Month: July 2010

As we have discussed previously, drivers must be extremely vigilant to avoid traffic accidents when the warmer weather brings out more motorcycle enthusiasts. Recently Indiana fatalities have established that point unfortunately. By the same token, for enhanced roadway safety, motorcyclists must also take care to operate their choppers safely and legally.

The Indiana State Police offers these suggestions to motorcycle owners to avoid the possibility of a highway accident:

• learn to operate a motorcycle (or an all-terrain vehicle) from an accredited vehicle
• practice on private property
• watch for “objects” (e.g., potholes, pedestrians, traffic) on the road
• do not follow too closely
• avoid sudden swerving
• watch for loose materials on curves and hills
• practice breaking with booth brakes simultaneously
• reduce speed on wet pavement, loose gravel, and before curves
• know how to lay down the motorcycle in case of emergency
• always wear a helmet, shield, or goggles, long-sleeved jacket, sturdy gloves, and over-the-ankle boots (applies also for all-terrain vehicles)
• don’t ride if you’ve been drinking or taking drugs
• fasten loads tightly to the rear
• pass with caution
• double check blind entries
• wear brightly colored clothing
• signal clearly

Enjoy your motorcycle, but as the ISP recommends, drive defensively for your sake and for the sake of others on the road; it can be a matter of life and death.

Especially (but not only) when highways are clogged with vacation traffic, it is crucial to drive defensively and stay alert. Following the rules of the road all year round makes an essential contribution to traffic safety. While a motorist has no control over the behavior of others, a driver has complete responsibility for his or her own actions behind the wheel. It has been said that for most citizens, the greatest safety threat comes from traveling in a vehicle rather than from violent crime or terrorism.

What Are the Top Causes of Auto Accidents in Indiana?

According to the Indiana State Police, the following consists of the top causes of auto crashes on state roads:

• following to close
• failure to yield
• unsafe lane movement
• driving too fast for weather conditions
• running off the roadway
• over-steering or over-correcting
• driving at an unsafe speed
• falling asleep at the wheel
• distracted driving

If you or a family member have been injured in a highway accident by someone who drove negligently or recklessly in this way, it is important to retain legal counsel with the experience and skills needed to obtain full compensation for your injuries. The Indiana personal injury lawyers at Young and Young in Indianapolis have represented thousands of Hoosiers with serious auto accident injuries. We have more than 55 years of experience waiting to help.

Hoosiers need to always give first responders a wide berth on state roads so  they can do their jobs safely without creating an add-on highway accident in the process.

In 1999, Indiana became the first state in the U.S. to pass a law (Indiana Code section 9-21-8-35) requiring drivers to move over or slow down when approaching stopped emergency vehicles–including but not limited to police cruisers on construction details–with lights flashing. Emergency vehicles under the state’s  "move over" law include police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, and rescue vehicles, highway incident response vehicles and highway work vehicles, tow trucks, and utility service vehicles.

Two changes to the law took effect at the beginning of this month:  Motorists must reduce their speed by 10 mph under the posted speed limit if they cannot move to an adjacent lane safely. Secondly, the law now includes the aforementioned utility service vehicles. Indiana State Police and Transportation Department officials warn against coming to a stop on the road rather than slowing down. Stopping could lead to chain-reaction traffic road accidents.

Local media appropriately notes the following in the context roadway safety and the move over law: "During this time of year highway work crews are out in road construction zones repairing Indiana roadways. Always use extra care and reduce your speed in these zones."

Continuing our discussion of bicycle safety for you and your family…the Indiana State Police reminds bicyclists that they have to take the initiative to make themselves visible to motorists, especially after dark. Never assume that motorists sharing the road with you can see you. According to the ISP, sufficient visibility to avoid traffic accidents includes the following considerations:

wear bright colored clothing, particularly with fluorescent colors

at night, wear light colored clothing with reflective patches and wristbands

bikes should have reflectors on the front and rear, and on pedals and wheels

use bright, white headlight(s), preferably with a range of 500 feet

Bicyclists are smaller and slower than vehicles, obviously, so they need to be even more alert than drivers in terms of roadway safety. You should have an awareness of passing pedestrians, too (pedestrians have the right of way).

In sharing the road with cars and people safely, here are some additional thoughts:

ride far enough away from the curb to avoid running into parked cars

always check behind you when changing lanes

watch out for litter, potholes, gravel, storm grates, or other hazards

securely attach any items to your bike or carry them in a backpack

use bells or horns to alert pedestrians and other vehicles

Before getting out on the road, the ISP recommends that you engage in due diligence: simply put,  learn to ride your bike in a safe and controlled manner first. Makes good sense, doesn’t it? Among other things, controlling your bike means that you can look behind you safely and as well as being able to ride with one hand while signaling. No one wants to spend their summer vacation in the hospital recuperating from an avoidable road accident.

Bicycle Safety Tips #1

For bicycle enthusiasts, we’ve blogged previously about the importance of roadway safety, a responsibility shared by the person on the bike as well as motorists in cars and trucks, especially now in the midst of  the warm weather and vacation season. When they are out and about on Indiana roads, bicyclists should never assume that motorists see them. Bike defensively and alertly to avoid getting into a vehicle accident.

We’ve also noted that wearing a helmet all the time should be a priority for cyclists to minimize the potentially devastating consequences of a road accident. The Indiana State Police says that your helmet is as much a part of your bicycle as the handlebars or tires.

