carwrecks

When shopping for a car, it would be helpful to know the relative cost of insurance of one model compared to another.  While it is intuitive that expensive cars will cost more to insure than inexpensive cars, insurance company statistics reveal that the inexpensive car may have a much higher reported rate of injuries.  That will result in higher premiums than an expensive car.

Here's a link to help you make those comparisons before your purchase.

Statistics from last year indicated that traffic deaths had fallen to the lowest level since 1949. 

Now, a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration  compares the first half of 2012 with the first half of 2011 and projects a 9 percent increase (PDF).  Officials at NHTSA called this the largest such increase during the first half of the year since the agency began collecting the crash data in 1975. 

Why are traffic deaths trending upward?

This may be a statistical anomaly. With a mild winter in many parts of the country, people drove more. In addition, the recovering economy probably contributed to people driving more than before, and with more miles comes more wrecks.

No one knows when we will return to trending lower, but it seems inevitable. We now have safer vehicle and roads.  It is likely that we will again see the rate of traffic deaths fall over time. 

Distracted driving is a contributing factor in nearly 10% of all fatal crashes in 2010, while that number nearly doubles to 18% for crashes where individuals were injured, according to a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The report studied all vehicle crashes in 2010.  NHTSA found that 416,000 people were injured that year in motor vehicle crashes that involved distracted drivers, while 3,092 peoople were killed in crashes where someone was exhibiting distracted driving behaviors.

Of the large truck drivers (like 18-wheelers) involved in fatal crashes, 5% were found to have been distracted, and 9% of those were distracted by their cell phones.  It is noteworthy that handheld use of cell phones is prohibited for truck drivers operating on interstate highways.

In comparison, 7% of the passenger car drivers in fatal crashes were found to have been distracted, and 14% of those were distracted by cell phones.

Cell phone usage was associated with 408 deaths (13% of total distracted driving fatalities) and 24,000 injuries (6% of those injured in distracted driving crashes).

Young people are more distracted than others.  Of drivers less than 20 years old involved in a fatal crash, 11% were found to be distracted at the time of the crash making this age group the largest of all distracted drivers involved in a fatal crash. About 19% of this group was distracted by cell phones.

You will find more Distracted Driving information on distraction.gov.   

In January of 2012, BMW recalled almost 89,000 Mini Coopers from model years 2007 to 2011.  The reason?  A faulty water pump circuit board could smolder and cause a vehicle fire.  BMW said that there had been 4 incidents of burned engine compartments as of November 2011 and that replacement of water pumps would begin in February.

There have now been 5 fires. 

A friend was at a restaurant in Fulshear, Texas, this weekend when a Mini Cooper in the parking lot went up in flames.

I apologize for the photo, but he was afraid to get any closer.  The car was total loss.  On YouTube, there is a video of a different Mini Cooper fire.

If you have a 2007 to 2011 Mini Cooper and are not sure whether your vehicle has been recalled, contact BMW at 1-866-275-6464.

On January 1, 2011, State Law increased the minimum limits coverage amounts for all automobile liability insurance in Texas from $25,000 to $30,000 for bodily injury or death of one person and increased the limit from $50,000 to $60,000 for injury or death for two or more persons.

Insurance companies were not sure whether to make the new, increased coverage effective on January 1, 2011, or just phase the new coverage amount in at renewal the next year.

On November 15, 2010, the Commissioner of the Texas Department of Insurance issued Commissioner's Bulletin #B-0048-10.  What was his instruction?  The change is effective on January 1, 2011, but the industry did not have to send out new proof of insurance cards until renewal.

That should have been clear, but for State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance, that wasn't the answer it wanted to hear.  So, State Farm ignored the law and will not honor the increased limit on claims that fall between Jan. 1, 2011 and their insured's renewal date.

Here's an example:  Debbie Driver has 25/50/25 coverage on December 31, 2010.  On January 1, 2011, she is reaching for her purse, crosses the dividing line on the roadway and causes a head-on collision with Paul Plaintiff, who is seriously injured.

Though state law increased the minimum limits of Debbie Driver to 30/60/25 on January 1, 2011, Debbie's insurance carrier, State Farm Mutual Auto, will only honor limits of 25/50/25 because it takes the position that the new 30/60/25 limits do not take effect until Debbie's policy renews later in the year.

I don't know how many injured people settled their policy limits cases for $25,000 instead of $30,000 during that gap period, but every single one has been a victim of misconduct by State Farm Mutual Auto. 

I love newspapers.  Rather than a just a brief blurb on the radio or a short, superficial story on the television, newspapers can write in depth. 

Good journalists are important.  They aid our understanding of the world around us.    That's why I want to highlight the work of Yang Wang and John Tedesco in the July 20, 2012, edition of the Houston Chronicle. 

Research by these two journalists turned up over 900 wrecks in the Houston area in the past 5 years that were caused by road rage.  Hundreds of people were injured and five were killed. 

Wang and Tedesco concluded from their research that road rage crashes peak during evening rush hour, with nearly one out of four occurring between 4 and 7 pm.  Most of the time, angry men are involved, and the most commonly used vehicle is a truck.

