Even as overall vehicle death rates drop, auto-pedestrian deaths are on the rise.

In just the first 10 weeks of 2012, three people died and one was severely injured after being struck by a car.

Last year marked an 83 percent increase in auto-pedestrian deaths in Austin with 21 total deaths plus a single auto-bike fatality (that compares to 12 deaths in 2010).

Of eight people who have already died in collisions with motor vehicles, seven were after dark or at dusk and one-third were hit and runs.

None of the pedestrian deaths in 2011 occurred in downtown Austin, where the city wants to encourage a vibrant walking and biking scene.  But statistics show that the likelihood of being hit by a car is higher there than in any other neighborhood, and the “potential for life-threatening injuries is always there,” said Lt. Ely Reyes with the Police Department’s traffic enforcement division.

The most dangerous street, with 19 crash-prone locations in the last three years along its eight mile length is also the city’s most prominent – Congress Avenue.  But Congress Avenue is not the most deadly thoroughfare.  That distinction, according to the Austin-American Statesman, belongs to Interstate 35 which was the site of more than one-third of auto-pedestrian fatalities in 2011 (along I-35 and its frontage roads).

Meanwhile, fatalities from other vehicle collisions are falling – from 43 in 2005 to 32 in 2011, a 25 percent reduction.  That mirrors a decade old national trend.

In Austin, the statistical  result is that pedestrians now account for an increasingly larger proportion of all traffic deaths.  According to police records, about 25 percent of total traffic fatalities in 2009 and 2010 were pedestrians while that figure was 40 percent in 2011.  During the first 10 weeks of 2012, 50 percent were.

Why are auto-pedestrian fatalities rising in Austin?  For starters, we have a reputation as one of the heaviest drinking cities in the country.  But police also believe driver and pedestrian attitudes play a part – driver’s think pedestrians don’t have the right to cross the street and pedestrians think they can jump out at the last second.

Transportation for America ranks the Austin-Round Rock area the 18th most dangerous in the country for pedestrians – safer than Dallas-Fort With and Houston but more dangerous than San Antonio.  By contrast, the Alliance for Biking and Walking ranks Austin 15th best city in the country for biking to work – Houston, the next closest Texas city, is ranked 38th.

Alarmingly, the rate of hit-and-runs in Austin which accounts for more than one-third of auto pedestrian deaths this year, is about 50 percent above the national average.

In Texas, the criminal charge is “failure to stop and render aid,” a third degree felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison.  Sentences are often probated, and drivers typically keep their licenses.  This is one area that really needs to be addressed by the legislature.

According to police, in most cases the pedestrians are at fault – running across the highway or crossing against the light which account for about “90 percent” of the collisions.

An Austin city ordinance passed in 2009 requires vehicles to keep at least 3 feet away when passing a “vulnerable user” – a bicyclist, motorcyclist, pedestrian, or runner.  On four-lane roads, motorists are supposed to yield the lane entirely.  Only four citations are issued per year for violating this law.

Auto-Pedestrian Deaths on Rise is a post from: Accident & Injury Law in Texas

Every driver’s nightmare is to see a trucker barreling down the road with his head down and only one hand on the steering wheel as he’s texting his wife or his buddy. Surprisingly, texting truckers aren’t as dangerous as they might seem. Many of the common reasons for trucker accidents aren’t ones you might think of.

By far, the most common cause of trucker accidents is drug use. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found in a study a few years ago that 44 percent of truckers involved in accidents were impaired by illicit, prescription or over-the counter drugs.

Speeding is another common cause of trucker accidents. Though many companies put governors on their trucks that limit how fast drivers can go, plenty of companies don’t. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration study found that nearly one out of every four crashes involving a big rig were caused by speeding.

Ever see a trucker driving around looking lost? Not only is it a funny sight, it’s also a dangerous one. Another nearly one in four trucker crashes are caused by drivers who are unfamiliar with an area and don’t know where they are going.

You’ve probably been admonished at some point — maybe by a parent when you were learning how to drive — to stay out of a trucker’s blind spot. There’s a good reason for that. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration study, truck drivers’ failure to adequately check their blind spots contributed to 14 percent of trucker accidents.

The one cause of trucker accidents you hear a lot about, driver fatigue, actually isn’t that big of a cause at all. Only about 13 percent of trucker accidents are attributable to driver fatigue. This is likely due to law changes mandating more sleep and longer rest periods for drivers.

