One of the leading causes of car accidents in the United States is distractions or distracted driving.

According to reports, in 2019, more than 3,140 people died in distracted driving accidents

This is behavior that could have been avoided. Another 400,000 people suffered injuries. Across the country, around eight people die in accidents due to distracted driving every day.

The grim reports also suggest that one in every five individuals killed in accidents involving distracted drivers are pedestrians or those riding their bikes.

Our personal injury attorneys have helped injured victims of car accidents protect their rights and fight to recover compensation for their losses.

From the cases we have had in the past, the reasons for distraction vary across different cases, but some of the most common distractions are as follows:

• Talking over the cell phone
• Eating and drinking
• Road signs
• Adjusting radio or climate control
• Children
• Visual and auditory distractions.

Chatting over the Cell Phone

You wouldn’t believe it, but America has a serious epidemic of texting while behind the wheel, which puts the drivers at risk and those around them, other vehicles, and even pedestrians. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 600,000 drivers are using their mobile phones while operating any vehicle at any given moment. This includes cars, motorbikes, fork lifters, among many others.

According to a report published by Virginia Tech, drivers are 20 times more likely to crash due to cell phone use while driving. Another report by DriveSafeOnline suggests that texting while driving affects the driving reaction time and compares it to downing four glasses of beer in a single hour.

A huge cause for concern is the inexperienced teenage drivers who constantly handle their phones while driving, putting everyone at risk. The Automobile Association reports that 35% of teenagers use their cell phones while driving, and 25% reply to at least one text message during their drive.

Eating and Drinking

Eating and drinking are more dangerous than you think and are one of the leading causes of distracted driving accidents. According to the NHTSA, in 2018, 8% of fatal car accidents and 15% of injury crashes were due to distracted driving, and eating and drinking are also recognized as driving distractions. Is it, however, common to consume food and beverages while driving?

A huge part of American culture is the fast-food drive-thru, which is spreading all across the country. Think about it. Many of us purchase coffee in the morning and sip on it while driving to work. Some of us even grab a quick bite on the way to eat to save time on breakfast at home. Eating and drinking behind the wheel are more common than we realize.

The right way to drive is to have both hands on the wheel, but if you’re eating, that’s not possible. Unwrapping fast food items, spreading the sauce and condiments on them, and then consuming them while driving a car can lead to a serious accident.

If you don’t have both your hands on the wheel, chances are you don’t have your eyes on the road too. What happens if some fries fall on your lap? Of course, you’ll have a look at where it fell before you reach out for it. With your eyes off the road, you’re more likely to miss road conditions, important road signs, hazards, or even other drivers, resulting in a fatal car accident.

Road Signs

A road sign takes a lot of viewing space, even with a quick glimpse. Road signs also include warning signs, street signs, and even road markings. If you’re reading a road sign, that means you don’t have your eyes on the road. A report published by DriveSafeOnline states that a car traveling at 55 miles per hour can travel the length of a football field in just five seconds. That’s a lot!

Imagine this: you’re driving on a highway at maximum speed, and suddenly, you’re reading a warning sign on the side of the road. A sudden brake by the vehicle in front of you will not leave enough time for you to respond and apply your brakes, resulting in a distracted driving accident.

Some road signs can be confusing in the United States, especially for inexperienced young drivers. Complex intersections with heavy traffic flow usually have a clutter of road signs for drivers to follow. Many motor vehicle crashes occur at such intersections because of the many road signs.

If you’re not familiar with the intersection, you would want to read the signs and observe the law, but doing that while driving can be extremely dangerous.

Adjusting Radio or Climate Control

What happens when you reach for the radio to change the channel or fiddle with the car’s control panel to manage climate control settings? Reaching out for audio or climate controls is an alarming distraction and takes the driver’s attention off the road, putting the driver and others at risk since there is very little control at the wheel.

