ROAD SAFETY: WILL FEDS REGULATE FAT TRUCKERS?

By now, we all know it’s not healthy to be overweight. Medical reports rail against excess body fat, citing statistics that show even a few extra pounds can cause serious illnesses, from diabetes to heart ailments. Americans trying to stay healthy fight battles with their bathroom scales every day all over the United States.
But what about other people’s fat? Can it kill us too? Yes, according to sleep scientists at Harvard University. Their studies of the link between being overweight and sleep apnea have the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration considering new rules to require screening of overweight truck drivers. Harvard scientists estimate that 28 percent of commercial truck drivers on U.S. highways suffer from mild or severe sleep apnea. The disorder shuts off airways, causing them to wake up dozens, even hundreds of times every night, leaving them generally fatigued and often, grievously sleep deprived. People with sleep apnea have a tendency to nod off during normal activities. A few seconds asleep at the wheel of an 80,000 pound truck rolling down the highway could easily be fatal to nearby drivers.
While the federal government is looking seriously at new rules to curb sleep apnea in overweight truckers, it has no deadline for implementing them. Supporters say the rules could help prevent the truck accidents that kill more than 5,200 people a year and injure another 100,000. Critics say the rules could idle up to 40 percent of the truckers on American roads. Meanwhile, successful treatments for sleep apnea include a device that supplies oxygen during the night and keeps airways open, leaving truckers with sleep apnea rested and ready to go.

HELP FOR VICTIMS IS A PRIORITY AT MADD

A knock at the door rousts a woman out of bed. Her husband is off on his motorcycle doing an errand. One look at police on her front porch and she guesses the awful truth. He’s been killed. The man who hit him was drunk. A man driving his family to Mexico for a Christmas vacation is rear-ended at 90 miles an hour by a drunk driver. His wife and son are dead at the scene. His mother dies later.
A woman in a pickup truck is knocked off a freeway overpass in the dark by a drunk driver and left to die in a ditch. Her husband and son find her body two hours later when she doesn’t come home.
Accidents like these occur every day. Those grieving for loved ones killed by drunk drivers say the pain never ends. That’s where Mothers Against Drunk Driving steps in. MADD offers them a range of services, from money for groceries and funeral expenses to accompanying families to court during legal proceedings against drunk drivers that can last for months, and sometimes, years. The money in Texas comes from a state fund for victims. MADD can access it in three to five days, according to the Director of Victim Services in MADD’s San Antonio office.
“MADD is an ear to listen, a shoulder to lean on and a hand to hold,” says Jennifer Hathaway, another MADD executive in Texas, describing the services the organization provides to those who have lost loved ones to drunk driving anywhere in the country. Staffers at MADD are trained to help victims with all aspects of a drunk-driving crash as long as they are needed. Contact the Victims Helpline at 1-877-MADD-HELP. Attorney Jim Adler, who has represented victims of drunk drivers for more than 30 years, is a strong supporter of the one organization entirely devoted to helping victims of drunk drivers. Jim Adler & Associates is underwriting a video to make more people aware of the services that MADD offers drunk driving accident victims.

DECEMBER DRIVING ALERT

Watch out! You are entering one of the most dangerous driving seasons in America. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that Dec. 22, 23 and 24 are “among the deadliest days of the year for all drivers!” With all the stress and anxiety associated with the holidays - hyped this year by a down economy - distracted drivers and drivers afflicted with a dangerous case of road rage could make the entire month hazardous.

However, defensive driving techniques are always the best idea whenever you are behind the wheel. True, the gasoline crisis has reduced the number of drivers on the road. But road rage could be on the increase as people continue losing homes and jobs during the coming months.

The decline in driving spawned by the rise in the price of gas at the pump is “the largest continuous decline……the nation has experienced” says the Associated Press. Highway deaths are dropping too. The U.S. Department of Transportation says 31,110 people died on the nation’s roads from January through October 2008, compared to 34,502 during the same period in 2007.

