Less congested roads during the pandemic should have made driving safer, but instead seemingly had the opposite effect, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. The rate of car crash deaths went up in 2020 even as the miles driven went down. Unimpeded roads inspired drivers to speed, which in turn increased the […]
What you do in the minutes following a car accident could go a long way toward affecting related litigation, according to a recent article in Forbes. The article details the steps to take immediately following an auto accident. Step 1: Ensure Safety Before you do anything else, check for injuries. Call 911 if there are […]
Preparing for an accident before it happens and knowing what to do if it does are key responsibilities of truck drivers, according to an article on the Travelers website. Often, truck fleets have accident response plans to direct drivers step-by-step through the process. It may help to know more about these steps in the event […]
Uber and Lyft drivers typically pay more than the average motorist if they are at fault in an accident in Pennsylvania. That is because rideshare drivers are required to carry much higher insurance coverage than the typical individual. With a new study showing the prevalence of crashes involving such services, these higher payouts could impact […]
A Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) study found that the cars typically driven by teens and older adults play a key role in their risk for auto accidents, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer recently. As teens typically drive hand-me-down cars and seniors stay with the same car for years, these vehicles tend to be […]
A proposed bill in the Pennsylvania General Assembly will mean increased fines for drivers not complying with the commonwealth’s law on cautionary driving near accidents. The current “steer clear” law requires that drivers approaching accident scenes on state highways either slow down or move over by one lane to protect first responders. However, increased crash […]
In several Pennsylvania locations with roundabouts, the average numbers of fatalities and crashes dropped 100% and 21% respectively over a 20-year period, according to recent data from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). PennDOT’s data was based on police-submitted crash reports from 2000-2019. The data also showed, however, that by 2019 property damage-only accidents were […]
Sadly, more than 70,000 Americans under the age of 19 died in automobile accidents between 2004 and 2018 in a recent study on the latest available data. Of those numbers, 84% were in the driver or passenger seat. Where are these accidents most common and why? States with the most child and teen fatalities (per […]
September is the deadliest month for traffic fatalities and October is a close second, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal. The article reviewed two independent studies that found late summer/early fall to be the riskiest for US traffic deaths, and late winter/early spring to be the least dangerous time to be […]
In Pennsylvania, the law limits when you can sue the state or a municipality, including the City of Philadelphia. The concept of “sovereign immunity” provides a defense for both the state, or Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and municipal governments, unless a statutory exception applies. The exceptions to the state’s immunity are detailed at 42 Pa.C.S. § […]
