Category: Car Accidents

Oct 21, 2011 - Car Accidents by Cross & Smith

Teen drivers under the age of 18 are prohibited from using a cell phone and from text messaging behind the wheel in the state of Alabama, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. This state law isn’t going to completely eliminate their risks of a serious car accident in Alabama however. According to a recently released study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, there are a number of additional habits that can put your teen at risk on our roadways. “This research serves as a great reminder for parents to stay involved in the learning process,” Peter Kissinger, president and chief executive of the foundation. Our Alabama car accident attorneys understand teens are about 50 percent more likely to get into a traffic accident during their first 30 days behind the wheel than they are after driving for one year. Teen drivers are about twice as likely to get into an accident during the first six months of driving than they are after two full years of driving experience. The learning process of teen drivers is so important and parents should be fully involved in this process. Parents and guardians may be some of the most influential people in shaping a teen driver’s abilities behind the wheel.

Oct 4, 2011 - Car Accidents by Cross & Smith

Our Alabama pedestrian accident attorneys remind residents that International Walk to School Day is this week. You don’t have to be in school to participate either. Take the hike to schools with your child or get outdoors after school and take a walk with them. The idea of the event is raise awareness about pedestrian dangers, to encourage kids to get moving to get healthy, to campaign for more walkable streets and to help to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. While we want our children to get outside and play and we want them to do it safely. To help to encourage fitness-related activities, to increase self- confidence and responsibility, parents are urged to speak with their children about pedestrian safety. These tips can turn into lifelong safe traveling habits and can help to decrease their risks of being involved in a pedestrian accident in Tuscaloosa, Birmingham or elsewhere in Alabama.

Sep 27, 2011 - Car Accidents by Cross & Smith

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently released a report that analyzed pedestrian accidents in Alabama and elsewhere. The aim was to come up with a number of ways that officials can help reduce the risks of pedestrian accidents in communities nationwide. Fortunately, the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) may be one step ahead of the game as it has already constructed a Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan to help reduce the risks of pedestrian accidents. Our Alabama pedestrian accident attorneys recognize that this plan is backed by excellent intentions. But there’s no decreasing the risks for these types of accidents until this plan is put into motion and motorists start to react accordingly. The plan aims to promote pedestrian safe roadways in the state and to minimize the impacts of future projects on non-motorized travelers. ALDOT also is establishing a list of recommendations for pedestrian and bicycle facilities.

Sep 20, 2011 - Birmingham by Cross & Smith

Police say text messaging is at least partly to blame for a Birmingham car accident that claimed the life of a young mother and her 10-month-old son. FOX News reported that the 18-year-old mother was texting in the minutes before her car crossed the median and slammed into a dump truck. Police responding to the crash reportedly found an unsent text message on her phone. Recently, our Alabama personal injury attorneys noted a push by the federal government to prohibit all bus and truck drivers from using a cell phone while behind the wheel — either hand-held or hands-free. Distracted driving continues to claim more than 5,000 lives a year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Alabama Department of Public Safety reports at least six people this year have died in Alabama car accidents that involved cell phone use or text messaging.

Sep 13, 2011 - Car Accidents by Cross & Smith

Football season is here. Unfortunately, the beginning of fall football season also launches the three deadliest months of the year for Alabama drunk driving accidents and fatal accidents involving alcohol elsewhere in the United States. The football season will lead us right into Thanksgiving and the year-end holiday season. Our Alabama injury lawyers understand the risks; drinking and driving too often leads to devastating accidents that destroy the lives of both the victims and the defendants. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports someone dies in an alcohol-related traffic accident every 48 minutes in the United States. Nationwide, one-third of all fatal traffic accidents involve a drunk driver, resulting in the deaths of more than 11,000 motorists a year. Alabama drunk driving accidents claimed 325 lives in 2009. We all know tailgating can be a good time. But the pre-game tailgate parties often increase the risk of post-game drunk driving accidents. A recent study by the University of Minnesota found that nearly half of those leaving a professional baseball or football game had alcohol in their system and nearly 1 in 10 were legally drunk. Those under 35 were most likely to be intoxicated and those who tailgated were 14 times more likely to be drunk, according to Businessweek.

