Troopers push to reduce fatalities

MONTGOMERY, AL - Alabama State Troopers are making a concerted effort to make sure truck drivers are following safety regulations.  It's part of an effort to reduce the numbers of crashes and fatalities on our state's roads.

Statistics from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration show that over a five year period, the number of fatalities in accidents involving 18-wheelers remained relatively flat.  The number stood at 122 in 2005 to 120 in 2010 - the most recent year complete statistics are available.  Beginning in 2006, those numbers spiked alarmingly to 146 then 139 and 133 in 2008.  Numbers that pushed Alabama State Troopers to begin their efforts, based on driver focused inspections.

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"We're stopping 18-wheelers, doing more detailed inspections on log books," said Capt. Tim Pullin, with the Alabama State Troopers.   "Finding false logs, finding where drivers are driving over the allotted number of hours they're allowed to drive during the day, and in such cases, that we're placing these drivers out of service, and giving them a mandatory break time that they've got to take."

Getting high, taking a life

Log books were part of the investigation into a 2003 accident that killed a Georgia teenager, and injured Susanne Esdale, of Birmingham.  It happened on Interstate 20 in Talladega County on July 4th weekend.

"I was slowly going down, and the next thing I knew I woke up pinned in my car," Esdale said.  "They were cutting the car.   "I had a gash on my face.  I was very, very sore.  And really a different color all over, I was purple."

An 18 wheeler hit her car from behind - moving it 350 feet.  It then slammed into the car in front of Esdale - killing a teenager.  The vehicle hit five more cars before it finally came to rest.

"The fellow driving the truck....the accident was on the news and they showed him and he was crawling around on all fours that's how high he was on his cocaine," Esdale said.

The driver - Sidney Thomas of North Carolina - was arrested that day for drug possession.  Meanwhile, the Alabama Department of Public Safety launched a full traffic homicide investigation - interviewing dozens of witnesses and collecting evidence.   WSFA 12 News was able to review the results of that investigation along with other documents that became part of a civil suit against the trucking company - East West Expedited Services of Creedmoor, North Carolina.

Investigators said Thomas admitted to smoking cocaine less than an hour before the crash at a truck stop in Georgia.  In later interviews with troopers, he said he did not know if the cocaine he had ingested affected his driving.  Troopers said Thomas admitted to being distracted - using a cell phone while driving and reaching for water in the refrigerator.  He also said he passed out with his eyes open - story troopers found hard to believe.  Thomas later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 15 years sentence in prison.

Attorneys tell WSFA 12 News once the civil lawsuit was filed, they had trouble finding the company's owners.  They said that's because the company - a one truck operation - went out of business.  Its insurance company was left to pay out two separate million dollar settlements to the multiple plaintiffs in the case.

Marking the logs

Truckers are supposed to account for every single hour on the roads.  Thomas could not account for a 12 hour period before the accident.  He later told investigators that during that period, he smoked cocaine.

He also told troopers while his truck had no mechanical problems, he did not have the documents to prove it.

The log books are one of the items troopers check as they conduct random inspections along the state's highways. The log books are important - because they can provide clues to one of the leading causes of accidents - driver fatigue.

The results of these random inspections are a sign the trucking industry is taking safety more seriously.  Troopers report they're finding fewer violations in the vehicles they stop on the roads.

"And now that we've started doing this driver focused enforcement, we've gone from possibly being right there in the top 10, to being right in the mid pack of the nation, 24 or 25th in cmv related traffic crashes," Capt. Pullin Said.

Making the grade

There are few truck drivers who get in less trouble than Recordo Jackson - the Alabama Trucking Association's driver of the year.  He's worked for Charles G. Lawson Trucking in Hope Hull for 24 years.  He's never been involved in an accident.  For him, safety is second nature.

"In my opinion, it's all in your mind," Jackson said.  "If you want to do it, you do it, it's just something you want to do."

His company has a pretty good safety record, too.  CEO Billy Rooton said it's a top priority even while it's hard to keep up with all of the regulations.

"It's a lot more complicated," Rooton said.  "You have more eyes on you, you have people with cell phones, out on the roads, calling and so forth, so drivers have to be a little more alert.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration scores carrier companies in five categories: unsafe driving, fatigued driving, driver fitness, drug/alcohol and vehicle maintenance.  Unlike the grade on a math test or the SAT, the higher the score, the worse a company is doing in a category.  Just this month, the FMSCA shut down BM&l Trucking, Inc. based in Athens.  It had scores of 90 plus in three of the key categories.

WSFA 12 News found at least a hundred carriers based in Alabama that had scores in the serious threshold when it came to unsafe and fatigued driving.  One even had a ninety plus score for drugs and alcohol.

