Baltimore County Motorcycle Officer Killed in Tragic Crash

On Sunday October 25th, 2009, a Baltimore County Police Officer was killed in a crash on Old Harford Road. 42 year-old Officer Jeffrey Neral, was traveling to work around one o'clock p.m. when he collided with a vehicle driven by Pei Kao of Baltimore City.

This is the second fatal crash involving a Baltimore County police officer in the last month.

Hit and Run Driver Apprehended in Charles Village Hit and Run Death

A Sykesville, Maryland man was apprehended in connection with the tragic death of Johns Hopkins student, Miriam Frankl on October 16th, 2009 In Baltimore City. See http://www.maryland-law.com/blog/police-locate-truck-in-charles-village-hit-and-run.cfm

Thomas Meighan was the owner of the Ford F-250 pickup truck which struck and killed Ms. Frankl. He reportedly has four prior drunk driving arrests and was charged with first degree escape from a minimum-security Maryland prison.

His precise involvement in the tragic hit and run has not been detailed by Baltimore City Maryland police.

Teen Driving Fatalities

The dangerous propensities of teenage drivers are widely known. Inexperience coupled with recklessness is a recipe for disaster. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety examines teen crash deaths in Fatality Facts 2008 and provides a glimpse into the circumstances of these tragedies. http://www.iihs.org/research/fatality_facts_2008/teenagers.html

Not suprisingly, 16 year-old drivers have the highest incidence of crashes per mile driven, twice as high as 18 to 19 year-old drivers. Teens overall have a crash rate per mile four times that of older drivers. States with graduated licensing have seen a substantial decline in teen car crashes as phased in licensing serves to restrict the circumstances in which new drivers are permitted on the roads.

Maryland teens are not allowed to drive after midnight or with their friends in the car under their initial restricted license.
 
4.054 teens died in car crashes in 2008, a reduction of more than half from 1975. Two-thirds of the wrongful deaths are males, although the rate of teen male deaths is steadily declining.

The leading cause of death among teens is motor vehicle crash and more than 60% of these are vehicle drivers.

Alcohol-use in teen traffic fatalities stands at about 16% and again males are more likely to have involvement with alcohol than female.

The bottom-line, teens need vast supervision to avoid car and truck collisions.

Police Locate Truck in Charles Village Hit and Run

Baltimore City police report having located the white Ford 250 pick-up reportedly involved in a tragic Charles Village hit-and-run Friday October 16, 2009 which killed Johns Hopkins student, Miriam Frankl.

The police were aided by the public, which reported the offending vehicle's whereabouts, after its tag number and description were disseminated through the media. http://www.maryland-law.com/blog/baltimore-hit-and-run-tragically-kills-hopkins-student.cfm

The vehicle evidently belongs to a Carroll County, Maryland resident. Baltimore City police have the vehicle in custody and crime technicians are examining it for evidence of the hit and run and a determination as to who was operating it at the time.

The collision took place at 3:15 p.m. at the intersection of University Parkway and Saint Paul Street in Baltimore City.

Elridge Maryland Crash Sends Three to Shock Trauma

Three area residents were taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore as a result of a crash on U.S. Route One in Elkridge, Maryland on Friday October 16th, 2009.

The multi-vehicle crash reportedly came about when a southbound Chevy Trailblazer operated by a sixteen-year-old driver, went out of control and struck a northbound tow truck and then struck a Chevy Cavalier. The drivers and occupants of the Chevrolets were taken to the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland in Baltimore.

The incident took place around five o'clock p.m. near Old Washington Road.

Montgomery County Fire Official Crash Investigation Questionable

Last November 30th, Montgomery County Assistant Fire Chief, Gregory DeHaven, was involved in a crash in which he struck multiple vehicles including a police cruiser, becoming airborne in the process.

Having represented numerous drivers who were victims of such dramatic crashes, we at Clark and Steinhorn know that the investigation afterwards would typically be quite thorough, particularly when alcohol was reportedly involved.

Inexplicably, this investigation was not. A report issued by Chief Investigator, Thomas Dagley, reports that six witnesses who observed Mr. DeHaven at the scene were not interviewed. They allegedly observed slurred speech, prominent odor of alcohol and several near falls by the Assistant Fire Chief.

