Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyer

Almost any member of the military who's been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan will tell you that driving through a war zone takes a special set of skills. Driving fast, not stopping in traffic and making sudden, unpredictable turns are all crucial when you're at risk of running over a roadside bomb or being hit by enemy fire. But the skills these service members hone overseas can pose a high risk of car accidents when they return to the United States.

A newly released study found a 13 percent increase in at-fault accidents for military service members within the first six months of their return from deployment overseas. Army veterans saw the greatest rate increase at 23 percent, followed by Marines at 13 percent, Navy veterans at 3 percent and Air Force members at 2 percent. Enlisted troops had a higher rate increase than officers, with those under age 22 experiencing the highest rates. The findings of the study, conducted by USAA Property & Casualty Insurance Group, confirmed what many have long suspected: Aggressive driving can keep you safe in a combat zone, but it can seriously hurt you and others when you're back home.

Several motorists take to the highways in spring, but motorcyclists merge with traffic at a time when drivers of larger vehicles can be less compelled to notice them. May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness month, a designation that federal safety officials hope will prevent motorcycle accidents and draw attention to the increased presence of two-wheeled riders. Officials with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration want to imprint the idea that drivers of every size and type of vehicle share the highways and streets.

Motorcycles are smaller and harder to see than other vehicles and their size creates a responsibility for riders to make sure they are seen. But car and truck drivers also have duties -- to be on the lookout for motorcycles and to realize that motorcyclists have the same right to occupy the roads as other drivers.

One of the most difficult situations for the families of fatal accident victims is a hit-and-run crash. Regardless of how the accident happens or who's at fault, drivers are obligated to stop after the impact to check on the welfare of everyone else involved. Those who fail to do so put injured victims at risk of death, and put themselves at risk of criminal charges.

Some drivers who leave the scene of an accident attempt to defend themselves by claiming they didn't know they hit a person. This was the argument of a western Pennsylvania man who recently pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an accident that happened seven years ago. He was driving on a local road when he "thought he hit a speed bump," according to police. He had actually run over a bicyclist who was already lying in the road after hitting a construction barrel. But he left the scene, later admitting to authorities that when he looked in his rearview mirror after the impact, he saw a body "laying on his back."

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has come under fire recently because of the length of time it takes to approve new safety rules. According to government officials, OSHA averaged about eight years before making the regulations official, which is roughly twice as long as the Transportation Department and 50 percent longer than the Environmental Protection Agency.

The lagging rules, which are directed at job hazards such as dangerous chemicals and unsafe scaffolding, create issues concerning other matters, like workers' compensation and other reimbursements from worksite accidents. Since the 1990s, only 11 new regulations have been adopted.

The families of the two people who were killed in a 2009 car accident involving a taxi cab in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, got some closure late last week with the guilty plea of the driver who caused the crash.

The man pleaded guilty to one count of vehicular homicide, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, driving under the influence and other offenses. Police said he admitted after the crash to having four drinks before getting behind the wheel the night of the crash. He also said he was texting on his cell phone just before the collision, which happened when he drove into oncoming traffic and hit the taxi cab. The driver, a 34-year-old Harrisburg man, was killed, along with a 28-year-old female passenger. Her husband was also seriously injured.

There seems to be a long-running feud between some who use four wheels to get to work and those who use two. Most of the time motorists and bicyclists are able to safely co-exist, but run-ins do happen, both of the verbal and physical variety. And in a car accident, a bicyclist runs a high risk of serious injury or even death.

But a new Pennsylvania bicycle law that went into effect this month aims to reduce accidents and feelings of animosity between the two groups. The "Safe Passing Law" requires motorists to leave a 4-foot "cushion of safety" while passing bicyclists. In turn, bike riders are expected to "use all reasonable efforts to avoid impeding the normal flow of traffic." The law also prohibits cars making right turns from cutting off bicyclists going straight. And bicycle riders must use the right-hand lane, or stay as close as possible to the right edge of the roadway unless conditions are unsafe.

Too often we hear about serious injuries and death caused by drinking and driving. The majority of these crashes involve cars, but it's important to remember that motorcycle accidents can be caused by driving under the influence, too.

Two friends from Greenville, Pennsylvania, a man and a woman in their 20s, lost their lives in a collision that appears to have been caused by a third friend with whom they were traveling. It was just before 3 a.m. Saturday when the three were on state Route 18, the man and woman on one bike and their friend, a 22-year-old man from Fredonia, on another. Both motorcycles were heading south when they collided and both crashed into a guardrail, according to a police report.

April has been designated National Distracted Driving Awareness Month by the state and national departments of transportation. In an effort to encourage Pennsylvania motorists to ditch their cellphones and anything else that could take their eyes off the wheel, PennDOT has launched a new campaign called "Just Drive PA."

The statistics on how distracted driving leads to car accidents are not just revealing; they're frightening. In 2009, distracted driving was reported in 20 percent of crashes involving injuries and 16 percent of fatal crashes. In the same year, 5,474 people were killed in crashes involving driver distraction and almost 450,000 were injured.