Posts tagged "car accidents"

When you hear the "two-second rule" mentioned, you might think about the infamous rule declaring that food dropped on the floor is still safe to consume if you pick it up within two seconds. U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is working hard to make drivers associate the two-second rule with something entirely different.

The longer time you take your eyes of the road, the greater the chance that you'll have an accident. Researchers have discovered that two seconds is the time span when a motorist's diverted eyes become especially deadly. LaHood is using this research to help automakers design vehicles that are less prone to distract drivers.

New Department of Transportation (DOT) guidelines are asking auto manufacturers to design vehicle features that discourage drivers from taking their eyes off the road for longer than 1.5 seconds at a time.

A 19-year-old has been hit with charges following a car crash she caused in Ohio that killed one person and injured many others.

The fatal accident occurred in August when the woman drove the wrong way in her 2002 Ford Explorer down Interstate 75 around midnight in Harrison Township. It is not stated how the woman got into the southbound lanes, but her actions caused an accident that involved multiple vehicles.

As if Ohio motorists didn't have enough road hazards to contend with already, a growing trend is threatening to cause even more auto accidents. If you've never heard of the term "Webbing," you may want to search for it on Google -- just wait until you aren't driving.

The term refers to Web surfing on a cellphone while driving. While police in Ohio and other parts of the country are still trying to prevent drivers from sending and receiving text messages, drivers have yet another bad habit to curb. A nationwide survey that was conducted over the summer found that drivers between the ages of 18 and 29 are the most likely to surf the Web, check their email or update their Facebook status while driving. In fact, the people in this age group who admitted to checking their email while driving increased from 32 percent in 2009 to 43 percent today. And the number of drivers who accessed Facebook and other social media networks rose by 15 percent over the same time period.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 3,000 people died in crashes due to distracted driving in 2010. Another 416,000 people were injured. Distracted driving is proven to be dangerous. However, people in Cincinnati and others elsewhere continue to take risks when they get behind the wheel.

Some states have enacted laws that prohibit the use of cell phones while driving. In Ohio, drivers are prohibited from text messaging while driving. Despite those laws, some people continue to drive dangerously.

The holiday shopping season has arrived in full force, and that means shoppers are everywhere, on foot and on wheels. With all the chaos that preparing for the holidays brings, the Ohio Department of Transportation has put out reminders to the state's residents to be extra mindful of each other and beware of potential accidents.

Even with a substantial increase in online shopping -- Cyber Monday has become one of the busiest shopping days of the year -- there are plenty of people out on the roads and sidewalks. Cincinnati and other major cities in Ohio are seeing congested city centers already, and they will only get busier in the weeks leading up to Christmas. And with busy streets come a higher potential of car accidents and run-ins with pedestrians.

You may assume you're a careful driver. Perhaps you even take pride in your driving habits, always remembering to use your turn signal when turning or changing lanes, following the posted speed limit and always keeping a safe following distance behind other vehicles. All of these practices are good and make Ohio roads safer for other motorists, but even the most conscientious drivers aren't completely immune to car accidents.

If another driver traveling near you makes the mistake of running a red light or following too closely, you could be injured when that driver's car hits you. But even keeping an eye out for erratic drivers offers no guarantees. Many car accidents are the result of a chain reaction, and these crashes can be extremely hard to anticipate and avoid.

Bicycles are a common mode of transportation in and around Ohio colleges and universities. Unfortunately, many drivers fail to yield to them, making many students susceptible to serious injury when tangled up in car accidents.

This is something an Ohio State University student found out in tragic fashion recently. The honor student was on his bicycle one day at the beginning of last month when he was struck by a dump truck, resulting in serious injuries for the 18-year-old. Police believe the collision happened as the dump truck was either entering or leaving a construction site.

A Cincinnati family is in mourning after a crash that killed one of their three young children. The car accident, believed to have been caused by a driver under the influence, points to the vulnerability of not just children, but any pedestrian unfortunate enough to come into contact with a car.

The 3-year-old boy was walking with his mother and 5-year-old brother early Monday morning in the Westwood neighborhood of the city. The mother was pushing her youngest child, a 1-year-old boy, in a stroller. According to police, the family was on their way to a baby sitter, who would take care of the children while their mother was at work. Because it was just after 4 a.m., the sky was still dark as they traveled the sidewalk along McHenry Avenue.

Prozac may be beneficial for people dealing with a variety of mental and emotional problems, such as severe depression. But researchers have found that taking such antidepressant medication as Prozac or Seroxal may create a risk of car accidents that is 70 percent higher than that faced by other drivers. The result is that, while Prozac-taking drivers may feel happier, their presence behind the wheel could possibly put other motorists, passengers (including their own), and pedestrians at serious risk of bodily injury and even death.

The problem may be traced to the same chemicals in the medication that improve an individual's mood. An undesirable side effect may be impaired judgment and reaction time. The researchers who discovered the correlation between taking the antidepressant medication and the risk of traffic accidents have suggested that Prozac users should be advised not to drive.

Although many car accidents are just that -- unintentional crashes in which no harm was intended -- the driver or drivers involved in the crash have some decisions to make in the aftermath. In many cases auto insurance can relieve hard feelings by allowing claims adjusters to determine who should be held at fault, rather than forcing the people involved to duke it out. But in cases where a driver denies responsibility or leaves the scene of the crash, it can be hard for an accident victim to know how to feel or where to turn.

Consider the case of a woman who was accused recently of dragging a man with her car after an accident in Colerain Township, Ohio. Police said the 31-year-old driver rear-ended a pickup truck with her Honda, but that instead of stopping, she continued driving. The pickup driver chased the woman and eventually cornered her vehicle in a cul-de-sac. The driver and his passenger got out, and the passenger later said that when she attempted to flee again, he latched onto the woman's passenger-side window. She continued to drive as the man held onto the car and told her to slow down. He finally let go when the woman's car hit a speed bump, he said, adding that she ran over his ankle in the process.