While troopers and federal inspectors have stepped up their safety checks, they can't catch everyone.  Susanne Esdale keeps that in mind as she travels highways across the south to see her grandchildren.

"I'm apprehensive, I do pray about it," Esdale said.  "And when I arrive at my destination, I'm always thankful."

Passenger drivers have responsibilities

Everyone with spoke with in this story agrees: it's not just the 18 wheeler drivers who are at fault.

1. Drivers of passenger vehicles should keep these things in mind:
2. Don't follow too closely. The rule of thumb is to allow 10 feet for every 10 miles per hour you're traveling.
3. Don't linger in the blind spot.  If you can't see a truck's mirrors, the driver can't see you.
4. And don't hang out next to an 18 wheeler's tires - the bolts or the tire itself could blow out, which can be very dangerous.
5. Above all, no distractions - like texting or even reading while driving.

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source: WFSA (King, 5/23)

Do hybrid cars kill you with silence?

This summer, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration will begin creating guidelines for the minimum amount of noise a car engine can emit -- at lower speeds hybrid and electric cars cause too many accidents.

The first time you get into a hybrid car, it can be quite eerie.

Not merely because of the peculiar sanctimoniousness of its owner, but because when it comes to a halt, there seems to be no engine sound. At first, you think it's stalled. Then you realize that cannot be. So your innards have to train themselves for this odd sensation.

However, it seems conclusive now that this little lamb's silence is proving to be somewhat injurious.

As a very fine analysis in Slate tells me, at speeds under 35 mph, hybrids and electric cars are 37 percent more likely to hit pedestrians and 66 percent more likely to hit cyclists than normal gas-guzzling machines.

However, the hybrids' silent factor has become so difficult that the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration is being forced, by this summer, to begin creating rules that will stipulate the minimum noise enjoyed by any car on the road.

Yes, oh newly minted Facebook millionaire, your new Tesla may have to be a little noisier.

It's odd that the auto industry seems to have been very slow in adopting a little noise. Honda patented a simulated noise generator in 1994.

And yet nothing happened, other than quite a few accidents.

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Toyota began in 2010 to create a little almost cartoonish noise (video embedded below), one that now exists in the 2012 Prius.

But perhaps the most fascinating attempts in this area come from Audi and the development of its 2012 R8 eTron electric sports car (video embedded above). Audi worked with a music composer for three years in order to come up with a sound that some might find reminds them of, well, a sports car.

By 2017, every hybrid and electric car will legally have to have a noisemaker installed. I wonder if some car maker will come up with an entirely new noise. Somewhere between say, the Batmobile and the collected works of Kraftwerk. Now that would be fun.

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source: CNET (Matyszczyk, 5/19)

State Farm paid over $109 million last year for dog-bite claims

Dog bites man does not get a lot of attention in the news, but it costs insurance companies hundreds of millions in claims every year.

State Farm Insurance, one of the nation's largest home insurers, paid more than $109 million on about 3,800 dog bite claims nationwide last year, spokesman Eddie Martinez said Wednesday. In 2010, there were about 3,500 claims and $90 million in payouts.

The Insurance Information Institute estimated that nearly $479 million in dog bite claims were paid by all insurance companies in 2011, spokeswoman Loretta Worters said. In 2010, it was $413 million.

It's no surprise that California — home to more dogs and people than any other state — led the way in 2011.

Martinez says 527 claims were filed in California and victims received $20.3 million, a jump of 31 percent over 2010.

State Farm is still working to determine reasons for the spike, Martinez said.

About 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs each year and more than half of the victims are children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. About 800,000 people seek medical attention for the bites. Less than half of those people require treatment and about 16 die, the agency said.

After children ages 5 to 9 years old, the agency said that seniors represent the largest group at risk, followed by letter carriers.

Nationally, about 5,600 U.S. Postal Service letter carriers were attacked by dogs each of the last two years, said Los Angeles spokesman Richard Maher.

In California, a carrier was attacked in March and died of complications four days later after she suffered a stroke likely caused by trauma, Maher said.

Los Angeles carriers recorded the most bites with 83; San Diego was second with 68; followed by Houston at 47; and Cleveland at 44.

Medical expenses from dog attacks cost the Postal Service just over $1 million last year, officials said.

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The third full week each May is National Dog Bite Prevention Week and State Farm, the U.S. Postal Service, the American Veterinary Medical Association and CDCP release dog bite statistics and launch campaigns to promote dog safety.

Despite the large number of attacks on letter carriers, the Postal Service decided to focus on children for their campaign because a child is 900 times more likely to be attacked than a letter carrier, Maher said.

Heredity, training, socialization, health, and the behavior of humans around it can all contribute to a dog's tendency to bite, Martinez said.