One of the crash victims was apparently approached by Mr. DeHaven and asked if the car crash could be resolved without the involvement of the police. This individual also smelled the odor of alcohol and reported DeHaven had trouble standing.

The police did not timely request a blood alcohol test and issued a ticket for failure to control vehicle, a $130.00 fine. When tested three hours later DeHaven's blood alcohol was almost double the legal limit.

DeHaven was fired as a result of this incident and is appealing that dismissal. The inevitable question: was he allowed to skate on a DUI because of his position or connections?

Baltimore Hit and Run Tragically Kills Hopkins Student

Tragically, a twenty-year old student at Johns Hopkins University was struck and killed by  a hit-and-run driver in Baltimore's Charles Village on Friday October 16, 2009.

The vehicle which struck her was reported to be a white Ford  F-250 pick-up truck with Maryland license tag 94W 412.

AAA of the Mid-Atlantic has been focusing on the increase of such hit-and-run deaths in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia.

Front-End Crash Deaths: Why the Modern Safety Features May Not Save Us

We have previously discussed the wonders of modern automotive safety features (see http://www.maryland-law.com/blog/motor-vehicle-crash-safety-air-bags.cfm

Yet we are perplexed by the prevalence of auto crash fatalities involving frontal collisions in modern air bag and crumple- zone equipped vehicles. This perplexity is evidently shared by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration as they have published an extensive study on the subject. http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811102.PDF
The findings should encourage seat belt and air bag use, as it is estimated that the risk of death in a car crash is reduced 61% by the use of these safety devices.

NHTSA identified 122 collisions which involved vehicles with modern safety amenities striking each other in essentially a front-to-front crash. The specifics of each car accident were categorized and the study identifies a series of common scenarios which appear to mitigate the benefit of crumple zones, air bags and seat belts.

The most frequent, unsuprisingly, were crashes that were so severe that the safety features could not compensate for the force of the collision. If cars are going fast enough, no presently available safety equipment can absolutely protect the vehicle occupants. The study contains an interesting digression on the practicality of making vehicles less vulnerable to catastrophic crashes and the cost and engineering impracticalities of doing so.

The second most recurrent problem was so called poor structural engagement between the vehicles. In plain language it is when vehicles don't hit exactly head on and the force of the impact strips away or disengages some aspect of or benefit of the safety features.

Four other categories were identified which included corner impacts, oblique crashes, impacts with narrow objects and underrides. Interestingly, most of the deadly crashes involved some combination of the problems.

Single Car Crashes Kill the Most Drivers in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia Car Crashes

More than 60% of car crash deaths in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia were in single car accidents in 2008. This disturbing fact derived by AAA Mid-Atlantic, estimates that 860 of the 1,449 wrongful crash deaths were single-vehicle collisions.

AAA estimated that 58% of area auto crash deaths between 2004 and 2008 were single-car crashes.

Factors that predominated included speeding, drunk driving, driving at night and distracted driving. A prior history of traffic convictions and crashes were also widely seen.

Traffic Deaths Continue Downward Trend

We have discussed the decline in wrongful accident deaths in Maryland and nationwide here on previous occasions.
http://www.maryland-law.com/library/maryland-motor-vehicle-death-cases.cfm

The latest information from the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration indicates that this trend has continued throughout 2009. http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811207.PDF

In each month of 2009, traffic fatalities have been down from the same month in 2008. This good news may be a by-product of the slowed economy but it is nonetheless welcome news.

Car Crash Safety: What a Difference Fifty Years Makes

We have previously discussed the effect of such modern auto safety technologies as air bags and anti-lock brakes. An interesting video from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows why a picture is worth a thousand words. The video involving a head-on collision between two Chevrolets, one a 2009 Malibu and the other a 1959 Bel Air, is stunning.
http://www.iihs.org/50th/default.html

The crash of the vehicles is shown from many points of view. One can easily discern that the 2009 car while badly damaged, protects its driver with a host of modern safety innovations. Most noteworthy is that the passenger compartment in the 1959 car was destroyed and in the 2009 car remained intact.

It is obvious from the video that the safety belts, air bags and front engine compartment crumple zones, work together to maximize the protection of the modern-day driver. The devastation wrought on the 1959 driver is tremendous.
 
The crash conducted  with both vehicles traveling at forty miles per hour, should vindicate once and for all that the modern safety improvements are invaluable.

It should also remind the motoring public that the American auto companies, which taxpayers so recently bailed out, have resisted each of these safety improvements along the way. Their argument has been that the safety technologies (seat belts, air bags, anti-skid controls, you name it) will increase the cost of their vehicles thereby decreasing sales.

The reality is that safety has become a major selling-point with modern cars. The enthusiasm of the public for safer cars has driven both premium brands like Lexus and Mercedes, and budget brands like Hyundai and Kia, to feature more safety items than their competitors in effort to drive sales.

So, next time someone tells you don't need modern auto safety items watch the video, you'll want them.

Independent Truckers Advocate Texting Ban

It's contagious! Not H1N1 but the widespread recognition that texting while driving is unduly dangerous. The Owner-Operator Independent Truckers Association, 158,000 truckers strong nationwide, have endorsed not only a texting while driving ban but also a greater governmental emphasis on safe-driving in proximity to commercial trucks, eighteen wheelers and semi-trucks.

As has been discussed extensively here in the past, professional truck drivers are the nation's safest drivers per mile driven. Unfortunately, when they are involved in crashes with cars, motorcycles and other smaller vehicles, the destruction, personal injury and wrongful death are considerable.

The OOIDA headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri has been in operation for 36 years and emphasizes not only safe driving by its members but also by the overall motoring public when in proximity to big rigs.

The Top Ten Reasons For Commercial Truck Crashes

We often have occasion to discuss here the circumstances which lead to crashes between commercial trucks (semis, eighteen wheelers and smaller trucks) and cars. Probably the most comprehensive study of this subject is the Large Truck Crash Causation Study. http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/facts-research/research-technology/analysis/FMCSA-RRA-07-017.htm

This landmark study has been the subject of discussion here previously. Today we note the top ten factors identified as
having caused collisions between commercial trucks and other vehicles.

It is important to recognize that in many instances more than one of these factors was present. They are in descending order of frequency : brake problems, traffic flow issues (prior accident or congestion), prescription drug use, excessive speed, roadway unfamiliarity, actual roadway problems, non-adherence to traffic control devices (traffic lights, stop signs and crosswalks), over the counter medications, inattention and fatigue.

Obviously, many of these variables are interrelated. The study examines in greater detail the relative risk of each of the categories and is examined in our article "Commercial Truck Crashes: Causes and Effect."

Deadly Crashes Lead to Route 32 Improvements

Some times the only way to get safety action is for tragedy to intervene. http://www.maryland-law.com/blog/route-32-gets-sorely-needed-safety-attention.cfm

This weekend the Maryland State Highway Administration will commence work on left-turn lanes on Route 32 at three locations. This much-needed project comes in the aftermath of the deaths of Sykesville, Maryland residents Brian Emery,  Kyong Hae Kim and Vincent Woodward.

The new turn lanes will be at River Road, Day Road and Amberwoods Way. The goal is to complete this work by December 2009.

This busy stretch of roadway will also receive a new center lane to facilitate turns at Emory Farm Lane, Heritage Farms Court, Coventry Meadows Drive and Indian Hill Drive.

The looming long-term question, when will Route 32 be expanded to four through lanes to handle the ever-increasing volume of traffic?

Octogenarian Crashes Car Into Bethesda Salon

For the second consecutive day, a Maryland driver crashed their vehicle into a building, injuring themselves and others.
The incident, which took place around 3 pm. on Arlington road in Bethesda, injured the driver and two employees of the spa whick was struck.

The driver seemed cc to accelerate and lose control of her Toyota Camry. It appears that the injuries are not dire.

Tragic Car Accident Takes Life of Sun Editor and Injures Daughter

In a story that tugs at your heart, Baltimore Sun Business editor, Timothy Wheatley was killed this morning and his daughter injured in a crash with a U.P.S. truck. The collision took place at the intersection of Corbett road and York road in Baltimore County, Maryland.

The incident occured as Mr. Wheatley was driving his daughter to school. Our utmost sympathies are with the Wheatley family.

