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In addition to the text messaging ban for truckers and bus drivers announced by the Transportation Department last week, Massachusetts may soon join the 19 states that have outlawed text messaging behind the wheel for all drivers. The Boston Globe reports that a key legislative committee unanimously approved a bill last Thursday and it could reach the House floor within weeks.

If the bill passes, it would prohibit operators of a motor vehicle from using a cell phone or other electronic device from writing, sending, or reading a text message while driving. Fines would start at $100 for the first offense and range up to $500 for the third offense. If a driver is found to have been text messaging when they caused a car crash, the law would treat is as reckless driving and the offender would be subject to up to two years in jail.

The House approved a text messaging while driving ban in 2008, but the bill died before it reached the governor’s desk. Governor Deval Patrick and US secretary of transportation Ray LaHood both support a ban on text messaging while driving.

Source: State inches ahead on banning texting while driving, Boston Globe, January 29, 2010 Continue reading

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Here in Massachusetts and around the country, safety advocates have been calling for a ban on text messaging while driving, which has been proven to increase the likelihood of an auto crash. On Tuesday, the Transportation Department unveiled its new rule that bans interstate commercial truck and bus drivers from text messaging while driving. Those who violate the rule will be subject to civil or criminal fines up to $2,750.

According to the National Safety Council, text messaging and other cell phone-related activities cause more 1.6 million traffic accidents every year.

The department is working on new rules that cut down on the use of dashboard-mounted computers that some drivers use to communicate with dispatchers. While some companies discourage drivers from using such computers, many truckers still use the devices regularly. The department is also working on regulations that would govern when truckers are permitted to use cell phones for conversation.

Sources: DOT bans texting by bus and commercial truck drivers, USA Today, January 26, 2010 Rule Bans Texting for Truckers and Bus Drivers, New York Times, January 26, 2010 Continue reading

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On Sunday afternoon, a multiple motor vehicle accident on Route 341 injured a Massachusetts woman who had stopped to help another driver. Police say a gray Subaru wagon rolled in the area of Kent Hollow Road around 3:15pm and the woman was reportedly attempting to rescue the driver from the Subaru. Meanwhile, a Marbledale School van slid off the road when it tried to stop and aid in the rescue effort, hitting the Subaru and pushing it on top of the woman.

Fortunately, other drivers on the scene of the car accident were able to lift the van off the woman before emergency responders arrived. Once crews arrived, the woman was transported to New Milford Hospital and then transferred to Danbury Hospital. She reportedly sustained serious injuries, including several broken bones, that were not believed to be life-threatening.

Two passengers in the school van were treated for non-life threatening injuries at Sharon Hospital. The Subaru’s driver was taken to New Milford Hospital and treated for minor injuries.

Source: Good Samaritan seriously injured in multi-car accident, Register Citizen, January 25, 2010 Continue reading

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On Sunday evening, a Somerset woman died in an auto accident on Route 195 West. According to Massachusetts state police, the 65-year-old woman was driving a Ford Taurus near Exit 8A in Fall River when the vehicle crashed, killing the driver. The accident occurred around 8:30pm. She was transported to Charlton Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

During the two hours following the car accident, police closed the high speed lane of Route 195 for an investigation. The motor vehicle crash is still being investigated by police.

Sources: One woman dies in I-95 crash, Turnto10.com, January 24, 2010 Woman killed in I-195 crash, WPRI.com, January 25, 2010 Continue reading

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Massachusetts State Police say a car crash on Route 195 West in Westport killed a driver early on Saturday morning when a 1996 Toyota Camry veered off the road and hit a barrier in the breakdown lane. The vehicle rolled over and came to rest in the middle of the highway.

The Camry’s driver, a 26-year-old from West Warwick, Rhode Island, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, according to police. A passenger was ejected from the car and was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where the 23-year-old woman was treated for serious injuries.

The motor vehicle accident is still being investigated.

