Car Accident Legal News

GMAC Insurance recently conducted a nationwide study among licensed drivers to determine how much drivers really know about the rules of the road.

Pennsylvania drivers didn’t do so well on the test.  In fact our state finished 39^th among the 50^th states with an average score only slightly about 75%.

What’s scarier? 

This is the 6^th year that GMAC has administered the test and each year the scores get a little worse.  The drivers with whom you share the road know a little less about safe driving practices and driving laws.

Our neighboring states didn’t do much better.  The Northeast had the lowest average score on the test.

Since many Pennsylvania drivers are unaware of basic traffic laws, it is important to remain alert to potential dangers and to drive defensively to avoid being involved in a tragic accident.

Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Senate voted to table legislation that would have placed new cell phone guidelines on teenage drivers.  The legislation that was proposed would have cited teenage drivers for using a cell phone while driving if they were already pulled over for another offense.  Police would not have had the authority to pull a teenage driver over just for using a cell phone.  The proposed legislation would have also limited the number of passengers a teenage driver could have in the car and would have suspended teenage drivers’ licenses for 90 days if they were caught driving 26 miles or more over the speed limit.

Some opponents of the legislation believe that the proposed bill did not go far enough with regard to teenage talking and texting while driving.  They believe that cell phone use, particularly texting, should be a primary offense.

Monday’s vote ended with 32 Pennsylvania Senators voting to table the motion, 15 voting against tabling the motion, and 3 senators not voting.

If you believe that stricter laws would help keep teenage drivers and everyone with whom they share the road safe then contact your Pennsylvania state senator to voice your opinion and request that legislation be proposed.

A Saturday night car accident in North Fayette injured three people last weekend.  The accident occurred when a 19 year old driver lost control of her car on Route 22.  It was raining at the time of the accident and police have said that the driver was travelling too fast for the road conditions.  Her car crashed into the berm of the road and an embankment before rolling over.

The driver, Ruchelle Walker, was injured in the auto accident as were her two passengers, 22 year old Sarah Kolar  and 22 year old Jonathan Beatty.  According to the police, Ms. Walker suffered critical injuries, Ms. Kolar suffered significant injuries, and Mr. Beatty was treated and released from the hospital.

All three of the injured people in this crash were taken to UPMC Mercy for medical treatment.

With spring well underway and summer fast approaching, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has some words of caution when it comes to bike riding.  In 2009, Pennsylvania bike accident fatalities rose significantly from 2008 numbers.

Thus, the PennDOT , through an article on gantdaily.com is urging bicycle riders to:

• Be visible to motorists;
• Be predictable in their actions;
• Obey the rules of the road that motorists must obey;
• Consider getting training on how to ride a bike safely on public streets;
• Put away their cell phones while bike riding;
• Refrain from using headphones;
• Wear helmets and protective gear;
• Ride a bicycle that is a good fit;
• Make sure tires are properly inflated; and to
• Make sure their bikes have working horns or bells;

If you ride your bike on public streets then it is important to follow the advice provided above in order to prevent a serious or fatal accident.

On Monday May 18,2010 77 year old Allen Herman of Nesquehoning was trying to make a left turn into the state Driver License Center on Route 309 in Hazle Township when he caused an accident.  As Mr. Herman was trying to make the left turn into the Driver License Center, he went directly into the path of Jean Zimmerman’s car. 

67 year old Jean Zimmerman of Delano was flown from the scene of the accident to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown with serious injuries.  She remained hospitalized there on Tuesday.

Mr. Herman will be ticketed for the accident, according to police working on this Luzerne County car crash.