New York Personal Injury Blog

Technology is grand, and most of the time it’s relatively safe, but there are some things that seem safe and then come back to hurt those that use them. This of course is most common seen with car accidents. Car accident injuries are extremely common, and can leave even a person injured. When another car crashed into your  vehicle, the world seems to turn upside down, and pain can set in initially or harbor a festering ailment months later for no apparent reason, which can be painstaking to deal with, but it’s not the end. No one can predict when a car accident injury is going to happen, and it’s important to understand that. The following are two injuries that can occur when you have been injured in a car accident.

• Back – When rear-ended, a vehicle can transfer the force of another car through your body. The force of the impact hits so very hard on the back and a spinal injury can occur. Most commonly  a sprain occurs but if hit hard enough a person can even break their back or have severe disc injury. You can even be paralyzed. Either way, this type of injury can  cripple a person, and in the worst case scenarios lead to paralysis or even death.
• Legs and More – The legs of a person are usually thought of as safe, but in accidents, there are no real safe locations to hide. The legs can be crushed if hit hard enough to pend the front end of a vehicle. Knees, toes, arms and other body parts can receive trauma, and can break, bruise, and become lacerated. This could lead to potential surgeries that you can receive compensation for. These injuries can be mild to severe and in some cases leave a person crippled for life.

There are a lot more problems that can be looked at in regards to car accident injuries, but the injuries are just 3 common ailments. Driving can be  safe, it’s just a matter of being alert, and driving safe on the road. Something’s are not preventable and accidents are hard to predict, which is why it’s extremely important to try and be safe.

There are many different distractions that can cause extreme danger while driving; loud music, multi-tasking, answering cell phone calls, and trying to read a GPS device or directions are just a few, but in recent years, a new distraction has come to the forefront, and is probably the most dangerous of them all. When cell phones first hit the market, people loved the convenience and innovation, but as the technology improved, so did the applications and add-ons, with texting quickly becoming the go-to option for cell-phone users for their communication needs.

The move to texting was extremely quick, and pretty soon, it became the go-to means of communication for cell phone users. This was all fantastic for quick communication, but when the fascination with texting became combined with the act of driving, accidents started to occur on a much more frequent basis. The problem has become so severe, many states have implemented everything from texting while driving bans to a complete ban of cell phone use in the car. While no national ban exists at this time, the feeling is that it is not too far away. The way around the ban is to use a bluetooth headset

A study compiled by the Virginia Tech Driving Institute showed some rather shocking stats in regard to texting while driving. They concluded that those who do so are 30 times more likely to be involved in an accident, and that the simple act of texting puts the user on a more dangerous level than a driver who is using a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. While that may seem very hard to believe, the studies confirm it, with an impaired driver, traveling at 35mph, covering 8 feet before coming to a full stop, compared to the texting driver who, on average, covers 30 feet before slowing to a halt.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have taken a close look at the texting issue and revealed that in 2008 alone, 6000 people died in texting while driving related accidents. As disturbing as that number is, it doesn’t tell the whole story; there were also 550,000 injuries in crashes, with 30% of all accidents attributed to drivers in the 18-29 age range who confessed to texting while driving.

Teenagers are far more likely to be use in texting while driving accidents and that comes as not a real surprise given that the average teen texts almost 3500 times per month, and with their inexperience behind the wheel, it is a recipe for disaster. While the new state laws and regulations go a small way to help in bringing down those numbers, parents have to get involved too, and warn their teenaged kids of the dangers. Time will only tell if these regulations are having any effect on the numbers, and if they don’t, then we can all look forward to a total cell phone car ban. Until then look out!