By taking one hand off the steering wheel, a driver reduces their reaction time, thus increasing the risk of fatal crashes. Reaching for your phone while driving is 1.4 times more likely to cause an accident, and the same is true for a car radio or climate control. Adjusting the radio or playing around with climate settings can take a bit of time, and the more time your eyes are off the road, the higher the risk of an accident.

If you want to change the radio channels or the climate settings, ask the passenger sitting with you in the car to help you with that. When driving alone, it is best to stop at a safe spot, change the radio settings, and then proceed to drive on the road.

Children

If you’ve ever watched the movie “Are we there yet?” you must be familiar with the kind of distraction we are talking about. As a parent, you may not realize the distractions caused by children, but having kids in the back of the car is one of the leading causes of distracted driving.

Whether it is a verbal argument among siblings or a fight, parents are susceptible to solving the problem as soon as possible without realizing that they are actually behind the wheel. They’ll turn for a moment to speak to their children, taking their eyes off the road, which can lead to fatal accidents.

Visual and Auditory Distractions

Just like how cellphone usage causes a distraction while on the road, there are visual and auditory distractions that you may encounter while driving. These include advertisement billboards, an attractive person, a luscious tree blossoming, and many more. Turning your head around to read what the colorful billboard is all about or admiring a gorgeous pedestrian puts you at risk of an accident.

These are all auditory distractions, but what about visual distractions? Listening to loud music or a podcast divides a driver’s attention, leading to a reduced reaction time in the event of an accident. Reducing the radio’s volume is best to help you concentrate on the road.

Safe driving is your responsibility and duty of care while on the road. Any breach of that duty of care can result in negligence, and any accident causing harm to someone else creates a case for legal action. However, if you’re the one injured in a car accident that was not your fault, contact us at (213) 596 9642 for a free consultation with our experienced personal injury attorney.

Citations:

• Over a Quarter of Accidents Are Caused by Distracted Driving
• Jake’s Law: The Balance of Safety and Privacy
• How Car Companies Are Using Technology to Help Prevent Distracted Driving
• Trucks and Inattentive Driving – A Deadly Combination
• Virginia Tech Transportation Institute New Study on Different Distracted Driving Behaviors
• Snapchat and Distracted Driving

Read More »Top 6 Distractions While Driving

Los Angeles Remains the Most Dangerous Place for Walkers

The NY Times reported how the city is entirely different on foot. The LA Times has a helpful map outlining many of the worst places to walk to the town. The City of Angels is made for car traffic. The auto will likely remain the king of the streets here.

Living in Los Angeles has benefits, of course, unless it includes walking. The city is better for big rigs than pedestrians. The city remains filled with drivers. In this case, walking in L.A. can lead to deadly collisions with pedestrians. The typical L.A. driver remains unaccustomed to pedestrians, placing people on foot in grave danger of traffic accidents. Collisions have devastating results for pedestrians in this case. Los Angeles has a large number of intersections involving repeated incidents of pedestrians hit by cars.

The dangers for walkers, in this case, came out in a new study. The study did show the top twenty dangerous locations, with the number one prize awarded to L.A. County. The County had the most pedestrian deaths nationwide. The study used the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2014 data. And this showed a large number of pedestrian deaths too. The County did have the highest number of pedestrians hit also.

But, it’s over one hundred deaths higher over the next location. The L.A. County walker’s deaths reached double over the second location. That’s double the number of deaths in Maricopa County, Arizona. And this did hit number two of counties in the top twenty.

Walking In LA Comes With Risks – Here Are Some Facts And Ideas to Stay Safe As A Pedestrian

The 80’s New Wave band Missing Persons said it best. “Nobody Walks in L.A.” The LADOT outlines some walker safety issues in the city. However, Maricopa County includes the city of Phoenix. During the same period, Arizona County had 91 pedestrian deaths. Though 91 is a lot, L.A. County still tops the danger list.

Where Are the Highest Numbers Of Pedestrian Incidents?