There has been a lot of focus on the dangers of distracted driving in Ohio in recent years. It's easy to think that the issue is one that's restricted to young people absorbed with their cellphones as they drive. But the reality is that distractions can come from a lot of different sources and they can affect motorists of any age.

The result, as a recent tragic multi-vehicle wreck in Central Ohio reflects, can be serious personal injury and even death. In this particular crash, all the victims were over 60.

Many parents in Ohio and around the United States are recognizing National Child Passenger Safety Week this week. It's an all important safety-awareness week for parents considering that, according to the Safety Administration, car crashes are the number one killer of children under the age of 12 years old.

According to research provided for a safety week statement, child safety seats can reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent in infants and 54 percent in toddlers. This statistic brings up a very important question for parents: is your child in the right car seat?

Ohio's new ban on texting while driving goes into effect today, but it could be quite some time before it's proven effective. In fact, some are doubtful that it will significantly reduce car accidents because similar bans across the country have been difficult to enforce.

The law prohibits drivers from reading or sending text messages while driving. Adult drivers are still allowed to use handheld cellphones for talking and may text if the vehicle is stopped or in case of emergencies. The restrictions are much tighter for drivers 18 and younger, who aren't allowed to use an electronic device of any kind behind the wheel -- for calling, texting or navigation -- even if their vehicle is stopped.

A car accident that seriously injured three passengers last week is still being investigated as police try to determine the identity of the driver, who they say left the scene of the crash on foot. Although the driver appears to be at fault in the crash, he didn't own the car and may not have even had a license, which means that sorting out the liability for the passengers' injuries will be difficult.

The accident happened near Hamilton, Ohio, Thursday night about 11:15 when a driver, who has only been identified as male, lost control of the Ford Taurus and crashed at a set of railroad tracks. Two of the three injured passengers had to be extricated from the vehicle and all three remain hospitalized. A Butler County sheriff's sergeant said the car appeared to have been speeding when it crashed. But if the passengers are even able to tell police who was driving the car, they aren't talking.

Many of us can remember the excitement we felt upon first passing our driver's license test as teenagers. What we may not recall is the inexperience we had at that age with driving a car. Going too fast, being too distracted and taking too many risks are common mistakes of new drivers. Unfortunately, these mistakes often lead to serious car accidents.

A tragic car accident that occurred in Ohio earlier this month killed a teenager and injured four others. The Aug. 8 crash, which involved five members of a high school marching band, provides a tragic reminder of the need for laws written expressly for young, inexperienced drivers.

Do Ohio parents and child caregivers lack knowledge about traffic laws or are they just getting lax about safety? The American Journal of Preventive Medicine recently published a study that said while proper use of child safety seats reduces toddler fatalities by an estimated 54 percent and infant deaths by more than 70 percent, too often safety seats are not used properly or are installed incorrectly, leading to more child injuries and deaths.

Traffic accidents cause nearly 180,000 child injuries each year, according to federal health officials. Car accidents are the biggest death risk for children ages 3 and older. The AJPM study included research on more than 21,000 children. Researchers performed on-site studies and driver interviews where children in vehicles were most likely to be -- restaurants, gas stations and day care facilities. The data was matched against a national survey of booster seat use created by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Families often make checklists before leaving on summer vacation. One of the most important is a "safety checklist" to keep children safe while traveling. A checklist like this can prevent child injuries and car accidents, and make your summer vacation more fun.

For instance, always make sure every child is properly buckled in a seat belt before the car is in motion. No small child should ever ride in the front seat. If an air bag deploys, it can severely injure or even kill a small child. Also, make sure that all car seats are properly installed.

Often when we think of car accidents in which one person's negligence causes death or injuries, we tend to assume the driver of another vehicle is at fault. But sometimes, unfortunately, drivers' mistakes can cause harm to their own passengers. The aftermath of these accidents can be especially complicated and painful because the person who caused the accident is often close to the victims, and when survivors are looking for someone to blame, they must point the finger at a friend or family member.

A car accident that occurred just north of Cincinnati this week is a prime example. A 21-year-old woman was driving in Butler County when she approached state Highway 4. At the same time, a pickup truck was heading south on the highway. According to a preliminary investigation of the crash, the woman failed to yield to traffic before pulling out onto the road, and her car was broadsided by the pickup truck.

Although car accidents involving pedestrians are almost always serious, the risk of critical injuries is even higher when the victim is a child. Children are smaller and they may not be able to avoid an oncoming car as easily, and in the case of very young children, they may not remember to look both ways before crossing a street. Regardless of the child's age, however, it's important to keep in mind that in a serious accident, the boy or girl injured is not to blame and it's the duty of the driver involved to stop and render aid.

Unfortunately, a driver failed to live up to this duty in an accident that happened one night last month in southwestern Ohio. A 14-year-old boy suffered serious injuries when he was hit by an SUV in Scioto County. But instead of stopping to help the boy, the driver left the scene.

Automotive technological advances have undoubtedly helped increase the safety of motor vehicles on the road, but a new study by the Highway Loss Data Institute has also found some safety precautions that are lacking.

Safety features including fatigue warning systems, adaptive headlamps, lane departure warning systems and crash avoidance have been around for only a few years, but have had very positive reviews for automakers including Volvo, Acura and Mercedes-Benz. In fact, the number of car accidents in vehicles with the advances of adaptive headlights and autonomous braking systems has decreased about 10 percent.