Category: Car Accidents

In the automobile arena, the race is on to perfect and market the first self-driving car. By many accounts, Google is leading the pack with its fleet of autonomous vehicles which cruise around California roadways, driving themselves though with an operator in the vehicle at all times. The vehicles work by syncing GPS enabled technology with the steering, accelerating, and braking functions of a typical car, utilizing sensors around the vehicle so that changing traffic conditions, hazards in the road, and even congestion can be monitored.

Google has previously disclosed 17 minor accidents involving its self-driving vehicles on public roadways but has always said that the collisions were never the fault of the Google cars themselves; rather, in each instance, Google has blamed the actions of other drivers, some of whom admitted liability, in the creation of the collisions. None of those crashes were serious.

However, now Google has revealed a new accident and has accepted at least partial liability for the traffic crash which took place on February 14, 2016.

Continue reading “Google Car Partially Blamed for Crash with Bus”

Like most part of the country, the city of Phoenix and the surrounding areas are recovering strongly after the recession that hit a few years ago. But unlike some other parts of the nation, Phoenix is responding with rapid growth and development, leading to new and continued construction projects in many parts of the Valley.

In the long run, this will be fantastic news for residents who will benefit from new and improved roads, new shopping centers and office buildings, and even new homes. But in the short run, this construction boom is expected to cause delays, congestion, and even some car accidents on the roadways.

Continue reading “Phoenix Construction Boom Could Cause Headaches for Drivers”

Driving around Maricopa County can be challenging on a typical day, but if you add in a construction project or a road closure, things can turn chaotic quickly. Unfortunately, that is the case this weekend as two sections of the Loop 202 will be closed for pavement maintenance.

The eastbound Loop 202 will be closed between Gilbert Road and McDowell Road in Mesa on Saturday between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Similarly, the westbound Loop 202 will be closed between McDowell Road and Gilbert Road on Sunday between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

If your weekend plans have you traveling in that area, authorities encourage you to consider alternate routes depending on where you are headed. An official detour will be in place to divert traffic onto McDowell road but there is a good chance that McDowell will become congested as a result, potentially increasing travel times and making conditions ripe for rear-end car accidents.

Continue reading “Loop 202 will have Closures This Weekend”

Far too often, the same story gets repeated by the news media in Phoenix: an innocent driver was hurt by the mistakes of another motorist and the person to blame did not have insurance. Though the law in Arizona requires all drivers to carry a minimum amount of insurance to protect themselves and others in the event that a car accident takes place, a surprising number of people disregard this requirement and operate their vehicles without insurance. If they are caught, those drivers may face fines, fees, the loss of their driver’s license, and other penalties as determined by the State but those penalties will not help the victims of a crash.

Instead, it is up to a victim to take active steps to ensure her rights for relief, but what does that relief look like if the at-fault driver was uninsured?

Continue reading “Victim’s Rights when an At-Fault Driver Has No Insurance”

Campaigns against drinking and driving have received widespread publicity and media coverage in recent decades, helping to educate the public about the dangers associated with drinking and driving while also making it a socially unacceptable behavior. As a result, the percentage of drivers who operate while drunk has declined significantly, though the issue remains as some still violate the law by driving drunk and therefore threaten the safety of the public at large.

Operating under the influence of drugs, including illegal street drugs or prescription medications, has not received the same attention as drunk driving. It is not as widely recognized, as understood, or even as appreciated for the extreme risk it poses to drugged drivers, their passengers, and others near their vehicles. The number of collisions and incidents involving drivers who are operating while on drugs has skyrocketed.

Continue reading “Drivers on Drugs are Causing Phoenix Car Accidents”

Maricopa County is now home to more than four million people. Back in 1970, the population was right around one million people which helps to bolster the commonly understood belief that the population in the Valley has exploded recently, bringing many to our cities, our business, and our schools. With this population growth has come a large increase in the number of motorists that drive on the streets in and around Phoenix, and unfortunately, with more traffic has come more car accidents.

But when it comes to crashes, not all intersections are created equal. In fact, some intersections have been found to be much more troublesome than others as the number of accidents that happen annually are large in certain spots around town. Based on 2013 data, it is bad news for residents of Glendale as an intersection in that portion of the Valley had more collisions than any other intersection.

Continue reading “Greatest Number of Collisions Happening at Glendale Intersection”

The though of the aftermath related to a car accident does not cross the average driver’s mind when she gets into her car. Instead, a driver is thinking about where he needs to go or what errands she may need to run before the end of the day. But if you find yourself the victim of a collision in the Phoenix area, odds are that your perspective will change as a result and you will begin to look at the impact that crash has on your daily life.

Dealing with a car accident can be particularly challenging. Often, the damage done to a vehicle needs to be fixed, traffic tickets may need to be fought, and there is the overall inconvenience of being without a vehicle for some time. But when someone is hurt, the reality is much more extreme as the biggest part of a car accident claim is often the portion related to personal injuries sustained by a victim. Whether a victim was a driver, a passenger, or even a pedestrian who was hurt by a car, the victim may be entitled to compensation for the damages that get caused by the crash.

Continue reading “Broken Bones are a Serious Risk in Phoenix Car Accidents”

The area in the Valley is relatively flat. If you stay in the Phoenix area, you may see a few hills but not much more than that. If you are adventurous, you may try hiking Camelback Mountain or walk around Buckeye Hills for the day.

But if you want to leave Maricopa County, odds are that you will cross some pretty significant hills by road. Many drive north from Phoenix at least once or twice a year towards Sedona, Flagstaff, or even Las Vegas and the topography of the area is a little different that way.

Mountains and hills roll through much of Arizona, adding additional challenges to the normal issues faced by motorists. While these mountains can make driving difficult, many vehicles are equipped with advanced technology designed to make traversing hills both easier and safer. Commonly called hill descent control, vehicles may have the ability to keep a driver’s speed consistent when that driver begins to go down a hill. Without hill descent control, it can be easy for a vehicle to pick up speed continuously as elevation decreases and when a downward path is long, it may mean that a vehicle increases by 20 miles per hour or more. In contrast, those vehicles that have hill descent control will maintain a speed consistent to that which the vehicle was traveling before the hill began to slope downwards. By keeping speed in check, a driver will be able to better control a vehicle and will be less likely to be involved in a car accident.  Continue reading “Advanced Technology Can Making Hilly Driving Safer”