The other top causes of trucker accidents are the same sorts of things that contribute to most car accidents: inattention or distracted driving, violating traffic laws and road rage. These are all the kinds of things that keep truck accident attorneys employed.

Common Reasons for Trucker Accidents is a post from: Accident & Injury Law in Texas

Children may be safest in cars when grandma or grandpa are driving instead of mom or dad, according to study results that even made the researchers do a double-take.

“We were surprised to discover that the injury rate was considerably lower in crashes where grandparents were the drivers,” said Dr. Fred Henretig, an emergency medicine specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the study’s lead author.

Previous evidence indicates that car crashes are more common in older drivers, mostly those older than 65. The study looked at injuries rather than who had more crashes and found that children’s risk for injury was 50 percent lower when riding with grandparents than with parents.

The results are from an analysis of State Farm insurance claims for 2003-07 car crashes in 15 states, and interviews with the drivers. The data involved nearly 12,000 children up to age 15.

Henretig, 64, said the study was prompted by his own experiences when his first grandchild was born.

The study, was released online today in the journal Pediatrics.

Ten percent of kids in the study were driven by grandparents, but they suffered proportionately fewer injuries.

Grandparents Safer Drivers than Parents is a post from: Accident & Injury Law in Texas

The driver of a bus that crashed on Interstate 35 in San Marcos early Friday morning had fallen asleep at the wheel, San Marcos police said Wednesday.

Jesus Basio-Ramirez, a 44-year-old driver for Dallas-based Mares Bus Lines, left the highway’s northbound lanes shortly after 4 a.m. Friday, hit a sign and overcorrected, causing the bus to roll onto its side.

No charges have been filed against Basio-Ramirez, and unless the ongoing investigation reveals something that wasn’t immediately evident, none are expected to be filed.

Driver fatigue seems to have caused the wreck.

With 21 people on board, the bus was headed to Dallas from Laredo and had made a stop in New Braunfels moments before the crash.

Three passengers remain in hospital care, including 4-year-old Crystal Moreno, who had her leg amputated above the knee. Maria Barboza, 35, was at Austin’s University Medical Center Brackenridge in fair condition.
A spokeswoman with University Hospital in San Antonio said 57-year-old Maria Yolanda Serate-Delgado, was in stable condition there.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the family-owned Mares bus line employed 13 drivers and owned seven buses and two passenger vans as of May.

In the past two years, it has received numerous citations, including for driver fatigue and unsafe driving, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records show. The company also had one crash in that time, on Jana 11 in Illinois, the federal report said. It did not include details of the crash or the extent of any
injuries.

Jennifer Rodriquez, a spokeswoman with the company, said the federal administration gave the company a favorable rating in its latest compliance review. A Texas Department of Public Safety review Friday showed the bus to be in excellent condition before the crash, she said.

The 20 most recent Texas Department of Public Safety inspection reports for Mares Bus Lines show that Basio-Ramirez had violations in two incidents:

• On Nov. 7, 2008, while thriving from Dallas to Laredo, he failed to display his insurance card and was driving 11 miles) over the speed limit.
• On Aug. 15, 2009, while driving from Rio Grande to Dallas, he failed to signal while changing lanes.

Six other violations not attributed to Bolo-Ramirez could relate to driving longer than legally allowed under state law. The most recent such violation, from a January 20 state inspection report, said required information wasn’t in a logbook that drivers must keep. A July 2008 report says a driver failed to record the number of hours driven in the logbook.

Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tela Mange said commercial motor vehicle drivers driving in-state may not drive more than 15 hours on duty after eight hours off duty, and they can’t drive more than 70 hours on duty in seven consecutive days.

Driver in Bus Crash Fell Asleep is a post from: Accident & Injury Law in Texas

45 year-old Juana Arrellano-Aviles struck and killed 62-year-old Felipe Duran when she sped up while trying to park her pickup.

Mrs. Aviles was driving without a license and without insurance.  She has received and paid seven traffic citations since 2003, including five tickets for not having a license with the last one being in October of 2010.  Mrs. Aviles has never obtained a driver’s license and has been driving unlicensed for the past seven years.

