Articles Posted in Car Accidents

The family of an Ascension Parish woman tragically killed along Interstate 10 successfully settled a civil suit against the restaurant that served alcohol to a man who they claimed caused the fatal accident by driving drunk. The family’s suit alleged that the restaurant served the man more than a gallon of beer, even after the man became “obviously intoxicated,” according to a Southeast Texas Record report. Because the crash occurred just outside Louisiana, in Texas, the family was permitted to seek compensation from the restaurant, in addition to the driver.

Amber Roussel and her husband were traveling from their home near Gonzales along westbound I-10 on July 30, 2012. As the couple drove, Caleb Harley and Derek McBride were drag racing along eastbound I-10. McBride lost control of his truck and crashed. The crash separated the brush guard from his truck, which launched into the windshield of the Roussel car, killing the wife.

The family’s action, which sought $32 million in damages, sued both McBride and Hooters Restaurant, where McBride and Harley had been drinking prior to the crash. According to the family, the restaurant served McBride 144 ounces of beer, along with two shots of liquor. Even a 220-pound man, who waited 30 minutes before driving after consuming that quantity of alcohol, would have a blood alcohol level of .250, according to Bloodalcoholcalculator.org. .250 is more than three times the legal limit in each of Texas and Louisiana.

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An early morning wreck left a young man dead after crashing into the rear of a slow-moving logging truck. After investigators determined that the truck was improperly lit, the driver received a six-month prison sentence. Now, a jury has resolved the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the young driver’s family by awarding them $2.8 million in damages, according to mlive.com
22-year-old Christopher J. Groulx was on his way to work when his Pontiac car slammed into the back of a logging truck at around 6:20 a.m. He died at the scene. While most typical rear-end collisions involve a rear driver at fault, this was not a typical collision. Police investigators determined that the logging truck lacked the required lighting needed to make it sufficiently visible. The logging truck was also moving at an extremely slow rate of speed (around 15 mph.)

Based upon the improper lighting, prosecutors charged the truck driver with a moving violation causing death, and the driver served a six month jail sentence. Subsequently, Groulx’s family sued the driver and the trucking company for wrongful death. The family argued that, because of the improper lighting, Groulx could not see the truck. The attorney for the driver and the trucking company contended that the young driver was speeding or was inattentive either due to sleep deprivation (from having attended a music concert until 1 a.m. the previous evening) or a cell phone distraction. The family countered by asserting that the man’s cell phone was in his pocket at the time of the impact.

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Currently in Louisiana, there is no law prohibiting most drivers from using handheld cell phones behind the wheel. Act 665 does prohibit drivers from texting, and there are numerous restrictions on handheld devices for such individuals like bus drivers and beginner drivers (those under the age of 18).

Some laws are enforced upon discovery after you have been pulled over for a more serious violation. However, the nature of these laws gives a police officer cause to pull a driver over upon witnessing the violation. Individuals caught texting while driving can expect a fine of $175 for their first offense and $500 for further violations.

Liability for the Texter?
New Jersey, like Louisiana bans texting while driving, and the state is mulling over whether liability can extend past the distracted texting driver to the at-home texter. The New Jersey Appeals Court is currently reviewing a dismissed complaint from two injured motorists. The pair was hurt while motorcycling in Morristown, NJ when a teenage driver, distracted by texting, crashed into their motorcycle. Both plaintiffs lost a leg in the accident. They filed suit against both the teen driver and the remote texter accusing her of “aiding and abetting”. The teen’s insurance settled with the plaintiffs for $500,000 but victims pushed onward to place liability with the texter.

• Read more about motorcycle accidents.

In their oral arguments, the attorney for the plaintiffs cited the need to impose liability on those who know the individual they are texting is driving. In the hours leading up to the accident, the driver and texter exchanged over 60 texts. The arguments continued between whether the texter was responsible for the driver looking at the texts, whether the texter intended the message to be read at that moment, and whether she knew at that exact moment he was driving.

The Safety of Voice-to-Text Devices
Texting is a clearly a safety hazard to drivers and those that share the road. The use of the hands and the diverted vision to construct a message both lead to danger but a recent study done at Texas A&M University reveals that hands-free devices may present comparable dangers.

The research included over 40 participants driving a track distraction-free, then typing texts, then using voice-to-text software to make a text. The researchers learned that whether the driver was texting or voice-to-text texting their average reaction time was doubled. The drivers did feel safer using voice-to-text; the difference was not significant. Some of the conclusions have to do with the concentration with using typical voice-to-text software and the need to carefully proofread and correct the errors.

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This March, Insure.com, released their annual review of state-by-state insurance rates and Louisiana, for the third year in a row, takes first place for highest rates. The national average in the U.S. is around $1,500 whereas the average annual rate for Louisiana drivers is a startling $2,699, nearly $200 more than second-place Michigan at $2,520. The report also examines annual income of state residents dedicated to car insurance, leaving Louisiana residents with an astounding 6.6% of annual income dedicated to auto-insurance.

Although rates do vary by locality, those based out of New Orleans suffer some of the higher rates. According to Louisiana State insurance commissioner Jim Donelon, “Orleans is 40 percent higher than the statewide average, St. Bernard is 30 percent higher, Jefferson 19 percent higher, and Plaquemines 15 percent higher.”

As of 2010, current law in Louisiana requires drivers to maintain insurance coverage for Bodily Injury Liability. The minimum amount is $15,000 per injured party, $30,000 per accident (more than one person injured in the accident), and $25,000 for property damage. These minimums may be referred to as “full coverage” even though they are clearly not always capable of covering even minor medical bills. When a party does maintain minimum coverage they may be considered underinsured depending upon the extent of injuries suffered by the victims of his negligence or may be even uninsured entirely.

It is estimated that the rate of uninsured motorists on Louisiana roads is approximately 13%. This number is slightly under the national average of 13.8% but still presents a major threat to uninsured and insured drivers alike.

There are more than 6 million motorcycles registered in the United States and when you include potential passengers, it hard to ascertain the exact amount of riders traveling in our midst everyday. More motorcycle riders, however, equals more motorcycle accidents and 80% of those crashes injure or kill the rider.

• Read more about motorcycle accidents in Louisiana.