Archive for August, 2011

Mexican-U.S. Trade Agreement Conceals Trucking Safety Risks

Friday, August 12th, 2011 | Attorney Websites | No Comments

A new trade agreement between Mexico and the United States announced last month by the Department of Transportation would boost trade and commerce between the two countries.  However, it is a clause in the agreement that would allow Mexican trucks to freely operate inside the United States that has raised concerns among Los Angeles truck accident lawyers.

The agreement would allow Mexican freight trucks on U.S. highways, and this possibility has already generated controversy.  Several lawmakers are opposed to allowing Mexican trucks to freely operate on U.S. highways.  The concerns are not just for job losses in the United States, but also for the safety standards of these trucks.  According to lawmakers opposed to the agreement, the trucking safety culture in Mexico is vastly different from, and inferior to, that in the United States.  The trucking industry in Mexico is less regulated, and not subjected to the same number of inspections as here.

The Department of Transportation is moving to assuage concerns about trucking safety, by assuring Americans that Mexican trucks will be electronically monitored once they begin operating inside the United States, and that drivers will be subjected to random drug and alcohol tests.  Additionally, the Department of Transportation says it will ensure that Mexican drivers who operate inside the United States can speak English.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has a hard enough time inspecting trucks operated by American trucking companies, and keeping medically unfit and intoxicated truckers off our highways.  It’s hard to understand how the agency plans to ensure the safety of Mexican freight truck drivers who will now be allowed to operate here.

It’s not just the safety standards of trucking companies and truck drivers that is a question here.  It is also the fact that in Mexico, hijacking of commercial trucks is rampant, with more than 10,000 trucks being hijacked every year for narcotics trafficking.  It’s reasonable to fear that some of those trucks will find their way into the United States too.

Female Drivers More Likely to Be Involved in Certain Types of Accidents

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011 | Lawyer Marketing | No Comments

According to a new study, female motorists are more likely than male drivers to be involved in certain kinds of car accident situations.  These scenarios include sideswiping and turning into the path of another car.  More surprisingly, female drivers are more likely than males to be involved in an accident with another female motorist.

The study was based on analysis of two-vehicle accidents between 1988 and 2007.  The results of the study have been published in the Traffic Injury Prevention Journal.  The researchers wanted to probe the gender factor in a traffic accident, although they were not specifically looking to see whether women make better drivers than men.  They were not expecting some of the findings.

The researchers expected that male drivers would be involved in more accidents, because male drivers account for 60% of all personal travel.  According to these estimates, the frequency of accidents involving male drivers should have been around 36%, and for female drivers, it should have been around 16%.

In contrast, the researchers found that in certain situations, female drivers were overrepresented by as much as 50%.  For instance, female drivers exceeded the accident frequency rate by more than 50% when both vehicles were driven by female motorists.  In some of the accident scenarios, female drivers exceeded the accident frequency rate by at least 25%.

These findings are intriguing to Los Angeles car accident lawyers because they point to the role of motorist exposure to different situations and their capacity to adequately react to these in accident prevention.  There are other factors besides drinking, speeding and distracted driving contributing to an accident.  Interactions between motorists are also a vital factor in preventing accidents.

 

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