Three other counties in California also hit the list. San Diego County hit number four on the list. Though San Bernardino County made number seven on the list. But Riverside County, in this case, came in at number 14. Of course, fewer pedestrian deaths happened in these counties than in LA

Florida’s other state with many counties on the danger list. Of course, it doesn’t have the amount of danger for pedestrians of the Golden State. Believe it or not, California pedestrian and car collisions hit a high rate in Redondo Beach.

But, of course, it’s another city in Los Angeles County. In this case, it included another L.A. County intersection. Here, it’s the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Vincent Street.

Where Are The Most Dangerous Places To Cross The Road In LA?

Los Angeles was made for the car; that is obvious. Despite some recent progress, the city is just not a friendly city for pedestrians. All of this leads to some different factors, all of which seem to stack up against walkers. There’s a reason that many people don’t like walking in the cities. Between slippery sidewalks and other factors, it’s just not the best city to put on your shoes for. Below we’ll take a look at some of the most dangerous intersections in the city.

The LA Times has a neat feature about the almost 900 most dangerous intersections in the L.A. area. Curbed has its own map of the most difficult intersections for riders. In fact, Curbed reported that L.A. is ranked the most dangerous city in the country for pedestrians.

Furthermore, in 2014, 207 pedestrians died from traffic accidents in Los Angeles County. Also, the intersections of the County make it the leader by far. The number of fatalities is more than double that of Maricopa County, Arizona, which includes Phoenix.

It’s the same story for Harris County, TX, which includes Houston. L.A.’s number of dangerous intersections is almost triple those of San Diego and Miami-Dade Counties, with the worst intersections in East Hollywood, which saw 212 pedestrians hit in 2014. In Downtown, there were a total of 659 walkers hit in total. In Chinatown, the number was 58. Furthermore, in Westlake, it was 343, with 22 dangerous intersections and three deaths. The total number of deaths is staggering when you consider the city’s speed limits and the number of intersections. Hopefully, the next several years will see a severe decline in fatalities.

Did we miss any on the list? If we did, please make sure to write to us and send us your ideas. However, we hope this is a complete list.

Will DOT Be Taking Action to Decrease Pedestrian Casualties?

We now have attention deficit disorder and distracted driving. But wait, there is a new crisis for a government agency to justify its existence. It is called “Distracted Walking.”

The Department of Transportation has become concerned with the rise in pedestrian deaths in recent years. As always, the government’s answer is still more fees, taxes, fines, and regulations (some would say “over-regulation”).

This intrusion is always accompanied by a need for more tax-payer-funded public employees, a government employee union, and bloated benefits and pensions. And, of course, these are typically much greater and better than a typical worker in the USA.

So, does the apparent benefits of more regulations reduce societal problems? Or does the bloat and overreach come to the point of diminishing returns? Does common sense and being a decent human play more or less a role in avoiding pedestrian deaths than it was? If so, why or why not?

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What The DOT Is Saying About Distracted Walking

Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has termed the rise in pedestrian deaths as “distracted walking” since this more significant number of pedestrians are being injured and killed while texting or listening to music. Foxx also said that drugs might also have contributed to this increase in pedestrian deaths. So if you are bee-bopping down the street stoned on a joint of marijuana or playing with your cell phone, you could get hurt! Figure?

It looks like we need a new law right away to hurt the law-abiding and restrict their freedoms to justify what we did as elected officials and government agencies, right? Here it comes. The data for pedestrians killed and injured by the Department of Transportation showed a rise from 4,109 in 2009 to 4,432 in 2011. The evidence further indicates that there were 69,000 pedestrians were injured. Oh, my god!

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L.A. And Chicago Strike Again With The Highest Pedestrian Death Rates

Interesting that dense and overcrowded cities have more people getting hurt on foot. I propose we make big cities illegal. In any event, this data shows Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York have the highest percentages of pedestrian-vehicle collision deaths. (See also the pedestrian accident attorney blog here.)