But that’s no reason for you to relax. While 2007 set a new low of 41,059 highway deaths, the AA Foundation for Traffic Safety says that’s a highway fatality every 13 minutes! If you are injured, Jim Adler & Associates is a phone call away. (1-800-505-1414) www.jimadler.com

SUV Roof Crush|Double Lane Change

Are SUVs Crashworthy?

They are big. They make you feel safe. But under certain circumstances the SUV is a hearse. It’s a vehicle that can easily take your life in a rollover accident or inflict catastrophic, life-altering injuries. Some experts say, the very height and size of an SUV limits its crashworthiness. Manufacturing defects, such as weak roofs and improper safety restraint systems, further reduce the SUVs ability to protect passengers in accidents. Not one single SUV received the highest safety rating awarded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association in 2003. In 2005, NHTSA reported that approximately 10,000 people die each year in vehicle rollover accidents, many in SUVs. Sixty percent of these victims weren’t wearing seatbelts. According to data in 2007 from Consumer Reports, another 24,000 victims suffered catastrophic injuries including paralysis and brain damage in rollovers.

The Danger of the Double Lane Change in an SUV

The rate of SUV rollovers is two to three times greater than that of cars. Because SUVs have a higher center of gravity and because their height makes them more top heavy, they are more prone to rollover, especially when swerving abruptly to avoid hitting an object or person. Double lane-change is a test that measures the maneuverability of the SUV. In real life, a double lane change often occurs when an SUV driver is trying to avoid an accident. This sudden maneuver can easily cause the SUV to tip on two wheels, resulting in a roll over. This type of rollover occurred frequently in 2000 with Ford/Firestone vehicles, leaving hundreds dead and many more injured.

Tragedies Caused by SUV Roof Crushes

In rollover accidents, roof crush is the primary cause of serious injury and death. In 2005, NHTSA estimated that there are 596 fatalities and 807 serious injuries annually caused by passenger contact with a collapsed roof during a rollover crash. An SUV needs a strong roof to create the “survival space” necessary to protect occupants during a rollover crash. Despite heavy criticism from vehicle safety advocacy groups, SUV manufacturers are not installing the types of roll bars needed to protect occupants during rollovers. Manufacturers say it’s the force of the impact that causes injury and death, not the design of the roof. As long as they resist new roof safety designs, thousands of catastrophic injuries and deaths can be expected each year.

New Roof Standards Not Implemented

In 1973 the government created the Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 216 that measures the integrity of roof structure in motor vehicles. Under this standard, a roof pillar on a passenger car cannot deform more than five inches when subjected to a force 1 ½ times the vehicle’s weight or 6,000 lbs. Since this test applies only to vehicles that weigh six thousand pounds or less, and since most SUVs weigh more than that, they are virtually exempt from this 30-year-old compulsory standard. In 2005, NHTSA proposed a new roof crush standard that would increase vehicle weight to 10,000 to include SUVs. By March 2008 it had still not been approved.

Brain Damage Lawyer | Air Bag Injuries

Drivers who are vulnerable can’t avoid air bag injuries unless they disable steering wheel air bags. Air bag deployment is automatic when a car is hit hard enough in an accident. An air bag explodes out of the steering wheel at 230 mph with 1200 lbs of force. If it strikes a driver in the face and the driver survives - a big “if” – the brain may never recover from the blow.

Who are the most vulnerable drivers? Small women who have to sit closer to the steering wheel than 10 to 12 inches are the most likely candidates for air bag injuries, including brain hemorrhage, severed brain stem, broken neck, facial fractures, blindness and other catastrophic injuries. The original standard for airbag development was the average man - 5 ft. 8 inches tall, weighing 180 lbs.

Is that discrimination against women? If it is, the federal government is leaving them at risk until 2012. That’s when new federal rules governing air bags go into effect, mandating car manufacturers to make air bags “as safe for women and children” as they are for the standard sized man. A word to the wise is necessary here, however. Anyone, man, woman or child, can suffer traumatic injuries if they are too close to an air bag when it is released from the steering wheel, the dashboard, or the side of the car.

