Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog
Officials in Worcester, MA have cited freezing rain, black ice, and untreated roads as the major causes of the massive pileup on Interstate 290 in Worcester last weekend.
Black ice began to cover the highway around 6:30 a.m. Several drivers lost control of their vehicles while heading down the declining section of I-290 westbound. The first accident was reported on the westbound side of the highway near Exit 14 (Grafton Street).
A chain reaction began as cars piled up in the roadway. Two tractor-trailers slid sideways at the front and rear of the accident scene. Two large commercial trucks were also struck. State police estimated 65 vehicles were involved. According to reports, public safety officials were forced to climb through the mangled mess of cars to respond to people in need. State Police reported that of the 35 to 40 people who were injured, only two had suffered serious injuries. In total, the crash scene was more than 1,500 feet long.
“I am extremely surprised that nobody was killed, especially the vehicles that went under the trailer truck,” State Police Sgt. Stephen C. Marsh said in a statement. “We had to walk over the hoods of cars, under the trailer trucks. The scene was impenetrable.”
Investigators are looking at why the roads were so slippery, and whether the roads had been effectively treated. Initial reports stated that the part of the bridge where the accident occurred typically freezes before the rest of the highway, and that it is conceivable that road crews had not properly sanded and salted the roadway. The case is still under investigation.
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Officials have attributed this dramatic decrease to changes made to the pre-license training requirements as well as boosted penalties for teens that speed or commit other driving infractions. But according to an article published by the Boston Globe, in addition to changes in legislature passed in 2007, the real reason for such a significant drop in accidents is that there are actually fewer teens on the road-not just that teens are driving more carefully.
Unfortunately, pedestrian traffic accidents account for more than 13% of all traffic-related fatalities and 3% of all personal injuries caused by motor vehicle accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) a pedestrian is injured every eight minutes and one pedestrian dies every two hours as the result of a traffic accident in the United States. Approximately 20% of all pedestrian car accidents according to the NHTSA, are also hit-and-run accidents. While we do not have much information about this particular incident, what can be assumed is that this young lady was walking during the early morning hours; at a time where there was minimal daylight. 
What’s appealing about this new software is that it is automatically activated when a phone is linked wirelessly with a car’s Bluetooth device. The application can also be configured by the user to automatically send out a reply text message that says “I’m driving.” Though the feature will minimize the amount of distractions by blocking calls and texts, it will not be able to block outgoing calls or text messages. 
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 500,000 people are treated for serious bicycle-related injuries each year, and more than 700 individuals die each year. A majority of these injuries are head injuries attributed to not wearing a helmet. Though many people dismiss the idea of wearing a helmet because of atheistic reasons, or because they feel their short commute does not warrant wearing one, wearing a helmet could make all the difference, and could even save a life. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that bicycle helmets are 85-88% effective in preventing severe head and brain injuries. Other types of injuries commonly sustained in bicycle accidents include concussions, spinal cord injuries, broken bones, lacerations, paralysis, and death.