The rate of pedestrian deaths due to motor vehicles in Los Angeles is 42%. It is 30% in Chicago and 51% in New York. According to the Product Safety Commission report, 1,500 pedestrians were treated in emergency rooms in 2011. All of these were injured while walking. Or perhaps they were walking and using electronic devices such as cell phones.

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First Step More Enforcement and a Safety Campaign – Enter the Federal Grants.

So rather than looking at the population increases, DOT wants to increase “enforcement” and so-called “education” (“Here is your ticket, now pay up and don’t be distracted, sir again”). The answer, Foxx said, is education and more enforcement, as there would be in a pedestrian safety campaign.

As many as twenty-two cities are battling the increase in pedestrian harm and fatalities. These cities have until August 30th to apply for federal grants that have 2 million dollars allocated to deal with distracted walking. Remember, grants can be like Hotel California. Pure and straightforward, this is a way for the feds to get control over your state. So follow the money, according to Foxx, who plans a pedestrian advocacy summit in the fall that will include the national nonprofit America Walks. This summit is a coalition of groups that advocate improving conditions for pedestrians.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Administrator David Strickland, said everyone should play a pedestrian safety role. And he stressed that drivers need to adhere to driving laws.

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The Safety Data

The Department of Transportation data shows several details, including 3 out of 4 pedestrians die in urban areas. At least 2 out of three fatalities occur at locations other than intersections. The highest rate of pedestrian deaths at approximately 70% between 8:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. is proven in the compiled data.

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What Are The Study’s Flaws?

All I can say is no, duh. More people get hurt in crowded cities who are on foot. And many of our clients are hit by government buses. Perhaps the government should consider that distracted by government employees, and maybe not pedestrians, cause most roadway accidents.

The study also fails to distinguish that the pedestrian has the right of way in most cases in California. But in New York, the car operator has the right of way unless the person on foot is disabled or blind. So it would be interesting to see how many of these cases are just govt employees running people down. All they must do is blame the cell phone or headphones of the person walking down the street, etc.

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Safety Yes, DOT Regs, and More Enforcement No

At common law, the key is reasonable action. This social code of conduct is supreme, even above criminal law. It is the basic rule of life. And if a person violates this code, they can be sued for negligence or be hurt or run over by a car, for example.

So education and safety are essential. But it is the individual’s job to take responsibility for their actions, get off welfare and government mind control, and be a sovereign unto themselves and their neighbor, always acting with benevolence and graciousness.

So yes, I am doing my part right now, and it did not take a new government employee or traffic cop to raid your bank account. You just learned from me. Hey, be careful out there, and stop screwing around. In any event, there is zero evidence that big government, govt safety campaigns, or anything like that reduces anything. Like the war on drugs, this is a problem that educated individuals, not their government minders, figure out themselves.

How Do Experts Determine Liability in Texting While Walking Accidents?

Modern social media and phones have infected every part of contemporary life. No matter where you are or where you go, you will always see people enamored by their handheld electronics. The issue seems to be even more so in Southern California.

Now with texting and walking and texting while driving, we have two potentially liable parties. Usually, a motorist is responsible almost always when hitting a person on foot. But now, the pedestrian could be 100% at fault for causing their injury. This exception exists because the walker could have been texting and walked directly in front of an oncoming car. In other words, the pedestrian did not have the right of way, and there was no time to slow the vehicle.

There are considerable concerns about drivers texting when they should be paying attention to the road. Altogether, these issues are drivers’ worst nightmares — what happens if you strike someone that should have otherwise been paying attention?

Experts Can Sift Through the Various Factors to Determine Fault for the Pedestrian Accident

Such answers are not always so clear-cut. Many factors are at play, and some are out of your control. Also, this could include the walker’s position on the road or sidewalk. Examples include crossing in a no-crossing zone, weather and lighting conditions, local laws, and other considerations. The complex picture is not one that a simple driver wants to deal with.