Airbag Fraud | Air Bag Repair

A February 2008 Reader’s Digest article “Dashboard Danger” is about airbag fraud, a new scam that puts lives at risk. As the magazine reports, if you bought a used car, you may not have an air bag at all. The space where it belongs could be stuffed with newspaper. Or, it could hold the wrong air bag for your vehicle if it’s been replaced after a wreck. The magazine says buyers have no dependable way of knowing if a car they are buying has been in a crash. Many depend on Carfax and AutoCheck for histories on cars they are considering. But consumer advocates warn that is dangerous. Internet sites may not have all the vital data needed to make an informed purchase. The Readers Digest article warns that: “…airbag fraud is widespread, persistent and deadly these days.” The best protection is to use common sense when it comes to air bag safety. Always ask about air bags when buying a used car. Know what air bags are standard for the model of car you are considering. Ask the dealer to certify that the air bags are in the car and that they have been installed correctly if they have had to be replaced.

SUV ROLLOVERS STILL THREATEN DRIVERS

While new models of SUVs have been improved to combat the vehicle’s propensity to rollover, thousands of older SUVs are still on the road, exposing drivers and passengers to catastrophic injuries, killing and maiming those who bought the vehicles for “safety.” While the SUV created the illusion of safety on the road because of its size compared to other vehicles, the image was deceiving. The older SUV is three times more likely to rollover than any other passenger vehicle, according to SUV Rollover Statistics www.onlinelawyersource.com. SUVs had the highest rollover rate of any vehicle involved in fatal crashes and the highest rollover rate for passenger vehicles in injury crashes. And rollovers are the deadliest types of accidents.www.pbs.org. They frequently cause head trauma - the most serious type of fatal and nonfatal injury in a rollover, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (www.suvrollovernews.com). Adding to the danger, “…the overwhelming majority of rollovers occur during ordinary situations,” says NHTSA, when a driver swerves to avoid a stopped car or accidentally veers off the road. Because the SUV has a higher center of gravity, it is less stable on the road. Defective tires have also played a role in older SUV accidents. And particular models of older SUVs are noted for being involved in serious rollover accidents. “In 2003, almost 4,500 people died in SUV accidents, a twenty two percent increase from 2001.” www.onlinelawyersource.com. Since older SUVs have none of the new built-in safety features that make them less likely to roll over, drivers of older models would do well to consult an attorney if their SUV is involved in an accident to make sure their legal rights are protected.

WANT TO SEE A BIG TRUCK HIT A CAR?

The legal weight for an 18-wheeler is 80,000 lbs. That’s 4 tons, my friend. The curb weight of a 2005 Toyota Camry is 3,164. So, it’s no contest, dude, when one of the big guys hits one of the little guys. Since “seeing is believing” as the old saying goes, click on www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePrD3oe8UIY That will drive it home. Car crashes with 18-wheelers can be deadly. Victims often wind up with catastrophic injuries to the brain and spinal cord. It’s best to consult an attorney right away after an accident with an 18-wheeler since some states have time limits on how long you can wait before you file suit. And be extra cautious on the highway around a big rig. Small mistakes at high speeds can be fatal.

LEADING KILLER OF YOUNG AMERICANS:

Research! America and SAFE USA report that accidents are the leading cause of death in Americans age 45 and younger. Car crashes accounted for most of the deaths

Cell Phone Driver Case Nets Victim $21.6 million:

A jury in Florida took less than two hours to reach a verdict that gave a multi-million award to the family of a woman struck by a driver using a cell phone. The inattentive driver rear-ended the victim. The impact sent the victim’s car hurtling across the median into on-coming traffic where it was struck by two vehicles. The victim died at the scene. The jury determined that the cell phone driver’s negligence was the sole reason for the accident. Learn why it’s so dangerous to use a cell phone while driving. The Adler Network has the story at www.jimadler.com with Adler personal injury attorney Andy Wilbur.