Item: Flaxman Law Group
Rating: 5
Author: Clara Barman

Does Marijuana Cause Car Collisions in Davie and Other Communities?

Published on: September 5, 2014 | By Flaxman Law Group

There are many research studies showing that drunk driving is dangerous and leads to car crashes. There are also studies showing that some drugs are dangerous and can cause collisions. The research about marijuana, however, seems to be less clear. Now that Florida residents are considering Amendment 2 and other states are considering legalizing medical marijuana or decriminalizing marijuana, the debate has gained new ground.

Opponents of Amendment 2 have stated that legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana would lead to drugged driving. According to one coalition, Don’t Let Florida Go To Pot, one fourth of all fatal motor vehicle collisions can be linked to marijuana. The statistic comes from a 2011 White House Office of National Drug Control Policy report based on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The data is based on fatal accidents between 2005 and 2009. According to that research, there were approximately 127,000 fatal car accidents across 50 states between those years and about 78,000 motorists were tested for drugs in these collisions. The research at the time showed that drivers who tested positive for marijuana use increased between 2005 and 2009, rising from 22.6% to 26% before declining to 25.3% in 2009.

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Does Your Job Influence Your Chances of Being in a Car Crash?

Published on: September 2, 2014 | By Flaxman Law Group

There many things that could influence your risk of being in a car accident in Homestead or your community. For example, newer drivers, older drivers, and drivers with serious medical conditions may have an increased chance of being in a car accident. Your ability to drive and your ability to focus on driving can have a big impact on how safe you are behind the wheel. Of course, your sobriety also has an impact. But could your job also play a role?

According to a new research report by Moneysupermarket.com, the answer may be yes. The website analyzed more than 2 million insurance claims and found that healthcare-related professions have a higher rate of car accidents than other workers. In fact, according to the analysis, general practitioners and surgeons had the highest rates of car accidents among all professions. Of the top 10 professions for insurance claims, nine were health-related. Probation officers were the only exception, coming in at number seven when it came to the number of car crash claims by occupation. In contrast, office workers have the lowest rates of car crash claims. Fair employees and car wash attendants also had low rates of car accident claims.

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Your Sober Driving Plan for Labor Day Weekend

Published on: August 19, 2014 | By Flaxman Law Group

Labor Day weekend is coming up, and for many people that means end-of-year barbecues and parties. For police authorities in Hollywood and other Florida communities, however, it means extra vigilance. Unfortunately, DUI accidents in Hollywood and across Florida are quite common during the Labor Day weekend, and these preventable accidents claim far too many lives. To protect yourself and your loved ones this holiday, you will want to stake steps to prevent drunk driving. To do that, you will want to:

1) Have a plan, even if you don’t intend to drink.

Sometimes, people make bad decisions about drinking and driving because they don’t plan to drink. Even if you have every intention of not drinking, though, you may end up accepting a beer or may realize too late that the punch you have been drinking was actually a sangria with plenty of wine in it. Having a plan in place to get home safely if you have been drinking is important, no matter what your plans are.

2) Have at least two back-up plans.

Now is the time to decide how you will get home safely from any Labor Day activities, but it’s not enough to have just one plan. Plans change. Your designated driver may end up drinking after all, or you may not be able to find a taxi when you need one. Make sure that you have a few options to avoid drinking and driving, so that you are never tempted to get behind the wheel.

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Will Your Teen Be Driving to School This Year? Help Them Avoid a Collision

Published on: August 15, 2014 | By Flaxman Law Group

If you have a new driver in your home this year, your teen may well want to drive to school when classes start next month. It can be intimidating to consider your child taking on the morning commute, but there are a few ways to keep your teen safe:

1) Make sure that your teen’s driving skills are up to the task.

If your child has gotten their driving license recently, they may not have developed the skills and experience needed to face driving to school each day. In that case, consider getting your teen some extra classes with a driving instructor or practice driving together. In-class practice is a good way to build skills and confidence, although you may also improve your child’s skills by signing them up for defensive driving classes or even racing school. Both will further hone driving ability and will make sure your teen works with a qualified instructor.

2) Take a look at your child’s car.

Is the car your teen will be driving to schools safe? All too often, teens buy their first used car with their savings, and in some cases these older cars may have maintenance issues or trouble with major systems (such as brakes or tires). A car that is in good repair may help your child avoid a motor vehicle collision in Homestead or your community, so take your child’s car to the mechanic for a full tune up.

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A Quick Mental Check Before You Drive Could Save Your Life

Published on: August 5, 2014 | By Flaxman Law Group

Recent studies have shown that one of the most dangerous obstacles to overcome when driving doesn’t have to do with other drivers, poor road design in Hollywood or your community, or the many other things that we tend to associate with road safety problems. Instead, our minds – and specifically, daydreaming – contribute to a large number of car accidents. In fact, studies suggest that daydreams contribute to more collisions than cell phones.

If you want to stay safe on the roads and avoid traffic collisions in Hollywood or your community, you will want to do a quick mental check before you hop in the car. The simple precaution could save your life. A mental check means:

1) Checking for fatigue.

If you are fatigued to the point where your mind feels almost buzzed, you are not safe to drive. Fatigue affects a lot more than just your response times. It can also affect your ability to process information correctly and to make it hard for you to focus. It can also leave you more likely to daydream. If you are tired, take another method of transportation home. Fatigued driving in Hollywood and other communities already causes far too many collisions each year.

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Why Summertime in Hollywood and Florida Can Mean a Greater Risk of Car Crashes – And What You Can Do About It

Published on: July 31, 2014 | By Flaxman Law Group

There are many reasons why summertime can mean a greater risk of motor vehicle accidents in Hollywood and Florida:

More traffic due to summer trips, tourists, and teens being out of school
Summer construction and road work projects can wreak havoc on the roads
Summertime can mean barbeques and other events where alcohol is served, meaning a possibly increased risk of drunk driving
The bright sun can contribute to glare (and limited visibility accidents) as well as hot temperatures that can be distracting for drivers

Luckily, there are a few things that motorists can do right now to stay safer:

1) Commit to safer driving.

Could staying safer on the roads be as simple as deciding to be safer? Many safety experts think so. The simple choices that drivers make – such as the choice to turn off their cell phones before driving or the choice to drive defensively – can go a long way towards preventing rear end collisions in Hollywood and other types of crashes across the state. While drivers cannot impact how other motorists drive, they can make the roads a little safer by driving more safely themselves.

Is Your Car Ready for Summer Driving Risks?

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Why The Mind Can Be One of the Leading Causes of Car Crashes in Hollywood and Other Florida Cities

Published on: July 24, 2014 | By Flaxman Law Group

Drivers are often told about the dangers of external distractions. We all known that cell phones and distracted drivers in Hollywood and Florida lead to collisions. And we are all told that drunk driving in Hollywood and other communities leads to pedestrian crashes and other types of accidents. The good thing is that there are things that can be done about external distractions – but what happens when those distractions come from within?

It turns out that our minds may be one of the biggest culprits behind motor vehicle accidents. A study by Erie Insurance Group found that Cognitive distraction was five times more common a factor in car accidents when compared with cell phone use. Daydreaming in particular was noted as a key reason behind many rear-end shunt accidents and other types of collisions.

Stopping daydreaming-related car collisions in Hollywood and other cities is difficult for a few reasons:

Many drivers may not even be aware that they are daydreaming.
There is no way to legislate daydreaming.
Daydreaming can occur in any situation. A driver can put away their cell phone, turn off their radio, and practice other good habits to avoid distraction, but they can’t get away from their mind.

Distracted Driving

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