Runaway Trailer Kills Woman In Tampa Parking Lot

Source: AP

Authorities claim that an unsecured trailer killed a woman standing in a parking lot and injured another. 40 year old Catalina Allmon and Vicente Quintero were setting up a hot dog vending stand in a gas station parking lot in Tampa, FL when struck by the trailer. Allmon was pronounced dead at the scene and Quintero sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Authorities state that a 16 year old hauling an unsecured trailer with a riding lawnmower caused the accident. Police cited the teen for failing to secure his trailer.

Obama Nominates Sleep Foundation Secretary as Vice Chairman of NTSB

Christopher A. Hart, the former secretary of the National Sleep Foundation, former deputy director for the Federal Aviation Administration Office of Air Traffic Safety Oversight and FAA Assistant Administrator for System Safety, and former Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has been appointed as vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. His term is set to expire December 31, 2012.

The Whitehouse press releases may be found here and here.

STUDY: Increased Seatbelt Use Could Save a Lot of Lives

The Department of Transportation (DOT) in a recent study found that an estimated 1,652 lives could be saved on America's roadways if seatbelt use rose to 90% from the current 83%. Along with the lives saved, the DOT found that an estimated 22,372 serious injuries would be avoided. The study, working from 2007 data, found that 15,147 lives were saved through seatbelt use. All of this research was relased as part of the "Click It or Ticket" campaign to increase seatbelt awareness and use.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was quoted as saying, "Wearing a seat belt costs nothing and yet it’s the single most effective traffic safety device ever invented." The "Click It or Ticket" campaign ran from May 18 to May 31 and cost the federal government $8 million in advertising expenses.

View NHTSA's press release here.

Federal Recomendations Regarding Sleep Apnea

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has made some suggestions regarding sleep apnea directed specifically to pilots. These suggestions are in response to two pilots falling asleep on a trip from Honolulu to Hilo Hawaii and flying past the destination 26 miles before waking up and returning to their destination. Sleep apnea was at least a partial cause of the incident. These recommendations are evidently equally important for truckers, who, like pilots, take the lives of many individuals into their hands when they operate their vehicles.

The NTSB suggests regarding sleep apnea:
1. pilots should undergo screening for sleep apnea
2. conduct more research on fatigue on short-haul flights
3. research on fatigue should be given to such pilots
4. guidelines based on research should be part of pilots' operating specifications
5. the FAA should create a program to identify pilots with a high risk of sleep apnea
6. guidance for identification and treatment should be made available to pilots, physicians, and employers

Truckers, and regulators of truckers should take note of these suggestions, as they could save many lives on the highway. Sleep apnea becomes a dangerous condition in any job where a brief lapse in consciousness could lead to dozens of deaths. Truckers, like pilots, need to be screened and treated for sleep apnea to prevent catastrophic accidents.

NTSB report available here.

2010 Compact Cars That Scored Well on Safety Tests

Source: IIHS

The 2010 Honda Insight, Kia Soul, and Toyota Prius all scored the IIHS' Top Safety Pick award. The award requires that cars score the IIHS' top rating of good in front, side, and rear collision tests and be equipped with electronic stability control. The award further encourages top crash safety standards.

Here are links to the individual tests:
Honda Insight
Kia Soul
Toyota Prius

Large Truck Accidents Caused by Overrides and Underrides

In another excellent post by the Texas Injury Law Blog, the author considers the common types of 18-wheeler accidents. Large truck accidents are most often the result of override or underride. Either type of accident often seriously injures or kills the occupants of the car involved. 


Override is the name of an accident where a large truck fails stop and runs over a vehicle in front of it. Evidently, a 40 ton semi truck causes massive damage to the vehicle in this type of accident. In many cases, occupants of the vehicle that was overrode suffer crippling injuries or are killed.


Underride occurs when a smaller vehicle rear-ends a tractor trailer, crashing under the bottom of the trailer, or drives under the side of the trailer. Cars and trucks are often too tall to clear the bottom of the trailer, yet often too short for their engine compartment to contact the trailer. The result is a situation where the occupants of the smaller vehicle contact the edge of the trailer at the chest or neck level. Injuries in this type of crash often cause brain damage, crippling injuries, or even decapitation.


Truckers can reduce the risk of these types of crashes by:
1. ensuring that their brakes are functioning properly, 
2. getting enough sleep to increase their alertness,
3. maintaining a proper following distance, and slowing if cars tailgate,
4. using reflective tape to increase visibility,
5. checking their brake lights regularly for functionality, and
6. make sure that all trailers they tow have underride protection installed.

Determing Fault in an Automobile Accident

The Texas Injury Law Blog just posted an excellent article discussing the ins and outs of determining who caused an automobile accident. Though the article is directed at Texans, the principles discussed regarding determining fault are important in automobile accidents everywhere. Among other things the author, Bryan Fears, discussed factors pointing to the negligence of a driver such as: common knowledge of the rules of the road, legal violations committed by drivers involved, whether the duties of the road were followed: lookout, avoidance and obeying driving rules, whether alcohol or drugs were involved in the accident, failures to account for road conditions and/or bad weather, witness statements, police reports, accounts of the accident by parties involved, and photos taken at the accident scene.

Read the article here.

Too Much Sleep May be as Dangerous as Too Little

In a new study from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in Spain, researchers discovered that older adults with extreme sleep durations had a dramatically reduced health related quality of life in comparison to those with more moderate sleeping habits. The study followed nearly 4,000 people over the age of sixty for three years. The study concluded that participants who slept less than five hours per night or more than ten were much more likely to have health problems and score lower on mental acuity tests.

The mental impairment that the test subjects experienced due to excess sleep may be just as dangerous on the road as sleep deprivation, a common cause of automobile and trucking accidents. It will be interesting to see how the scientific community processes this data. We may see a new wave of trucking legislation stipulating maximum daily sleeping periods for truckers.

More info at the National Sleep Foundation here.

The abstract for the study may be found here from the Sleep Journal.

Illinois Bans Cellphones and Texting in School and Construction Zones

Beginning January 1, 2010, Illinois joins 16 other states in banning cellphone use and texting in school and construction zones. Some states have stricter laws than Illinois, such as California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, and the District of Columbia, banning use of hand-hald phones completely while driving. States across the nation are looking more seriously at the risks of using cellphones while driving, many acknowledging the threat of impairment to drivers.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety publishes a table of the current laws regarding cell phone use for each state. Here is a link to the table.

NHTSA Announces Lowest Traffic Fatality Levels Since 1961

Good news from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood of the Department of Transportation recently announced that traffic fatalities have reached a record low. 2008 experienced a 9.7% drop in fatalities over 2007, with only 37,261 traffic fatalities. This statistic is made up of a number of subcategories, which also have dropped for the most part. Passenger car occupant fatalities, for example, have dropped for six years straight, hitting the lowest level since the DOT started counting. Motorcycle deaths, however, increased, and have been increasing for 11 straight years, now accounting for 14% of traffic fatalities. These figures are likely due in part to improvements in vehicle safety, but especially due to the reduction in the number of miles driven because of gas price increases. Increases in the price of gas have also likely increased the number of motorcycle drivers on the road, thus increasing the number of motorcycle fatalities.

2010 Ford Taurus Wins Safety Award from IIHS

The 2010 Ford Taurus has won the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Top Safety Pick award, rating it at the top of its class for crashworthiness. The test included a battery of front, side, and rear impact collisions. Safety was measured in terms of vehicle frame integrity, along with a number of physical injury ratings. The 2010 Taurus ranked well in all tests.

More info available from the IIHS here.

Midsize Sedan Bumpers Need Work

Source: IIHS

Bumper crash tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety demonstrate room for improvement in midsize sedan bumper design. The cars tested include the Mazda 6, Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Nissan Maxima, Ford Fusion, and Chevrolet Malibu. Of those, 4 improved from their previous tests, but none ranked as "good." The Mazda 6 rated best, with an "acceptable" rating from the IIHS, averaging only $871 in damage. All other vehicles rated as either "marginal" or "poor." The Chevrolet Malibu ranked lowest, with a "poor" rating, suffering an average of $2,329 in damage. Hopefully the auto manufacturers will listen.