According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for people between the ages of one and 54 in this country. Another 2 million people are injured in car accidents. However, study after study has proven that seat belts save lives.

When used correctly, seat belts cut down the number of car accident fatalities by 60 to 70 percent. Additionally, seat belts reduce how serious sustained injuries can be for car crash survivors.

Many injuries are caused when a person slams into parts of a vehicle’s interior during a crash, such as the steering wheel, dashboard, windshield, and doors upon crash impact. Moreover, fatal injuries can occur when victims are thrown from a vehicle in a crash because they were not wearing a seat belt. Wearing a seat belt, however, helps keep car occupants in place and may stop individuals from being ejected.

Yet, despite these studies, there are drivers and passengers who continue to refuse to buckle up. In 2012, more than half of the teenagers killed in crashes were not wearing seat belts.

The people most likely to not wear seat belts include the following:

• Adult males between the ages of 18 and 34 — Males are 10 percent more likely not to wear a seat belt than females;
• Adults who live in rural areas — Approximately 85 percent of adults who live in urban areas wear seat belts, compared to 78 percent of adults living in rural areas; and
• States which have secondary or no enforcement laws — States which have primary enforcement laws have a higher rate of citizens who use seat belts than those which have secondary or no enforcement laws.

The state of Connecticut has a primary seat law—all drivers, front seat passengers, and back seat passengers between the ages of 4 and 16 must wear a seat belt. An adult, 18 years or older, who fails to buckle up can be fined $92.00 for a first offense. For drivers and passengers under the age of 18, the fine is $120.00.

Although it is important for all individuals to wear a seat belt while in a vehicle, unfortunately, seat belt use will not prevent all injuries from occurring. As long as there are negligent and unsafe drivers on the roads, vehicle occupants are all at risk. However, wearing a seat belt can make all the difference in whether or not a person survives a crash or becomes a statistic.

Speak with an Experienced Connecticut Car Accident Injury Attorney Today

If you or a loved one sustained serious injuries in a motor vehicle accident, please contact an experienced Westport personal injury attorney to see what legal compensation you may be entitled to for your pain and loss.

For many parents, the act of seeing their children off to school every day is routine. Each morning, children get on a bus and head to school for the day. At the end of the school day, children get back on the bus and return home. However, every year, children end up in the emergency room—instead of at school or home—when they become victims of school transportation-related accidents.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), since 2001, 1,236 fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes have been classified as school transportation-related. An average of 137 fatalities per year are school transportation-related crashes.

Additionally, 123 children under the age of 19 have been killed in school transportation-related crashes since 2001. Twenty-six percent were killed by different vehicles involved in the crashes. Forty percent of the children killed in these school transportation-related accidents were between the ages of 5 and 7. Although many of these accidents may be due to the negligence of a school bus driver or another vehicle’s driver, many children become victims because of a driver’s failure to obey a school bus’s warning lights and stop sign arm as children are boarding or getting off the bus.

Every year, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) conducts a one-day survey across the country to find out how many drivers illegally pass stopped school buses. In 2014, 29 states took part in the survey, including school districts in Connecticut. More than 98,000 school buses nationwide participated. The results of last year’s survey indicated more than 75,966 drivers illegally passing school buses in one day. With the majority of school districts on a 180 day school year schedule, that comes out to more than 13 million vehicle drivers ignoring—or not seeing—the school bus stop arm in an extended position.

The reasons drivers illegally pass school buses include distracted driving, speeding, weather conditions, or driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. When struck by a vehicle, the severity of a child’s injuries is determined by factors including the speed the vehicle was traveling, the size of the vehicle, and at what angle the child is struck.

Studies show that the most common injuries to children who are hit by cars include injures to the head (traumatic brain injuries) and neck, followed by musculoskeletal injuries.

If your child has suffered injuries in an accident caused by a negligent driver, please contact an experienced Westport personal injury attorney to find out what legal recourse you may have for your child’s pain and loss.

Most drivers have experienced being the target of an aggressive driver or have been involved in a road rage incident. Unfortunately, many of these incidents can end up turning into fatal car crashes.

Recent Road Rage Incident Goes Viral

One woman recently experienced road rage and recorded her experience on video. The video has gone viral and helped police arrest the aggressive driver.

The victim, a disabled grandmother who had her six-year-old granddaughter in her car, was driving on a two-lane road when an SUV began tailgating her. The SUV tried to pass her, and almost crashed head-on into another vehicle traveling the other way.

When the SUV tried to pass a second time, the woman pulled off to the side to let her do so, but the SUV almost ran her off the road. The woman then called 911 to report the SUV and began recording with her phone, which was in a holder mounted to the dashboard.

The video shows the SUV braking and stopping multiple times, and swerving and crossing the double line before coming to a complete stop in the middle of the road. The driver then gets out of the SUV and comes over to the victim’s car and tries to reach into the open window, which the victim rolls up.

Clearly angered, the SUV’s driver begins yelling and pounding on the victim’s car. The victim’s granddaughter can be heard screaming and crying in the background of the video, clearly terrified by the SUV’s driver’s actions. The driver of the SUV then took off, but was later identified. The 40-year-old driver has been charged with reckless endangerment, assault and battery, damaging private property, crossing the center highway line and making threats.

Protect Yourself from Road Rage

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), road rage is defined when a driver “commits moving traffic offenses so as to endanger other persons or property” or is “an assault with a motor vehicle or other dangerous weapon by the operator or passenger of one motor vehicle on the operator or passengers of another motor vehicle.”

Road rage is responsible for almost 70 percent of traffic fatalities each year. When encountering an aggressive driver, there are several steps you can take to avoid becoming a crash statistic. These tips include:

• Do everything to get out of the aggressive driver’s way;
• Do not “challenge” your right to be there by speeding your vehicle up or slowing it down;
• Do not make eye contact with the other driver;
• Do not respond to any obscene gesture the other driver makes;
• Do not honk your horn at the driver;
• Report the driver to law enforcement;
• Keep your doors and windows locked; and
• Do not go home if you are being followed. Instead, drive directly to a police station.

Contact a Connecticut Personal Injury Attorney

If you have been injured in a car accident caused in a road rage incident, please consult an experienced Westport personal injury attorney today to find out what legal action you may be able to take against the aggressive driver for your pain and loss.