Springfield Virginia Motor Vehicle Accidents Blog

Research conducted by the Virginia-based American Trucking Associations reveals that commercial vehicle accidents are usually caused by mistakes made by passenger vehicle drivers. After studying more than 8,000 fatal truck accident reports, the trade group discovered that car, pickup truck and SUV drivers were found to be at fault 81% of the time. Passenger vehicle occupants also made up the overwhelming majority of the deaths.

Motorists can reduce these risks by driving defensively around commercial vehicles and bearing in mind that semi-tractor trailers weighing as much as 80,000 pounds do not stop as quickly or maneuver as deftly as cars. When truck drivers are blamed for accidents, fatigue or distraction are often responsible. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has hours-of-service rules to prevent drowsy driving crashes, but some road safety advocates believe that these rules encourage truck drivers to exceed speed limits in order to complete their journeys before rest becomes mandatory.

A study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows that many drivers in Virginia and across the U.S. do not know the limitations of advanced driver assistance systems. Devices like automatic emergency braking and lane departure warning are helping to prevent crashes, yet some drivers fail to realize that ADAS is meant to assist drivers: nothing more nor less.

By expecting too much from ADAS, drivers are becoming complacent behind the wheel. The IIHS had more than 2,000 drivers give their opinion as to what would be acceptable behavior when driving with these five ADAS engaged: Autopilot, Traffic Jam Assist, Super Cruise, Driving Assistant Plus and ProPilot Assist. Looking at the name "Autopilot," nearly half of participants assumed that they could drive hands-free with such a program engaged.

Every day, roads in Virginia and around the country are filled with thousands of distracted drivers. These motorists take their eyes off the road to use their cellphones, GPS systems or other types of technologies, endangering themselves and others in the process. In fact, distracted drivers kill at least nine people and injure 100 others on U.S. roads each day on average, according to the National Safety Council.

Passenger vehicle drivers and commercial truck drivers are both guilty of driving while distracted, but truckers are potentially more dangerous. This is because the massive size and weight of big rigs often cause more property damage, severe injuries and deaths during a crash than passenger vehicles. As a result, some trucking companies are beginning to monitor truck drivers for distracted driving and giving them a safety score. Most of these programs are designed to reward drivers who have excellent safety records, not to punish those who do not. Some systems also add fun to the process by making safety scores a competitive game among drivers. This helps drivers willingly buy into the system and reduces the risk of them feeling resentment over being monitored.

How many text messages do you send each day? You might even send while multi-tasking, for instance you may ask when family members will be home while cooking dinner. You could even be so pressed for time that you look down at the stop light to read a text or compose text messages while driving to pick up kids at their activities. 

Most people know there is a risk associated with texting and driving, but they tend to think they can drive safely enough to counteract it. It might come as a surprise then to learn that texting behind the wheel is more dangerous than most assume.