Motorcycle Accident

March 28, 2013

Even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls North Carolina’s motorcycle helmet law the most effective in the nation, legislators in the state are now considering relaxing the law. WRAL News reports House Bill 109 would allow motorcyclists over the age of 21-years-old to choose whether or not to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle.

The only stipulation to the new rule would be a rider must carry at least a $10,000 insurance policy. If caught without a helmet or insurance, a motorcyclist would be subject to a $25.50 fine.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. John Torbett, claimed many states have no helmet laws and the difference in motorcycle fatality rates in those states compared to North Carolina Motorcycle Accident fatality numbers was “minuscule”.

Opponents of the bill showed when a similar law to the one proposed in North Carolina was passed in Florida recently, the number of motorcycle fatalities doubled. Officials also pointed out that not only was the required insurance rate much too low for the average medical costs associated with a motorcycle accident, but also the fine for an infraction was far from a deterrent.

Despite data citing the risks of not wearing a helmet, the law moved forward with House Transportation Committee approval. The House Judiciary Committee will examine the bill next.

HensonFuerst and their team of North Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers encourage motorcyclists to always wear a helmet, regardless of the law.

May 10, 2012

With the summer months approaching, motorists need to start being vigilant of the increased number of motorcycles on the road, because inattentive driving could end with catastrophic results.

The Hurt Report, an independent study of motorcycle accidents, concluded that in nearly two-thirds of the accidents, another driver failed to detect or recognize the motorcyclist and was to blame for causing the crash. The study also found that a large majority of crashes happened when motorists were entering a highway where the motorcyclist had the right of way.

One such accident recently happened in Raleigh, North Carolina, and left the biker seriously injured. According to WRAL News, the crash happened at around 5:30 p.m. Saturday evening, at the intersection of Glenwood and Cole Street, near Wade Avenue.

Reports from the Raleigh Police Department indicate that the driver of a car pulled out onto the road in front of the motorcyclist and did not allow the bike enough time to stop, causing the two to collide. The biker was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, where doctors are still deciding if they are going to have to amputate his foot. The driver of the vehicle was also taken to the hospital for treatment.

North Carolina Motorcycle Accidents often result in serious head injuries. That’s why the North Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers with HensonFuerst Injury Lawyers suggest bikers always wear a DOT approved helmet any time you ride.

Of the hundreds of blogs we write each year, hand-down the number one motor vehicle story of the year is about DWD—Driving While Distracted.  The National Safety Council estimates that about 23% of all motor vehicle crashes can be attributed to talking on a cell phone or texting while driving. That’s about 1.3 million crashes per year. In fact, just talking on a cell phone—even hands-free phones—increase the risk of a crash fourfold. That statistic makes DWD the biggest motor vehicle story of this year…or any other year in recent memory.  (To read any of the blogs, click on the title and you’ll be taken directly to the story.)

• Want to Thwart Teen Texting? There’s an App for That!
• Decide to Drive
• Three Common Mistakes Made by Teen Drivers
• Young Victim Pushes for Cell Phone Ban
• NC Drivers Still Breaking Simple Laws

VIDEOS
In addition to blogs, we also create videos about important health, medical, and legal topics. To see all of our available videos, please visit our YouTube channel here:  HensonFuerst YouTube Channel.  Here are links to some of our motor vehicle and car wreck videos:

• What to Do If You Are in a Car Wreck
• How Much Car Insurance Should I Get?
• Do You Need To Hire a Lawyer after a Car Wreck?
• What to Keep in the Trunk of Your Car to Prepare for a Wreck
• Why Motorcycle Wreck Cases Are Different from Car Wreck Cases

December 1, 2011

North Carolina state law enforcement says that new laws against texting while driving and hidden tags created last year to keep the state’s roadways safer have done little to eliminate the problems. WRAL News reported yesterday that state troopers are issuing citations for as many–if not more–citations for the texting and driving than they ever have before.

A statewide ban on texting and driving went into effect in in 2009, but the state offered almost a year of leniency before beginning to strictly enforce the regulation. North Carolina State Trooper, Sgt. Jeff Gordon, stated that in the first three quarters of this year, the State Highway Patrol has written more than 650 tickets to drivers who were texting behind the wheel.

Another major problem law enforcement is still facing is the problem of hidden tags on vehicle. Gordon says that often times large plate frames obstruct the information on a tag. Since a law was enacted over a year ago banning the use of anything that may obstruct tag information, troopers have issued tickets on 130 separate occasions for the infraction.

