Archive for the ‘ General ’ Category

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28
Dec

Pickup hits utility pole, fence, parked car, killing one in NW Harris

December 28, 2011

Early Monday morning in northwest Harris County, a woman died when her 2007 Toyota Tundra pickup truck veered from the road, slammed into a utility pole, and rolled over, reports the Houston Chronicle.

She was the driver of the vehicle and died at about 12:01 a.m., according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said that she was driving westbound on FM 2920 when the truck left the road, hit a large utility pole, and rolled over. The pickup continued into the parking lot, smashed into a metal fence, and hit a parked Honda Civic.

The woman, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown out of the truck, deputies said.

Her passenger was slightly injured. He was rushed to Houston Northwest Hospital. His condition was not released, but deputies said that he had minor injuries.

The crash is still under investigation.

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27
Dec

Flashing lights at intersections cause more crashes

December 26, 2011

A civil engineering research team from the University of Texas determined that intersections with flashing lights have three times more accidents than those with only stop signs. They also determined that intersections with highway frontage roads are more dangerous than other intersections, reports Bloomberg Business Week. This study was undertaken so that future studies can consider the causes of such accidents and make these intersections safer.

“Understanding their causes should be a priority for transportation and safety professionals, so that we can develop countermeasures to reduce the high incidence of crashes and resulting deaths and injuries at intersections,” said Professor Chandra Bhat, the leader of the study.

About 40 percent of all traffic accidents take place at intersections. Drivers exiting highways are also more likely to crash.

A key finding in the study is that intersection accidents are affected by the larger traffic patterns around them. Fixing a high risk intersection will reduce accidents on neighboring streets.

“If you don’t account for this dependence, which is what almost all earlier studies have done, you underestimate the value of roadway and traffic control improvements,” Bhat said.

Intersections with traffic lights are the safest, except when people blow through red lights.

The findings of this study will be presented to the National Transportation Safety Board next month.

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Have you or someone you know been injured in a Texas auto accident?

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21
Dec

Injured Greyhound bus passenger awarded $7.2 million

December 21, 2011

A 24-year-old female survivor of a Greyhound bus crash in rural Texas in December 2007 was awarded a $7.2 million settlement by a Dallas jury this week, according to the Sacramental Bee.

The injured passenger alleged that the bus driver was using a cell phone while driving in icy conditions on Interstate 40 in Wheeler County, Texas.

The driver braked improperly as he approached a wreck on the highway and lost control of the bus, according to trial testimony. The bus rolled over, injuring the passenger’s head, neck, and back.

The evidence presented during the three week trial showed that the bus driver had received three speeding convictions shortly before Greyhound hired him and had used his cell phone 17 times in the three hours before the accident.

The jury found Greyhound and its drivers grossly negligent in the accident.

“The verdict will enable [the victim] to have lower-back surgery next month for injuries received in the crash. We hope it sends the message that companies like Greyhound will be held responsible for any injuries they cause. In this case, we alleged that Greyhound hired an unqualified driver, that he was improperly trained, and that he ultimately failed to control his speed, which caused the bus to flip over,” her lawyer said.

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Have you or someone you know been injured in a Texas bus accident?

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21
Dec

Plane Crash Kills Family

December 21, 2011

The Butler family was on their way from Atlanta to Waco when their plane crashed during a rainstorm in Central Texas. The Piper Saratoga aircraft crashed into a field Monday night north of College Station. The pilot and 4 others were killed in the plane crash.

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16
Dec

NTSB calls for a nationwide ban on all cell phone usage while driving

December 16, 2011

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a call on Tuesday to ban all kinds of electronic multitasking, according to LoHud. Only driver-assisting devices such as GPS systems would be permitted.

“Drivers need to keep not only their hands on the wheel; they also have to keep their brains on the road,” neuroscientist Marcell Just of Carnegie Mellon University Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging said in a statement lauding NTSB’s proposed ban.

He found that simply listening to someone speak on the other end of a phone reduces driving-associated brain activity by 37 percent, compared to driving alone and using all those synapses to concentrate on the road.

“It’s time to put a stop to distraction. No call, no text, no update is worth a human life,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman.

Along with six other states, Texas bans the practice of texting while driving for novice drivers. Texas also bans the practice by school bus drivers.

The Houston Chronicle reports that Texas is unlikely to accept such an all-inclusive ban as the NTSB calls for. “There’s no will in Texas to do that,” state Rep. Gary Elkins told the paper.

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Have you or someone you know been injured in a Texas auto accident that was caused by distracted driving?

The Houston auto accident lawyers at Terry Bryant Accident & Injury Law may be able to help.

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