Car Accidents

Through Drive 2 Survive Program, Southern Maryland Teenagers Will Get Crash Course In Advanced Safety and Collision Avoidance Training

December 1, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A number of Calvert County organizations have teamed together to bring Southern Maryland young drivers the Drive 2 Survive training program. The Drive 2 Survive course will focus on giving teen drivers the “real world skills” to deal with unexpected situations they might experience on the road.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Board says:

· Teenagers are just 7% of all drivers.
· Teen drivers are responsible for 20% of all vehicle-related collisions.

· Young drivers are responsible for 14% of all vehicle-related deaths.

According to the program’s founders, Drive 2 Survive goes beyond basic driver’s education and is an advanced safety and collision avoidance training course.

Enrolling in the program costs $200 and is open to any teenager living in the tri-county, southern Maryland area who has a learner’s permit and has taken Maryland’s mandated classroom and in-car training. You can click on the link below to register and find out more information.

The Maryland Rookie Driver Program is a graduated licensing program that allows teen drivers to build their skills before earning their driver’s license.

1) The learner’s permit lets a new driver drive while accompanied by a supervised adult driver.
2) After completing the driver education course, driving with an adult for a minimum of 60 hours, and passing a skills test, a teen driver is given a provisional license. The teen driver must be at least 16 years and 3 months old.

3) In order to earn their full license, the driver must be at least 17 years and 9 months old and have held a provisional license for at least 18 months (conviction free).

The Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association provides the following teen driving statistics on their website:

· Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers.
· 16 year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age.
· It is estimated that 16-year-olds are 3 times more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash than adult drivers.
· 3,657 drivers age 15-20 died in car crashes in 2003, making up 14% of all driver involved in fatal crashes and 18% of all drivers involved in police-reported crashes (NHTSA).
· 25% of teen drivers killed in 2003 had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or greater. A BAC of .08 is the level which all states use to define drunk driving.
· $40.8 billion was the estimated economic impact of auto accidents involving 15-20 year old drivers in 2002 (NHTSA).
· Inexperience behind the wheel is the leading cause of teenage crashes.
· In 2001, two thirds of teens killed in auto accidents were not wearing seat belts.
· Almost half of the crash deaths involving 16-year-old drivers in 2003 occurred when beginner drivers were driving with teen passengers (IIHS).
· Statistics show that 16 and 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger (IIHS).

· Graduated drivers license programs appear to be making a difference. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that the overall number of 16-year-old drivers fell from 1,084 in 1993 to 938 in 2003 despite an 18% increase in the 16-year-old population.

Car Accident In Washington County, Maryland, Seriously Injures Two Children

November 17, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Smithsburg, Maryland two children were seriously injured this week in a car accident at the intersection of Smithsburg Leitersburg Road and Rowe Road.

Audrey Marie Partlow, 41, was driving the car that the children, along with another juvenile passenger, were riding in when their vehicle collided with another vehicle, driven by Douglas Allen McCall II, 34.

Partlow, McCall, and the three juveniles, a 5-year-old, a 10-year-old, and an 8-year old were treated at Washington County Hospital.

In Baltimore, A Police Officer And Another Driver Are Injured In A Car Collision

November 14, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland last week, Baltimore police officer Channon Rankin sustained a concussion and a fractured leg when the police car that she was driving collided with another vehicle at Belvedere and Beaufort avenues in the Pimlico section in Northwest Baltimore. The driver of the other vehicle, Omar Mooring, sustained the same types of injuries. Ranking was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center for treatment, while Mooring was attended to at Sinai Hospital. Both cars were severely damaged.

According to Baltimore police, Officer Rankin had been rushing to a call at the time of the accident, and her car lights and police siren were activated.

Whether you were involved in a vehicle-related accident where someone was injured or if you witnessed an accident where someone was injured, here are some suggestions for what you can do.

In Maryland, Car Accident Involving Ambulance Injures Patient And Ambulance Workers

November 10, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Last week, two Crisfield ambulance attendants and their patient were injured on the way to Peninsula Regional Medical Center when the ambulance they were riding in was hit by another vehicle at the Cedar Lane intersection on U.S. 13.

Lower Somerset County Ambulance and Rescue Squad’s ambulance 802 had just come from Marion Station where they had picked up their patient who had been involved in a vehicle-related accident. The ambulance workers, Angela Cvetko and Tim Collins, were also treated at Peninsula Regional Medical Center.

Common causes for vehicle-related accidents:

In Maryland, Family Of Mother Hit By A Police Car Fear They Could Loose Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against The City of Baltimore

November 8, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of Mary Jones, a mother who was killed when a police officer ran a red light on Northern Parkway on November 13, are worried that they could lose a lawsuit they filed against the city of Baltimore.

Police reports say that Baltimore City Police officer Antonio Reyes-Rodriguez was traveling between 62-82 miles per hour in a 30-mile zone when he ran a red light. Witnesses say that they did not hear a police siren during this time. The report concluded that Officer Reyes had violated Maryland Criminal Law by driving in a grossly negligent manner, which caused Jones’s death.

Just two months ago, however, the Assistant State Attorney wrote Jones’s family to say that there wasn’t any negligence involved on the part of Reyes-Rodriguez—who had been dismissed from the police force after the incident—and that the manslaughter charges were being dropped against him.

In Maryland And Other U.S. States, New AAA Report Says 3 to 5 P.M. on Mondays Through Fridays Are Among The Most Deadly Driving Hours For Teen Drivers

November 3, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Crash data from a new AAA Mid-Atlantic report says that licensed, underaged drivers, ages 16-17, are just as likely to get into deadly car crashes from Monday through Friday between 3 and 5 p.m. as they are between 9 p.m. 2 a.m on weekend nights.

Data shows that between 2002 and 2005:

· 1,100 underaged, teen drivers were killed in the hours right after school.

School Bus Accident In Sykesville, Maryland Ends With Nine Kids Treated In A Carroll County Hospital

October 30, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Last week, nine school kids were treated and released at the Carroll Hospital Center in Sykesville, Maryland, after their school bus and a 1992 Buick collided with one another near Linton Springs Elementary School. The bus had been 100 yards away from the unloading zone at the elementary school when the Buick pulled out in front of the bus from a side parking lot. About 50 school kids were on the bus at the time of the accident.

· There are 585,000 school buses in the U.S.

· 20 students are killed in bus accidents each year (5 while on the bus and 15 are run while getting off or on buses).

Maryland Transportation Authority Says Pink Panels On Bay Bridge In Stevensville Are Reducing Rear-End Collisions And Causing Drivers To “Pace Your Space”

October 27, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Maryland Transportation Authority says that, according to the latest statistics, the bright pink panels that have been placed along the eastbound span of the Bay Bridge are decreasing auto accidents by helping drivers keep their distance from one another.

According to the MdTA, previous studies had shown that:

· 58% of the auto accidents that occured on the Bay Bridge were rear-end collisions.

Maryland Says Allstate Must Repay $17.5 Million To More Than 20,000 Auto Insurance Policy Holders

October 26, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The state of Maryland says that insurance company Allstate must refund $17.5 million to more 20,000 auto insurance policy holders. According to the Maryland Insurance Commissioner’s office, the administration had received numerous complaints after the property and casualty insurer had sent premium increase notices to policyholders between January 2003 and March 2005 without detailing the violation or accident that each policyholder had committed which led to the premium increase. Refunds will average $850, and Allstate is being fined $100,000 for not complying with state law by sending the premiums without the required information.

A spokesperson for Allstate says that every policyholder who received the notice of a premium increase had a past violation or accident that justified the increase. They admit, however, that the specific statutory language was missing and have expressed their regret for the error.

Auto insurance laws in the State of Maryland require that all drivers must have:

Near Clarksburg, Maryland, Crash And Burn Accident Involving Flatbed Truck And Car On I-270 Leaves One Woman In Hospital With Burn Injuries

October 24, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Maryland State Police are investigating a vehicle-related accident that took place Near Clarksburg, Maryland last Friday when a car moving south on northbound I-270 crossed a median, hit a flatbed truck, and caught on fire. The woman was pulled out of the truck and is being treated for life-threatening injuries, including burns.

According to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences:

· A burn is defined as tissue damage caused by a variety of agents, such as heat, chemicals, electricity, sunlight, or nuclear radiation. Most common are burns caused by scalds, building fires, flammable liquids, and gases.