Fort Lauderdale Accident Injury Lawyer Gives Tips On How To Escape A Sinking Car

On November 8, 2010, four Vero Beach, FL high school students tried to take a turn too fast in the rain. Their car slid on the unpaved road and flipped into a canal. All four teens survived possibly drowning from the accident due to the calm and quick thinking of two of the teens. One June 21, 2010, a Miami Springs, FL woman was involved in an collision with another car. The impact of the crash propelled her car across the road and into the nearby canal. She was actually saved by the driver of the other auto involved in the crash and by a nearby bystander.

Most people don’t think about drowning in a car accident – they are more worried about personal injuries or wrongful deaths from auto accidents. However, we live in a state that is criss-crossed by waterways. Many of us drive over bridges and along canals on a daily basis while commuting to work or running errands. Because of this, South Florida drivers and passengers must also consider the possibility of water-immersion if they are involved in an auto accident.

As a result, Fort Lauderdale accident injury lawyer, Joseph M. Maus, gives these tips for how to escape a sinking car:

1. The first thing to do is remain calm – if you panic, you may not be able to remember the following steps for survival. Depending on the speed and trajectory at which your car entered the water, you will have between two and ten minutes to exit the car before it goes underwater – enough time to get out, so don’t panic.
2. Unlock your door and unfasten your seat belt immediately. If you can’t unfasten the seat belt, you’ll need to cut it with something. Just as people carry umbrellas in their cars in case of rain, everyone should carry a LifeHammer – a tool with a cutting edge that will slice through a jammed seat belt (Dr. Oz even endorsed them on his show!).
3. Are there any windows (the rear window, sunroof, or side windows) that were broken during the accident? You can escape a sinking car by climbing or swimming out of them: but be careful of cutting yourself on broken glass
4. If there are no broken windows, roll down your own window quickly before the water reaches the height of the window. If you can do this, you can climb out of the car and swim to shore.
5. If you have power windows in your car, you won’t be able to roll them down because the electrical system won’t work once the water has gotten to it. You’ll need to break the window to get out (another good reason for carrying a LifeHammer). The front windshield is made of safety glass and is almost impossible to break – try a passenger window or the back window instead. Aim to hit the corners of the windows, not the middle, and concentrate your force in one area to weaken it instead of striking all over the window..
6. If you can not get out of a window, try to open the door slowly. It will be very heavy due to water pressure and you may not be able to open it on the first try. You may need to wait until the inside of the car is almost filled with water and the pressure equalizes before you will be able to open the door.
7. There will be a pocket of air at the top of the car – if you stay in this air pocket, you can breathe while the car is sinking.
8. If you do get out of the car, NEVER go back to retrieve personal effects like your purse, wallet, or keys! There is nothing worth risking your life to go back for, except for another person who is trapped inside. One man we know of had easily escaped his vehicle and went back for his personal belongings. After he reentered the car, his electrical system malfunctioned, raising the windows and locking the doors – and effectively trapping him inside. Even though he had already escaped once, he narrowly missed dying for his wallet and shoes.

We can’t ever assure our safety and security against personal injury or wrongful death while driving, but when you consider that, annually, more than 10,000 people are involved in water-immersion auto accidents, the Florida waterways add another element of danger to our daily travels. While we hope you never have to worry about it, these tips for how to escape a sinking car may just come in handy someday.

If you have been injured in an auto accident, you need answers to your legal questions! For more information about an injury claim, contact Fort Lauderdale accident injury lawyer Joseph M. Maus at 1-866-556-5529 or email him today.

Fort Lauderdale Accident Injury Lawyer Lists Top 5 Causes of Car Accidents

Fort Lauderdale Accident Injury Lawyer Joseph M. Maus hears car accident stories every day, so he knows the vast majority of auto accidents are caused by driver error. Because we take car transportation for granted, many of us feel so comfortable behind the wheel that we multi-task while driving without giving it a second thought. Driver distraction in various forms ranks just behind driving while impaired as a major cause of accidents on American roadways. Awareness and understanding are the first steps toward reducing these accidents and increasing traffic safety.

Many factors can contribute to auto accidents. The top five causes are:

