Car Accidents

Have you ever experienced an injury that seemed mild at first, but became more severe over time? This is the case for many people who sustain head injuries in car accidents. These injuries can take days, weeks or even months to appear. In fact, some survivors may not even realize how seriously they have been injured. Though head injuries vary widely in severity, even small ones can cause big problems. Memory loss, diminished cognitive abilities and long-term pain are just a few potential consequences for victims. What can cause a head injury

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Perhaps you have been driving on the highway, obeying the traffic laws and keeping your eyes on the road. The car behind you is getting closer and closer. Soon, its bumper is practically touching yours, and the driver doesn’t seem to care. Most of us have been tailgated when driving. Yes, it’s obnoxious—but more than that, it can also be dangerous. A recent study has shown that tailgaters are not just annoying. They can also cause traffic jams and serious accidents. The truth about traffic jams Recently, the Computer Science

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A recent study for AAA’s Foundation for Traffic Safety by a University of Utah professor indicates that the “infotainment” technology automakers are increasingly adding to vehicle dashboards is highly distracting. The professor notes that previous studies have noted the problem but that an “explosion of technology” usable behind the wheel is making the problem worse. The problem is not only that automakers are including a lot of this technology but also that it’s becoming more complicated. Instead of a few knobs and buttons, some vehicles now sport 50 multi-functional buttons on

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It is easy to understand why many people are eager to see the arrival of driverless cars. The technology has the potential to ease congestion and reduce the number of traffic accidents, injuries and fatalities. While it is not yet clear that the promise of driverless tech will be delivered, it is increasingly clear that Rockville streets will one day soon be populated with at least some driverless vehicles. One of the looming questions is whether all of those driverless vehicles will have humans in them. Not far from us, members

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Parents worry about their teenagers when it comes to getting behind the wheel, and for good reason. We have written extensively on how teens are at a higher risk for crashes and injury than drivers of any other age group. The reasons are numerous: teen drivers are inexperienced, prone to take more risks, and are easily distracted, particularly when they have passengers in the vehicle. Teen drivers often drive older, unsafe vehicles That is why parents, when possible, try to have their teens drive the safest possible vehicles. Of course,

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We’ve all had the experience of driving tired. A cup of coffee helps, but there is no real substitute for 8 hours of sleep. But we all have busy lives, and sometimes driving tired is unavoidable. Unfortunately, the frequency with which drowsy driving occurs is staggering. Millions of accidents occur every year due to drowsy driving. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), over 8,000 people lose their lives in accidents involving drowsy driving every year. Every day, 83.6 million drive drowsy. That is why the NHTSA began a national

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We all know how distracting smartphones can be. Yet while they pose an almost unlimited potential for distraction and danger, smartphones can tell us where we are, where we are going, and link to a car’s Bluetooth system for hands-free dialing. Simply put, smartphones are evolving to work within vehicles. They are not going away. Too often, however, the devices are not used optimally for safety. For example, in some newer model vehicles the driver can hear the navigation on the phone telling him or her to turn left over

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According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), a drunk driver injures someone every two minutes. Unfortunately, this means thousands of people are killed in drunk driving crashes every year, and countless more are injured. In spite of stringent drunk driving laws in most states, DUI remains a common criminal offense. Everyone agrees that a drunk driving accident involving serious injury or death is tragic. The question is how best to reduce or eliminate drunk driving injuries. In some states, one answer is to allow punitive damages for victims. If you

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Fatal car accidents often require an extensive investigation to determine exactly what happened. A reconstruction of the crash can reveal whether efforts were made by drivers to avoid a collision. If one of the drivers appears to have made no such effort, then he or she could be found liable for negligence. Such an accident reconstruction was initiated after a recent crash in Carroll County. The car-bus collision occurred on Feb. 11 and claimed the life of a math teacher who worked at Manchester Valley High School. According to reports, the 24-year-old

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Drivers have a legal obligation to operate their vehicles safely each and every time they get behind the wheel; however, there are clearly times when people shirk their responsibility to exercise due caution. When this occurs, too often innocent people pay the price. That was the case recently in Maryland, where a young man was injured in a hit-and-run accident. The 19-year-old man was looking for jumper cables while the van he was riding in was disabled on the side of a road in Essex. He reportedly saw a truck speeding

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