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

One man died and two people were injured in a one-vehicle crash last Tuesday afternoon near Pflugerville.

Robert Castillo, 51, died at the scene of the crash on Wells Branch Parkway near Heatherwilde Boulevard. Two passengers, Martha Castillo, 49, and a 14-year-old, suffered injuries that were not considered to be life-threatening.

Robert Castillo was driving a 2000 Mitsubishi east on Wells Branch Parkway about 5 a.m. when he apparently lost control.

The vehicle went onto the sidewalk before returning to the eastbound lanes and the center median, where it rolled onto its roof, the official said. Mr. Castillo was wearing a seat belt, officials said.

Man dies in rollover wreck in Travis County is a post from: Accident & Injury Law in Texas

A 57-year-old motorcyclist died last Tuesday after he was involved in a collision last Monday in South Austin.

Richard Finnegan was riding his motorcycle east in the right lane of West Slaughter Lane near South First Street at 9:43 a.m. when a Volkswagen Jetta turned right from the middle lane into a private driveway and struck Finnegan’s motorcycle.

Finnegan, who was wearing a helmet, was taken to University Medical Center at Brackenridge, where he died from his injuries Tuesday, officials said.

No charges have been filed, and the investigation is ongoing, police said. Anyone with information about the collision is asked to call vehicular homicide unit detectives at 974-8212.

Motorcyclist killed in collision is a post from: Accident & Injury Law in Texas