Biktoberfest Accidents Leaves Pregnant Woman Dead and Three Injured

A car accident involving a 27 year old man who was drinking and driving leaves a 22 year old pregnant woman dead and several others injured during the annual motorcycle festival in Daytona Beach. The Sun-Sentinel reports that a Jeep Cherokee driven by Joshua Blades crossed into the path of three motorcycles Friday night, causing the deadly accident and then fleeing the scene.

All the passengers were thrown from the motorcycles, and though they were all wearing full face helmets and jackets, they sustained serious injuries. Reports state that there was a police officer about 300 feet east of the intersection who witnessed the accident. A second officer was able to catch the driver a few minutes later. The report states that Blades left the scene of the accident because he was drinking while on probation, and he feared someone was dead.

A second motorcycle accident was reported Saturday, and a man is now critical condition after sustaining head injuries.

Biketoberfest draws about 500,000 people each year, but sadly it often involves serious motorcycle accidents. In 2006, 6 deaths were reported.

Auto/Bicycle Safety Tips From a Top Fort Lauderdale Accident Lawyer

Several recent South Florida accidents underscore the need for both bicyclists and drivers to follow
motor vehicle laws and
bicycling safety regulations. In North Lauderdale, two boys riding bikes on Tam O’Shanter Boulevard near Rock Island Road were struck by a motorist. According to police, one boy was towing the other boy who
was also riding a bike, when they were struck. Both boys were taken to the hospital with non-life-treating injuries. In a second accident, a Boynton Beach man was not so lucky. He was riding a motorized three-wheel bicycle when he was struck: he later died from his injuries.

Many people are not aware that bicycles are classed as vehicles and riders are considered drivers. As such, Fort Lauderdale accident lawyer Joseph M. Maus says that Florida Statutes require bicyclists to follow the same rules of the road as the drivers of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. In addition, there are specific regulations that apply to bikes, such as the requirement that, if being ridden at night, bicycles must have a front light that can be seen for 500 feet and a rear light that can be seen from 600 feet away. Furthermore, Florida law requires bicyclists under 16 years of age to wear a properly fitted helmet that meets nationally recognized standards when riding: the helmet increases cycling safety and helps make cyclists more visible to drivers.

The Fort Lauderdale accident lawyer notes that there are simple steps that can be taken by both motorists and cyclists to help increase cycling safety:

• Teach children that bicyclists must obey the traffic controls and signals just as motorists do.
• Drivers should not follow a cyclist too closely and should move over, if possible, to give the rider room.
• Tape emergency information (contact information, medical conditions, etc) inside the brim of the bicyclist’s helmet in case the unthinkable happens.
• Bicyclists must ride in the same direction as traffic (with traffic).
• Drivers should be watching the bicyclist as they approach them, in case the bicycler falls or swerves unexpectedly. This isn’t the time to look away from the road to change a radio station or reach for something on the seat beside you!
• Bicyclists can not lawfully wear a headset, headphone or other listening device while riding.
• Drivers must use their turn signal during the last 100 feet traveled by the vehicle before turning.
• Did you know that you can get a DUI while cycling if you ride while under the influence of alcohol or drugs? You can, because, as mentioned before, bicycles are classed as vehicles and riders are classed as drivers.

The most important safety tip this Fort Lauderdale accident lawyer gives is that it is extremely important to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle, especially for children. The cyclist’s head is hit in 38 percent of accidents and head injuries account for more than 60 percent of bicycle-related deaths. In addition, it is estimated that between 45 to 88 percent of a bicyclist’s brain injuries can be prevented just by wearing a helmet. Children don’t always think of safety first, so it is important to start them out right when they learn how to ride a bike: require them wear a helmet at all times while riding.

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

Car Accident Statute of Limitations

Question: I was involved in a car accident 4 years ago. There were no witnesses at the time and no one was cited at the accident scene. My vehicle was deemed a total loss, while the other vehicle only had minor damages. I am aware that the statute of limitations in Florida is exactly 4 years. The passenger in the other vehicle is currently trying to sue, the complaint was filed exactly 7 days before the SOL expired. I was not served until 7 days later which is exactly the date which the SOL expired. I can not afford legal help so I plan on answering myself. Is the SOL Expired a valid response to the summons?