A Skilled Attorney Leads and Commands His Team Of Experts To Come In For The Big Win

Winning is the game’s name, and everything is on the line in a pedestrian accident case. There is no need to be dragged into a multi-year fight over whose fault the accident was. So if you were the pedestrian, we would determine if the driver was not paying attention. Our experts know how to present evidence to minimize your liability in the accident.

His team works with California’s best accident reconstructionists to determine precisely how the disabling, jolting event happened. By surveying witnesses, finding any CCTV video, and collecting forensic evidence, the exact cause may get pinpointed. You will hopefully win by putting all of these factors together with Ehline’s case-building skills. You can avoid going to court and get back to your life.

Why Are School Crossing Safety Procedures So Important To Child Safety?

We cannot take our children’s safety too dangerous. Many schools have undertaken significant steps to ensure security inside and outside the children’s school buildings. However, you can take specific actions to help keep students safer. Parents and those involved in school districts can take part in such an effort.

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Natural Steps Schools Can Take to Make Street Crossing Safer

For example, there are several steps that you can choose. As a result, safety can increase near and in school crossing zones. At times the reduced speed limit near the zones isn’t enough. But proper police enforcement is a valuable component. The implementation helps ensure that school zone speed problems are reduced.

The school can also contribute to reducing this through radar control signs. These visible signs are noticed faster by drivers. These signs, if equipped with cameras, provide speeding warning protection. Also, signs and cameras further reduce instances of speeding when used together.

• Lobbying Caltrans?

Furthermore, the school can work with parents in lobbying Caltrans. For example, they can fight to improve signage and lighting near the zones. Safety will increase by placing reduced speed signs in proper and visible spaces. They should be set approaching either side of the crosswalk. Also, bright lights on the crosswalk can improve the situation.

For example, as the sun sets, they light up with a solar panel and battery. So aside from maintenance issues, these lights work all the time. This battery also helps if a blackout happens. Flashing lights can also alert drivers of the school crossing zone. That gives them a greater area in which to slow their vehicle.

• Does Direct Parental Action Remain Vital?

Parents can also work with the school. For example, they can volunteer to help students cross the street. Presentations can help teach students proper crossing etiquette. And this can make them mindful of their surroundings.

These life lessons will stick with these young people for a long time. Also, it will make them safer in many situations. Furthermore, volunteers can become walking school bus volunteers. Volunteers make sure that students can get back and forth from school safely.

In conclusion, adult pedestrians and children get into many fatal accidents. Due to the fragile nature of kids’ bodies, they need protection. Collision avoidance is the best way to protect from severe harm or death. Help take these essential steps to help the future generation.

Citations:

1. https://www.mychildsafety.net/  – Child Safety Tips / A Parent’s Helpful Guide
2. https://curriculum.madison.k12.wi.us/node/868 – School Traffic Safety Committee | Curriculum & Instruction
3. L.A. Times Propaganda on Pedestrian Safety – Official U.S. Govt Propaganda on Distracted Walking
4. More USDOT Distracted Walking PR

Driving Directions from East Hollywood to Ehline Law.

• Travel 19 min (4.6 miles) via W Temple St, East Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA by heading south on N Berendo St toward Santa Monica Blvd 7 s (171 ft)
• Continue on Santa Monica Blvd. Take N Virgil Ave, W Temple St, Glendale Blvd, and W 2nd St to W 5th St 18 min (4.6 mi)

Driving Directions from Westlake to Ehline Law.

• Drive 8 min (1.7 miles) via W 6th St from Westlake, Los Angeles, CA.
• Head northeast on S Bonnie Brae St toward W 6th St 19 s (230 ft)
• Continue on W 6th St to W 4th St 5 min (1.2 mi)
• Continue on W 4th St to S Grand Ave 2 min (0.3 mi)
• Continue on S Grand Ave. Drive to W 5th St 51 s (0.1 mi)

Read More »Los Angeles Rated Most Unsafe Location for Pedestrians

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