Sources: Woman hurt in crash, The Sun Chronicle, January 24, 2010 Rollover Crash Kills One, The Boston Channel, January 23, 2010 Continue reading

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According to a state police news release, a Chelsea driver faces motor vehicular homicide charges related to a fatal truck accident that occurred on December 8. The Massachusetts Turnpike crash killed a Whitinsville man. The truck driver is charged with motor vehicular homicide by negligence. Charges of marked lanes and breakdown lane violations will heard at a later date.

A preliminary investigation of the truck crash shows that a tractor-trailer unit was being serviced in the breakdown lane when it was hit by another vehicle. The vehicle hit a 36-year-old man who was repairing the tractor-trailer. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the auto accident.

The driver of the disabled tractor-trailer was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center – University Campus, where he was treated for serious injuries.

Source: Driver in fatal truck accident charged with motor vehicle homicide, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, January 20, 2010 Continue reading

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Police closed Amherst Street on Sunday morning after a motor vehicle crash involving an ambulance and a car. The ambulance reportedly hit a Nissan Maxima as the car was exiting the highway at Exit 7. The driver was treated for serious but non-life threatening injuries, and the ambulance attendants suffered minor injuries.

The patient inside the ambulance was apparently not injured in the car crash and was taken to Massachusetts’ Lahey Clinic for ailments not related to the accident. Police said they were called to the scene of the accident at 11:30am. When they arrived, the ambulance had its emergency lights and sirens on.

The auto accident is being investigated by the Police Department’s Accident Reconstruction Unit.

Source: Ambulance-car crash ties traffic, Nasha Telegram, January 18, 2010 Continue reading

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Our Massachusetts motor vehicle crash lawyers would like to remind drivers to take extra care on wet or icy roads. The Union Leader reports that advisory speeds are down to 45 for state highways from Concord, New Hampshire south to the Massachusetts border. There are apparently reports of cars off the road near the Massachusetts border.

Areas that have seen car crashes may be backed up, so please allow extra time. One of those areas is where four vehicles collided this morning at the junction of I-89 and I-93 North in Bow.

Meteorologists do not expect significant accumulations of snow today. However, much of yesterday’s snow remains and parts of New England may get another inch or two of snow on Wednesday evening.

Source: Take it easy on those slick roads, New Hampshire Union Leader, January 19, 2010 Continue reading

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Today, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” is dedicating its broadcast to people who have lost friends or family members to car crashes that resulted from distracted driving.

The show coincides with the launch of iZUP, a cell phone application created by Illume Software, a Massachusetts-based company. The application automatically launches when it detects that the phone is in a moving vehicle and disables incoming calls or text messages.

During her show this afternoon, Oprah will discuss the dangers of distracted driving and ask drivers to commit to avoid text messaging or talking on cell phones while behind the wheel. Through our auto accident law firm, we have seen the horrific results of distracted driving, and we’re glad to see such a prominent public figure educating viewers about it.

Source: Oprah Challenges Viewers to Stop Texting and Driving, Sys-Con.com, January 18, 2010 Continue reading

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On Monday afternoon, a minivan rollover sent the 27-year-old driver to Massachusetts General Hospital with head and other injuries. She was flown by medical helicopter after the motor vehicle accident occurred on Interstate 95 in Foxboro near the Sharon border.

The minivan reportedly rolled over into the median after the crash and ended up in a grouping of trees. Emergency response crews used a winch and a hydraulic power tool to rescue the victim, whose name has not been released. No other drivers or passengers were injured in the minivan accident, according to the Foxboro fire captain. Firefighters from Mansfield and Sharon assisted Foxboro firefighters with the rescue efforts.

Authorities shut down the northbound side of I-95 for roughly 20 minutes while the medical helicopter landed. Fire and police vehicles on the southbound side also slowed down traffic on the other side.

Source: One hurt in I-95 crash in Foxboro, TheSunChronicle.com, January 12, 2010 Continue reading

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