Abels & Annes, P.C. Personal Injury Blog

Have you ever been involved in a car accident? If you are an adult driver in America, odds are that you have as a typical motorist experiences approximately three car accidents in her lifetime. Unfortunately, those who call Phoenix home are not immune from this troubling statistic as car accidents plague our streets, roadways, and interstates every day of the year. But not all collisions are treated equal with some resulting in minor harm and others severe, some cause no injuries and other prove to be fatal. While it remains important to reduce and eliminate all types of accidents, experts often focus on those that cause the greatest degree of harm and stress safety related to those incidents so that as few Americans as possible will be forced to suffer from road-related crashes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that rollover car accidents are among the most deadly type of collision and that in 40 percent of fatal rollover incidents, excessive speed was a factor.

Car accidents, traffic crashes, and other roar-related incidents can happen anywhere in Maricopa County. With a swelling population and congested highways, it may not surprise you to realize that more than 100,000 collisions happen on Arizona roadways every year. And of all those accidents, roughly 1/3 cause injuries to one or more individuals involved. Of all the crashes in Arizona in 2014, the Department of Transportation reports that 7,749 accidents happened in Tempe and that 3,285 people were hurt as a result. Tempe is an important part of the Phoenix metropolitan area with more than 160,000 people calling it home. In addition to those who reside in Tempe, thousands come to the city every day to work and tens of thousands drive through its borders on their way to other destinations in Maricopa County like Phoenix, Scottsdale, Chandler, and Mesa. Daily, countless motorists are at risk for becoming the victims of car crashes or other traffic incidents even when they do not make any mistakes behind the wheel. So what happens to these innocent victims whose lives are changed by injuries? The good news is that they are protected by several laws in Arizona that guarantee them the right to seek help.

If you live in Maricopa County, odds are that you enjoy at least one outdoor activity. Whether you like to hike Camelback Mountain, ride ATVs in the desert, or head north to take advantage of some of our lakes, Arizona is a great state for outdoor enthusiasts. If you like any of the national parks contained in our state, the upcoming National Parks Week will be great news for you as it means that 15 national parks will offer free admission. National Parks Week will take place between April 16 and April 24 this year which means the celebration includes a full work week with both the leading and trailing weekends. Annually, National Parks Week allows Americans to enjoy some of our country’s best outdoor areas without cost for two days but this year, the entire celebration will be free to mark the centennial celebration of the national park system which turns 100 years old on August 25, 2016.

When you select a new vehicle to buy, you rely upon many things in making a decision. The manufacturer of the car, the specifications of the model, and the guarantees offered by a dealership are just some of the things that consumers point to as deciding factors. All vehicles sold in the United States should be a safe and efficient means of transportation for Americans, including those who call Phoenix home, but the reality is that problems often arise. In some instances, vehicles may have faulty components or suffer from a design flaw that limits their safety or otherwise adversely affects their functionality, and in these cases, a recall may be necessary. A recall is a systematic alert to all of the owners of a vehicle at issue, letting them know that there is a problem with the car and that the manufacturer will be fixing the problem without cost to consumers. Recent years have seen more recalls than at any other time in our nation’s history and many people have started to question the safety of cars on our roadways as a result. Now, Honda Motor Co. has announced a new recall affecting the Honda Fit, making this the sixth recall over the car in under three years.

Lately, there have been several car accidents and other traffic crashes in Maricopa County and across Arizona that have led to vehicular fires, causing concern among motorists. Why do these fires keep happening, and what can be done to prevent them? The scary truth is that some fires are unavoidable due to factors beyond a motorist’s control. If you plan to drive in the greater Phoenix area, keep the following causes of vehicular fires in mind so that you can do everything possible to remain safe while you operate your vehicle.

Odds are you that you do it every day but that you are unaware of how dangerous it is: walking on, near, or by a street in the greater Phoenix area. The truth is that everyone is a pedestrian at some point in time where being a pedestrian means moving without a motorized device or bicycle, typically by walking, using a wheelchair, or even by being pushed in a stroller. Often, those who are walking see themselves as separate from other forms of traffic and therefore not at risk for issues like car accidents or truck collisions. However, across the nation, approximately 430 people are treated in hospitals every day for injuries sustained in pedestrian accidents and someone is killed in a pedestrian crash every two hours, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This means that pedestrian accidents happen every hour of every day, placing the safety of those involved at risk and potentially altering their lives and the lives of those who love them forever. But if everyone walks at some point, what can be done to improve safety and limit these incidents from occurring?

The Valley is full of sparsely populated areas, desolate locations, and open land that can lead to very dark nights and dark driving conditions. As a result, it is critically important that all motorists in the Phoenix area have properly functioning headlights on their cars and that they use those headlights whenever it is dark. But a typical driver does not think about their headlights much other than to consider whether they should be on at any given moment, considering headlights to be standard features and mostly beyond a driver’s control. New data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (“IIHS”) suggests that motorists should think critically about their headlights and that selecting a vehicle in part on the headlights available may be a wise decision. IIHS is better known for rating cars based on their abilities to sustain a wide range of collisions in test scenarios, determining which provide the best safety to passengers and which pose the highest risk. Now, IIHS is rating headlights among 31 different makes and models of vehicles and the results suggest that manufacturers have a long way to go to provide good headlights in their cars.

Warm weather has finally descended in Maricopa County and the sunshine is once again strong in the area. With temperatures in the 90s making their appearance, many in the Phoenix area have already taken to swimming pools to relax and cool down for an hour or two. It is also the time of year when children start having birthday parties that involve a pool or when adults relax in the water at a neighborhood event. If you plan to swim soon or if your children may be in the water, make sure you put safety first and address any water-related concerns before they arise so that everyone can enjoy themselves without a swimming pool accident taking place.

Automobile manufacturers have brought technology into modern cars, making driving a safer and more convenient means of transportation for millions. Until recently, automatic emergency braking has been available primarily on newer cars and as an optional feature, meaning that some benefit from these systems but that the masses have yet to enjoy them. However, all that is about to change thanks to a voluntary agreement by 20 manufacturers that produce more than 99 percent of all cars, trucks, and SUVs on American roads. The announcement came last week from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and included Audi, BMW, FCA USA LLC, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Land Rover, Kia, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Telsa Motors, Inc., Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo Car USA as the agreeing manufacturers. These companies have voluntarily agreed to incorporate automatic emergency braking as a standard feature on their vehicles no later than September 1, 2o22 despite the fact that it has not been required by the federal government.

There is a national debate raging about the use of photo radar cameras to detect and potentially punish speeding motorists. Some argue that these devices increase individual compliance with speed limits, lowering the average speed at which drivers operate and thereby increasing safety. Others claim that the cameras serve to increase the erratic nature of motorists who will speed, slow down dramatically before coming to a camera, and then speed up again once past it, thereby decreasing safety. And yet many think that photo radar cameras are not designed to improve safety but simply to increase revenues by issuing as many tickets as possible, enabling increased funds to go to local police departments, cities, and municipalities. Some areas, like Tucson, have left it up to the voters to decide whether they want photo radar in their communities. Other cities have made the decision without input from residents, causing both positive and negative responses. Recently, action by Governor Doug Ducey means that those who reside in El Mirage or Star Valley will not have to worry about the cameras any longer as they are now banned along state highways.