Chicago Car Accidents & Personal Injury Blog

Earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made a proposal that would require the installation of event data recorders in all new vehicles starting in September 2014. The head of the NHTSA has now said that black boxes are "essential to auto safety" and also indicated that the government will take steps to protect the privacy of motorists. At the same time, he indicated that he does not support the suggestion of some privacy advocates that motorists be given the option to turn off the event data recorders.

The first black boxes began appearing in vehicles in 1999. According to NHTSA data, approximately 96 percent of the cars and light-duty vehicles of 2013 already have event data recorder capability, with at least 91 percent already having the devices installed and functioning. The event data recorders are typically triggered by a crash or the deployment of the air bag. The devices then store the data detailing what the vehicle was doing in the second leading up to and including the collision. The NHTSA says the information is vital for understanding motor vehicle safety issues and for addressing the safety issues with auto manufacturers. The data recorded includes speed, brake and accelerator use, forces present at the moment of impact, air bag deployment information, and whether or not the seat belts were buckled.

Toyota has completed construction on a new facility designed specifically to test a new wave in automobile safety: cars that communicate with one another, and with the road. The systems being tested are intended to help reduce car accidents caused by driver error by giving drivers warnings about an impending collision or even by taking action to avoid an accident on their own. Among the scenarios being tested are warnings given about pedestrians in the roadway, red light warnings for a driver approaching too quickly, and warnings about cars approaching at intersections.

Such devices fall under the heading of pre-crash safety technology and may make their appearance in many vehicles sooner, rather than later. While Google works to perfect driverless vehicles, major automakers are working to save drivers from themselves. Toyota is testing systems that help drivers push the brakes harder in order to avoid accidents, cars that tell you when a vehicle is in your blind spot, and cars that will stop automatically, even when the driver hits the gas pedal instead of the brake by accident.

Each year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases a report concerning occupational injuries and illnesses. The report calculated how many injuries and illnesses are suffered per every 100 full time workers in various fields. The top finishers make up the most dangerous places to work, in terms of the likelihood of being hurt or getting sick while doing the job. Three of the top four and four of the top six most dangerous professions involve the medical field. The job that suffered the highest rate of injury and illness per 100 full time workers was nursing and residential care in a state government run facility.

The report identifies how many people miss work due to injury or illness, as well as how many days they are away from work, restricted in their work, or transferred from their job. State government run nursing and residential care facility workers suffered 13.1 cases of injury or illness per 100 workers, with each instance averaging 7.4 days missed. The second riskiest job was local justice, public order and safety work, including work as a police officer or firefighter. These workers saw 10.3 cases of injury or illness per 100 and missed 5.6 days of work on average. Third and fourth place went to nursing and residential care in local government facilities and local government hospital work, respectively. Altogether, it shows that working in a medical facility operated by any level of government is a good way to suffer high rates of injury and illness.

October will bring with it a number of safety initiatives as well as National Teen Driver Safety Week. Teen drivers suffer from elevated car crash rates. Car accidents are a leading killer of teenagers and the third week in October is dedicated to increasing awareness of the challenges facing new drivers. In addition to increased law enforcement surrounding unsafe driving practices, the week will feature programs dedicated to helping teens gain the skills they need to drive safely

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration have joined a number of other groups in sponsoring a program called Operation Safe Driver. The program will run during National Teen Driver Safety Week, from October 14-20, and will see law enforcement targeting unsafe drivers in an effort to curb aggressive driving and other dangerous practices. An updated curriculum for the program, "Teens & Trucks: Curbing Distracted Driving" will be released. The program is intended to teach teen drivers some of the tricks and techniques used by professional truck drivers to avoid or eliminate distracted driving behaviors.

When you visit a doctor, you want to be able to trust that you are seeing a trained professional who is committed to helping you recover or preserve your health. Unfortunately, a recent survey has revealed that many doctors feel overworked, emotionally exhausted and disconnected from their work. Such burnout has long been associated with medical mistakes and poor patient care. Burnout among doctors is a serious problem with no clear-cut solution.

The numbers are startling. 37.9 percent of doctors surveyed reported high levels of emotional exhaustion. Nearly 30 percent indicated high levels of depersonalization. The numbers were even worse for doctors working in emergency care, general internal medicine and family medicine. The research was conducted by the Mayo Clinic and the American Medical Association and involved gathering questionnaire responses from 7,288 doctors across the country.

It is a widely known fact that teens suffer the highest rates of car accidents and car accident deaths of any age group. It is no surprise that the least experienced drivers would get into auto accidents at an elevated rate. What is surprising is the widely varying approaches taken by different states in introducing new drivers onto the road. While fewer and fewer teens are choosing to get licenses, particularly in urban areas, teens as young as 14 can be legally on the roads in South Dakota and Iowa. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is now recommending what it calls "best practices" for states in getting new drivers up to speed on safe driving.

Due to advancements in technology, driving fatalities per mile driven have been dropping for years. The rate of fatalities among teen drivers is no exception, but the issue is larger than technology. Since 1996, the fatality rate for 16-year-olds is down almost 70 percent. Much of the credit for that is given to graduated licensing programs. Such programs often limit the exposure of new drivers to potentially dangerous situations. Younger drivers may be forbidden from driving with other teen passengers. They may have intermediate licenses that forbid them from driving at night without a licensed adult in the vehicle. They ensure that young drivers get more experience behind the wheel before facing the most difficult driving circumstances.

Due to trends in styling and the need to make vehicles more aerodynamic to meet fuel standards, many new vehicles are sacrificing rear visibility. The blind spots behind vehicles are an important issue as roughly 50 children are killed per week in backup accidents. Taller, longer vehicles tend to have larger blind spots, but even small cars are now suffering from blind spots that can extend 40 feet behind the vehicle. Rear-view cameras nearly eliminate blind spots, but they are often an expensive option even in the few models that do offer them.

The Department of Transportation has proposed a federal requirement, mandating the inclusion of backup cameras in all light cars and trucks. The requirement was supposed to apply to all 2014 models. That requirement has been delayed several times now as manufacturers balk at the costs associated with making the cameras standard equipment. While many vehicles come with screens for use with onboard navigation systems, the problem comes from the time it takes for the car to realize it is in reverse, turn the camera on, and put the rearview image on the screen. As many people start their cars and immediately backup out of their driveways, only a few systems are capable of giving drivers the information they need quickly enough to be of use.

Some people imagine that texting and driving is dangerous because of the moments your eyes are off the road and at least one hand is off the wheel. For these people, hands-free devices are an easy solution to the car accidents caused by cell phone use. Unfortunately, the issue appears much more complicated than that. Distracted driving is a problem that extends far beyond the problem of one-handed driving.

Research has analyzed the driving records of 384 psychology students over a period of three years and compared it to their responses regarding cell phone attachment. The more attached the students were to their phones, the more likely they were to get into car accidents. The survey found that the people who were least addicted to their cell phones averaged roughly 25 car crashes per 100 people per year. Those most addicted averaged 38 car crashes per 100 people per year. It should be noted that all the survey participants were younger people and thus suffered from the elevated risk of car accident that comes from being inexperienced drivers.