St. Cloud Personal Injury Lawyer - Seat Belts

Weather, Speed, And Holiday Cheer: Time To Be Extra Safe On The Roads

Mike Bryant — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 10:26:41 GMT

The first week in December has again seen an increase in highway deaths. Hopefully, this isn't a sign of what is coming for the rest of the month. It is important with so many people rushing around and holiday parties starting up, that we all keep a little better look out.

Saturday night, a truck went the wrong way on the 49th Ave. Ramp on I-94 and hit a mini van head on. A passenger in the van lost her eight month old unborn child. She and her 10 year-old son are in critical condition, and four other children, ages three to nine, were also hurt. The truck driver is suspected of being drunk according to the Minnesota Sate Patrol.
Friday afternoon, a 23-year-old Watkins man died when his 1996 Saturn was hit by a 1995 Jeep Cherokee in Meeker county. The jeep failed to yield at 642nd Avenue and 365th Street in Forrest Prairie Township, according to the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office.
Thursday afternoon, A pickup truck and sedan collided at the intersection of County Road 45 and County Road 9 in Farden Township , according to the Hubbard County Sheriff's Office. The driver of the pickup truck and a passenger in the car were each ejected. Both were pronounced dead on the scene. The Hubbard County Sheriff's Office is still investigating the accident.
Tuesday afternoon, a 78 year old Roseville woman died in a seven car chain-reaction crash on County Road C at Snelling Avenue. Six eastbound vehicles were at a red light on County Road C when a westbound minivan hit the woman's vehicle at high speed, pushing it into the next vehicle and so on, the Roseville police said.

The 2009 numbers have continued to drop. Weeks like this still cause concern. With the holidays and winter type conditions, hopefully people will be careful. More will be found out over the coming weeks as to the causes of each of these collisions, so it's to early to tell if the common causes of speed and alcohol were involved in any of the incidents. In all of these cases sorrow for the families of those involved goes out.

As with any death in a Minnesota motor vehicle collision, there are many issues that will need to be reviewed. My partner, Joe Crumley, addressed this topic in a recent article for the Minnesota Lawyers Trial magazine. I was interviewed on the same topic.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Car/Bus Accident In Rochester

Mike Bryant — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:08:38 GMT

Wednesday night, there was a car/ school bus collision in Rochester. On the school bus were 22 students from Wabasha-Kellogg school district which collided with a U-turning vehicle. Eight students were taken to Saint Marys Hospital. The two people in the vehicle were also taken to the hospital. One occupant of the vehicle was air lifted by mayo one and the other was taken by ambulance. The incident is still under investigation.

In covering a past collision the Pioneer Press had an extensive list of bus accidents in the State:

March 19, 2009: An 81-year-old woman dies after crashing into a Northfield, Minn., school bus. She had failed to stop at a stop sign.

May 23, 2007: A 6-year-old boy waiting for his bus in downtown St. Paul is crushed to death after he falls under the wheels of a school bus carrying fellow students.

May 17, 2007: A 14-year-old Scandia girl and the man driving her home from school die when their minivan crashes into the back of a school bus stopped along a northern Washington County road. Eleven students riding the bus are uninjured; the bus driver suffers minor injuries.

Jan. 31, 2007: Seven people are injured, including five students, when a St. Francis school district bus crosses the center line, colliding with a car and flipping onto its side.

Dec. 8, 2006: A school bus loses control at Minnesota 65 and Constance Boulevard in Ham Lake. The bus clips a station wagon and broadsides an SUV before slamming into a traffic-signal pole, injuring 24. The bus driver said the accident was caused by brake failure.

Sept. 15, 2006: A St. Paul elementary school bus lands in the middle of Interstate 94 in rush-hour traffic. A low gas tank caused the bus to stall and roll backward. A child is taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

June 2, 2006: An empty school bus strikes and kills a boy crossing a street on his way to school in Rice Lake, Wis.

