Maryland Accident Law Blog
In Linthicum Heights last week, Maryland State Police, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the State Highway Administration, and people from the private sector gathered at the Maritime Institute of Technology to come up with a plan to reduce the number of fatalities, injuries, and motorist crashes that occur on Maryland’s highways as a result of vehicle-related accidents.
The Strategic Highway Safety Plan will include initiatives focusing on seven emphasis areas:
1. Prevention of impaired driving
2. Better use of data
3. Engineering improvements and eliminating danger spots on roads
4. Increasing use of seat belts and other safety devices by passengers and drivers
5. Improving driver competency
6. Preventing aggressive driving
7. Improving emergency response systems
614 vehicle-related fatalities took place in Maryland in 2005. In 2004, 651 motorists were killed. The Strategic Highway Safety Plan is due to the Federal Highway Administration by September 30.
Here is a list of 10 common driving mistakes that can lead to accidents, injuries, and death on the road (provided by AAA):
1. Inattention
2. Excessive speed
3. Failure to wear seat belt
4. Distraction inside the vehicle
5. Inadequate defensive driving techniques
6. Incorrect assumptions about other roadway users
7. Tailgating or not leaving enough space between vehicles
8. Driving while fatigued, angry, or impaired by alcohol or other drugs
9. Failure to check blind spot before changing lanes
10. Failure to allow enough time or space to merge, leave, or cross traffic.
If you have witnessed or been involved in a car accident on a freeway (or any other kind of road), consider the following tips that the personal injury law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen has posted on their website about what to do if you find yourself in a traffic accident.
Campaign To Reduce Highway Deaths Begins, Baltimoresun.com, July 13, 2006
Statewide Campaign Targeting Highway Safety, The Capital.com, July 16, 2006
Traffic Safety, AAA Public Affairs
Related Web Resources: