Articles Posted in Motor Vehicle Accidents

The Syracuse Post Standard reports that, after the fatal series of New York bus accidents this year (see my prior blog posts below), New York State troopers, and Department of Transportation officials, started cracking down on bus safety violations using, as a weapon of choice, surprise roadside inspections. The result? 530 bus drivers and 460 non-compliant buses have been removed from our roads for safety violations. Twenty two buses were inspected within Onondaga County alone, of which three were removed. Two of these were Greyhound buses.

What kind of violations are we talking about? Minor things? Hell no. How about one bus with 20 percent of its brakes out of adjustment. Or a driver failing to keep a week’s worth of driving records (these are required to show that the driver has taken legally mandated “times off” from driving, which avoids the risk falling asleep at the wheel).

Does this kind of law enforcement work? You bet. The crackdown costs the bus industry money. It becomes cheaper for them to simply comply with the safety rules. It no longer “pays” to cut safety corners. And you and your family are safer. Which of course means that New York motor vehicle accident lawyers like me get fewer bus accident cases, which is absolutely fine with me, thank you.

Kudos to SU’s Public Relations students, who have launched a campaign to dissuade their fellow students from texting while driving. Imaginative campaign, too. They are distributing “thumb bands” (think those ubiquitous yellow “LiveStrong” bracelets, but thumb size), with the word “pause” imbedded on them, to remind students not to employ that digit, or any other, on the smart phone while driving.

The campaign will be featured at Friday night’s Virginia v SU football game at the Carrier Dome, where the thumb bands will be distributed, and students will be invited to jump online with their smart phones where they can pledge not to text while driving.

As I have blogged about many times before, driving while texting is even more dangerous in many ways than drinking and driving. In my job as a Syracuse and Central New York car accident attorney, I personally have noticed a big increase in the number of cross-over and rear-end collisions due to young people texting while driving within the last few years. National statistics bear out my personal observations; according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 20 percent of crashes involve distracted driving, including texting, and most of these are drivers under 20 years old.

Ok. Maybe I’m just a little picky. But I want people who drive down roads, at lease ones my family and I frequent, to be able to see. This might be due to a professional bias — I am a Central and Syracuse NY car accident lawyer who actually knows, loves, and has represented, many victims of Central New York car crashes.

Yeah, I know, I’m just a chronic complainer, at least that’s what the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) must think of me. I assume that’s the case because, according to a new DMV proposed regulation, you don’t even have to prove you can see to get your driver’s license renewed in New York. Under the DMV plan, drivers would merely have to “certify” that they meet vision requirements. Talk about the fox guarding the hen house . . .

But not so fast DMV. Apparently, I’m not the only picky guy in town. Your decision to toss out the vision test requirement is under fire. County clerks and state legislators are aghast. When they read the news, they must have questioned their own eyesight. They then scratched their heads and heaved a collective, “WHAT??!!! The noise then reached the Governor’s office, which announced Friday it will ask doctors to review the plan.

Since my last post on this Cortland area tour bus accident, news sources indicate that 28 of the 30 passengers on the bus were from Poland, and that, fortunately, most appear to have suffered only minor injuries. Police say heavy rain was falling at the time the bus left the roadway, and that the driver appears to have been going too fast for such conditions.

As I said in my last post, this is the third tour bus accident this summer in Central New York. Enough already! Let’s be more careful everyone.

Under New York motor vehicle accident law, a bus driver, and his employer, are liable for injuries caused at least in part by speed that was excessive for the prevailing weather conditions, even if the bus’ speed was below the posted speed limit. Reasonable drivers slow down on wet roads. Some tour bus operators have been known to put concerns about keeping to a fixed schedule, and avoiding delays, ahead of safety. Safety should always come first.

It’s an epidemic. For the 3rd time this summer, a tour bus has been involved in an accident in Central New York State. This time a tour bus overturned in Whitney Point, between Exits 6 and 7 southbound on Interstate 81, just south of Cortland, at about 7:15 p.m. There were 28 passengers on board. Numerous injuries are reported and some passengers are still trapped in the bus, which is lying on its roof with its wheels in the air. Our heart goes out to all the victims. May they all escape unscathed.

On July 22, a Canadian tour bus bound for NY City and a tractor trailer collided and erupted in fire in the eastbound lanes of the New York State Thruway, in the Town of Junius, Seneca County, between exists 41 and 42. That accident came on the heels of another deadly tour bus accident in nearby Steuben County less than a week before. That tour bus departed from New York City and was bound for Niagara Falls. That accident appears to have been caused in part by a blown out tire. I blogged about both those accidents here.

Tour bus accidents, like almost all motor vehicle accidents, are caused most frequently by driver error. Victims have recourse against the negligent driver and his or her employer. In the case of a bus driver error, the driver’s employer and bus owner are liable for any negligence on the part of the driver. In addition, under New York motor vehicle accident law, even if there is no negligence at all, the passengers are all entitled to “no-fault benefits”. This is an automatic benefit available to all passengers of up to $50,000 in medical expenses and lost wages. New York bus accident victims need to consult with a New York bus accident lawyer to process these benefits, and also to claim compensation beyond no-fault for their pain and suffering and other damages against the at-fault driver, employer or vehicle owner.

Owasco, New York’s Emerson Park tradition of Third of July music followed by fireworks ended on a sour note this year. As pedestrians exiting the festivities were walking along Owasco Road toward Auburn after the fireworks at about 10:15, seven of them were struck by a car that was pushed into them by a pick-up truck. Thankfully, none of the injuries appear very serious. The victims were brought to Auburn Memorial or University Hospital in Syracuse. The drivers of both vehicles were young (only 19 years old).

We hope all the victims make a speedy and complete recovery. As an Auburn New York car accident lawyer, I am curious to know more about how this accident happened, and which vehicle’s insurance will pick up the tab for the medical bills and any lost wages (“no-fault insurance”). Also, if any of the victims have a fractured bone, or an injury that keeps them out of work for more than 90 days, or that causes a long-term partial loss of use of a part of their body, they will likely qualify for “liability” coverage from one or both vehicles’ insurance.

Will these young drivers have enough auto insurance to cover all these injuries? Most young people buy the cheapest insurance – which covers only $25,000 per injury/$50,000 per accident. Although the injuries appear modest, the policies could soon be depleted because so many were injured. On the other hand, under New York law, the owner of the at-fault vehicle is also liable, and those owners may turn out to be well-to-do parents (one of the vehicles was a Volvo), who might have significantly higher liability coverage limits.

I was right. In my last blog post I discussed the Minetto car-on-motorcycle collision. The car had drifted over into the motorcycle’s lane of travel and collided with it. In my blog post, I said “my guess as to why this young driver crossed over? Driver distraction”. I explained that, as a New York car and motorcycle accident lawyer, I have been representing more and more victims of distracted driver-related accidents, mostly caused by drivers texting or dialing while driving.

Well, on Friday the Syracuse Post Standard reported that the driver of the car had just received a text message and was looking for a pen to write with when she crossed over into the oncoming lane and crashed with the motorcyclist.

Moral of the story? Keep your eyes on the road, and off your cell phone, or other electronic device.