If you have been in a collision and received medical care that was paid for by your own health insurance company, you may be in for a surprise.  Your health insurance company will likely want its money back, if you collect compensation from the other driver. 

Even worse, your health insurance company may want it all.

The Supreme Court agreed Monday to determine whether an employee benefits plan is subject to equitable limitations when it demands reimbursement of benefits paid a covered employee who recovers money from third parties.

     James McCutchen, a 51-year-old U.S. Airways employee, was seriously injured in an automobile accident when a young driver lost control of her vehicle and struck the car he was driving. As a result of that crash, a truck traveling behind McCutchen slammed into his car. One person was dead and two others were left with severe brain injuries.

     McCutchen was seriously injured and survived only after emergency surgery.  He had a complete hip replacement and then spent several months in physical therapy.

     Since the accident, McCutchen has undergone a series of back surgeries, suffers from chronic pain and is functionally disabled.

     In the aftermath of the crash, U.S. Airways, through its ERISA benefits plan, paid $66,866 to cover McCutchen's medical expenses.

     In the meantime, McCutchen sued the driver that caused the accident and settled for the available automobile insurance coverage, but the net amount was less than $66,000.  However, U.S. Airways then sought reimbursement from McCutchen's settlement for the entire $66,866 that U.S. Airways paid in medical expenses.  U.S. Airways claims the language in its benefits plan permits it to recoup the $66,866 it provided for McCutchen's medical care out of the total he recovered, regardless of his legal costs, his pain, suffering and impairment.

     What U.S. Airways wants is a transfer of money between insurance companies, with McCutchen receiving nothing.  Because McCutchen had to pay attorney's fees and litigation costs to obtain the settlement, and U.S. Airways contends that it need not contribute to those expenses, McCutchen would actually be worse off than if he had not filed suit against the negligent person who caused the wreck.

We will be watching this one closely.  A Supreme Court decision in favor of employee benefit plan and health insurance reimbursement would be very detrimental to Americans who want negligent drivers to be held accountable and responsible.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating whether 1.4 million Toyotas and over 300,000 General Motors SUVs may have defective power-window switches that could lead to smoke and fire conditions.

The investigation of Toyota vehicles includes the 2007-9 Camry, Camry Hybrid, RAV4 and Yaris, as well as the 2008 Highlander Hybrid. The agency is investigating 2006-7 Chevrolet TrailBlazers, though it said would consider sibling vehicles like the GMC Envoy as well.

In a report recently posted on its Web site, the safety agency said it had knowledge of 161 fires, resulting in nine injuries. The volume of known fires warranted the intensification of the inquiry as well as its expansion to 1.4 million vehicles.

Toyota said its internal investigation suggested that owners or mechanics might have used over-the-counter lubricants, like silicone, on the switch, which could have caused a malfunction.

If you detect a melting, burning smell or see flames, turn off the ignition and exit the car.  Toyota said the defect did not pose “an unreasonable risk to vehicle safety.”

Three years ago, the Center for Auto Safety petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall some three million Chrysler Jeep Cherokees from model years 1993-2004, after the group’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System revealed that the vehicles have “a fatal crash-fire occurrence rate that is about four times higher than S.U.V.’s made by other companies.”

Specifically, the group’s petition says, “the plastic fuel tank on 1993-2004 Grand Cherokees is not adequately protected from a rear impact because it is behind the rear axle.  The Grand Cherokee underwent a redesign in 2005, which involved putting the fuel tank in a safer location. 

Yesterday, NHTSA expanded its probe into the fires by adding Liberty and older Cherokee models to the probe.

If you or a loved one is involved in a crash where there is a vehicle fire, you should preserve the vehicle.  Do not sell it to an insurance company as a part of a settlement.  The vehicle may be important evidence that will help determine the cause of these fires and make sure that future vehicles will be safer.

A new study suggests that teen girls are far more likely than boys to engage in distracted driving behavior. "There's a remarkable difference between boys and girls when it comes to distracting driving habits. In almost every category we surveyed ... girls are more likely to engage in dangerous or distracting behaviors by almost 15%," said Angela Patterson of Bridgestone Americas, which conducted the study.

The overwhelming majority of teen girls who responded to the study said that changing music on car stereos and playing loud music while driving distracted them. Eighty-three percent of teen girls also told researchers that having more than one passenger in the vehicle caused them to lose focus on the road.

While the majority of teens admitted they are most likely to fidget with a radio while driving, they see it as less dangerous than other factors causing accidents. Teens perceive drunken driving, reading text messages and eating while driving, as well as having other passengers in the car, as the biggest distractions for drivers their age.

Only one-third of teens in the survey said they believe that talking on the phone while driving is "very dangerous." Twenty percent of teens admitted typing the occasional text message while driving.

Researchers suggest that for the most part, teens appear to be minimizing distractions while behind the wheel.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 16-year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age. But there's a downward trend in teen fatalities on the nation's highways. More than 3,400 teens died in motor vehicle crashes in 2009, but that death toll is 60% percent less than in 1975, according to the safety group.

The full results of the study are posted on www.teensdrivesmart.com.