Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer - teen drivers

Floridians Get Three Moving Violations Then Lose License

Eddie Farah — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 23:51:18 GMT

A new law in Florida should send reckless drivers back to driving school. Beginning January 1, any driver who is convicted of three moving violations that led to a crash during a three-year-period will lose their license.

It could happen for offenses such as reading a newspaper while driving 65 mph to work, or texting while driving, anything that takes your attention off of the road and leads to a crash.

Once that happens, the motorist will be able to get their license back after they pass a $500 education course and pay another $48 to take and pass the driver’s test.

And the clock doesn’t start ticking on January 1. Moving violations from 2008 and 2009 will also be considered, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

How many times have you wished there was a refresher course for some drivers, especially the ones who follow too closely behind, text and talk on the phone and pass on the right in your blind spot?

3,277 motorists have been identified as being involved in at least three accidents since 2006 and are already in line for the course. 372 of those drivers are from Jacksonville, about the same number as from Miami-Dade which has three times the licensed drivers.

Why our numbers are so high in North Florida is a mystery.

According to the state, highway fatalities have dropped to an eight-year low with traffic-related fatalities on roadways decreasing 7.4 percent to 2,983 last year. This is the first time there have been fewer than 3,000 traffic deaths in Florida since 2000.

But the Jacksonville crash numbers are still troubling. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Jacksonville - Most Crashes In Florida In 2008

Eddie Farah — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:12:48 GMT

Just how are we doing as a state in regard to highway fatalities? A new report issued from the Florida Highway Patrol compiled crash data from around the state for 2008.

Unbelievably- Jacksonville was the top city for the number of crashes in Florida, even topping Miami by about 50 percent. There were 14,000 crashes in Jacksonville in 2008. Taking in accident cases all of the time in our law firm, we can only guess why that might be. People are very aggressive drivers around here, and add talking on a cell phone, texting and other distractions and it is not entirely surprising. Also, about 60 percent of traffic fatalities result from people not wearing their seat belts.

There is good news to report. There were 2,983 traffic fatalities on Florida’s roads in 2008, down from 3,221 the year before. This is the first time there have been fewer than 3,000 fatalities on Florida’s roads since 2000. Alcohol-related crashes declined six percent during the same time period. Still, drunk driving contributes to about 40 percent of traffic accidents.

Even motorcycle accidents that led to death declined by 3.3 percent but have still climbed steadily over the past decade. Pedestrian fatalities were down by 5.3 percent from 2007 to 2008 but pedestrian injuries and crashes went up more than four percent.

Teen deaths declined almost 17 percent and teen passengers’ deaths declined almost 29 percent.

20 to 24 year olds have the most accidents per 10,000 licensed drivers at 4.24, while 65 to 69 year olds are the safest at 1.24.

Even 90-plus-year-old drivers have fewer accidents than teens and twenty year olds at 2.37 per 10,000. Maybe our elders have something to teach youngsters about the rules of the road. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Toddler Run Over By Unlicenced Teen Uncle

Eddie Farah — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 22:43:10 GMT

A tragic accident occurred Sunday afternoon when an unlicensed teenager got behind the wheel of a car.

The 16-year-old was asked by his family to move the car after a church service at the Summerville Baptist Church near downtown Jacksonville. The teen intended to maneuver it to the front of the church.

The teen was behind the wheel of a red Dodge Intrepid when it rolled backwards onto the sidewalk and struck the toddler, then a fence. It turns out the driver’s seat latch broke, putting the seat in the reclined position causing the teen to lose control of the car, reports the Florida Times Union.

The toddler was taken to Shands Jacksonville with life-threatening injuries.

We wish the family the best and hope the baby makes a full recovery.

Many parents hope that children will end up being responsible drivers. Often it is the teen who mimics their parents’ driving behaviors. Parents are advised to know the rules of the road and common courtesy of the road to be a good example to their kids.

As you drive, point out the potential hazards you consider as you drive. Explain what could happen and what actions a responsible driver should take.

Unfortunately a seat latch can break on anyone. But also unfortunately, this teen did not react correctly, was not licensed, and that is illegal in the state of Florida. Charges have not been filed yet while an investigation is ongoing. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

School Bus Wreck Hospitalizes Five

Eddie Farah — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 01:28:28 GMT

Wednesday after school, a North Florida school bus was taking kids home when a 16-year-old driver of a pickup truck failed to stop at an intersection and rear-ended the bus.

Things could have been much worse. Four students on the bus were taken to Lake Butler Hospital. They were not seriously injured, thankfully. The pickup driver went to Shands Medical Center in Gainesville.

This all happened on SR 121 in Raiford, Florida, where the Union County Sheriff’s office responded to the scene.

The rest of the students were loaded onto another bus and dropped at home. Some worried parents went to the crash site to pick up their kids. There is no word on whether any charges will be filed.

Ironically this accident happens at a time when the Florida Highway Patrol is promoting “Takethewheel.net” a site to promote safe teen driving.

School busses are still considered one of the safest modes of transportation.

Remember as a driver - you are required to stop when you see a school bus preparing to stop or stopping. And you must always stop if you are moving in the same direction as the stopped bus. The only exception is if you are moving in the opposite direction and there is a divided highway, divided by a raised barrier or an unpaved median at least five feet wide.

You are to remain stopped until the bus stop signal is withdrawn. Always be on the lookout for kids around a school bus loading and unloading areas. Sometimes kids hold back only to dart out at the last minute.

It only takes one misstep to end the life of a young child. Thankfully, everyone was okay here. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Jacksonville Second in Fatal Teen Crashes

Eddie Farah — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:56:00 GMT

With the holiday season just around the corner and more teen drivers out of school and on the road – Allstate Insurance has a word of caution.

The roads in three metro areas in Florida are the tops nationwide for fatal auto crashes involving teens. The Tampa Bay area, Jacksonville, and Orlando ranks first, second and third in the study by Allstate that analyzed crash statistics and claims around the country over the past eight holiday seasons.

According to the state Department of Transportation, there were 983 traffic fatalities involving teens in 2006, and 1,000 in 2007.

Why do three Florida metro areas top the list? No one can say for sure except these cities are particularly spread out and teens have to drive greater distances to get anywhere. There may also be more instances of holiday parties and drunk driving.

Anyone on the road around here knows there is a great deal of aggressive driving or road rage for some reason in the Sunshine State.

People commenting to a story in the Florida Times Union also suggest that driver training in high school leaves something to be desired.

With about 6,000 young people dying in crashes annually and another 300,000 teens injured, in Florida there were 29 fatal traffic crashes in Jacksonville alone during the past holiday season.

These numbers are unacceptable. Please don’t let your child become a statistic.

Talk to your kids this holiday season. Believe it or not, parents have the strongest influence over their child’s driving behavior. Stress that driving is a privilege not a right.

Don’t assume that drivers education courses have done the complete job of training your child to drive. Make sure you don’t have a holiday to remember- forever.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah