Issues of Single Vehicle Accidents

Source: Gainesville Sun

Single vehicle accidents are a common occurrence on Florida roads, and on roads everywhere. Early this morning, a young truck driver, Kevin D. Kitchens, 26, of Lawtey, Florida, overturned a semi truck filled with gravel on Interstate 10 in Duval County. Fortunately, he walked away with only minor injuries, and no one else was injured.

Kitchen claims that he swerved to avoid colliding with a car that cut in front of him, and, in the process, turned his truck over. He was charged with careless driving. Whether or not what he said is true, "phantom drivers" certainly are a safety concern. Countless automobile accidents and pedestrian accidents each year involve hit and run drivers. When the driver present is being questioned by law enforcement, and an issue like this arises, how should law enforcement charge a person who may or may not have been at fault? What happens when the driver is nowhere to be found? Or, what should be done when there is no concrete evidence of the "phantom vehicle" as in this case?

This type of fact pattern raises many questions. If what the man said was true, wouldn't the proper course of action be to praise him, not sanction him? Did he save a life by swerving and overturning his rig? Was he lying, simply trying to excuse his actions, that may have been due to inattention, fatigue, impairment, improper vehicle maintenance...etc?

At the foundation of these questions is really a question of burden of proof. When law enforcement is investigating a vehicle crash, what should be the requisite level of evidence to charge someone with a traffic infraction. As noted, this is especially important when the facts of the case are nebulous at best, and difficult to prove.

These are important issues that should be discussed and considered by any law enforcement officer who performs crash investigations. The decisions of the officers as to how to charge individuals involved can have drastic and long-term effects on the parties involved.

Local Moped Accident Victim Dies

Source: Gainesville Sun

Mark Roche, 55, of Gainesville, Florida, died last week of injuries sustained when rear ended by a car while riding his moped on October 5, 2009 at 6:55 a.m. Authorities say that Roche was wearing a helmet with a visor. Nicholas A. Watts, 29, of Lake Butler, Florida, was passing a car following Roche, and moved into the lane Roche was traveling in, failing to see him.

This tragic story illustrates the dangers of riding on two wheeled vehicles. Indeed, the injuries of a low speed two wheeled vehicle, such as a moped or scooter, can be every bit as fatal as those of full size motorcycles. Furthermore, riders of motorcycles, mopeds, and scooters may be excellent drivers themselves, but a single careless act of another driver can lead to severe injuries of the motorcycle, moped or scooter rider.

I believe that many low speed two wheeled vehicle riders are under the misconception that mopeds and scooters are somehow safer than motorcycles. I believe this is especially true in a town like Gainesville where the majority of the scooter and moped riders have no experience riding motorcycles or other two wheeled vehicles, and are generally inexperienced drivers. Evidently, the Florida Legislature, at least to some extent, agrees with them because the requirements to ride a scooter or moped are much lower than those to ride a motorcycle. As this story sadly makes clear, mopeds and scooters travel more than fast enough to kill a person, even when wearing a helmet.

Being a motorcycle rider myself, stories like this frighten me. I try to be very cautious when riding my motorcycle, because I know that I am harder to see than a car. But no matter how cautious you are, there is still the possibility that someone won't see you, and you won't have the opportunity to move to safety before becoming a statistic. The bottom lines is that all drivers and riders, whether they be driving a semi truck, subcompact car, or riding a street bike, moped, or scooter, must strive to be as observant as possible to limit the occurrence of these tragedies.

Crackdown on Commercial Bus and Truck Drivers Impaired by Drugs or Alcohol

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced last Friday that 77 commercial bus and truck drivers are off the road and over 80 carriers face actions for enforcement as a result of FMCSA's first national drug and alcohol strike force. These actions are as a result of a FMCSA investigation from September 8-18, 2009 of safety records of commercial drivers including school bus drivers, interstate passenger carriers, hazardous material transporters, and general freight long-haul trucking companies.

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood issued a public statement highlighting the number one priority of the Department of Transportation; safety. The strike force initiative has been used to target individuals and companies that violate the DOT's policies regarding drugs and alcohol.

The violators face civil fines and penalties. The drivers who face the civil penalties will no longer be allowed to operate commercial vehicles. The non-compliant carriers also face enforcement actions.

Hopefully the actions of the DOT will send a message through the trucking industry that these sorts of violations will not be tolerated. Additionally, hopefully drivers will think twice before they decide drive after consuming drugs or alcohol.

The official release can be found here.

Emergency Contact Numbers State by State

I recently received what turns out to be a commonly forwarded email story. It recounted a tale of a woman who was pursued by what appeared to be an unmarked police car. Being alone and in a secluded area, the woman decided to continue driving until she reached a gas station or other business. She also, according to the story, dialed *77 to contact dispatch to let them know that she was not going to pull over immediately. The story continues that in fact the driver of the vehicle was an impersonator and a sexual predator, and the police ended up arresting him.

Whether or not this exact story is true is hard to verify, but similar cases have been reported. The use of *77 to reach dispatch is a where the email loses credibility. Every state has their own process for reaching emergency personnel. A safe bet is to just call 911. A few states do use #77, but it certainly does not work everywhere.

This site has a chart of contact numbers used in each state to reach dispatch, which is pictured below for your reference.

Government Banning Text Messaging by Truck, Bus, and Rail Operators; Pushing States to Follow Suit

Source: AP

The Obama administration announced that it is seeking to ban text messaging and restrict cell phone use by interstate truck drivers, bus drivers, and rail operators. The move comes as a result of a growing body of research demonstrating the dangers of distracted driving. The administration will push states to follow with similar legislation banning texting by citizens driving cars as well.

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced that President Obama made the first step by signing an executive order banning all federal workers from texting while driving on government business, driving government vehicles, or using government equipment.

Another goal of the initiative is to revoke the commercial driver's licenses of school bus drivers who are convicted of texting while driving. Nearly 6,000 deaths and over 500,000 were injured last year in crashes due to distracted driving, mostly by cell phone users. The proposed legislation would push states to implement similar laws by cutting 25% of highway funding to non-compliant states.

The Dangers of Business on the Highway

The Gainesville Sun recently covered a story of how business, especially white collar, is becoming progressively more dangerous. With the stress of the contracting economy, more and more people are looking for ways to improve their productivity. Office workers who spend a portion of their schedule commuting are increasingly using their car as an extension of their office. Taking calls, answering emails, replying to texts, all common occurrences on busy highways. Its not just white collar workers who are contributing to these safety hazards; blue collar workers are often forced by their bosses to be tethered to a dispatcher through a phone or walky-talky while on the road.

What does this mean? Less attention is paid to driving, and more to communicating. The U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood called the phenomena a "deadly epidemic." Evidently, these distractions impair one’s ability to effectively operate a motor vehicle, similar to an intoxicated driver. Will the lawmakers take action to remedy this dangerous trend? Its hard to say. The enterprising employee, trying to squeeze every last ounce of productivity out of his or her time is the epitome of the "American Dream." Thus, driving while distracted by activities that are contributing to pulling the economy out of recession seem much less culpable than driving while drunk. None the less, people are dying from these distractions. The lawmakers need to take a serious look at the consequences of not regulating this practice, and decide whether it is worth the cost.