Arizona Accident Lawyer Blog

Every 50 minutes, a life is lost due to a drunk driving accident in the U.S. (NHTSA, 2009). In Arizona, the Department of Public Safety and police departments reported that 7,756 car crashes every year involve a pedestrian or a drunk driver with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .01 or more (AZfamily, 3/15/11).

While a BAC of .01 may seem insignificant, individuals can react at different levels to alcohol, so even at this low level, some users can actually become significantly impaired.

As the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day approaches tomorrow, the Scottsdale Police Department has placed safety as a top priority during the event. Police officers will be out on DUI inspections at a checkpoint at Palm Lane and Scottsdale Road, from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. The police will be paying special attention to drivers going southbound on Scottsdale Road, heading from Old Town bars and nightlife.

For every impaired driving fatality, Arizonans pay approximately $3.3 million in monetary and quality of life losses. If alcohol-related crashes in Arizona were reduced by even 10%, it would save $50 million annually in insurance costs.

If only to spare the financial implications of a drunk driving accident, please drink responsibly during your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. AAA Arizona is again offering their free “Tipsy Tow” service starting at 6pm Thursday night through 6am on Friday. You don’t even have to be an AAA member—just call 1-800-AAA-HELP and say you need a “Tipsy Tow” and an AAA truck will provide a free one-way ride home within a 10 mile radius of the starting location.

Continue reading "Scottsdale Drunk Driver Checkpoint Planned for St. Patrick's Day" »

Did you know that distracted driving is one of the top factors in causing car accidents? In 2009 alone, fatalities in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted driving reached 5,474 (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2009 Traffic Safety Facts). This makes up 16 percent of fatal crashes for that year. Distracted driving is one of the reasons why car accidents are the number one killer of people aged 1 to 34 in the US.

Simply put, distracted driving is engaging in any activity that could affect driving skills therefore increasing the risk of traffic accidents to happen. Among many distractions; sending text messages, calling, or using a cell phone while driving are unfortunately quite common. NHTSA reports that 18 percent of fatalities in distraction-related crashes involved cell phone use as a distraction.

In an effort to stop Arizona car collisions due to distracted driving, an insurance company held an event called "X the TXT: DSGN8 Before You Drive" featuring Arizona Native and 2007 American Idol winner Jordin Sparks earlier this week (via KPHO 01/03/2011).

Sparks led her fans to take the pledge against texting while driving by appearing at Tempe Marketplace last Tuesday afternoon and to help get the word out on driver safety. She is advocating for drivers to designate a texting passenger so drivers are not tempted to respond to text messages that arrive while they are driving.

Continue reading "American Idol Star Comes to Phoenix for Campaign to Reduce Distracted Driving Accidents" »

A family vacation means fun in the sun, photo opportunities, and embarrassing moments. Most families don’t think of the dangers they face while on vacation, even though they are the same dangers they face at home, like car accidents or trip and fall injuries, only sometimes even more amplified.

On Sunday, a tour bus heading from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon drifted off the road and rolled several times (Arizona Republic via AZ Central 10/17/10). Two of the eleven passengers were killed, and several more were seriously injured. Information regarding the identities of the riders or the cause of the accident is not yet available. No other vehicles were involved.

Tour bus drivers face the same challenges as large truck drivers. Frequently traveling across the country and through the night leads to fatigue. Truck drivers are required to log a certain amount of hours of sleep every day, and are not allowed to drive over 10 consecutive hours without 8 consecutive hours of rest. How much do you know about driver fatigue? Try some of the true or false questions below, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration:
1. Coffee overcomes the effects of drowsiness while driving. (T or F)
2. I can tell when I'm going to go to sleep. (T or F)
3. Rolling down my window or singing along with the radio will keep me awake. (T or F)
4. I'm a safe driver so it doesn't matter if I'm sleepy. (T or F)
5. You can stockpile sleep on the weekends. (T or F)
6. Most adults need at least seven hours of sleep each night. (T or F)
7. Being sleepy makes you misperceive things. (T or F)
8. Young people need less sleep. (T or F)
9. Wandering, disconnected thoughts are a warning sign of driver fatigue. (T or F)
10. Little green men in the middle of the road may mean the driver is too tired to drive. (T or F)
11. On a long trip, the driver should never take a break but try to arrive at the destination as quickly as possible. (T or F)
12. A microsleep lasts four or five seconds. (T or F)
For answers, visit www.fmcsa.dot.gov/facts-research/research-technology/topics/fatiguequiz.html

Continue reading "Arizona Tour Bus Crash Kills 2" »

Campaign donations are a powerful thing. According to the House of Representatives, a jury cannot be trusted to decide how much money is reasonable compensation to somebody injured by the negligence of a doctor. According to the same people, a jury is fully capable to decide whether a man is guilty, and whether he should be put to death for his crime. A jury is capable of life and death decisions, but not capable to decide decisions relating to money. How can this be? I guess it just depends on who is giving you donations.

A criminal jury and civil jury come from the same people, who live in the same county. They are chosen randomly, so the same people that sit on a criminal trial could have just as easily sat that same day on a medical negligence trial.

For instance, here is an example of two trials that may occur in Maricopa county, during the same week, with the same jurors making the decision:

Trial 1: A doctor is accused of leaving a medical instrument in a baby, which causes severe permanent damage. The baby will suffer for a lifetime from the carelessness. They jury has to decide how much money the insurance company will pay in fair compensation.

Trial 2: A man is accused of shooting a stranger in cold-blood to steal $20. The stranger died. The jury has to decide whether that man is guilty, and whether he should be put to death for his crime.

The same people who became jurors in the first trial could just as easily have been on the second trial. In one case, money rests on a jury’s decision. In the other case, a man’s life rests on a jury’s decision.

Continue reading "WE TRUST YOU TO DECIDE LIFE AND DEATH, WE JUST DO NOT TRUST YOUR OPINION ON MONEY" »