March 30, 2006: Two Chaska High School students are injured when the car they are riding in collides head-on with a school bus.

While the collisions all could have been worse, it is always scary for any parent to hear that a school bus is involved. The most resent research indicates that 17,000 children end up in the emergency room each year after being injured on the bus. Hopefully, more consideration will be given to adding seat belts to these buses.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provides a nice handbook that all children should review and parents should talk to them about. Each of my boys seemed to get something from it. I want to make sure on those days they take the bus they get back safely.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

What Will The Police Find With Gray Eagle Accident?

Mike Bryant — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:43:34 GMT

Friday morning, a eastbound vehicle missed a stop sign at the intersection of Todd County Road 98 with Minnesota Highway 287 west of Grey Eagle. The vehicle slid across the intersection and went into a westbound ditch of Highway 287. A second vehicle directly behind also missed the stop sign, went across the intersection and hit the rear of first vehicle.

Was it weather? Speed? Something else? This one will be interesting to find out what happened. The Todd County Sheriff is still investigating.

If you are in an accident, make sure to get the names of anyone who indicates they saw what happened. If you witness an accident, check to see if everyone is OK and stay around or at least give the drivers your contact information. If you are injured, seek the advice of an attorney who does that kind of work and who can explain your coverages and rights.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Watkins Man Injured In St Cloud Intersection Accident

Mike Bryant — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:41:00 GMT

Tuesday morning, a intersection collision at 33rd Avenue and First Street North sent a Watkins man to St Cloud Hospital. The man was ejected from his car after the impact. The intersection section has a stop sign, so it will be interesting to see if the common issues of speed explains what happened. Investigation continues.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Time To Just Drive

Mike Bryant — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:27:00 GMT

There have been so many posts about distracted drivers here at the Injuryboard. Some are just warnings. Some have included the video of the young girl who is texting and ends up on the windshield. Others have been the real life stories of what happens when people have been distracted while driving. It's likely that many drivers don't tell the truth, with Department of Transportation’s studies indicating that up to 80% of crashes may be caused by distracted drivers, there may be so many more happening that we don't find out about. Throw in that in 2008, 800,000 vehicles on any given day are being driven by somebody using a cell phone, and you have a lot of reasons why there are car crashes.

Do you take this for granted ? Still keep using the cell phone? Make driving the second or third most important thing you are doing? Figure that you are some how different then everyone else? Take a second and watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AHGLGQgAn8&feature=player_embedded

I at one time didn't think seat belts were all that important. Freedom, invulnerable, and young and dumb all came into my head. The day my oldest was born I vowed I would always wear one for him. Watching this video, I think that I personally need to do more than that. Hopefully, many others well do so as well.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Five More Die This Weekend From Collisions On Minnesota Roads

Mike Bryant — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:54:00 GMT

There has been some tragic weekends this year on Minnesota roads. It was warm again, so did people start speeding up?

Two people were killed Sunday morning when they were hit head on by a pickup truck in the southbound lane of I-35 at Hwy. 8.
A 27-year-old Minneapolis man died Friday in a one-car rollover crash on Interstate 35 in Pine County.
A South Dakota teen was killed in a one-vehicle crash south of Beaver Creek on Friday.
A 63-year-old man died Saturday after he suffered a broken neck and other injuries in the Oct. 12 single-vehicle crash in Chaska.

These deaths, like any other on Minnesota roads is particularly unfortunate considering it comes after the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (MDPS) reported that overall the number of highway deaths has been down for 2009 with more than 300 people having died this year in Minnesota traffic collisions. There were 458 deaths in 2008, which was a drop from 510 in 2007. Sorrow for the family of all of these people that were killed goes out.

It will be important to look back and try to figure out why there were certain clusters of highway weekend deaths in 2009.

Another Deadly Weekend On Minnesota Roads, Mike Bryant, October 10, 2009 8:28 PM

Worries On The Rise That This Is Becoming Another Deadly Weekend On Minnesota Roads, Mike Bryant | June 28, 2009 9:42 AM

Another Weekend Of Increased Minnesota Highway Deaths Continues To Cause Concerns, Mike Bryant | June 06, 2009 11:14 PM

Deadly Weekend On Minnesota Roads,Mike Bryant , May 25, 2009 12:12 AM

These are way to many deadly weekends. As with any death in a Minnesota motor vehicle collision, there are many issues that will need to be reviewed. My partner, Joe Crumley, addressed this topic in a recent article for the Minnesota Lawyers Trial magazine. I was interviewed last year on the same topic.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Time For Arizona, Florida, and South Dakota To Protect Those Kids

Mike Bryant — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:23:00 GMT

The safety of booster seats for 4 to 8 year olds is beyond question. As was pointed out by my partner Joe Crumley, there are many advantages to extending the protection. The Minnesota Legislature went through the issues and with very little opposition, went for protection over the doubters. It's a group that needs to be protected. I was reminded of this last week when a mother called me and had two kids who were all shaken up after a rear end collision destroyed the back of the car. Thankfully, that's all they were and I would suspect that it was the safety of their being wrapped in booster seats that made the biggest difference.

Right now 47 states and the District of Columbia require booster seats for kids who are too big for child safety seats with harnesses, but too small to properly wear a regular seat belt. The hold outs are Arizona, Florida and South Dakota. The National Transportation Safety Board is working to change that. "If they use a booster seat and a seat belt, rather than a seat belt alone, they reduce their risk of injury by 59 percent," Deborah Hersman, head of the NTSB says. "And what the data and the facts tell us is that it's much safer to be in a booster seat that restrains your child properly in the event of an accident."

I'm a big fan of Mad Men on AMC. It was interesting last year when they showed the mother driving down the road and suddenly having to stop. The daughter, who was standing up in the back seat, went flying off the seat and ended up in the foot area on the passenger side. A different time and while a very simple scene, was indeed a scary moment. Hopefully, these states will come up to speed and join in the protection of these small children.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

St Paul Collision Sends Six To The Hospital

Mike Bryant — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:28:00 GMT

Saturday night, a intersection collision on Roberts Street, sent everyone involved to the Regions Hospital. A 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier pulled out of a shopping mall parking lot onto Robert Street and into the path of a northbound Mercury Mystique, which hit the Cavalier broadside on the driver's side. Investigation continues with involvement from Inver Grove Heights, Mendota Heights, South St. Paul and West St. Paul emergency units assisting.

Two people were thrown from the turning vehicle. Both were not wearing seat belts. They also were the most severely injured. Yet another reminder of the important of wearing a seatbelt from the minute you get into the vehicle.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Todd County Field Approach Destroys Wayward Vehicle

Mike Bryant — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:55:00 GMT

Friday afternoon, a vehicle heading west on Todd County Road 24 left the road, struck a field approach and rolled . Both the driver and passenger were injured. The police described the car as destroyed.

These are exactly the type of accidents, I blogged about with: Single Car Accidents: Is There A Claim? . Hopefully, the Little Falls woman will recover quickly, but if not the help of experienced Personal Injury attorneys can make a difference in getting to the bottom of what coverages are involved.

Investigation will hopefully uncover what happened. It will be interesting to see if speed and weather conditions played a role. Hopefully, each of the two occupants will heal quickly.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

St Cloud 1st Street Collision Sends Three To The Hospital

Mike Bryant — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:49:00 GMT

Friday night, a head on collision on 1st Street sent everyone involved to the St Cloud Hospital. The collision took place west of the 600 block of First Street North. A vehicle driving west lost control and hit a truck. Both of the drivers and the vehicles' passenger were injured. Investigation continues, but the police did suggest that the vehicle's driver will be charged. It will be interesting to see if it's the common issues of speed or drinking that were part of what happened.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant