Charpentier Law Firm Blog

December 15, 2011 article in FLORIDA TODAY by Jamie Stengle of the Associated Press discusses the topic of banning phones in vehicles.

The article reports that millions of Americans use their cars as a mobile offices, rely on phones almost every hour of every workday to stay productive and earn a living. So would drivers ever abide by a proposed ban on almost all cell phone use behind the wheel, even if it is hands-free? Could they afford to? Those are just a few of the questions looming over a federal recommendation that seeks to rein in what has become an essential tool of American business.

The National Transportation Safety Board declared Tuesday that texting, emailing or chatting while driving is just too dangerous to be allowed anywhere in the United States. It urged all states to impose total bans except for emergencies. The NTSB, an independent agency that investigates accidents and makes safety recommendations, doesn’t have the power to impose regulations or make grants, but its suggestions carry significant weight with lawmakers and regulators.

Still, a decision rests with the states, meaning that 50 separate legislatures would have to act.

If you or someone that you care about has been hurt in an auto accident, either as a pedestrian or otherwise, our Brevard County Accident Lawyers will fight for you and your rights every step of the way. To speak with members of the Charpentier Law Firm about your case and to find out how we can help,contact our Central Florida personal injury attorneys today.

For more information on Automobile Accidents and Personal Injury Click Here: http://www.brevardlawyer.com/html/auto-accidents.html. Our personal injury attorneys cover all of Brevard County including Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cocoa, Rockledge, Merritt Island, Titusville, and the Beaches.

An article by Joan Lowy in the December 12, 2011 edition of the CLAIMS JOURNAL, reports that despite all the criticism and new legal bans, texting by drivers just keeps increasing, especially among younger motorists.

The article goes on to report that about half of American drivers between 21 and 24 say they’ve thumbed messages or emailed from the driver’s seat. And what’s more, many drivers don’t think it’s dangerous when they do it – only when others do.

A national survey, the first government study of its kind on distracted driving, and other data released Thursday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration underscore the difficulty authorities face in discouraging texting and cell phone talking while driving.

The article further states that at any given moment last year on America’s streets and highways, nearly one in every 100 car drivers was texting, emailing, surfing the Web or otherwise using a hand-held electronic device, the safety administration said. And those activities spiked 50 percent over the previous year, even as states rush to ban the practices.

Last month, Pennsylvania became the 35th state to forbid texting while driving.

If you or someone that you care about has been hurt in an auto accident, you need a legal team that will fight for you and your rights every step of the way. To speak with members of the Charpentier Law Firm about your case and to find out how we can help, contact our Central Florida personal injury attorneys today.

For more information on Automobile Accidents and Personal Injury Click Here: http://www.brevardlawyer.com/html/auto-accidents.html. Our Brevard Accident Lawyers can help.

An article by Larry Copeland published in the December 8, 2011 edition of FLORIDA TODAY reports that

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says distracted driving is still under-reported, and he is urging Congress to enact a national law against texting while driving. “We have to be able to get people to understand that this is very, very dangerous behavior,” he says. Distracted driving has been LaHood’s signature issue. Thirty five states and the District of Columbia now have bans on texting while driving. “When we started three years ago with distracted driving, it was not on anybody’s radar,” he says. “Only eight states had (texting bans).”

The article goes on to state that two separate studies by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that bans on handheld cell phones and on texting had not reduced crashes. “While there’s no question that cell phone use and especially texting by drivers is distracting, there’s no evidence that laws enacted so far have cut crashes,” IIHS spokesman Russ Rader says. But LaHood says that when such laws are diligently enforced — as they were during National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) studies in Syracuse, N. Y., and Hartford, Conn. — crashes do go down.

Meanwhile, NHTSA is changing the way it measures fatalities related to distracted driving, using a narrower, more focused definition that will enable local police officers to more accurately pinpoint distraction as a factor in crashes. Previously, among distracted driving fatalities, NHTSA listed deaths caused by careless driving or those in which a cell phone was merely present in the vehicle; those categories have been removed from its new category, “distraction affected crashes.”

LaHood compares the new approach to the way NHTSA changed its methodology in 2006 on drunken driving crashes. Prior to 2006, any crash in which a driver, pedestrian or bicyclist had a blood alcohol level of .-01 or higher was an “alcohol-related crash.” In 2006, the agency began using the measure “alcohol-impaired driving crashes,” to include only those in which a driver or motorcyclist had a blood alcohol level of .-08 or higher.

Using the new methodology, NHTSA reports 3,092 distraction-affected crash deaths in 2010, which LaHood says cannot be compared with the 5,474 “distraction-related” fatalities in 2009. However, he says other indicators, such as the National Occupant Protection Use Survey, in which trained data collectors at random intersections actually observe drivers in their vehicles, indicate that distracted driving is still “a significant problem.” That survey found that the percentage of drivers texting or visibly manipulating handheld devices

in-creased from 0.6 percent in 2009 to 0.9 percent in 2010; handheld cell phone use remained steady at 5 percent.

“Distracted driving, we believe, is still under-reported,” LaHood says. LaHood also will announce that updated data shows there were 3-2,885 traffic fatalities in 2-010, the lowest level since 1-949. Early projections from NHTSA in March had found 3-2,788 road deaths. There were 1-0,228 drunken-driving deaths in 2-010, down 4.9 percent from 2-009.

If you or someone that you care about has been hurt in an auto accident, you need a legal team that will fight for you and your rights every step of the way. To speak with members of the Charpentier Law Firm about your case and to find out how we can help, contact our Central Florida personal injury attorneys today.

For more information on Automobile Accidents and Personal Injury Click Here: http://www.brevardlawyer.com/html/auto-accidents.html. Our Brevard Accident Lawyers can help.

Florida Today-January 30, 2012-According to the article a 39-year-old Melbourne man crashed into the back of a pickup truck just south of the main gate at Patrick Air Force in Satellite Beach, Brevard County, Florida. The accident occurred around 2 a.m. on State Road A1A, just north of Jupiter Street. Florida Highway Patrol state that the pickup truck rolled off the roadway after the impact and flipped over before coming to a rest. The driver of the pickup truck was seriously injured while two of the passengers of the pickup suffered only minor injuries. All three were wearing their seat belts. Investigators believe that the driver of the 1994 Corvette was traveling at a high rate of speed when the front right side fo the car hit the rear of the pickup truck. The Corvette veered into the grassy median and crossed over northbound lanes. The driver of the Corvette was also wearing their seat belt and was listed as being in critical condition. All four were transported to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Brevard County, Florida.

For more information on Automobile Accidents Click Here: http://www.brevardlawyer.com/html/auto-accidents.html

Florida Today-January 30, 2012-According to the article, a 19-year-old man is in stable condition after being thrown from his motorcycle in a crash that occurred on Interstate 95 near the Wickham Road exit in Melbourne, Brevard County, Florida. The accident occurred around 7:15 a.m. in the northbound lanes of I-95 just south of the Wickham Road exit. The highway was shut down for a brief period of time due to the medical helicopter being used to transport the motorcyclist. The rider of the motorcycle was taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Brevard County, Florida. The rider suffered road rash and other injuries and fortunately was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

For more information on Motorcycle Accidents Click Here: http://www.brevardlawyer.com/html/motorcycle-accidents.html

The Detroit News-According to the article th Turbo charged Mini Coopers are being recalled because they can catch on fire. BMW is recalling select Mini Coopers, the Cooper S and Clubman models including convertibles, after receiving 12 complaints about fires. These fires occurred in the 2007 and 2008 models. Five of these vehicles were completely engulfed with flames. In eight other cases, fires occurred while the Mini Coopers were parked and the engine was off. After investigation of the Mini Coopers, they were able to pinpoint the problem as being the auxiliary water pump that cools the turbo charger which has an electronic circuit board that can overheat. The cars will be fixed by replacing the water pump.