Driving Lesson Goes Awry: Driver Crashes Into Apartment

A 46 year-old man sitting in his Lanham, Maryland apartment got an unwelcome suprise when a mini-van ran into his bedroom. The vehicle was being operated by an unlicensed driver who was evidently taking a driving lesson from another unlicensed driver.

The vehicle is reported to have accelerated suddenly into the Prince Georges County apartment injuring the resident.
The vehicle operator and his driving instructor were apparently in the U.S. illegally and are in custody.

America's Loves Driving and Cell Phones: Bad Mix

The damage estimates are staggering, 2,600 deaths, 342,000 injuries and 42 billion dollars in economic losses, all attributable to distracted driving. These numbers compiled by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis seem almost inconceivable.

270 million cell phones and 136 million cars don't mix well. The consensus from this last weeks convocation in Washington is that enforcement is the key. Analogizing texting while driving to drinking and driving, it seems that the only effective deterrent is to penalize non-compliant motorists.

The problem is that states, including Maryland and Virginia, have passed such watered-down laws that enforcement will be very difficult. Quite simply, Marylanders are allowed to read text and phone messages and enter numbers into their phones while driving. Obviously, it would be difficult for charging officers to distinguish which drivers are illegally texting and which are legally studying their phones in equally dangerous behavior.

In Virginia officers can only ticket phone abusers as a secondary violation, meaning that they can only pull over a driver for other illegal driving behavior first and ticket cell phone misuse second.

It seems clear that injuries and wrongful deaths will continue to pile up in Maryland, Virginia and elsewhere until laws and their enforcement are made more effective. http://www.maryland-law.com/blog/reducing-car-and-truck-crashes-through-distracted-driving-reduction.cfm

Listen to the President: No Texting While Driving

At Clark and Steinhorn we have long suspected that President Obama is a regular reader of our blogs. Further evidence came to light in today's Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/01/AR2009100103447.html

The president has banned government employees from texting while driving government vehicles, using government provided phones or while on government business.

There are a lot of government employees so if this executive order is followed this could have a big impact.

It is estimated that more than 812,000 drivers are on the roads during daytime using cell phones. This works out to be 11% of all drivers actively driving while distracted. Harvard's center for risk analysis estimates that 6% of all crashes result from cellphone use. That is 342,000 injuries and 2,600 wrongful deaths.

So listen to us http://www.maryland-law.com/blog/reducing-car-and-truck-crashes-through-distracted-driving-reduction.cfm  and the president.

Banning texting

Reducing Car and Truck Crashes Through Distracted Driving Reduction

The toll of car crash deaths and injuries associated with texting and cell phoning while driving is gaining increasing media attention nationally http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/ and locally. http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2009-10-01/distracted-driving-law-science

The conclusions are inescapable, distracted driving has to stop. The best methods for accomplishing this however, are more elusive.

The District of Columbia makes it comparatively easy by prohibiting drivers from cell phone use. If an officer sees you driving and using a cell phone, you in theory get a ticket. I say in theory because a number of Clark and Steinhorn's clients have been struck by texting drivers in the District without any citation being issued.

One can appreciate that the Metropolitan Police have many graver crimes to deal with but heck if you stop to investigate a collision and the at-fault party acknowledges texting at the time of the collision, it seems like a ticket should be forthcoming.

Maryland has enacted new laws effective this week to stem texting while driving but of course it has no effect on people reading texts while driving. It also does not apply to use of GPS devices which are at least as distracting as cell phones.

And how do you prove the underlying traffic offense of texting while driving absent an admission by the driver that they are guilty? Will the prosecutors have to subpoena cell phone records? The potential problems of proof may tend to emasculate the law.

While the public as a whole is appalled by the distracted driving phenomenon, it seems that individually drivers believe it is safe for them to do so, just not everybody else.

Drinking, Driving and Death:

At this point it seems axiomatic, that drinking and driving produces wrongful death car and truck crashes. Despite this the prevalence of drunk drivers being involved in deadly crashes is still quite high. http://www.ntsb.gov/alerts/SA_004.pdf

Some of the numbers are staggering. More than 17,000 people were killed on our roadways in 2007 in alcohol-related crashes. Such a crash occurs every half an hour of every day. 53% of alcohol related crash fatalities involve repeat offenders.

