Restrain Your Child the Right Way – Make Sure Car Seats Are Installed Properly

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the deaths of 4 out of every 10 children under the age of 6 who die or are seriously injured in auto accidents can be attributed to being unrestrained or improperly restrained. When car seats are properly used and installed, however, they are 71% effective in preventing injury among infants and 54% effective with children ages 1-4.

The most common problems with the use and installation of child car seats, according to the NHTSA, include:

using the wrong child safety seats for a child’s size and age;
failing to place the child safety seat in the correct direction;
incorrect installation of the child safety seat in relation to the vehicle’s air bags;
incorrect installation and tightness of the child safety seat to the vehicle seat;
not securing/tightening the child safety seat’s harness and crotch straps;
improper use of locking clips for certain vehicle safety belts;
not making sure the vehicle’s seat belts fit properly across the child when using a booster seat; and
using a defective or broken child safety seat.

Texas law requires that any child passenger younger than 8 (unless they are taller than 4 feet 9 inches) must be buckled up in a child safety seat according to the instructions of the seat’s manufacturer.

On its website, the NHTSA has useful information and instructional videos to help parents properly install child safety seats. Additionally, the Texas Department of Transportation has great information about how to select the right seat for your child, and offers free safety seat check-ups in each of its 25 district offices throughout Texas. You can schedule a safety check at the Dallas office by calling (214) 320-6220 or (214) 320-6235.

At Greening Law, P.C., we provide aggressive, compassionate and experienced representation for car accident victims in Dallas and throughout Texas. Please give us a call at (972) 934-8900 or fill out our online form to arrange for your free initial consultation.

Tractor-Trailer Underride Accidents Prompt Call for Additional Safety Regulations

Even if you’ve never heard the term “underride,” you can probably imagine what it means in the context of tractor-trailer accidents. Picture the height of your car compared to the bottom of the truck right in front of you on the highway. If that truck slams on the brakes and you’re not able to stop in time, your car will slide under the back of the truck, with understandably devastating and gruesome consequences.

Underride is not only a danger for the back of big-rigs, but underride accidents can happen on the sides of trailers as well, such as when a truck jack-knifes. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHSTA) estimates that approximately four percent of all fatal tractor-trailer accidents involve passenger vehicle underride.

Underride accidents can happen for a number of reasons, including:

Poor visibility
Truck driver negligence when changing lanes or braking
Defective rear underride guards
Multicar pileups that push a car into the back of a big-rig

While federal regulations require that almost all commercial trucks have rear underride guards and reflective equipment, they aren’t currently required on “single unit trucks,” (SUTs), which are trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) greater than 10,000 pounds with no trailer.

Given that an underride accident with an SUT can be just as horrific as one with an 18-wheeler or tractor-trailer, the lack of protective guards and reflective material doesn’t make sense. The NHSTA agrees, which is why they are in the process of writing new regulations that would require rear impact guards and reflective tape on the side and rear of all new SUTs.

The NHTSA estimates that a requirement for rear impact guards on single unit trucks (SUTs) could save five lives and prevent 30 injuries each year, while reflective tape on SUTs could save up to 14 lives per year.

Dallas trucking accident attorney Robert Greening or Greening Law, P.C. knows how devastating a tractor-trailer accident can be and has extensive experience and a track record of success obtaining compensation for those who have been injured or lost a loved one in a big rig accident. Please call us at (972) 934-8900 or fill out our online form to arrange for your free initial consultation.

Government Updating Its Car Safety Rating System

A lot has changed since the federal government first released its 5-star car safety rating system for cars in 1978. Back then, the most significant new technology that may have been part of a new model may have been a cassette player. Now, cars are coming equipped with a variety of new devices and technology focused on improving safety for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians alike.

As such, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently announced that they would be updating their car safety ratings to include evaluations of driver assistance and crash-avoidance technologies that are becoming standard for most new vehicles, among other changes to the rating system.

The NHSTA’s “5-Star Safety Ratings for the Future,” will start testing in 2018 and affect vehicles beginning with the 2019 model year. The new testing focuses on three key elements: crash avoidance technologies, crashworthiness, and pedestrian protection. Specifically, the NHSTA says the testing will include:

Use of the new THOR crash test dummy, the most advanced, human-like frontal crash test dummy in the world;
A frontal oblique crash test that measures how well vehicles protect occupants in an angled frontal crash;
Improved frontal and side crash tests to protect front and rear seat occupants;
Use of the new WorldSID crash test dummy with advanced instrumentation to better predict injuries to various areas of the human body in different types of side crashes;
Additional body regions (chest, abdomen, lower spine, and brain) among the factors used to determine 5-Star Safety Ratings;
A new rating for performance assessment of selected crash avoidance and advanced technologies (vehicles with more crash avoidance and advanced technologies will earn better safety ratings);
First-ever tests to measure head, leg, and pelvic injuries that occur when a person is struck by a moving vehicle;
A new rating to determine not only how well a vehicle protects pedestrians, but also whether or not a vehicle is equipped with –and the performance of– pedestrian protection advanced technologies; and
Use of half-star ratings to provide more detailed comparative information about vehicle safety performance.

As a car accident attorney, I have seen the tragic consequences that auto collisions can have on individuals and families. Any efforts to help consumers increase their ability to find the safest possible vehicles that can help them avoid injury or death in the event of an accident should be applauded.