Charleston Personal Injury Law Blog

We are talking about recommendations recently released by the National Transportation Safety Board targeted at drunk drivers. The item that garnered the biggest headlines was the board's recommendation to lower the limit for drunk driving from 0.08 percent blood alcohol content to 0.05 percent. (West Virginia, like every other state, adheres to the 0.08 percent limit.) Other countries have done this, the board says, and their fatality rates went down. 

That measure has met with stinging criticism from restaurant trade associations and the like. Criminal defense attorneys, too, have cited the added expense of enforcement as well as the fact that drivers who register a 0.08 percent BAC are four times as likely to be in a crash as those registering the lower limit. In an unfortunate choice of words, one attorney said the suggestion was "overkill."

It took years for safety advocates, anti-drunk driving campaigns and, finally, Congress to convince all 50 states and the District of Columbia to lower the legal limit for drunk driving to 0.08 percent blood alcohol content. West Virginia finally did so in 2004. The National Transportation Safety Board says it is time to revisit the issue, though, and to lower the limit even further, to 0.05 percent.

The board says that 10,000 people die every year in crashes involving drinking and driving. Thirty years ago, the annual death toll was twice that; drunk driving was linked to 50 percent of all fatal crashes then, too. Now, it's closer to 30 percent. Still, the NTSB says we can do better.

Charleston teens are preparing for prom these days, and the risks that teen drivers face are on our minds more than usual. Prom is a rite of passage, especially for graduating seniors, a time when teens like to spread their wings and test their new status as "young adults." When it comes to driving, though, it is important for all of us to remember that these are newer, less experienced drivers whose judgment may not be at its best.

Talk to a mom or dad or a state trooper about prom season, and you will get the same response: This time of year seems to see more motor vehicle accidents with injuries or fatalities, and drugs and alcohol are too often involved.

We are continuing our discussion of a car accident involving sudden, unejxpected acceleration. A woman was driving her Toyota Camry when the car sped out of control and plunged into a river. She spoke briefly with her daughter, and then she dialed 911. A recording of that 911 call is now central to her family's wrongful death and product liability lawsuit against the automaker. This is not a West Virginia case, but it is one of about 100 that are scheduled to be heard by one judge.

The transcript of the call is hard enough to read; it is almosti mpossible to imagine the sound of sheer terror in the woman's voice as she pleads for help. The car is submerged; the windows will not open. As the operator assures her that help is on the way, the connection is lost.

A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the husband and children of a woman killed in a car accident last month could move to the front of the line of sudden acceleration cases to be heard against automaker Toyota Motor Corp. At the heart of the suit is the recording of the victim's 911 call in which the 59-year-old woman pleads for help escaping her Camry after it had plunged into a river.

This case is just one of many nationwide against Toyota that blame sudden or unexplained acceleration for victims' injuries and deaths. This case is not filed in West Virginia. It should be noted, too, that these complaints are separate from the economic loss cases settled recently in West Virginia.

As Distracted Driving Awareness Month winds down, safety advocates want to remind West Virginia drivers that distractions come in all shapes and sizes and are not limited to little handheld communication devices. Something as simple as eating while driving can take a person's eyes off the road. We know from experience that it only takes a few seconds for tragedy to strike.

West Virginia has adopted a cell phone ban that will go into effect this July. The new law prohibits drivers from using any electronic device that is not in "hands-free" mode. More importantly, starting in July using a handheld device will be a primary offense, meaning that police can pull you over for that alone.

Investment houses and real estate developers are not alone in thinking about how aging Baby Boomers will affect their product lines and sales tactics. The auto industry has been looking at different safety features, too, that will appeal to Boomers as they age. Recently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration added its two cents to the discussion by proposing a new safety rating category for seniors.

West Virginia drivers age 65 and over will be particularly interested in the new "silver" rating when they buy their new vehicles, because the rating will assess how safe the cars and trucks are for older drivers. Older drivers are more likely to suffer catastrophic and fatal injuries in car accidents than their younger counterparts. The NHTSA reckons that seniors will be interested in cars that have inflatable seat belts and systems to help drivers avoid hitting the gas instead of the brake.

West Virginia residents who have Honda vehicles will want to pay attention to two recent recalls.

The first concerns possibly defective airbags in 1.1 million Hondas CR-Vs made between 2002 and 2003, Civics produced between 2001 and 2003, and 2002 Odyssey minivans. The problem here is that the vehicles may have airbags that could deploy with too much force, causing injury to passengers.