Trucking Accidents

Florida Sees Decrease in Drunk Driving Car Accidents

October 10, 2011 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), car accidents involving drunk driving decreased by thirty percent over the last 5 years. Interestingly, the study links the drop in drunk driving, not to greater police enforcement, but to the current poor economy, as the costs associated with drinking at commercial establishments proves to be too expensive.

Yet, despite the significant drop, almost one in fifty of the drivers interviewed admitted that they did drove drunk during the past month. The study noted that at least three hundred thousand people drive drunk every day. Not surprisingly, men between the ages of 21 and 34 are the ones most likely to drink and drive.

The CDC’s study comports to similar one conducted by the NHTSA which also showed a decrease in drunk driver, albeit a smaller reduction. Despite these decreases, someone is either killed or injured on our roadways every hour. Clearly, there is still more work to do to save lives.

Bus Accident in West Palm Beach County Requires Strange Rescue

September 8, 2010 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

In what sounds like a television episode, a recreation vehicle in western Palm Beach County, which was transporting more than a dozen senior citizens, crashed into an embankment on S.R. 80, resulting in personal injuries to two passengers. According to Palm Beach County officials, the single vehicle collision was the result of speed and the wet condition of the roadway.

While the accident itself was not unusual, how the paramedics rescued the occupants was. The crash left the bus stopped at an angle, making it difficult for the elderly occupants to be removed. So, Fire Fighters had to hitch the bus to a fire rescue truck for stability. Then rescuers placed the passengers on a stretcher affixed to a ladder and pulled the passengers out through a window to safety. Sounds like a job for CSI.

Truck Drivers Banned From Texting To Prevent Accidents

January 29, 2010 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

In some good news for drivers throughout Florida, in hopes of preventing deadly truck accidents, the federal government enacted new regulations prohibiting commercial truckers and bus drivers from texting while driving. These overdue restrictions go into effect immediately.

While no one knows who many accidents are caused by commercial driver texting while driving, it is a certainty that such behavior is dangerous and creates a high-risk of accidents. Considering drivers who text generally take their eyes of the road for more than 4 seconds, there a known likelihood of increased collisions.

The federal ban comes on the heals of the actions of many state laws which are being enacted to hopefully curtail this deadly practice. As personal injury lawyers practicing in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach, we are always glad to hear of laws which help protect fellow Floridians from deadly accidents.

Disabled Truck Drivers Cause Many Deadly Accidents

July 21, 2008 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

According to a recent government report, many truck accidents, especially those resulting in wrongful death, particularly in Florida, are caused by truck drivers with diagnosed disabling medical conditions. Even though many of the drivers receive social security disability payments, for seizures, heart attacks or loss of consciousness, thousands of those same truck drivers also have valid commercial driver’s licenses.

One such example is of a Florida bus driver who suffered from lung disease, who admitted he occasionally blacks out. The driver, despite not having a medical certificate, has a valid licenses through 2010. The bus driver apparently has received disability benefits for over fourteen years, as he losses his breath when walking.

Unfortunately, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, who is responsible for overseeing such truck drivers, admitted it has not complied with regulators’ proposals, such as determining if truck drivers are medically safe to drive. We can only hope that Congress will act to insure that the necessary regulation of such truck drivers is implemented before someone else is seriously injured or killed.