The North Carolina Car Accident Lawyers with HensonFuerst often work with victims of accidents caused by distracted driving. If you have been hurt in an accident due to another driver not paying enough attention to the road, contact us by filling out a free initial consultation form to discuss your case with an experienced team of attorneys.

September 29, 2011

An intoxicated driver who was responsible for causing an accident that killed a man in Forsyth County last winter was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to a felony charge for death by motor vehicle and a misdemeanor charge for driving while impaired. According to the Winston-Salem Journal, the drunken driver was given 20 to 33 months in state prison.

The accident happened on December 2, 2010 just after 9:00 p.m. on Baux Mountain Road. The 26-year-old Kernersville man was driving his Jeep along the road when he came to the red light at the intersection with NC 66. Rather than wait, he decided to cut through a gas station parking lot to avoid the light. He whipped the Jeep right onto 66 and cut an immediate left through the intersection back onto Baux Mountain Road. That’s when the accident happened. The 55-year-old victim was approaching on his motorcycle and did not have time to stop before colliding with the Jeep that had just cut him off. The driver of the Jeep had a blood alcohol level of .12, four points over the legal limit.

The ironic part of the story is that the victim had dedicated his life to helping others overcome drinking problems, as he had in his younger days. He was an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous and was helping an Iraq war veteran recover at the time of the crash.

The North Carolina Motorcycle Accident Attorneys with HensonFuerst would like to remind drivers to always look twice for a motorcycle.

September 8, 2011

It has long been said that what makes the motorcycle so dangerous is that other drivers cannot see the bike when it is on the road. In other words, the rider has to worry less about making a mistake and causing an accident, than it is the other vehicles around the rider they must be concerned with. This was the case Sunday afternoon when a dump truck pulled out in front of a motorcycle carrying two riders, causing the two vehicles to collide. According to WRAL News, the accident left one of the motorcycle’s riders in critical condition.

The crash happened on US Highway 70 in Selma, North Carolina, as the dump truck was leaving a gas station. Witnesses told authorities that the truck’s driver did not yield to the motorcycle, and whipped across five lanes of traffic. The motorcycle attempted to swerve in order to keep from hitting the truck, but the bike skid and collided with the truck, sending the riders flying through the air like rag dolls.

The married couple who were on the bike were both taken to the local hospital for treatment.

The dump truck driver was charged with not having an operator’s license, as well as careless and reckless driving.

If you have been hurt because of another driver’s careless actions, contact the North Carolina Motorcycle Accident Lawyers with HensonFuerst. Let their experienced team of lawyers take the stress of dealing with insurance companies off of you. Contact them today by filling out a free online consultation form.

Ahh… you know summer is almost over when the Labor Day festivities begin. And today, the “festivity” in question is the annual Booze It & Lose It campaign by the Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP).

From today, Friday, August 19 through Monday, September 5, the state will see checkpoints and stepped-up patrols in an effort to remove impaired drivers from the roads. How much of a force will be rallied? Well, in 2010, the Labor Day Booze It & Lose It campaign conducted more than 11,000 patrols and checkpoints.

“As summer comes to an end, law enforcement officers across the state will be removing impaired drivers from our roads,” North Carolina’s Transportation Secretary Gene Conti said. “Celebrating responsibly is simple; plan ahead and always designate a sober driver.”

According to the GHSP, in 2010, there were 500 alcohol-related crashes in North Carolina during the Labor Day campaign, resulting in 20 fatalities and 395 injuries. In addition, officers charged more than 3,200 North Carolina motorists with driving while impaired.

Enjoy summer, but please don’t drink and drive… you risk the loss of your license, at the very least.

June 23, 2011

A couple from Dunn, North Carolina, was killed on a Sunday motorcycle ride by what state troopers believe was a drunk driver. According to WRAL News, the accident occurred at 12:20 Am on North Carolina Highway 82, near the Averasboro Civil War Battleground.

The accident occurred when the driver of a white, Chevy pick up truck crossed the centerline on the road while intoxicated and operating an IPod. The truck struck the motorcycle head-on, throwing both the driver and the passenger off the bike. A friend who was riding with the couple at the time of the crash witnessed the accident and said “It was terrible, there was nothing anybody could have done.”

The man who died in the accident leaves behind a 5-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl. He was also a regular volunteer with Dunn Emergency Services.

The drunk driver involved in the accident was arrested and charged with two counts of felony death by motor vehicle, driving while impaired, driving left of center, and careless and reckless driving. He was originally being held on a $100,000 bond, but a magistrate later lowered the bond to $50,000.

