California Injury Lawyers Blog

Findings from a new study by the Highway Loss Data Institute are raising questions over whether distracted driving laws that ban texting and the use of handheld cellular devices while driving is having any effect. The answer may be no.

The HLDI examined insurance claims from car crashes in California, Washington DC, New York, and Connecticut after such bans became laws. Not only did claims rates not go down but also there was no noticeable change in patterns when findings from these states were compared to nearby states where bans have not been instituted.

HLDI says it is gathering more information to find out why there has been no improvement in car crash rates in the wake of the cell phone and/or texting while driving bans. It said that one reason may be that more drivers are using handsfree phones now that handheld devices are off limits.

Contrary to earlier misconceptions, talking on a handsfree cell phone while driving is actually quite dangerous and can also lead to distracted driving car accidents. On January 12, the National Safety Council announced that at least 1.6 million US car crashes each year involved drivers texting or talking on their cell phones.

Our Anaheim car accident lawyers are concerned about the number of Orange County, California car crashes that continue to happen because drivers are texting or talking an a cell phone. Fortunately for the injury victim and his/her family, there are ways to obtain recovery from liable parties.

Meantime, the federal government continues to take steps in its bid to win the fight against distracted driving with a national ban that now makes it illegal for commercial bus and truck drivers to text while driving. Recent findings show that texting increases a commercial truckers' crash risk by up to 23 times.

Study: Distracted driving laws don't stop crashes, Washington Post, January 29, 2010

U.S. Bans Texting by Truck and Bus Drivers, BusinessWeek, January 26, 2010

National Safety Council Estimates that At Least 1.6 Million Crashes are Caused Each Year by Drivers Using Cell Phones and Texting, National Safety Council, January 12, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Cell Phone Laws, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Distraction.gov, US Department of Transportation

Continue reading "Number of California Car Crashes Not Going Down Despite Handheld Cell Phone and Texting while Driving Bans, Says HLDI" »

16 months after the September 12, 2008 Chatsworth train accident involving a Metrolink train colliding with a Union pacific freight train, the National Transportation Safety Board is confirming initial reports that train engineer Robert Sanchez sent text messages before running a red light and crashing a Metrolink train into a Union Pacific freight train. Sanchez and 24 other people died in the Los Angeles County train collision that derailed seven freight cars. Over 130 people were injured.

While some witnesses have said that the light was green, radio communications analysis and dispatch-center records indicate that the light was red. According to federal investigators, Sanchez was supposed to let a dispatcher know that he saw the last two signals warning him that he needed to stop the train. He also received/sent 43 text messages on the day of the train accident. The last text was transmitted 23 seconds before the train crash. NTSB investigators say that Sanchez usually sent more texts when he was working than when he was off the clock.

The NTSB says the deadly collision might have been avoided if a "positive train control" system was in place. This stops a Metrolink train if it runs a red signal.

Texting while Driving
Text messaging while driving any vehicle is very dangerous. This distracted driving activity raises a driver's crash risk significantly, turning a seemingly harmless form of communication into a cause of fatality and serious personal injuries for vehicle occupants, pedestrians, and train passengers. Texting requires a person to take their eyes off the road and at least one (if not both) hands of the steering wheel. It also slows a driver's reaction time, impairing his/her ability to quickly respond to a possible motor vehicle crash scenario.

Investigators: Light was red in 2008 Chatsworth train crash, despite what witnesses said, Los Angeles Times, January 21, 2010

Expert says train engineer in California sent text messages before fatal crash, New York Times, January 21, 2010

Related Web Resources:
FocusDriven.org

Distraction.gov

Continue reading "Metrolink Train Engineer Involved in Deadly Chatsworth Train Crash Sent Text Messages Prior to Running Red Light and Colliding with Other Train, Confirm NTSB Investigators" »

All but one of the 186 complaints filed against Metrolink over the 2005 train derailment accident on the Glendale border has reportedly been tentatively settled for $39 million. 11 Los Angeles County wrongful death settlements and 15 out of 16 California personal injury settlements have been reached. The rest of the cases involve persons who sustained non-serious injuries.

Over 200 people got hurt when a Metrolink train hit a Jeep Cherokee that Juan Manual Alvarez had left on the train tracks close to Chevy Chase Drive. Until last year's Chatsworth train accident that kill 25 people, the 2005 Glendale train collision was the most catastrophic accident in Metrolink's history. Alvarez is serving 11 life sentences for causing the train derailment.

Recent Los Angeles Train Accidents
On Sunday, a man died in Los Angeles when he was hit by a Metro Blue line train. 65-year-old Ramon Villanueva was standing on the tracks at around 10 am when the deadly train crash happened. The crossing-gate bar, the bell, and lights should have prevented him from crossing the tracks.

Last Wednesday, another 14 people were hurt in a San Fernando Valley train crash when a Metrolink commuter train hit a pickup truck. The truck had just collided with a car before driving into the path of the train.

Six people who were riding in the vehicles were injured---two of them (one of them a baby) were in critical condition. 8 train passengers said they were hurt, but only two victims appear to have been transported to hospitals for minor injuries.

