Wesley, McGrail & Wesley
The roads are only as safe as the worst driver.
It's an unfortunate reality. Say you have 10 cars on a stretch of highway. Nine of those drivers can observe the speed limit and drive safely. If the third driver is speeding, changing lanes without using a turn signal and texting while driving, though, they can easily cause a multi-car crash. Suddenly, despite the fact that most of the drivers were very safe, half of them are on the way to the hospital.
Our roadways are increasingly congested these days, and it seems like more and more lanes are full of large commercial trucks hauling heavy cargo. Regular consumer cars don't usually fare very well in truck accidents, and the results can be devastating. It is always wise to remain aware of ways you can keep yourself and your loved ones safe when driving.
Commercial trucks have many more blind spots than consumer vehicles, and may need much more room to come to a complete stop. Every day, drivers put themselves in serious danger by failing to understand these dangers and avoid them.
You know a distracted driver when you see one. Maybe it's a man on his cellphone who weaves all over the road while he talks. Maybe it's a teenage girl who keeps looking down and texting her friends. Maybe it's a group of college students on a road trip, laughing and talking and singing along with the music. Or maybe it's someone's elderly parent trying to fight with the GPS while still driving along in afternoon traffic.
None of these things are good. They're all distractions, as are things like drinking coffee, eating breakfast, doing your makeup and a thousand other activities that people engage in behind the wheel. But they may not be the worst. Do you know what some research indicates is one of the biggest distractions? Your children.
You go before a judge and jury, accused of a crime that you swear you never committed. You give your side of the story, telling them that you were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when you got arrested, but you never even went to the crime scene. It was someone else. You just want to go on with your life.
Then an eyewitness comes forward and tells the court that they saw you at the scene. They claim to be 100 percent confident it was you. You can tell that the jury thinks you're trying to lie your way out of the charges. That witness testimony carries a lot of weight.
With as much of a problem as distracted driving has become, it is incredibly important for drivers to focus and stay alert behind the wheel. Many accidents happen when drivers let their minds wander or pay attention to something besides the road -- the radio, a cellphone, the GPS or a conversation with friends, for instance.
So, what can they do to really dial in and pay attention to what is happening around them? These eight tips can help:
Seeing a police car pull up behind you leaves you with a knot in your stomach. You feel nervous even if you did not do anything wrong. This is especially true if they pull you over at 2 a.m. and you know that the officer wants to check and see if you are driving under the influence.
Maybe you have never been involved in a traffic stop like this before. You know that your nervousness and lack of experience could make you act suspiciously. Could that lead to legal trouble? To help you, here are four common questions and answers:
Distracted driving has reached epidemic proportions in this country. With the rise of mobile technology, there are simply too many potential distractions for people to avoid them all. However, mobile phones and tablets are not the only problem leading to dangerous distractions behind the wheel. People getting lost in thought or bored is a leading cause of distraction.
While they do pose a significant risk, screens are not the only thing keeping drivers from focusing on what is most important on the road. Understanding the major causes of distraction in a vehicle can help you in two ways. First, it can help you avoid engaging in distractions when you drive. Second, it can help you identify if someone else is driving while distracted.
You accidentally cut someone off while merging onto the interstate. You checked your mirrors, but the car came up faster than you realized. The driver had to tap the brakes to keep from rear-ending you. Knowing you should have waited, you wave your apologies and feel happy you did not get in an accident.
Suddenly, that driver accelerates around you and cuts you off, nearly hitting you. You see him or her screaming out the window on the way by. You try to slow down, and the driver slams on the brakes, forcing you to veer to the side. Then, the driver cuts you off again, clipping the front of your car, and you both spin out into the wall.
Drunk driving never seems to end. Every year, tens of thousands of people get injured, and around 10,000 people die in DUI crashes. Someone passes away every 50 minutes. The annual cost is in excess of $44 billion.
But it still continues, year in and year out. People get behind the wheel after drinking at bars, at home or at social gatherings. Sometimes, it seems like everything we do in America is an excuse to drink: holiday parties, sporting events, trips to the beach, camping trips, gatherings with friends and far more.
Summer brings plenty of tourism to Florida. Children get out of school. Parents take time off of work. College students get a break that they embrace, knowing they'll have full-time jobs soon enough.
Plus, with the economy still rising after the recession a decade ago, people have more disposable income. That means more trips, more vacations and more miles on the road.
Wesley, McGrail & Wesley PLLC
88 Eglin Parkway NE
Fort Walton Beach,
FL
32548
Toll Free:
866-445-5849
Phone:
850-226-5051
Fax:
850-244-0973
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