The North Carolina Wrongful Death Attorneys with HensonFuerst may be able to help family members who have lost a loved one too early because of someone else’s careless mistake. Their wrongful death lawyers have experience and  sensitivity. Fill out a free consultation form now!

Want to totally eliminate motor vehicle fatalities in North Carolina?  Dr. Herb Garrison, head of the East Carolina Injury Prevention Program, knows how…and he has outlined his methods in the latest issue of the North Carolina Medical Journal. The article, written with coauthor Jennifer Smith, is titled: Is Fatality-Free Travel on North Carolina’s Streets and Highways Feasible? It’s Time to Think the Unthinkable.

According to an article published in the News & Observer, there were 1,312 road fatalities last year in North Carolina. Dr. Garrison believes all of those deaths could have been prevented.

“In the emergency room, we see lots of hurt people from car wrecks,” Garrison, 57, told the Road Worrier. “Having fatality-free highways is not an unrealistic goal, but it’s one we need to keep working at every day.”

His provocative 5-point plan for eliminating road deaths is:

1. Make 17 the minimum driving age.
2. Create special courts for DWE cases to boost conviction rates…and alcohol interlocks mandatory for all DWI offenders.
3. Ban hand-held phone use while driving.
4. Build more bike lanes and sidewalks.
5. Add proven road design elements: more roundabouts at intersections, and make rumble strips standard on road shoulders and center lines.

Dr. Garrison also would like to see stricter enforcement of seatbelt laws and speed limits.

According to the article in the North Carolina Medical Journal:

Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, said recently that “society should treat traffic fatalities as a disease to be eliminated.”

We agree. It will take effort on all our parts, but nothing tremendously burdensome. It comes down to recognizing that the way we’ve always done things may not be the best way. It’s easy to get irritated when asked to put down the cell phone, but there is a greater good: The traffic death you prevent may be a family member or a friend. HensonFuerst applauds Dr. Garrison for publishing his insights, and we hope that North Carolina takes steps to move toward his traffic utopia.

Resources

To read the full medical journal article, click here: Is Fatality-Free Travel on North Carolina’s Streets and Highways Feasible? It’s Time to Think the Unthinkable.

To read the full newspaper article, click here:  News & Observer

And please feel free to visit our website for more information about the legal aspects of motor vehicle wrecks: HensonFuerst

Road statistics show that of all normal (and legal) driving maneuvers, the most dangerous is something we do every day:  Making a left turn. Studies of intersection wrecks show that making a right turn caused only 4% of collisions, but making a left turn caused a whopping 50% of intersection collisions. The reason has to do with the multiple factors that have to be considered to make a left turn successfully, including traffic from three different directions, estimating speed of cars traveling straight across the intersection, and estimating the amount of time your car will need to cross the intersection, among others.

According to an article in the January-February 2011 issue of AAA magazine, the problem is so pervasive that UPS teaches its drivers to complete routes without making left-hand turns!

“Basically, our longstanding policy has always been to train our drivers to plan routes in loops so they always make only right turns,” says Ronna Branch of UPS.

To make left turns less risky, AAA.com offers these recommendations:

1. Find the balance between aggressive and timid driving. Aggressive drivers often overestimate their ability to cross an intersection safely; timid drivers hesitate, linger too long in an intersection, and create a hazard for other drivers. AAA teaches that if the light is green and no other vehicle is ahead of you preparing for the same left turn, it is usually safe to enter the intersection and wait for your time to turn.
2. Keep wheels pointed straight. Even though you may want to turn your wheels to the left in preparation for the turn, this is actually dangerous. If your stopped car is hit from behind, the force of the impact along with turned wheels could push you directly in the line of oncoming traffic. If your wheels are straight, a similar impact will push your car straight.
3. Stay patient. Don’t make a turn until you are positive that it is safe—ignore impatient drivers around you.
4. Plan for right turns only. There’s no glory in a left turn. As AAA.com says, “The safest left turn is the one you don’t make.” If you are in a city or town with roads laid on a grid, it is often easier to drive one block past your intended intersection, take a right at the next street…then another right…then another right. In that case, three rights make a left! (This is less effective in the country, when roads are more likely to wind for miles.)

To read the full article, visit the website at AAA.com.

At HensonFuerst Attorneys, we represent a lot of people who have been injured in wrecks involving left turns in intersections. If you want to learn more about your legal options following a wreck, please feel free to visit our dedicated web page: Motor vehicle collisions. Or, if you prefer the personal touch, call us anytime at 1-800-4LAW-MED. If you have questions, HensonFuerst has answers.