Springfield Virginia Motor Vehicle Accidents Blog

Most Virginia residents are aware that truck accidents usually turn out worse for the occupants of any smaller vehicles that are involved. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration states that 72% of all fatalities in truck crashes are passenger vehicle occupants. More and more people are being put at risk as truck crash numbers rise.

Between 2014 and 2018, Florida has seen the year-end number of large truck accidents jump from 23,515 to 32,513. According to the Florida Department of Transportation, speeding was the No. 1 driver-related factor in these crashes. With a new federal law requiring drivers to use digital logs, many are speeding in order to make up for lost miles (most truckers are paid by the mile).

Virginia residents already know that heavy rain, ice and snow greatly increase the risk for car crashes. The Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society has stated that these elements increase the risk for fatal crashes by 34%. However, even light rain has a negative effect, as one study from the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies has found.

Researchers studied 125,012 fatal car crashes that occurred in the lower states from 2006 to 2011, using weather radar data to find out if it was raining at the time of each crash and how much. This is more precise than information from the nearest weather station or from police reports, which previous studies have had to rely on. In fact, this is the first study of its kind to use such data. Researchers also factored in the number of cars on the road.

In Virginia and across the United States, many drivers expect to drive safer vehicles when they opt for Volvo Cars. The automobile manufacturing firm plans to make their future automobiles even safer. Using unprecedented technology, Volvo Cars will begin installing in-car cameras and sensors in all its vehicles. Beginning in 2020, the company will also place a 112 mph speed limit on its automobiles.

The sensor will monitor drivers to discern whether they are capable of driving their vehicles without causing accidents. Drivers who are intoxicated or distracted by using their cellphones do not typically pay attention to warning signals, so the cameras will detect a driver's distraction. The vehicle will then attempt to remedy the situation. If a camera notices that the driver is acting in an irresponsible way, the vehicle can lower the speed limit and park itself in a safe area.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has been conducting crash tests on both the driver and front passenger sides of vehicles since 2017. After a round of crash tests with 11 modern two-row pickup trucks, researchers found a discrepancy in the level of protection offered by both sides. Virginia residents are at a higher risk for injury or death when sitting in the front passenger seat of many newer pickups.

Of the 11 vehicles, the Toyota Tundra had the worst rating, "poor," when it comes to front passenger safety. IIHS researchers noted that the pickup would struggle to maintain its structure during testing. This may be partly because the Tundra has not undergone a major redesign since 2014 whereas some of the other vehicles in the test have been recently overhauled.