For more information on Product Liability Click Here: http://www.brevardlawyer.com/html/products-liability.html

Florida Today-January 24, 2012-J.D. Gallop-According to the article authorities are awaiting autopsy results to find out how a 63-year-old Rockledge, Brevard County, Florida woman ended up crushed by her own Ford F-150 pickup truck Sunday. The woman was found Sunday by her son around 9:30 p.m. lying bloodied and unconscious in the driveway of her home in Rockledge, Brevard County, Florida. The pickup truck was found resting next to a nearby wall, still on and not too far from the woman’s body. Rockledge Police say “it appears to be a very strange, freak accident. The truck was still in hear and that’s why we think there’s a possibility of her bing struck by the truck.” It’s not clear if the woman was leaving or coming home when the accident occurred. Police think she may have tried to step out of the vehicle when it rolled into her. The article goes onto say that Traffic homicide plane to access the truck’s computer to determine if there were any mechanical or electrical malfunctions. An autopsy will also help to determine what the woman’s medical conditions were at the time of the incident. The woman was taken to Wuesthoff Medical Center in Rockledge, Brevard County, Florida where she later was pronounced dead.

For more information Automobile Accidents Click Here: http://www.brevardlawyer.com/html/auto-accidents.html

Florida Today-January 23, 2012-J.D. Gallop-According to the article, a 25-year-old man was struck by two vehicles while trying to cross a heavily driven road in Cocoa, Brevard County, Florida. The accident occurred on Industry Road near the State Road 528 overpass in Cocoa, Brevard County, Florida. The accident occurred at about 6:45 p.m. today while it was still dark out and foggy along the roadway. The pedestrian was also wearing dark clothing, making it more difficult to be seen. The man was taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Brevard County, Florida by ambulance where he later died of his injuries. The article goes onto say the drivers’ conditions were not immediately known.

For more information on Pedestrian Accidents Click Here: http://www.brevardlawyer.com/html/pedestrian-bicycle-bus.html

Florida Today-January 23, 2012-Rick Neale-According to the article, a man bleeding from a gunshot pulled into the parking lot of the Del’s Freez ice cream stand in Melbourne, Brevard County, Florida and collapses on a picnic table outside. Several patrons at the U.S. 1 ice creamy eatery applied basic first aid to the victim until 9-1-1 arrived. An ambulance took the man to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Brevard County, Florida. Melbourne Police Sgt. said the man was in stable condition when he left the hospital. Melbourne detectives are searching for the suspect driving a gold-colored truck. The shooting occurred at about 4:20 p.m. at 23 E. Avenue C, an apartment complex just a mile south of Del’s Freez. The article goes onto say the victim was shot several times with a small caliber rifle. Melbourne investigators found three bullet casings on the pavement. Witnesses in the complex said they heard gunshots and the saw the victim’s vehicle speed away and the suspect’s vehicle driver away casually.

For more information regarding Criminal Litigation Click Here: http://www.brevardlawyer.com/html/criminal-litigations.html

Florida Today-January 20, 2012-According to the article a 24-year-old Merritt Island man is in serious condition after he lost control of his scooter and crashed into a car Thursday. The young man was trapped under the car and was going in and out of consciousness as paramedics worked to stabilize him at the scene. The man was taken by helicopter to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Brevard County, Florida. The article goes onto say that the man was driving a 2009 Bash scooter southbound on South Tropical Trail through the S-curve just south of State Road 520 around 1:30 p.m. He lost control of his scooter and slid across the road ending up underneath a northbound 2002 BMW driven by an elderly woman. The driver of the BMW was not injured in the accident. A male passenger on the scooter jumped off before hitting the BMW only suffered minor injuries. The driver of the scooter was not wearing a helmet and will also receive a ticket for failure to use due care.

For more information on Motorcycle Accidents Click Here: http://www.brevardlawyer.com/html/motorcycle-accidents.html