To avoid bike/car traffic accidents, the ISP also offers some specific recommendations for bike safety. These include the following:

• Your helmet should meet the safety standards established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
• Always ride with the traffic
• Know your local traffic laws (e.g., some Indiana towns require lights on the front and back of the bike to improve night visibility)
• Obey traffic lights, signs, speed limits, and lane markings
• Signal in advance of a turn, using the proper hand signals
• Yield to pedestrians and other vehicles as appropriate
• Make sure your bike is the correct size and that it gets regular maintenance
• Never wear headphones while riding a bike

We’ll continue this discussion in a follow-up posting.

An officer with the Indiana state police miraculously avoided the fate that recently befell a trooper in Massachusetts who was killed by a drunk driver during a DUI traffic stop.

Indiana State Trooper Christopher Townsend had just arrested a man early Saturday morning on suspicion of DUI on I-65 northbound in Indianapolis when his cruiser was rear-ended by an SUV. The trooper’s car was parked on the shoulder at the time and had its emergency lights going. The cruiser was totaled in the crash; fortunately, the trooper only suffered a cut on the head and similarly his prisoner only received minor injuries.

"Once I got the subject, the drunk driver, into my car, I seat belted him in, and when I got in my car, it wasn’t five or six seconds after that before I was struck in the rear by another truck," Trooper Townsend told the news media. The trooper also said that he probably would have been killed if he was standing outside his vehicle.

The driver of the SUV was charged with DUI and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle. Police say he was traveling at 70 mph.

As we approach the long July 4th weekend, every Hoosier must get the message loud and clear: Please don’t drink and drive. You could ruin your own life as well as those of the innocent victims of your irresponsibility.

If you or a family member have been injured in a highway accident by a driver operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and drugs, it is important to retain legal counsel with the experience and skills needed to obtain full compensation for your injuries. At Young and Young in Indianapolis, our Indiana person injury lawyers have represented thousands of Hoosiers with serious auto accident injuries. We have more than 55 years of experience waiting to help.

John P. Young has been practicing Indiana Truck Injury law for 22 years.  He recently assisted a Hoosier injured in a semi tractor trailer accident.  The facts of the case shed light on the speed limits on our interstate highway system.  Speed limits on the highway system are regulated by Indiana statutory law.  This simply means that the Indiana legislature passed a law which controls speed on our highways. The numerical designation for the statute is I.C. 9-21-5-2.  The “I.C.” stands for Indiana Code.  This is how law enforcement refers to the statute passed by the Indiana legislature. I.C. 9-21-5-2 deals with speed limits for more than just semi tractor-trailer trucks or other large trucks. It also deals with more than just the Interstate highway system.  However for purposes of this blog, we will cite only to the sections applicable to large trucks and semi tractor-trailers, and the Interstate highway system. The statute states:

Sec. 2. Except when a special hazard exists that requires lower speed for compliance with section 1 of this chapter, the slower speed limit specified in this section or established as authorized by section 3 of this chapter is the maximum lawful speed. A person may not drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed in excess of the following maximum limits:

(2) Fifty-five (55) miles per hour, except as provided in subdivisions (1), (3), (4), (5), (6), and (7).

(3) Seventy (70) miles per hour on a highway on the national system of interstate and defense highways located outside of an urbanized area (as defined in 23 U.S.C. 101) with a population of at least fifty thousand (50,000), except as provided in subdivision (4).

(4) Sixty-five (65) miles per hour for a vehicle (other than a bus) having a declared gross weight greater than twenty-six thousand (26,000) pounds on a highway on the national system of interstate and defense highways located outside an urbanized area (as defined in 23 U.S.C. 101) with a population of at least fifty thousand (50,000).

(6) On a highway that is the responsibility of the Indiana finance authority established by IC 4-4-11:

(A) seventy (70) miles per hour for:

(i) a motor vehicle having a declared gross weight of not more than twenty-six thousand (26,000) pounds; or

(ii) a bus; or

(B) sixty-five (65) miles per hour for a motor vehicle having a declared gross weight greater than twenty-six thousand (26,000) pounds.

This is the statement of the maximum speeds.  As you have noted on the highways, trucks with a weight over 26,000 pounds have a lower speed limit than do passenger cars.  Now we all know about the maximum limit, but there is also a minimum speed limit on our interstate highway system. Truckers know this, it is part of their training.  The minimum speed limit is controlled by another Indiana statute.

9-21-5-8 Minimum speed limits

Sec. 8. Whenever the Indiana department of transportation within the department’s jurisdiction or a local authority within the authority’s jurisdiction determines, based on an engineering and traffic investigation, that slow speeds on a part of a highway consistently impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, the Indiana department of transportation or local authority may determine and declare a minimum speed limit below which a person may not drive a vehicle except when necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law. A limit determined under this subsection and declared by appropriate resolution, regulation, or ordinance becomes effective when appropriate sign or signals giving notice of the limit of speed are erected along the affected part of a highway.

The minimum speed limit on Indiana highways is 50 miles per hour.  In the case referenced, the injured Hoosier was traveling 55 miles per hour when a truck behind him moved into the passing lane to pass him.  Just as the truck was passed him, a second truck, which was exceeding the speed limit and not paying attention hit the Hoosier in the rear and hurt him badly.

I hope this is a wakeup call to truckers to maintain proper speed, and look out while on Hoosier roads.