The police were unable to pursue criminal charges.  All she received was a Class C misdemeanor citation for reckless damage, failure to maintain financial responsibility, and not having a driver’s license.

It’s scary that people like this can continue to be on Texas roads with no license and no insurance, kill someone, and only get a ticket.

We need criminal laws for people who injure someone while driving a car without a license.

Until that time, you can at least do something about being hit by someone without insurance – carry your own.  It’s called Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage and it may be the most important insurance you carry if you’re hurt by someone else’s carelessness.

Very Sad Story is a post from: Accident & Injury Law in Texas

A 25-year-old Hutto man died in a wreck Friday morning in Taylor. Daniel A. Gonzales died at the scene, police said. Gonzales was driving west in the 5300 block of Texas 79 and Second Street in Taylor, according to police.Helen Ford of Hutto was driving in the same direction when the collision occurred, police said.

Police, who were notified about the collision at 12:36 a.m. Friday, did not say how it happened. Gonzales was ejected from his vehicle, police said. Ford was taken to a hospital where she was treated and released, according to police.

Hutto man killed in wreck is a post from: Accident & Injury Law in Texas

Austin police have arrested and charged a 30-year-old man with intoxication manslaughter in an early Saturday morning crash that left a motorcycle driver dead and a female passenger with a broken arm and a head contusion.

Ruben Flores was being held at the Travis County Jail on Saturday with bail set at $35,000, according to jail records.

According to an arrest affidavit, Flores failed a sobriety test and told police he had been drinking and smoking marijuana Friday night. A witness identified Flores as the driver of an SUV that ran a red light before striking the 2005 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, according to the affidavit.

The motorcyclist was traveling westbound on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard about 2 a.m. and making a left turn onto southbound Ed Bluestein Boulevard when he was struck. He was pronounced dead on the scene, and a female passenger was taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge. Neither were wearing helmets, according to police.

Man Charged with Killing Motorcyclist is a post from: Accident & Injury Law in Texas

Surrounded by air bags, buckled in place and fearful of drunk driving, Americans are less likely to die on the highway today than at any time since the Truman administration.

The number of people killed in accidents dropped to 32,788 in 2010, the lowest total since 1949, according to the annual tally being released today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The 3 percent decrease from 2009 was recorded even as the nation’s drivers put nearly 21 billion more miles on their odometers in 2010 than they had the previous year. The death rate has fallen by 25 percent since a peak of 43,510 in 2005, the safety administration said.

“The recession is still a little bit of a factor,” said Barbara Harsha, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, “but the big reasons are programs aimed at driver behavior, safer vehicles and safer roads.

After years of publicity and police enforcement, more drivers are buckling seat belts and fewer are driving drunk, she said. Stability control, antilock brakes and air bags have made accidents less likely and more survivable.

Some of the road engineering improvements she cited were relatively inexpensive tweaks rather than expensive overhauls. “Rumble strips and improved pavement marking make a big difference at a low cost,” she said.

Another lifesaver is the three-strand wire median barriers that some states are installing.
“They cut down on cross-median crashes, which are really deadly,” Harsha said. “They’re low-cost and effective.”

But Harsha said the issue of drivers distracted by cellphones or other electronic devices remains a vexing problem that still must be resolved.

Traffic deaths in the U.S. lowest since 1949 is a post from: Accident & Injury Law in Texas

A woman died Sunday after being struck by a vehicle while crossing East Riverside Drive near Willow Creek Drive in Southeast Austin, an official said.

The driver was traveling east. Police said he did not immediately realize he had hit the woman but stopped to report an unconscious woman in the road.

Police officials did not release the 56- year-old woman’s identity Monday.

The crash happened at 11:41 p.m. The woman was still alive when emergency responders arrived but was pronounced dead at University Medical Center Brackenridge, police said.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the vehicular homicide unit at 974-5520.

Pedestrian hit on Riverside Dr. is a post from: Accident & Injury Law in Texas

Austin police said a man died after a truck hit him outside of a store in North Austin. A police official said that after the man was struck, the truck crashed into La Mexicana Market, 834 E. Rundberg Lane, about 3 p.m. Monday. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, the official said. There were no other injuries. Charges have not been filed against the driver of the truck, police said. No other information was available. This is the ninth traffic fatality in Austin this year.

Man killed outside market is a post from: Accident & Injury Law in Texas