Train Crashes
Each year, about a thousand people are killed in US train crashes. Common causes of train crashes include:

• Negligent train operators
• Train accident with another train
• Engineer errors
• Train defects
• Defective railroad tracks
• Poor maintenance
• A negligent pedestrian or motor vehicle driver
• Toxic or hazardous cargo
• Texting while operating a train

Metrolink reaches tentative $39-million settlement, Burbank Leader, December 30, 2009

Man Killed by Metro Blue Line Train Identified, KTLA, December 28, 2009

LA commuter train hits truck in freak accident, Google/AP, December 23, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Metrolink

California Department of Transportation

Continue reading "Metrolink Tentatively Agrees to $39 Million Los Angeles County Train Accident Settlement Over Deadly 2005 Glendale Derailment " »

Too little sleep doesn't go a long way when it comes to driving safely. According to the National Sleep Foundation's new poll, in the last year alone up to 1.9 million drivers were either in a car crash or almost in one because they were driving while drowsy. Unfortunately, many motorists are unaware that driving while exhausted or sleepy can turn into negligent driving and become grounds for an Orange County, California car accident lawsuit if someone is injured or killed.

Each day, about 250,000 US drivers fall asleep while driving. The National Transportation Safety Board says there are about 8,000 drowsy driving-related deaths and 60,000 serious injuries a year.

Groups most likely to drive while drowsy are young people, shift workers, truck drivers, business travelers, and people with untreated or undiagnosed sleeping disorders. About 40 million people are believed to be suffering from some type of sleeping disorder that may make it hard for them to stay awake during the day.

Drowsy driving, not unlike drunk driving, delays reflex response times, impairs judgment, clouds the mind, and makes it hard for a motorist to pay attention. Some studies indicate that a person who has been awake for over 20 hours exhibits an impairment equivalent to someone with a .08% blood alcohol concentration.

A sleepy driver may not even realize that he or she has nodded off. Even just shutting one's eyes for a few seconds can cause the driver to drift into another lane, into oncoming traffic, or off the road, resulting in an Orange County truck accident, motorcycle crash, pedestrian accident, or bus collision.

In an effort to increase awareness about the dangers of driving while sleepy, National Sleep Foundation has declared November 2 - 8, 2009 Drowsy Driving Prevention week.

Signs you may be drowsy driving:
• Your head keeps nodding downward
• You suddenly notice that you are tailgating the vehicle in front of you
• You can't remember the last few miles that you drove
• You are having a hard time keeping your eyes open
• Focusing on the road is proving a challenge
• You keep yawning
• You just missed your exit

If possible, pull over and take a break. Caffeine helps. A better solution is to get a good night's rest and don't drive while drowsy. If you have to drive for hours at a time, take a break every 2 hours or 100 miles.

1.9 Million Drivers Have Fatigue-Related Car Crashes or Near Misses Each Year, Reuters, November 2, 2009

Drowsy-driving tragedies preventable, Boston.com, August 3, 2009

Related Web Resources:
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

Drowsy Driving, National SLeep Foundation

Continue reading "Sleepy Driving is Distracted Driving Habit that Causes Orange County, California Car Accidents" »

Metrolink has agreed to settle for $30 million the majority of the 150 California train crash lawsuits that were filed against it over the catastrophic 2005 Glendale train accident. The remaining train collision lawsuits--about a dozen of them--are expected to be resolved before the end of the year. Any Metrolink lawsuits over the 2005 crash that are not resolved will go to trial in 2010.

11 people died and approximately 180 others were injured on January 26, 2005 when Juan Manuel Alvarez parked his jeep on train tracks and poured gasoline inside his vehicle in what he claims was a suicide attempt. He says that he had a change of heart at the last minute but couldn't get his vehicle off the tracks so he left it there.

The three-car train crashed into Alvarez's vehicle and derailed, causing the lead car to ram into an idle freight train, jackknife, and crash into a passenger train that was headed in the other direction.

The settlement amounts are substantial for some of the plaintiffs. The heirs of two Los Angeles wrongful death lawsuits will get $3.5 million per claim. Another California injury case settled for $5 million. One Los Angeles train crash case settled for $3.8 million. Many of the other victims received under $50,000.

Plaintiffs' lawyers have argued that the catastrophic train accident could have been avoided if Bruce Gray, the train engineer, had applied the emergency brakes when he saw, per his testimony, what looked like the reflection of an auto on the tracks about 3/4ths of a mile ahead. Meantime, Alvarez has been sentenced to life in prison for his conviction on 11 first-degree murder counts.

The 2005 Glendale train accident was considered the deadliest US railroad crash since 1999. That is, until 2008, when 25 people died and 135 others sustained injuries in a Metrolink train crash in Chatsworth.

Metrolink pays out $30 million in 2005 crash settlements, Los Angeles Times, October 15, 2009

Metrolink Lawsuit Settlement Reached, My Fox LA, October 14, 2009

Related Web Resources:

Metrolink

Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis

Continue reading "Metrolink Chatsworth Train Accident Victims Have Until March 12 to File Claims Against Government That Could Allow for Southern California Personal Injury or Wrongful Death Lawsuits" »