Aug 31, 2011 - Car Accidents by Cross & Smith

Our Tuscaloosa personal injury attorneys wish you and your family a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend. Please celebrate responsibly and don’t drink and drive. Car accidents in Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Bessemer and elsewhere in Alabama are a real threat during this final summer holiday weekend of the year. AAA is reporting 27.3 million travelers are expected to make a trip of at least 50 miles by car over the three-day holiday weekend, CNN Money reports. Authorities in Alabama will be joining law enforcement in Florida and several other states as part of the “Hands Across the Border” drunk driving enforcement program. The National Safety Council expects 400 motorists will be killed in traffic accidents nationwide. Nearly 40,000 will be seriously injured.

Aug 15, 2011 - Car Accidents by Cross & Smith

The Alabama Highway Patrol reported a busy weekend — responding to at least three injury accidents on Sunday afternoon. Our Tuscaloosa personal injury lawyers remind motorists that August is traditionally the deadliest month of the year. Accidents in Etowah and DeKalb counties were reported on Sunday, including an Alabama trucking accident on I-59 near mile marker 176. That accident occurred about 1:30 a.m. The 57-year-old driver was injured. Two teens from Boaz were injured on Alabama Highway 179. That accident involved a 16- and 17-year-old in a Mitsubishi. A third accident involved a 1995 Ford on County Road 163. MSN reports that August is the deadliest month on the road. Nearly 3,000 motorists died on the nation’s roads in August of 2009, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Statistics for last year are due out later this summer.

Jul 25, 2011 - Car Accidents by Cross & Smith

Technology is being used to help keep older drivers safe on the road. Senior driving safety is among the fastest growing health and safety issues in the nation as the 70 million baby boomers begin hitting the doors to retirement. Our Tuscaloosa personal injury lawyers know many families struggle with the issue of helping parents or older loved ones determine when the time has come to hand over the keys. Such conversations can be difficult, even contentious; yet it is a critical step in the aging process and can prevent a family member from being involved in a serious or fatal Alabama car accident. In Florida, the Silver Alert program uses digital highway signs to locate lost or confused seniors; in the three years since the program’s inception, 44 older drivers have been helped.

Jul 20, 2011 - Car Accidents by Cross & Smith

The feds are making a major push to outlaw cell phone use by drivers nationwide in an effort to reduce to risk of car accidents in Tuscaloosa and elsewhere caused by drivers distracted by cell phones and text messaging behind the wheel. Our Tuscaloosa car accidents lawyers are frequently called to represent victims who are injured or killed in an accident caused by a driver who was not paying attention; cell phones continue to be a leading cause of distraction. Carolyn McCarthy, a Democratic Congresswoman from New York, has introduced the Safe Drivers Act of 2011 in Congress, which would make using a cell phone illegal while behind the wheel, except in cases of emergency. Alabama is one of a dwindling number of states with a distracted driving law aimed only at young drivers under the age of 18, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. A few states — including Ohio and Florida — still have no laws at all. Some 38 states have passed some form of a text messaging ban. The jigsaw of laws — combined with some resistance to act at all — has Congress pushing a nationwide solution to the issue.

Jul 11, 2011 - Car Accidents by Cross & Smith

The National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) list of the “most wanted” drivers in the United States has been released. On this list are a number of drivers that are most likely to cause a car accident in Alabama and elsewhere. You bet drunk drivers in Alabama are on the list. These are drivers that cause serious and fatal accidents with alarming regularity — nationwide, more than one-third of all fatal crashes involve a drunk driver. Alabama is currently targeting drunk drivers. Governor Robert Bentley recently signed Senate Bill 361 into law. This law provides stricter penalties for those who have been convicted of a DUI in Alabama, according to WAFF 48 News. The new law requires that some convicted drunk drivers install ignition interlocks on their cars.