On December 18, Mayor Vincent Gray announced that several of the major commuter routes in DC would be seeing higher speed limits. While this may come as a welcome convenience for many drivers, Washington, D.C. car accident attorneys know that higher speeds also present higher risks. The D.C. Council must…
Articles Posted in Car Accidents
Statutes Allowing Fetal Wrongful Death Lawsuits Vary from State to State: Baumann et al v. Slezak et al
A wrongful death lawsuit arising from a Nebraska automobile accident invokes that state’s fetal death statute, reportedly for the first time since the Nebraska Legislature enacted it in 2003. The plaintiffs in Baumann v. Slezak, et al are asserting multiple causes of action in relation to the deaths of a…
Washington DC Car Accident Lawsuit Alleges Direct Negligence and Respondeat Superior: Lewis-Shephard v. Burch, et al
A lawsuit filed last year alleges two types of liability in a Washington DC automobile accident. The plaintiff in Lewis-Shephard v. Burch, et al filed suit against two defendants: the driver of a vehicle that allegedly struck her when she was on foot, and the owner of said vehicle. The…
Washington DC Ranks Last in Annual Ranking of “Best Drivers;” Surrounding Areas Also Fare Poorly
Allstate Insurance Company released its eighth annual “Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report,” and Washington DC again ranked last among two hundred American cities. The survey examined its own data on accident claims to determine each city’s auto collision frequency. The cities with the lowest frequencies were deemed to have the…
Cars Collide with Washington DC-Area Fire Engines; Police Remind Drivers of State “Move-Over” Laws
The city of Greenbelt, Maryland has found itself with no working fire engines as the result of two accidents in recent weeks. One accident involved a driver who failed to yield the right of way and collided with a fire engine. The other accident occurred when two cars struck the…
Washington DC Survey Shows Increase in Distracted Driving
As cell phones become more of a necessity in everyday life, they also pose a threat to road and highway safety. Distracted driving, meaning driving with only partial attention to the road because of a cell phone or other communications device, rivals drunk driving as a threat to public safety.…
Improvements in Auto Racing Safety Mean Fewer Accidents, Less-Satisfied Fans
NASCAR races around the country have gone a remarkably long time without a serious crash. Some races have recently gone hundreds of laps without even a yellow caution flag, which requires drivers to exercise caution or slow down due to a hazardous condition on the track. Some observers have credited…
NHTSA Delays Decision on Backup Cameras in Cars
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), an office within the U.S. Department of Transportation, has delayed a final rule regarding rear visibility requirements in cars. This is the second delay of the rule since the agency began working on it. The purpose of the rule would be to prevent…
National Transportation Safety Board Urges Cities and States to Ban All Cell Phone Use by Drivers
An investigation into a car crash caused by distracted driving has led the nation’s leading governmental traffic safety advocate to urge state governments to ban all use of portable communications devices by drivers. This would include cell phones, meaning a total ban on non-emergency talking and texting while operating a…
Returning Veterans are at High Risk for Auto Accidents
Automobile crashes are the leading cause of death for veterans returning from deployment during their first year back home, according to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA). Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan face a 75% greater probability of a fatal car accident than the general population. This continues a…