The ASPCA predicts half of all children in the United States will be bitten by a dog before 12. The majority of bites will be from the family dog or the dog of a neighbor or friend.

People across the country own about 78.2 million dogs, according to the American Pet Products Association.

State Farm's figures listed the top 10 states by number of claims, claims paid and claim average.

California was tops in the first two categories, then came Illinois, 309 claims, $10 million; Texas, 219 claims, $5.1 million; and Ohio, 215, $5.4 million.

At the bottom of the claims per state list were Maine, New Mexico, Montana, Hawaii and South Dakota, Martinez said.

The average cost per claim nationally in 2011 was $28,799, Martinez said.

California had a per-claim average of $38,500 but New York came in first because the company paid an average of $45,900 per claim there. Michigan was second with an average $38,700 per claim.

In 2010, California led the way with 369 claims and total payouts of $11.3 million. But the average cost per claim in the state was $30,000, placing it second behind Florida, where the average cost per dog bite claim was $38,400. Florida had 146 claims for a total of $5.6 million.

There are ways to help a child avoid dog bites, the ASPCA says.

A youngster should never stare into a dog's eyes, tease a dog, approach a chained dog, touch an off-leash dog, run or scream if approached by a loose dog, play with a dog while it is eating or touch a dog while it is sleeping. If a loose dog comes close, children should stand very still and be very quiet. Always ask a dog's owner for permission to pet it and let the dog sniff your closed hand before you start touching it.

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source: Associated Press (5/17)




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Corpus Christi Jury Awards $24M to Woman Struck by Coca-Cola Driver on Cellphone

CORPUS CHRISTI — A Corpus Christi jury awarded $24 million ­Friday to a woman struck in 2010 by a Coca-Cola driver who was using a cellphone.

Vanice Chatman-­Wilson, 37, was awarded $10 million in punitive damages and $14 million in actual damages.

Chatman-Wilson was left with severe pain in her neck, lower back, upper back and in February 2011 she had lumbar surgery, said Thomas J. Henry, one of her attorneys.

Bob Hilliard, Chatman-Wilson’s other attorney, said Coca-Cola had no enforcement of a cellphone policy.

“Not only does Coke need to change it, but when other companies hear the verdict they will take a look at their policies,” he said.

Coca-Cola’s cellphone policy requires the use of a hands-free device when operating a vehicle, according to a statement released by the company.

The company said there is no connection between Chatman-­Wilson’s injuries and the damages awarded, according to the statement.

[click here if you have been seriously injured in a Texas 18-wheeler accident]

Henry said the ­company allowed its ­employees to use a ­cellphone for ­business whenever ­necessary, but failed to ­inform them about the risks ­associated with talking on a ­cellphone while driving.

Araceli Vanessa ­Cabral, 30, the driver of the truck, testified that if she knew about the risks she ­never would have used a ­cellphone while driving, Henry said.

The attorneys said the $10 million in punitive damages was the jury’s way of telling Coca-Cola Enterprises that it needs to change its cellphone policy.

“We really need better rules, regulations and laws,” Henry said, “and corporations need to have a no-cellphone policy while operating a vehicle.”

Coca-Cola said it plans to appeal, according to the statement.

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source: Corpus Christi Caller (Villarreal, 5/4)

Share the Road

Be aware, pay attention.

Local municipalities, such as Pinehurst and the City of Orange, recently have issued proclamations declaring May Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month.

The Texas Department of Transportation launched the “Share the Road” campaign which aims to reduce Texas motorcycle accidents.

While auto accident fatalities have decreased in recent years, more people are dying on motorcycles than ever before. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says a person riding a motorcycle has a five times greater chance of being injured in a crash and a 25 times greater chance of dying in a collision.

In Texas, 429 motorcyclists were killed in 2010. This represents 14% of the state’s fatalities cause by motor vehicles. Approximately one-third of those fatality accidents happened at an intersection. Of those motorcycle fatalities, 85 were between the ages of 13 - 26.

In 2011, 470 motorcyclists were killed on Texas roads, representing 16% of all motor vehicle deaths for that same year and 5,770 motorcyclists were seriously injured.

The number of motorcycles registered within the state has more than doubled in the last decade as well as the number of motorcyclist killed.

The Texas Department of Transportation recommends:

• Look twice at intersections: Watch out for cyclists at intersections and check mirrors regularly and clearly signal your intentions.

• Give motorcycle space: Don’t follow a motorcycle too closely. Allow a full lane of travel space between your vehicle and a motorcycle.

• Anticipate next steps: Obstructions that drivers do not notice could prove to be fatal for a motorcyclist.

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source: The Orange Leader (Burleigh, 5/3)