Archive for the ‘Accidents’ Category

Automatic Crash Response Sends Help To 100,000 Crashes

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

GM's OnStar system has sent emergency service personnel to the precise location of over 100,000 crashes in the last 12 years, often when the vehicle's occupants were unable to call themselves or to places where there was no cell service. For the serious safety seeker, OnStar remains the creme de ...

Women Should Benefit From “Buy-The-Mile” Insurance

Friday, November 14th, 2008

The Texas National Organization For Women and the Environmental Defense Fund both support a program in Texas that lets low-mileage drivers (under 12,000 miles a year) buy insurance for the distance they drive, which could mean savings up to 75 percent for some people.

Men Drive More Dangerously, Break More Laws: Study

Thursday, November 13th, 2008

When it comes to the big traffic tickets -- reckless driving, DUI, seatbelt violations, failure to yield and speeding -- men are much worse than women. On top of that, women are more likely to be found innocent of blame in a crash. 

Texas Woman Dies When Fence Drags Her From Jeep

Thursday, November 13th, 2008

More proof that there's more to vehicle safety than a flotilla of airbags and a five-star crash rating. 

Elderly Driving Deaths Reduced By New Law, But Why?

Thursday, November 13th, 2008

A Florida law requiring vision tests of people over 80 has reduced the highway fatality rate for that age group, but no one seems to understand why or if it will work in other jurisdictions.

Safety Lesson For All In A Small Four-Vehicle Crash

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

This little contretemps near Seattle provides big advice for people wondering about the relative safety of different cars. Consider the position and condition of the two small cars in relation to the trucks, and take special note that the drivers of both small cars were hurt and the truck drivers ...

On-Road Safety Needs Cars That Take More Control

Friday, November 7th, 2008

By Susan Winlaw No matter how many airbags they put in cars from now on, there'll be no gigantic advance in auto safety until the car companies figure out a way to build cars that are smart enough to not run into each other.

Man Charged In Car Crash Drowning Of His Young Sister

Thursday, November 6th, 2008

This is one of those stories that should remind us that you're often in greater danger when you're with your family and friends than you are when you're with strangers.

U.S. Working On Systems To Let Cars Communicate

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

Only two things will bring about significant decreases in highway fatalities -- cars that don't run unless the seatbelts are engaged, and cars that talk to each other. Naturally, there's no one giving any serious thought to the easiest, cheapest and fastest answer (seatbelts), but lots of people are ready ...

Boomers May Have Some Surprise Insurance Issues

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

If you're at the leading edge of the Boomer generation, there might be a couple of insurance issues (for car and house) that could jump up and bite you. This story could offer guidance.

Commercial Shows Airbags Not As Good As Seatbelts

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

Lots of people think a car's airbags will do the job as well as a seatbelt, but this Scottish TV commercial proves them wrong. Remember that the official name for the airbags is "Supplementary Restraint System," which essentially means it enhances the job done by seatbelts.

Man Impaled By Fence Post In A Car Crash

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

Yet another reason why not wearing a seatbelt so you can be "thrown clear" of the vehicle makes no sense.

Woman Reaches For Purse And Dies In Car Crash

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

Consider that the woman's move might even have distracted the male driver enough to cause the crash. So it's another lesson in the need for eternal vigilance in car safety. 

Driver Who Killed Two Men Murdered By Their Friends

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

Even a jail term for the driver responsible for the deaths of two men wasn't enough for a bunch of their friends, who have now been arrested themselves.

Ford Loves MyKey System Because Most Teens Hate It

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

A top speed of 80 mph still seems too high, but Ford's MyKey system could help teen safety by muting the sound system until their seatbelts are done up.

How Politics On Cell Phones Put Lives In Danger

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

A long, detailed and depressing overview of how political interference kept the feds from taking action on banning cell phone use in cars, from Mother Jones.

Female Zamboni Driver Ticketed For Driving Drunk

Saturday, November 1st, 2008

Now this is the kind of thing hockey fans want to see on YouTube. For non-hockey fans, a Zamboni is the garage-sized machine that rolls around the ice between the periods of a hockey game resurfacing the ice. So when the machine at a rink near the Detroit-Windsor border starting ...

More Effort And Interest In Car Restraints For Pets

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

First off, carrying your beloved pet on your lap so that it can be trapped between the airbag and your body in a crash an incredibly stupid thing to do. Really, how bad will you feel when you kill your best friend like that?So it's a good thing that more ...

