Oklahoma Personal Injury Legal Blog
Be Aware of the Dangers of Texting while Driving in Oklahoma
It only takes a moment for a distracted driver to cause a devastating accident. The following documentary, produced by AT&T, includes multiple examples of fatal car accidents caused by motorists who were texting while driving. There are numerous examples of final texts read or sent by someone moments before causing a crash. The images and descriptions may be graphic but the message cannot be more clear: Texting while driving destroys lives.
According to a 2009 study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), you are 23 times more likely to be involved in an accident while texting and driving. Why is texting such a dangerous form of distracted driving? Drivers who are texting have at least one hand off the wheel, their eyes off the roadway, and their mind off the task at hand. That means that texting motorists are distracted in three different ways. All motorists are encouraged to turn off their phones while driving or to pull over before reading or sending a text.
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Multiple Injuries Suffered in Oklahoma City School Bus Accident
Six students, a baby, and the driver of an SUV were injured in an Oklahoma car accident involving a school bus. According to a KOCO news report, the school bus accident occurred near NE 39th Street and Anderson Road in Oklahoma City. Officials say the bus was transporting students from Roger Middle School when it collided with the black SUV. The driver of the SUV and an infant were transported to the hospital. Of the occupants on the bus, six students were transported to a local hospital for observation. It is unclear what caused the crash or if either driver will face citations for the collision.
In general, school buses are a safe way to travel. Approximately 24 million students travel by school bus each year. According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), school buses have a rate of .2 deaths per 100 million miles traveled. The rate of deaths for cars is eight times higher. Between the years 1994 and 2004, 71 school bus passengers were killed while 31,593 people were killed in car accidents in the year 2004 alone.
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Oklahoma City Nerve Injury Lawyers
There is the potential for victims of Oklahoma City auto accident victims to suffer major nerve damage. This could occur in cases where severe trauma is involved or in cases where victims suffer major burn injuries. Nerves carry messages between the brain and the rest of the body. The messages they carry to muscles make the body move and signal pressure, pain, and temperature. When nerves are damaged, they can stop sending signals, resulting in a loss of feeling and physical ability.
The Sunderland Classification System divides nerve injuries into five separate classes. A first-degree nerve injury is when a mild injury temporarily prevents nerves from sending messages to some parts of the body. This type of injury will likely heal on its own. At the other end of the spectrum, a fifth-degree injury is when the nerve is broken completely. Without surgery, the part of the nerve that is no longer connected to the spinal column may deteriorate and die. Some victims of serious nerve damage never fully recover feeling or control of their muscles in the damaged part of their body.
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Oklahoma City Woman Killed in Rollover Accident
A 33-year-old Oklahoma City woman was killed in a Jefferson County car accident when the vehicle in which she was a passenger rolled nearly two times. According to The Capital-Journal, the fatal car crash occurred on the westbound US-24 highway east of the junction with K-4 highway east of Topeka. Officials say both vehicles were traveling west when one of them struck the passenger side of the other. The fatally injured victim was in the car that rolled over as a result of the collision. The other occupants, who were also from Oklahoma City, were wearing seatbelts and appeared to be uninjured. The 67-year-old driver of the other vehicle was not injured. It is not clear if she will be cited for the fatal collision.
Many highway collisions result from a failure to maintain a lane of traffic. Under Oklahoma Statute 47: 11-309: “A vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practicable entirely within a single lane … A vehicle shall not be moved from the lane until the driver has first ascertained that the movement can be made with safety and then given a signal, not less than the last one hundred (100) feet traveled by the vehicle, of his intention to change lanes.”
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Oklahoma Pedestrian Fatalities Increase by 50 Percent
According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), pedestrian fatalities are on the rise throughout the country. The NHTSA reports that 4,280 pedestrians were killed in the year 2010, reflecting a five percent increase from the previous year. According to a report in 24/7 Wall St, Oklahoma is now considered one of the most dangerous states for pedestrians.