Answer: Samira, the statute of limitations for Florida car accidents is four years from the date of the accident. This is based upon Florida Statute section 95.11. As long as the complaint is filed within the four year period, the plaintiff has satisfied their burden of complying with the statute of limitations.

After filing the complaint, the plaintiff has 120 days in which to serve the defendant. Based on the timeline you have described, it appears that this plaintiff has complied with Section 95.11, and obtained service against you within 120 days.

All drivers in Florida are required to have insurance which, among other things, protects them if they get sued for property damage or personal injuries. If you had insurance on the date of the accident, you should immediately send the complaint and summons to your insurance company. In most cases, they will assign and pay for an attorney to defend you in the lawsuit.

Road Rage

People in metropolitan America all have one thing in common…Traffic. Every day, whether they are driving an hour to work or 15 minutes to the nearest grocery store, people are faced with anger and frustration on the road. Many times, people become so frustrated, it turns into road rage. Pair this with modern day distractions and you have the perfect recipe for disaster. Data collected by AutoVantage through a survey of 2,500 drivers show that distractions such as talking and texting are the leading cause of violent incidents in the US.

MSN.com reports that Miami was the #1 Road Rage City in America in 2009. Fortunately, Miami has slipped to # 8 in 2010. This year, New York City was ranked as number one. According to the study, the most common reactions by drivers in New York City were honking, cursing, making obscene gestures, and shaking their fists in the air. For anyone that has been to New York City this might not come as a surprise as the town is as fast paced and busy as can be, but some of the other cities on this list might surprise you.

Number two on the Road Rage list was Dallas/Fort Worth. Rather than southern hospitality, the MSN.com report found this town to be the leader in tailgating and speeding related accidents. Detroit was next on the list, with its drivers being the leaders in intentionally slamming into the vehicles of those who were being “inconsiderate while driving.” Minneapolis/St. Paul followed with the highest percentage of red light runners and tailgating.

Phoenix and Miami received the same ranking for hosting the rudest drivers. Studies also showed that 88% of Miami drivers are talking on the phone behind the wheel while 48% admitted to cursing people out on the road. Miami also ranked number one in most likely to cut off drivers without notice. Houston was next on the list with speeding being the main culprit. Cincinnati was also ranked, and had the highest percentage of people admitting to sending text messages and emails while driving. Cincinnati came right behind Miami in most likely to curse other drivers out. Last on the list was San Diego, with its drivers being the most likely to slam on the breaks during bouts of road rage.

Florida’s I-95 Most Deadly

Could you imagine your daily commute being on a stretch in which there are 1.73 fatal car accidents per mile? Sadly, for those of us who live in Florida this is exactly the case. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, I-95 in Florida has been ranked the “nations most deadly highway.” Statistics found that in a 4 year period between 2004 and 2008, there were 662 fatalities from Florida car accidents.  That’s not even taking into account the fact that there was an average of 702 non-fatal accidents per day in 2006 alone.

There are several factors that play in to the astonishing amount of Florida car accidents on I-95. For starters, the number of drivers in south Florida leads to significant amounts of  traffic which in turn increases the drivers aggression.  With 10-12 lanes already in areas of  Broward and Miami-Dade county, there is no longer any room to add more lanes in an effort to prevent overcrowding.  Although express lanes have already been added in Miami-Dade county, the number of car accidents is not declining. With no reliable public transportation systems, commuters are forced to crowd  this highway.

Between cell phones, text messaging, GPS systems, and video players it is becoming increasingly difficult to simply focus on driving. This is an issue on any road, but with the amount of drivers on I-95 and a 65 mph speed limit this becomes even more dangerous.

For some of us, driving on I-95 on a daily basis is inevitable. Though we cannot do anything about overcrowding or the attitudes of others, we can all make a difference by simply putting safety first. By making small adjustments such as turning off our cell phones and getting directions before we leave our houses rather than while driving 70 mph, Florida car accidents can be greatly reduced.

Fort Lauderdale Accident Lawyer Discusses Auto/Motorcycle Accident Causes

Because the Sunshine State has such nice weather, many motorcycle enthusists enjoy riding along it’s highways and back roads. Weekends can be especially busy as bikers take to the highways with friends or as members of motorcycling clubs. The danger in riding motorcycles, though, is that when a bike and a car meet in an accident, the biker is usually the one who sustains more and greater injuries. Causes of these accidents can be partly due to cyclists sometimes neglecting to follow the rules of the road, such as when they weave in and out of traffic or cruise to the front of the line of cars waiting at a traffic light. Another part of the problem is that motorists often don’t see cyclists until it’s too late.

Fort Lauderdale accident lawyer Joseph M. Maus reports that a study of motorcycle/auto accidents that was conducted by the University of Southern California, through funding by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, analyzed more than 4,000 accidents and found some startling information:

1. The likelihood of injury is extremely high in these motorcycle accidents – 98% of the multiple vehicle collisions and 96% of the single vehicle accidents resulted in some kind of injury to the motorcycle rider; 45% resulted in more than a minor injury.

2. The use of the safety helmet is the single critical factor in the prevention of reduction of head injury.

3. Approximately three-fourths of these motorcycle accidents involved collision with another vehicle, which was most usually a passenger automobile.

4. Approximately one-fourth of these motorcycle accidents were single vehicle accidents involving the motorcycle colliding with the roadway or some fixed object in the environment.

5. Vehicle failure accounted for less than 3% of these motorcycle accidents, and most of those were single vehicle accidents where control was lost due to a puncture flat.

6. In the single vehicle accidents, motorcycle rider error was present as the accident precipitating factor in about two-thirds of the cases, with the typical error being a slide out and fall due to over braking or running wide on a curve due to excess speed or under-cornering.

7. In the multiple vehicle accidents, the driver of the other vehicle violated the motorcycle right-of-way and caused the accident in two-thirds of those accidents.

8. The failure of motorists to detect and recognize motorcycles in traffic is the predominating cause of motorcycle accidents. The driver of the other vehicle involved in collision with the motorcycle did not see the motorcycle before the collision, or did not see the motorcycle until too late to avoid the collision.

9. The most frequent accident configuration is the motorcycle proceeding straight then the automobile makes a left turn in front of the oncoming motorcycle.

10. Intersections are the most likely place for the motorcycle accident, with the other vehicle violating the motorcycle right-of-way, and often violating traffic controls.

11. The view of the motorcycle or the other vehicle involved in the accident is limited by glare or obstructed by other vehicles in almost half of the multiple vehicle accidents.

12. Conspicuity of the motorcycle is a critical factor in the multiple vehicle accidents, and accident involvement is significantly reduced by the use of motorcycle headlamps (on in daylight) and the wearing of high visibility yellow, orange or bright red jackets.

13. The median pre-crash speed was 29.8 mph, the median crash speed was 21.5 mph, and in one crash out of a thousand, the crash speed was approximately 86 mph.

14. Most motorcycle riders involved in accidents have not had professional training in riding a bike: 92% of those involved in accidents taught themselves to ride a bike or learned from family or friends. Riders who have had professional training are not involved in as many accidents and, when they are, endure less injury than their untrained counterparts.

15. Lack of attention to the driving task is a common factor for the motorcyclist in an accident and almost half of the fatal accidents show alcohol involvement.

16. The typical motorcycle accident allows the motorcyclist just less than 2 seconds to complete all collision avoidance action.

17. Motorcycle modifications such as those associated with the semi-chopper or cafe racer are definitely over represented in accidents.

18. Less than 10% of the motorcycle riders involved in these accidents had insurance of any kind to provide medical care or replace property. Mr. Maus says, “As a Fort Lauderdale accident lawyer, I see cases like this all the time. I can tell you that the hospitalization cost alone of treating a severely head-injured motorcycle accident victim will easily be in the $150,000 to $200,000 range and that doesn’t cover the cost of the extensive rehabilitation services that will be required afterward in order to be functional again.”

The health care costs of a catastrophic injury like those that can result from a motorcycle accident are one of the leading causes of personal bankruptcy. This is why you need to hire a good attorney who can help make sure you are fully compensated for your medical bills and injuries if you are involved in an auto/motorcycle accident. For more information, contact Fort Lauderdale accident lawyer Joseph M. Maus, P.A.at 1-866-556-5529, visit his website at http://www.mauslawfirm.com, or email him today.

Passenger Bus hits pickup truck and injures 4 in Palm Beach County

A Palm Beach County traffic accident involving a Church-Bus and a pickup truck injured four people after the bus lost control and struck the pickup truck over the weekend. The accident happened in Lake Worth on Federal Highway and South Eighth Avenue.

Palm Beach County Emergency medical personnel air lifted one passenger from the pickup truck to Delray Medical Center. Another passenger in the pickup truck also reported injuries. The church bus was carrying 21 people, of which two people on the bus reported injuries at the scene of the bus accident.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently released a report on 2009 motor vehicle traffic crash Stats. The Traffic Safety Facts Report show a decrease in 2009 traffic fatalities when compared to 2008. The NHTSA report on highway crash statistics for 2009 shows that approximately 33,963 people died in motor vehicle traffic accidents. This is an 8.9 percent decrease from 2008, where there were 37,261 traffic fatalities. This is the lowest record of traffic accidents on record since 1954.

Forty-one states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico all had reductions in fatalities. Florida led the nation with 422 fewer fatalities in 2009, followed by Texas with 405 fewer fatalities in 2009.

Researchers attribute law enforcement’s crack down on drunk-driving, safety awareness campaigns for seatbelts and distracted driving and overall car safety improvements for the lower traffic deaths in 2009.

Click on the following link to read more from the Palm Beach Post on the bus accident.

Click on the following link to read more from the NHTSA on 2009 highway crash statistics and traffic fatalities.

Fort Lauderdale Accident Lawyer Offers Auto/Bicycle Safety Tips

Because the Sunshine State has such nice weather, many people enjoy outdoor activities such as walking, roller blading, and cycling. Along with great weather, however, Florida is also known for its high number of auto/bicycle accidents. In fact, Florida holds the dubious "honor" of being the state with the highest number of bicycle fatalities in the country. Part of the problem is that the state lacks bicycle lanes, part of it is due to cyclists sometimes neglecting to follow the rules of the road, and part of the problem is that motorists often don’t see cyclists until it’s too late. In short, drivers in South Florida need to watch out for cyclists.

Fort Lauderdale accident lawyer Joseph M. Maus notes that many people are not aware that bicycles are classed as vehicles and cyclists are classified as drivers. Florida Statutes requires cyclists follow the same rules of the road as the drivers of cars, trucks, etc.in addition to the regulations specific to bicycles. For example, bicycles are required to have front lights that can be seen for 500 feet and both a reflector and a rear light that is visible from 600 feet away when being ridden at night. Over half of fatal bicycle crashes in Florida occur after sunset, even though most cycling is done during daylight hours.

Here are some tips to help increase cycling safety:

• A bicyclist must obey all traffic controls and signals.
• Always wear a helmet when riding – it’s the law! In addition to safety, a helmet helps make cyclists more visible.
• It’s a good idea to tape emergency information (contact information, medical conditions, etc) inside the brim of the helmet.
• A bicycle rider or passenger under 16 years of age must wear a bicycle helmet that is properly fitted, fastened securely, and meets a nationally recognized standard.
• Cyclists must ride in the same direction as traffic (with traffic).
• At least one hand must be kept on the handlebars at all times while riding.
• No person shall operate a bicycle while wearing a headset, headphone or other listening device, other than a hearing aid or instrument for the improvement of defective human hearing.
• It is unlawful to drive any vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. You can get a DUI for cycling while impaired by drugs or alcohol!
• A signal of intention to turn must be given during the last 100 feet traveled by the vehicle before turning.
• Don’t follow too closely behind a cyclist.
• Be careful when opening vehicle doors along roadways or sidewalks.

It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle, especially for children. Every seventh fatality from a bike accident is a child. A cyclist’s head is hit in 38 percent of accidents. Riders who don’t wear helmets are 14 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash then those who wear helmets, and head injuries account for over 60 percent of bicycle-related deaths. It is estimated that between 45 to 88 percent of a bicyclist’s brain injuries can be prevented just by wearing a helmet.

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