How Carrying A Gun Can Help You After A Car Crash

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

There's a mistake in this blog that makes you think the whole story might be a total fabrication, but it still imparts a message that will speak to a lot of women.

Small Cars Usually Mean Bigger Insurance Premiums

Monday, October 27th, 2008

If you're thinking of going to a smaller car to save money on gas, you could end up paying more for insurance and that could wipe out the fuel economy gain. Most importantly, you'd be paying more for insurance because the smaller cars are likely to cost the insurance companies ...

One Mother’s Experience With A Teenage Girl Driving

Monday, October 27th, 2008

Useful advice for parents, particularly with regard to creating a driving contract for your teens to sign.

Unbelted Cheerleaders And Unborn Baby Die In Crash

Sunday, October 26th, 2008

Sure the crash had a lot to do with the foggy and wet conditions, but the Michigan teenagers and the baby probably died in the two-car crash because lots of people weren't wearing their seatbelts. 

Teens And Parents Argue About In-Car Cameras

Friday, October 24th, 2008

For a while now various firms have been offering parents the chance to keep an eye on what their teens are doing in the family car, which is supposed to reduce the risk of crashes and deaths. But there's also been considerable generational angst, and that has caused other problems.

Motorcycles Aren’t Cheaper When Burial Costs Included

Friday, October 24th, 2008

While the writer of this piece is not known for his aversion to exaggeration, he is known for making hard points in an extremely entertaining fashion. Here he takes a look at the idea of people switching from cars to motorcycles in an attempt to save money on gas.

Your Money, Your Life, Or Your Seatbelt

Thursday, October 23rd, 2008

A truly exhaustive examination of why about 40 million Americans don't wear seatbelts and why they should. It probably won't change many minds, but you can't leave them any chance to say that no one told them.

Crash That Made Woman A Nympho Is Still The Best

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

Those cable cars in San Francisco are for sure romantic, but every now and then they have a little crash that costs the city big time in payouts to passengers. A payout from 1964 is still the best.

Car Crash Gives Miss Wisconsin New View On Insurance

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

Miss Wisconsin is unable to fulfill her duties because someone with no insurance crashed into her car, leaving her without any funds to pay for the repairs to get it back on the road.

Safety Tips For Drivers When They’re Near School Bus

Monday, October 20th, 2008

The situation with children getting off a school bus is fraught with possibilities for disaster, so GMAC Insurance offers some advice for avoiding them.

Parents Reject Teen Driver’s Apology For Killing Daughter

Sunday, October 19th, 2008

The full affects of reckless driving while under the influence of alcohol were on brutal display in a upstate New York courtroom recently, when a young man faced a family that didn't believe he had any remorse for killing their daughter. They also blamed his parents, who are also facing ...

AAA Suggestions For Keeping Teen Drivers Safe

Thursday, October 16th, 2008

The AAA has collected most of the socially-acceptable suggestions for protecting your teenagers from being killed or injured in a car crash, but remember that the safest choice is still keeping them away from the wheel until they're 20. That means Mom's taxi stays in business, or you pay for ...

For People Who Think 5-Star Crash Ratings Equal Safety

Wednesday, October 15th, 2008

Check out the picture of the Honda Civic that's attached to this story and pay close attention to all the good having a five-star crash rating did for this person. Safety is about more than how a car scores on a government test against a vehicle of the same size.

Five Products To Keep Stuff In Your Car Under Control

Wednesday, October 15th, 2008

There are two safety risks associated with loose items in your car -- they can become a small but dangerous missile in the event of a crash or rollover, and the driver can become dangerously distracted while looking for something that's rolled away. So this organizational tutor has come up with five ...

Paralyzed Woman Tries Exercising Herself To Recovery

Wednesday, October 15th, 2008

A Michigan woman who had experimental stem cell surgery in Portugal hopes to work off her spinal cord injury with exercise.

An Example Of Why License Suspensions Don’t Work

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

This sad story about two women who were run over (one died, the other will probably survive) by a car driven by a 28-year-old man whose license had already been suspended. This is the kind of story that should make us consider why we think people who've been punished for ...

System Will Screen Calls To Cell Phones In Moving Cars

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

The father of a son who was killed by a driver distracted by his cell phone has come up with some software that could automatically cut down on a person's ability to accept calls while he or she is driving.