Between the years 2008 and 2010, the rate of pedestrian fatalities in Oklahoma more than doubled. On average, the national death rate of pedestrians per 100,000 people was 1.38 in the year 2010. That is a slight increase from the 1.33 rate in the year 2009, which is significant for Oklahoma because it is one of only 10 states with a rate of at least 1.65 per 100,000 people. Oklahoma saw 62 pedestrian fatalities in 2010.
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Back to School Safety Tips for Oklahoma Drivers
Schools across Oklahoma are back in session. This means that drivers will need to look out for young pedestrians around school zones. According to The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 55 million children across the United States are headed back to school and 13 percent of them will walk or ride their bike. In order to keep children safe, what can drivers do to avoid a collision in a school zone?
First, it is important that motorists slow down and obey school zone speed limits. AAA reports that pedestrians struck by a car traveling at 25 mph are two-thirds less likely to suffer fatal injuries than someone struck at 35 mph. School zone speed limits are posted for a reason.
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What Types of Burn Injuries are Commonly Suffered in Car Accidents?
There are a number of reasons why a car can catch on fire. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), 49 percent of all car fires result from a mechanical failure. Approximately 23 percent of all vehicle fires involve an electrical failure or malfunction and three percent result from a crash or a rollover accident. The majority of fatal vehicles fires (58 percent) occur as a result of car crashes and not due to mechanical or electrical failures.
According to the NFPA, there were 184,500 vehicle fires in the year 2010. In those accidents, 285 civilians were killed and 1,440 were injured. In the year 2009, 190,500 vehicle fires resulted in 260 fatalities and 1,455 injuries. Between the years 2003 and 2007, an average of 287,000 vehicle fires resulted in the death of 480 civilians and 1,525 injuries.
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Seeking Compensation for Catastrophic Injuries Sustained in Oklahoma Car Accidents
There are many different injuries that are classified as catastrophic because of the long-lasting effects they have on the victim’s quality of life. Some of the most common catastrophic injuries that can result from an Oklahoma car crash include spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, amputations, and burn injuries.
The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that transmits messages from the brain down the spine throughout the body. A complete spinal cord injury is when the cord is severed and an incomplete injury is when the cord is damaged but not cut. In either case, the victim can suffer from paralysis, loss of feeling, loss of physical ability, and other serious conditions that may never improve.
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Student Injured in Oklahoma City School Bus Accident
At least one child was injured in an Oklahoma crash involving a school bus carrying 25 students. According to News OK, the bus accident occurred near Hefner Road and Rockwell Avenue in Oklahoma City. Officials say the bus collided with a car but no other details were provided. One student complained of an injury and was transported to a nearby hospital. The injuries did not appear to be serious.
According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, between the year 2000 and 2009, there were 371,104 fatal crashes in the United States. Of those accidents, only .34 percent was classified as school transportation accidents. During that same time period, 85 crashes occurred that involved at least one occupant of a school transportation vehicle suffering a fatal injury. An average of 19 school-age occupants of school vehicles are killed in traffic accidents each year.
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Hit-and-Run Driver Arrested in Connection with Fatal Oklahoma City Crash
A 27-year-old woman was recently killed in an Oklahoma City car accident involving a hit-and-run driver. According to a report by News OK, the fatal hit-and-run accident occurred on SW 29 at Lee Avenue in Oklahoma City. Officials say the victim was crossing the street when a westbound car struck her. The 30-year-old driver responsible for the crash was arrested after an individual called the authorities with a tip regarding the whereabouts of the driver. He faces charges for transporting an open container of alcohol, having no driver’s license, and leaving the scene of a fatal collision.
Leaving the scene of an injury-causing or fatal car crash is illegal under Oklahoma law. According to Oklahoma Section 10-102.1, “The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in the death of any person shall immediately stop such vehicle at the scene of such accident or as close thereto as possible but shall then forthwith return to and in every event shall remain at the scene of the accident.”
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