Pennsylvania Injury Attorneys BlogSummer brings many exciting things – warm weather, beach trips, days by the pool and more. However, it also brings a new list of potential dangers to the road.
This summer, stay safe by keeping these points in mind:
Increase in Younger Drivers
Articles Posted in Personal Injury
June is National Safety Month
“Safety first” may seem like an old and perhaps cliche phrase, but, this month it means so much more.
According to the National Safety Council, June is annually deemed National Safety Month. This includes safety at home, at work, on the road and in the community. The focus of the month is to prevent injuries and deaths in each of these environments.
Each week in June, the NSC will be providing online materials for anyone to download and utilize during the month. Every week corresponds with a new safety topic:
Ready to Ride: Five Ways to be a Clutch Copilot
You and your friends are about to pile into the car to embark on a day trip that is sure to be packed with all sorts of fun and adventure. The driver knows their role, but the fight for the front has only just begun as the passengers try to wage their arguments for who deserves the highly-coveted front passenger “shotgun” seat in the car.
After numerous futile “dibs” calls, a footrace that likely ended with a physical struggle in front of the car door, and pleas for sympathy from one friend claiming severe car sickness, a victor emerges and assumes their rightful throne while the less fortunate squeeze into the back where they will immediately begin barking for more leg room.
The story illustrated above is a familiar occurrence for friends and groups as they prepare to travel, but there’s actually a lot more that goes into “riding shotgun” than just full control over legroom and air vents.
EvenFlo Recalls Popular but Defective Children’s Car Seat
A popular children’s car seat manufacturer has decided to recall thousands of car seats due to easily loosened internal harnesses.
The company, EvenFlo, will recall 56,000 harnesses that possess a front button on the harness that can be adjusted by the child wearing it if it is in reach.
Tampering with such a harness can lead to increased chance or more severe injury should the car get into an accident.
Volkswagen Facing Another Recall; This Time for Fatal Airbags
After facing major consequences for faulty emissions tests, Volkswagen faced yet another vehicle recall for potentially fatal airbags.
The car manufacturer initially refused a government mandated recall to fix the defective airbags, claiming that recalling the vehicles was unnecessary. Eventually, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website, Volkswagen cooperated and went through with the recall.
The recalled vehicles include U.S. Audi and VW vehicles between the years 2006 to 2014. There are roughly 850,000 vehicles involved in the recall. In a letter to the safety agency, Volkswagen argued against the recall by stating that many of the vehicles had perfectly functioning airbags made at the Takata factory in Germany.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Recalling Two Popular SUV Models After Reports of Electrical Fires
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles recently announced that they will be recalling more of their SUVs in response to the potential threat of fire-related incidents associated with electrical shorts in the cars’ sun visors.
The car manufacturers have planned to recall nearly 390,000 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Durangos from the years 2011-2013. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have found these cars to have electrical difficulties.
Another recall of the same models happened back in 2014, where electrical issues were once again the culprit. With that recall, wiring in the mirror lights were subject to electrical problems. This recall was launched after the government led an investigation of the vehicles, where eight incidents of visor fires had been reported.
Store Brand Children’s Cough Syrup Pulled from Shelves Amid Recall
Two different flavored cough syrups for children from several national pharmacy chains and grocery stores are being recalled due to a chance of overdose.
The affected flavors are cherry and grape, and are being recalled by nine large retailers in the country including CVS, Rite-Aid, Kroegers, Dollar General, Sunmark, Topcare, Care One and GoodSense. The syrup itself is made by Perrigo Company Medicine but according to reports, it is sold under a variety of store-brand names.
The danger of overdose comes into play with incorrectly labeled dosage cups that come with the four-ounce bottles of syrup. Thankfully, no overdoses have yet to be reported.
PennDOT’s Winter Driving Awareness Week Reminds Us To Exercise Caution While Driving This Winter
January 10-16 is PennDOT’s annual Winter Driving Awareness Week and the department is urging all drivers to exercise winter-appropriate driving practices and to have their cars checked by mechanics as temperatures drop and winter conditions take hold of our roadways.
In order to stay safe this winter and prevent automobile accidents that could endanger your life as well as the lives of others, PennDOT is urging drivers to have vehicles professionally serviced. The unseasonably warm weather that blanketed the state earlier this winter has seemingly ended, with 2016 already proving to be colder in the first few weeks. That being said, a visit to the local mechanic is highly encouraged for all.
Mechanics are able to inspect things such as your car’s cooling system, battery, hoses, drive belts, tires and windshield wipers to confirm that they all are working correctly and doing their jobs to keep passengers safe. In addition to a professional inspection, drivers themselves are asked to keep an eye on their own tires, fluid levels, lights and other things that can be easily checked.
The U.S. Department of Transportation
U.S. regulators have proposed an updated version of the five-star crash-test rating systems that will incorporate new technology and test dummies. The five-star crash-test ratings has been in place by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since the late seventies and although they have proven themselves highly credible among both car dealers and buyers, this update seeks to even further improve safety.
Some changes to the rating system include testing collisions that happen in the front at an angle in the hopes of decreasing pedestrian accidents, as well as adding half-star rating options so as to more closely gauge the accuracy of the rating. Dummies will also be updated to more truthfully simulate the human body, with bendable spines and necks. The NHTSA does not want to make things more complicated, but rather, more safe.
Safety can never be taken too seriously, especially when it comes to the road.
Michelin BF Goodrich Tire Recall
French tire company Michelin is voluntarily recalling nearly 104,000 tires produced by their North American brand, BF Goodrich. The company says the tires’ sidewall can rupture during use under certain conditions.
The tires are primarily found on commercial light trucks, as well as full-sized heavy-duty vans, small RVs and some 3/4 and 1-ton pick-up trucks. They were manufactured between 2014 and 2015 and came in several different types.
Automobile parts recalls are common and the majority of companies issue voluntary recalls before the defects become an issue. For Michelin – the third largest tire company in the world – this is the third recall since 2013. Recalls for automobile parts are also some of the most expensive recalls of any industry. In 2010, Toyota reached a $1.2 billion settlement after announcing recalls of approximately 5.2 million vehicles for a pedal entrapment/floor mat problem, and an additional 2.3 million vehicles for the accelerator pedal problem. In 2000, Ford Motors settled out-of-court with Donna Bailey, a 44-year-old woman who was left paralyzed from the neck down after a defective tire was the cause of her wreck in a Ford Explorer. While the exact terms of the settlement were never released to the public, estimates range from $20 million to $35 million.