Month: March 2016

Motor Carrier Safety Programs Help Save Lives

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), completes an annual review of commercial vehicle inspection and traffic enforcement programs.  The program’s focus on large commercial trucks and buses on public roadways.  Certain commercial vehicles are subject to roadside inspections.  These inspections, combined with traffic stops, are thought to enforce federal and state safety regulations, and prevent future crashes.

Annually, the FMCSA analyzes their Roadside Intervention Effectiveness Model (RIEM).  Recently, the FMCSA announced that according to its analysis, these programs saved as many as 472 lives in 2012, which is the most recent information available, and more … Read the rest

New York City Starts to Break on Traffic Deaths

Recently, New York City traffic death rates have subsided dramatically and last year marked the lowest it has been historically. Despite promising figures, Mayor Bill de Blasio called for additional measures to improve dangerous traffic spots in the city and protection of vulnerable pedestrian groups such as senior citizens.

Throughout New York, a total of 231 people were killed in crashes last year— 26 fewer than 2014.  Motorcyclist deaths fell from 37 in 2014 to 22 in 2015. The city also saw improvement with five fewer pedestrian deaths and six fewer cycling deaths.

In recent years both the number of … Read the rest

Motorcyclists Face Dangerous Roads

Motorcycle accidents can easily lead to serious injury or death, often times with riders and passengers sustaining injuries to their head, neck, arms, and legs. According to New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, during 2014, there were a total of 1,330 motorcycle crashes in New York City.

One reason why motorcyclists must be attentive is because it may be more difficult to see a motorcycle than a vehicle.  At times motorcycles can be missed on the roadways because of another vehicle’s blind spot.  Another cause for the serious nature of motorcycle injuries is that a motorcycle offers no protection … Read the rest

Exploding Cell Phones

In this day and age, cell phones have become indispensable for most people.  With any device which has batteries and a charging apparatus, there are product defects that can possibly cause personal injury.  There have been cases of cell phones exploding while charging, shocking users, and most recently, causing second-degree burns.

Many cases have involved a defective battery.  A college student at the University of Guelph in Canada was sleeping when her smartphone exploded, catching fire.  Her phone was not charging at the time, and the cell phone company claims the battery was not the genuine one sold with … Read the rest

Dangers Construction Workers Face When Working on Tall Buildings

According to Politico New York, construction worker injuries in New York City have increased 34 percent from the 2014 fiscal year (July 2013-June 2014) to the last fiscal year which ended on June 30, 2015.  This increased the number of injuries to 283, and the amount of fatalities to 11.  In 2014, the total value of construction projects was $26.2 billion.  By June of 2015, the estimated value has already reached $22.2 billion.  With the number of construction projectsin New York City increasing, it is no surprise that resulting construction worker injuries are on the rise as well.

Recently, … Read the rest