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, or elsewhere here in South Florida, drivers want to count on their autos' safety equipment to perform as the manufacturer intended. A current automotive safety recall affects just such a piece of safety equipment. It's one Florida drivers normally forget is there -- until a motor vehicle crash occurs and it deploys. We are talking about air bags. And an ongoing problem with Honda airbags has a Florida connection.

Media reports state that Honda is recalling more than 300K vehicles around the world due to a concern that the air bag could malfunction and cause injury during an auto accident. (Automotive equipment recalls are related to product liability issues.)

According to news reports, the current Honda air bag recall is an expansion of safety recalls of previous years -- over concern that the wrong chemicals were used to make the air bags inflate. This problem could cause airbags to inflate with too much pressure during deployment in an auto crash, causing the inflator to rupture. Drivers and passengers may be at risk of being struck and injured by flying plastic and metal debris (what USA Today calls "shrapnel") traveling through the ruptured airbag, if the faulty airbags deployed during serious car accidents.

Florida Connection to Honda AirBag Safety Recall

USA Today reported that, "The latest injury happened in Florida on Aug. 1, and that prompted Honda -- which thought the four previous recalls had covered all suspect vehicles -- to announce the latest expansion." A Detroit automotive news source added that the Florida Honda airbag accident with injury occurred in a vehicle that had not been recalled, prompting Honda to look at the recall again. The initial Honda air bag recall reportedly took place in Nov. 2008. The combined recalls related to the air bag problem now amount to some 2.8 million vehicles worldwide -- 2.5 million of them in the U.S.

A Fort Lauderdale auto product liability attorney has knowledge pertaining to automotive manufacturer liability and Florida consumers' rights. When a traffic accident with injury or death occurs in Broward County, Fla., an experienced defective product lawyer can work with families to help determine if they may have a case or claim -- when they think their vehicle or auto equipment malfunction may have played a part in the serious traffic accident.

Honda reportedly disclosed that about 20 traffic accidents related to the air bag recall have occurred, including two auto accidents with deaths in the United States. The current vehicles affected are Honda from model years 2001 and 2002: Accord, Civic, Odyssey, Pilot, CR-V and other models. See links below to official Honda website resources for vehicle owners.

Sources:

Honda Recalls 304,000 Vehicles Worldwide For Air-Bag Problem
Huff Post Business Dec. 2, 2011

Honda expands 'shrapnel' air bag recall -- again
USA Today Dec. 2, 2011

Safety group wants Honda fined over recall
The Detroit News Dec. 5, 2011

Related Web Resources:

Honda Automobile Recall Information (look up your VIN here)

Statement by American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Regarding Driver’s Airbag Inflator Recall Expansion (PDF)
Honda Recall Press Release Dec. 1, 2011