Boston Personal Injury Law Blog

Auto accidents can happen to anyone, anywhere. Whether it is a distracted driver, loss of control, or an animal in the road, auto accidents can strike without warning. Recently in Stoneham, just outside of Boston, two individuals were injured after a minivan reportedly ran a red traffic signal and continued into an intersection, where it collided with a car. Both individuals were treated at area hospitals, though the specific nature of their injuries was not disclosed.

The exact cause of this auto accident is unknown, but running a red traffic signal may imply that the driver of the minivan was distracted or in a hurry, both of which can be lethal ingredients to a driver's safety.

We all notice the huge semi-trucks barreling down the highways. Many times we are quickly passing them or avoiding them at all costs. The sheer size of them already makes them an obstacle on the roads, but when they are speeding, they are even more dangerous. A new study released within the last month shows the speed limiting devices significantly helped reduce the number of truck accidents on the roads. The study showed that those trucks with limiting devices saw 50 percent fewer accidents.

This study proves what many in the industry have believed, speeding causes deadly accidents. After the study was released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, many people debated the need for such devices and whether they should be mandated. Whether or not they will be required remains to be seen.

Proponents of legislation banning cellphone use behind the wheel have long cited its role in accidents. But according to a spokesman for the Governer's Highway Safety Association, a clear link between dangerous driving and chatty motorists has yet to be established.

Two decades of research conducted abroad and in the United States has yielded no conclusive data regarding the impact cellphones have on road safety. Nor has it resulted in a consensus that hands free technology makes a difference.

Part of the problem is that in order to discover a definitive link, researchers must have access to phone records, allowing them to compare cellphone use with crash data. In America, those can be hard to obtain. Consequently, scientists have relied on less direct means of analysis. 

Texting behind the wheel has been referred to as a deadly epidemic, one that leads drivers to distraction and is a known cause of fatal accidents across the country. And while some states, including Massachusetts, have banned the practice, it isn't always easy for police to enforce.

As one officer explained, phones can be hard to see because many drivers keep them near their lap. Further, proving that a vehicle was in motion while a text was sent can sometimes be impossible. But that soon may change based upon technology developed by a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory physicist.

According to the physicist's research, text messages sent by drivers follow a distinctly chaotic pattern that differs from those sent by non-distracted persons. That pattern can be tracked using a mathematical equation, purported to be more than 99 percent accurate. Ostensibly, this equation could be used by software developers to create a smartphone application that would prevent or curb texting while driving.