Abels & Annes, P.C. Personal Injury Blog

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.

To be compliant with federal laws, several types of commercial drivers – including those who operate semi-trucks and many who drive large buses – must keep a log of the hours they drive. This paper document serves as evidence with regard to the compliance of a driver related to mandatory rest times after that driver has been operating for a specified number of hours in a row. The idea is that the logs will keep drivers honest about when they drive, when they rest, and the overall progression of any trip. Yet for some time, issues related to the falsification of driving logs or the alteration of records have existed, leading many to question what could be done to avoid these issues related to dishonesty. In many situations, log books that were alleged to have been altered were believed to have been changed after a truck accident took place so that the driver appeared to be compliant with federal safety rules even if that driver was, in fact, in violation of them. Many argued for the mandatory use of electronic monitoring devices of some type which would automatically track a truck’s movements without a driver’s ability to control or alter the results.

When it comes to the concerns that permeate your daily life, it is normal to focus on those that could directly impact you while paying less attention to those you can avoid. Of course safety on a construction site is very important, but if you work in an office, you might not consider construction safety a top priority, for example. This line of thinking often bleeds over to the context of safety on the Phoenix roadways – drivers acknowledge that vehicular safety matters but give less thought to the safety of others, including bicyclists, because they do not ride. It is a mistake to think that the threats to cyclists are unimportant or less important than the threats to others on the roads, even if you don’t ride, because the truth is that everyone is affected by the safety and riding of cyclists.

What kind of rules and regulations should new and teenage drivers face in Arizona? Should they be the same as older, more experienced motorists or should the requirements vary? These are important questions that have an impact not only on teen motorists but also on their families, friends, and anyone who happens to drive near them on a roadway – put simply, everyone in Phoenix is affected by teen driver limitations. Like most states in the nation, Arizona recognizes that teens pose a unique risk to the safety of all and therefore their ability to obtain a driver’s license is regulated to a greater degree. To make this happen, the state has instituted a graduated driver’s license program and it applies to teens who are at least 16 years old but younger than 18. To be eligible for a graduated driver’s license, a teen must have held a permit for a minimum of six months prior to the licensing and must have completed a driver’s education program that was approved by the State of Arizona. Further, a parent or guardian of the teen must certify that the teen has completed at least 30 hours of supervised driving and that at least 10 of those hours happened at night. On its face, this approach to licensing teens may seem strict but when compared to other states, it is clear that Arizona is more lax in its licensing of new drivers and experts believe that safety may be threatened as a result.

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.

There is a natural fear among a subset of drivers when they come across the path of a large semi-truck. Some are filled with dread or even experience anxiety by merely driving near a truck, passing a truck, or having a truck operate in an adjacent lane. When asked about these concerns, drivers regularly say that the large size and weight of a semi-truck makes them realize they are at an increased risk for harm when a collision occurs in the Phoenix area and therefore trucks make them nervous. This belief is understandable, particularly when you realize that national data supports the fact that drivers and passengers in traditional cars face the brunt of the risk of harm during a truck accident.

The way the world works means that darkness is a part of our American lives. Though it comes every day and its presence is routine, it is still a challenge for motorists who must drive during the dark hours. Roadways and cars are designed for nighttime travel but it poses some unique risks that drivers should acknowledge prior to their travels to remain as safe as possible. If your daily life requires you to drive in the early morning hours or late at night, make sure you understand the issues that can arise in the dark and keep these following tips in mind:

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.

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?

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.