• Drinking and Driving – This one is no secret; we hear about accidents involving drunk drivers almost every day. The risk of being involved in an accident where driver-impairment is a factor rises on the weekend when many people are relaxing from their work-week stresses and enjoying a few cold ones with friends. All the states in the U.S. consider a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of higher than .08 to be above the legal limit and it doesn’t take much to hit this limit. It isn’t enough to just tell people not to drink and drive: people who have been drinking invariably think they aren’t "drunk" and can drive home without a problem. The best thing to do when planning a night out with friends is to either designate someone in the group who will not drink and will be responsible for driving everyone else home or hiring a service that will get both driver and car home safely.
• Cell Phone Use – Almost everyone has a cell phone nowadays; it can be eye-opening to sit at a traffic light and watch the number of cars that go by with a driver who has a cell phone held up to their ear! A study from Harvard University found that people who use a cell phone while driving are four times more likely to cause an accident. Even the use of hands-free or bluetooth technology doesn’t make cell phone use while driving much safer because concentrating on a conversation is distracting by itself. The solution to this problem is obvious: pull off the road to make a call or wait until you reach your destination before using your cell phone.
• Texting While Driving – This is even more distracting to a driver than cell phone use! Studies have found that texting while driving causes a 400% increase in the time drivers spent with their eyes off the road. For teens, the increase is 600%. In fact, for an adult, for every 6 seconds of driving time, 4.6 seconds is spent with eyes off the road if the driver is sending or receiving a text message. Of all cell phone-related tasks, including dialing, talking, texting, or reaching for the phone while driving, texting is the most dangerous. Again, the best way to avoid a texting-related car accident is to wait to send or read a text until you are stopped somewhere or until you get to your destination.
• Driver Distraction – Many things cause drivers to be distracted: reaching for a cell phone, changing the radio station, eating while driving, applying makeup or shaving while driving – the list goes on and on. If you are driving while distracted, your reaction rate is decreased by about 20 percent which means you will take longer to realize that you are in danger and longer to react to try to avoid an accident. Avoid driver distraction by concentrating on the road and your surroundings and limiting other activities while on the road.
• Speeding – The faster you go, the higher the probability of a fatal car accident. It seems that everyone is in a hurry these days, but people who speed and cut in and out of traffic while trying to get somewhere faster don’t consider that the faster you travel, the harder it is to stop and the deadlier the impact if you hit something. Slow down and allow yourself extra time to get to your destination. Remember – speed kills!

You can lower your risk of being in a car accident and can avoid needing the services of a Fort Lauderdale Accident Injury lawyer by staying focused while on the road, keeping distractions to a minimum, and avoiding risky actions such as drinking before driving, speeding, texting, or cell phone use while driving. Knowledge is power – don’t be a statistic!

For more information if you have been in a car accident, contact Fort Lauderdale accident injury lawyer Joseph M. Maus, P.A.at 1-866-556-5529, visit his website at http://www.mauslawfirm.com, or email him today.

Fort Lauderdale Accident Injury Lawyer Advises Caution After Time Change

Beware of Daylight Savings Time! Fort Lauderdale Accident Injury Lawyer Joseph M. Maus notes that statistics show that injuries on the road and at work increase between 8 and 17 percent on the Monday following the time change and for a couple of weeks afterward. Since "Spring Forward" happens on March 14, 2010 at 2:00 a.m. and you’ll lose an extra hour of sleep, you need to be extra cautious on your Monday commute and during the work day.

The University of British Columbia’s Department of Psychology undertook a study on how time changes affect people. They found that the fall time change doesn’t really affect people, probably because we get to sleep in an extra hour. But, it’s a different story when the clocks move ahead an hour in the spring – accidents go up. The most likely reason for this increase in accidents is sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation and the change of circadian rhythm can trigger mental illness and cause higher accident rates. Transitions into and out of daylight saving time changes the circadian rhythm and may cause sleep deprivation.

A second reason for the spike in accidents on the first Monday of DST is the sudden change in the amount of light during driving times. In addition to an increase in accidents at work and on the road, the Los Angeles Times Health section reported on a Swedish study that found the incidents of heart attacks rises between 6 and 10 percent on the first three days after the time change. They also noted that men are more likely to commit suicide during the first few weeks of daylight saving time than they are during the rest of the year.

People wonder why it is that we even have to go through the whole "spring forward, fall backward" ritual every year. The U. S. Navy reported that the Standard Time Act was established in 1918 and made time zones a national law. The same Act also instituted daylight saving time. Daylight saving time was repealed in 1919, but was re-established nationally early in World War II as a way to conserve coal and energy, and was continuously observed from 9 February 1942 to 30 September 1945. After the war its use varied among states and localities. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 provided standardization in the dates of beginning and end of daylight time in the U.S. but allowed for local exemptions from its observance.

Tips for minimizing the impact of the time change:

• Stick to your regular schedule.
• Resist the urge to sleep in on Sunday morning.
• Get up immediately when the alarm rings in the morning, don’t hit the snooze button.
• Turn off the laptop and the TV in bedroom at least one hour before bedtime- the glow may prevent you from falling into a deep sleep.
• Eat a good breakfast before heading off to work. Eat foods that are high in protein and fiber – they metabolize slowly and will give you hours of energy.
• Leave yourself plenty of time to get where you’re going.
• Fort Lauderdale accident injury lawyer Joseph Maus reminds you that this is the time to drive defensively! Leave plenty of space between you and the next car.
• Don’t text or talk on your cell phone while driving, but especially not right after the time change when you are less alert than usual.
• Watch out for cars if you are walking or biking.
• Don’t forget to change your smoke detector batteries every time we have a time change.

For more information about an injury, contact Fort Lauderdale accident injury lawyer Joseph M. Maus, P.A.at 1-866-556-5529, visit his website at http://www.mauslawfirm.com, or email him today.