Houston Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Two of the most at-risk populations on the road are the very young or new driver and the very old or senior driver. They share some common behaviors that have been found to be quite deadly. Let us consider these in this blog.

*New drivers have not had the driving experience necessary to make safe decisions. For instance, they are not experienced in determining how much time is necessary to make a left-hand turn across oncoming traffic and avoid a collision.

In fact, this is one of the most common causes of teen driving accidents. Too, they do not have the background to realize the amount of stopping distance that is necessary to avoid hitting a vehicle or person in front of them. This is also true for senior drivers whose sense of timing tends to fade as they age. Turning into traffic and stopping safely are both challenges that seniors and teen drivers seem to fail with great regularity.

*Teen drivers are easily distracted. They often believe that driving a car requires only a small portion of their attention. The rest can be spent chatting up friends, playing music, texting and talking on the phone.

Now, although seniors may not be distracted in the same way - they are distracted nevertheless. Research shows that they can become confused by the commotion of busy traffic experiences. The noise and lights can lead to a negative reaction in senior drivers that has as much potential for accidents as distractions do for teens.

Keep a close track of your teen and senior family members' driving abilities.

Continue reading "Most at Risk For a Car Accident" »

A motorcycle accident resulted in the death of two people on Thursday when apparently a SUV pullout from a gas station and the motorcycle crashed into the side of the SUV.

The driver of the motorcycle died at the scene and this past juror was life flighted to Memorial Hermann Hospital but could not be saved.

Reports indicate that the SUV occupants were not injured in the accident and that the SUV driver was ticketed.

Each week in Houston we have motorcycle accidents reported that usually involve very serious injury or wrongful death. One of the biggest factors in most of these motorcycle accidents is that the motoring public do not see the motorcycle rider and that results in an accident. Study after study has shown that even attentive drivers sometimes have very difficult times seeing motorcycles.

The inability to see a motorcycle coupled with the lack of protection for the motorcycle riders and bad things happen.

My heart goes out to the family of the two motorcycle riders who were killed in this terrible accident.

Report by Khou Houston.

Continue reading "Fatal Motorcycle Accident on Highway 6" »

Drinking and driving has deadly consequences - and more often than not it is the innocent and unsuspecting driver who loses his or her life - not the drunk driver.

Take a reported story of fellow just into his early twenties and add ten beers to his blood stream. Put him behind the wheel of his pick-up and hold your breath as he attempts to navigate on the open highway. ONLY he heads off in the wrong direction driving on the wrong side of the highway. WRONG WAY drivers often are the cause of catastrophic accidents and this case was no exception.

The young man's truck slammed into a tanker on a highway and the result was an explosion and fireball that lit up the sky for miles. The truck driver was killed in this horrific collision.

The drunk driver is behind bars having miraculously escaping with HIS life.
The news report quotes the driver who caused the accident as being 'real sorry'. He was further quoted as saying he knew he'd caused 'a real bad accident'.

The tanker driver had spoken to his wife on the phone only moments before the accident that claimed his life. He'd told her he had a couple more deliveries and would then be on his way home.

Even in the retelling of this incident it is difficult to decide whether it is more gut-wrenching or heart-wrenching. The man leaves behind 3 children as well. It is difficult to imagine losing your loved one at all - let alone in a conflagration caused by negligence and ignorance.

A driver who is intoxicated and causes a wrongful death of another can be assured that the world as they know it is about to change drastically.

Don't, don't, don't drink and drive.

Continue reading "DWI- Dont Do It" »

With the onset of spring we look forward to a variety of activities we may not have been able to enjoy for months. Bike riding, kite flying, boating and - yes - even a day at the fair (or carnival or amusement park). Unfortunately, a spate of problems has led to surprising and unexpected deaths - and may cause people to reconsider this as a choice of leisure time activity.

In an eastern coastal state a passenger train ride carrying nearly two dozen passengers derailed causing the train to overturn and kill a young male passenger. Based on reports, first indications were that an area of the track that had been repaired on several occasions was flawed - resulting in the accident.

And right here in Houston at a local carnival a man fell nearly thirty feet to his death from a roller coaster. Initial inspections did not uncover any obvious problems with the equipment. It certainly gives one reason to pause before getting onto an amusement park ride of any kind.

The truth is that just like every other budget across the country - the inspection of small carnivals, rides and operators do not occur with the same regularity or thoroughness they did several years ago - because (in large part) of constraints on the monies available to oversee these activities.

Anyone who wants to cut back in our state and federal governments ability to regulate safety- will see-if they have their way- a rise in accidents that could have been prevented.

It would seem that instead, we are relying on the integrity of the carnival owner to ensure the safety of the public - and we can see how that's working out.

Perhaps a better choice for a weekend activity is to take a long walk or pack a picnic lunch. At least in that way you are not putting your own safety and that of your family in the hands of a stranger.

Continue reading "Carnival Rides and Accidents" »

Hit and run car accidents are an all-too-common occurrence in Houston - our state and the country at large.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offered that in a recent year approximately eleven percent of all traffic accidents were hit and run. That means that one of the drivers in an accident either failed to stop altogether after an accident or stopped and left before police could arrive.

It is not unheard of for a driver to fail to stop because he or she is unaware that they have 'hit' another vehicle or person - but for the most part this is an unlikely scenario.
Instead, hit and run drivers often flee the scene of an accident because they are driving while intoxicated, driving on a suspended license, are driving without insurance coverage to their vehicle, have warrants out for their arrest for other unrelated (or related) charges or simply are too frightened to stay and 'face the music'.

No matter what the reason - it is important to know that it is illegal to leave the scene of an accident - and if the person is caught they will face additional legal challenges that could include jail time as well as steeper fines.

In the Houston headlines this week it was announced that a woman was struck and killed by a hit and run driver. The victim was walking along the shoulder of a major thoroughfare at two in the morning which is always very dangerous - and although no details have as yet been released - if the woman was not wearing reflective clothing she may simply have been 'invisible' to the driver who struck her.

The driver left behind a portion of the car though which should make him or her easier to track down.

Never leave the scene of an accident.

Continue reading "Houston Hit and Run Car Accident" »