The month of December is known for holiday festivities. Families, friends, and even workplace parties fill up many of our weekends. With that in mind, the President has once again declared December as National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. The annual designation began in 1981.

Despite the great strides that have been made in educating the public about drunk or drugged driving, the statistics reveal that it is still an epidemic. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), three out of every 10 people in this country will be involved in an alcohol-related crash during their lives. Tragically, approximately 11,000 of those people will be killed in those accidents.

The number of alcohol-rated fatal crashes almost doubles on weekends, compared to during the week. During the week, approximately 15 percent of all fatal car wrecks involve alcohol; however, on the weekends, that number spikes to 30 percent.

During this time of the year, December 22, December 23, December 24, and January 1 are the deadliest days for alcohol-related fatalities. During the summer months, July 3, July 4, August 3, August 4, September 1, and September 2 are the deadliest days.

The number of drivers involved in fatal crashes and who are found to be under the influence of drugs has also increased. These numbers include drivers under the influence of both illegal and prescription narcotics. Almost 20 percent of fatal crashes on weekend nights involved a drugged driver. The most common drugs were marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine.

The NHTSA offers crucial tips for people to follow if they have been celebrating the holidays, including:

• If you have been drinking, or under the influence of any legal or illegal drug, never get behind the wheel of your vehicle;
• If you are under the influence, take a taxi or Uber, call a family member or friend (who has not been drinking) to pick you up, or—if available—use mass transit; or
• If you cannot get a ride, then stay where you are for the night. Sleep until you are sober.

For people who are hosting holiday events, make sure that your guests have a plan if they are going to be drinking, such as a designated driver. If someone has been drinking, do not let him or her leave your home. Take their keys away if you have to.

If you have lost a loved one in a drunk driving accident, please contact an experienced Westport wrongful death attorney to see what kind of legal recourse you may have against the driver responsible for your family’s pain and loss.

Sources:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/12/01/presidential-proclamation-national-impaired-driving-prevention-month

http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=2043&issue_id=32010

The majority of new cars sold in the United States and abroad come with a keyless ignition option. Vehicle owners are given a key fob, which is a device that has security authentication built into it, and is used to control a network. Many people are familiar with key fobs because these devices have been use for several years as a way to unlock and lock vehicles. New cars now use key fobs in place of ignition keys.

A driver can actually start his or her vehicle without a key by pushing a button in the vehicle, as long as the key fob is close by, such as in the driver’s pocket or purse. Still, are these keyless ignition systems safe? Not according to a recently filed lawsuit, which claims that these systems contain deadly defects.

According to the lawsuit, the danger occurs when drivers leave their vehicles running and walk away, believing that by taking the key fob with them, the vehicle will shut off. However, the engines do not shut off; instead they keep running and emit carbon monoxide—a deadly gas which is odorless, colorless and tasteless. This can be especially dangerous when the vehicle owner has left his or her car in the garage of their home. Instead of shutting off, the carbon monoxide vapors seep into the home, poisoning unsuspecting victims.

So far, there have been 13 deaths attributed to carbon monoxide poisonings linked to keyless ignition systems, and many more injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received at least 27 complaints from consumers.

The lawsuit names ten major car manufacturers as defendants—BMW, Fiat Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen. Attorneys for the plaintiffs claim that the defendants were well aware of the defect in these ignition systems for years and could have averted the dangers by installing a safety feature which would automatically turn off unattended running engines. They go on to claim that not only was this feature an inexpensive one to install, but that both Ford and General Motors had actually applied for a patent on the feature.

If you have lost a loved one due to an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, please contact an experienced Westport wrongful death attorney to find out what legal recourse you may have for your family’s pain and loss.

Sources:

http://consumerist.com/2015/08/27/class-action-lawsuit-claims-10-automakers-hid-keyless-ignition-carbon-monoxide-dangers-that-led-to-13-deaths/

http://abcnews.go.com/US/keyless-ignitions-led-carbon-monoxide-deaths-recalled-suit/story?id=33344253

A recent study by Texas A&M Transportation Institute and the traffic monitoring firm INRIX concluded that there are areas in the state of Connecticut which have some of the worst traffic in the country.

One area, Bridgeport-Stamford, was placed as the second worst area in the entire country when it comes to traffic jams and tie-ups. The study says that commuters in that area spend an average of 49 hours every year sitting in traffic.

According to the Urban Mobility Scorecard, Hartford is number five in the country of medium-size cities with horrific traffic jams. Motorists in Hartford spend approximately 45 hours sitting in traffic every year. Another medium-size Connecticut city, New Haven, made the list. New Haven shows up as the 11^th worst city, with drivers in that area sitting in traffic jams for nearly 40 hours per year.

Connecticut also made the list for large cities. Drivers who commute through the Connecticut-Newark-New York area spend 74 hours every year waiting for traffic to move. Those hours equal approximately 35 gallons of extra fuel idling vehicles are consuming.

What causes all of these traffic tie-ups? According to a spokesperson from the Connecticut Department of Transportation, more than half of the state’s traffic jams are caused by poor driver behavior. One of the most common results of these traffic jams are vehicle accidents.

Tragically, too many of these auto accidents result in fatalities. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 276 people killed in traffic accidents in Connecticut in 2013. Just over 180 of those victims were passengers, and 53 of victims killed were on motorcycles, 36 victims were pedestrians, and three were on bicycles.

Sixty-four victims were killed in speed-related accidents, while another 114 victims were killed in accidents which were alcohol-related.

The loss of loved one is devastating to a family, and that loss is only compounded when it is caused by the carelessness or negligence of another. If you have lost a family member in a car crash, please contact an experienced Westport wrongful death attorney to find out what legal recourse you may have against those responsible for your loss.

Sources:

http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/report/

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-ctm-connecticut-traffic-0828-20150827-story.html

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-30/ncsa/STSI/9_CT/2013/9_CT_2013.htm