Between 1983 and 2007, 220,000 individuals were killed by so-called "hard-core drinking drivers".

So what is to be done? The N.T.S.B. advocates a very stringent law enforcement approach. Greater use of sobriety checkpoints, tougher punishments for repeat offenders and requirements that repeat offenders maintain a zero blood alcohol level are suggested.

Unfortunately, many of these suggestions are in use presently without curtailing drunk driving by individuals who already have lost their licenses, served jail time and gone through various therapeutic regimens.

Fatal Crashes and A.B.S. : Do Safety Technologies Save Lives?

Seatbelts, shoulder harnesses, airbags, skid controls, the list of modern technologies that have infiltrated our cars and trucks are lengthy. Their cost considerable, the inevitable question, do they make us safer on the road?

Overall, deaths are down nationally and locally. http://www.maryland-law.com/library/maryland-motor-vehicle-death-cases.cfm

Doubtless, some of this may be attributable to extensive efforts to educate the public regarding dangerous driving practices. Better roadway engineering and more effective traffic safety enforcement may also play a role. See : http://www.maryland-law.com/blog/reducing-motor-vehicle-deaths-the-three-es.cfm
 
However, the multi-billion dollar question is do technologies such as A.B.S. save lives in car and truck collisions?

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration broaches this question in a recently published technical report.  http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811182.PDF   The conclusions reached in that report may suprise and disappoint some.

The main question addressed is essentially a cost-benefit analysis of anti-lock braking systems. With regard to fatal collisions, the study finds  "The Long-Term overall effect of ABS on fatal crash involvements is close to zero."

The study did find that non-fatal crashes were reduced or beneficially impacted by A.B.S. performance.

Some anomalous findings include a substantial increase in fatal run-off road crashes with A.B.S. The authors are at pains to say that they cannot reconcile the actual crash data with the vaunted performance of A.B.S. on test tracks.

Car Crashes and Texting: Even Virginia Has Taken Notice

Wow! We have been extolling the District of Columbia distracted driving laws on our website for some time  http://www.maryland-law.com/blog/226.cfm     and with Maryland's new anti-texting law taking effect, I guess it was inevitable Virginia would eventually take notice.

The Washington Post reports that Virginia officials in conjunction with AAA are holding events to stress the danger of cell phone use while driving. A particular theme is the danger of texting in construction zones on the beltway.

AAA officials assert that 50% or more of beltway drivers are from time to time distracted by their cell phones. Unless the public can be weaned from this addiction to inattention while driving more car crash deaths and injuries are inevitable.

New Texting Laws to Take Effect This Week

Maryland joins the states which have outlawed texting while driving, effective October 1st, 2009.  http://www.maryland-law.com/blog/226.cfm  To be technically accurate Maryland vehicle operators are forbidden to send or write text messages while operating a motor vehicle on a public roadway. There is an exception for 911 messages.

The maximum penalty is a $500.00 fine.
 
While the program or its equivalent has been said to be highly successful in Orange County, Califonia, civil libertarians question some aspects of the new law.

Specifically, drivers are still permitted to use their cellphones to see incoming texts and to play games. The obvious question of course is if the police pull a driver over for texting while driving, how will they prove it?

We will see but it could be a source of considerable controversy

Distracted Driving More Prevalent Near Schools

There is a tendency to think of distracted driving as being associated with cellphones and communications devices in general. A new study shows that this is true but does not show the full array of distractions which go on near our schools.

Eating on-the-go breakfasts, grooming, smoking and even last minute studying efforts, contribute to inattention in school zones where maximum care are mandated by law.

Some of the findings seem a bit counter-intuitive. Females are statistically more distracted than males, after school is worse than before and those who aren't using safety belts are more subject to problems.

As has been discussed here at length, drivers using cellphones are four times  more likely to be in involved in accidents than those who are not. Much of the present cognitive research suggests that the distractability of cellphone employing drivers is comparable to or worse than drunk drivers.

So keep yourself and those around you safer pay attention in school zones and pull over to use your cellphone.
For more information: http://www.nsc.org/resources/issues/factsheet.aspx