Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Last Tuesday morning, a truck driver with Calex Trucking was turning onto Route 9 when the top of his truck grazed the underside of a bridge, pulling several pieces of granite with it. Two pieces still rested on top of the truck when four Newton Police cars and one state trooper arrived at the scene.

Police did not disclose the cost to repair the bridge, which is estimated to be almost a hundred years old. Ken Weaver, who was driving the truck when it grazed the bridge, was uninjured, though he said “I’ve had a bad day since I woke up.” Already, he had faced snowy conditions in Connective and heavy traffic on his way to Massachusetts.

Truck hits Rte. 9 overpass in Needham and takes piece with it, The Daily News Tribune, December 30, 2008

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According to a professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts has as many as 600 sleep-related crashes per year, resulting in serious injuries and, in some cases, fatalities. The state of Massachusetts began investigating the effects of drowsy driving after a motorcyclist was killed by a sleep-deprived driver in 2002.

A panel chaired by Senator Richard T. Moore, of Uxbridge, is considering the possibility of laws to increase penalties for sleep-deprived drivers who cause car accidents and to educate drivers about the dangers of driving while drowsy. Response times are slowed in sleep-deprived drivers, and they are more likely to become distracted, according to a sleep specialist who teaches at Harvard Medical School.

A professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital told the panel that in addition to truck driver, police officers and firefighters are at risk of driving while sleep-deprived. In fact, he estimated that 40% of the motor vehicle accidents that involve police officers may be the result of drowsy driving.

Currently, it is difficult to test for drowsy driving, but technology is under development that would allow officers to test for drowsy driving at traffic stops.

Legislative panel sounds wake-up call on drowsy driving, Boston Globe, November 7, 2008

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Drivers in Lancaster, Massachusetts had an unusual encounter on their afternoon commute last Wednesday. Apparently an injured 200-pound animal was found by the side of Route 2 in Lancaster. Police believe the wild boar was hit by a car. The state trooper who discovered the wounded animal called for reinforcements.

Because the animal was badly injured and could potentially cause a car accident if it wandered into traffic, authorities decided to redirect traffic and put the boar out of its misery. The Boston Globe reports that Chet Hall, a farmer in Royalston, labeled the animal a Russian wild boar based on its rodent-like snout and cinnamon-colored collar. Hall had arrived to claim the animal’s remains for use as coyote bait.

According to a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, wild boars are not usually found in Massachusetts and would require a special permit. The animal was believed to have escaped from a game farm.

Wild boar struck on Route 2 causes a stir, Boston Globe, October 24, 2008

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The Worcester Telegram recently published an editorial in response to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s proposal to raise the minimum driving age across the country. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teens, and the statistics show that younger drivers do have a higher rate of car accidents than those with more experience on the road.

However, according to the editorial, uniformly raising the minimum driving age is not the solution. As the writer points out, Massachusetts issues junior operator’s licenses to drivers aged 16.5. Before driving by themselves, teen drivers must hold a learner’s permit for at least six months and complete classroom driving instruction and training before the wheels. Teen drivers in Massachusetts must also follow restricted driving hours and obey a passenger limit.

Some would suggest the graduated licensing system used in Massachusetts might help drivers gain experience on the road without exposing them to unsupervised or unsafe driving conditions too soon.

State’s graduated licensing for youth best route, Worcester Telegram, September 11, 2008

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According to a Nationwide Insurance study, about a fifth of drivers text while the drive. That statistic increases to two thirds among drivers aged 18 to 24. Almost 80 percent of car crashes in the United States are caused by distracted drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The evidence points to text messaging as a potentially deadly distraction. In 2007, a car accident involving five teenage girl and a tractor trailer claimed the lives of all five girls. It was later discovered that the driver was texting just before the deadly car crash.

Still, the law has been slow to catch up to this technological development. NHTSA does not have a policy in place regarding text messaging while driving a car. Instead, they leave regulations to state and local agencies. So far, Alaska, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Washington state have laws banning texting while driving. A ban goes into effect in Westchester County, New York next spring.

Of course, text messaging can also be a hazard to pedestrians. Earlier this week, a 14-year old boy in Florida was killed after stepping in front of a car. He was distracted by a text message on his cell phone. The deputy said they have no plans to file charges against the driver.

Driving While Texting Laws Slow To Catch Up To Problem, InjuryBoard.com, September 23, 2008

Teen Killed In Crash While Texting On Phone, WESH.com, September 23, 2008

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