Category: Car Accidents

2019 Prom Safety in Austin

May 1, 2019
EVANS / DESHAZO / REILLEY

The season is fast approaching. For many high school students, prom is the highlight of the school year — the gorgeous gowns and sleek tuxedos, elegant dinner, the ritual of the corsage and boutonniere, and, of course, the dance itself. As a parent, you may send off your son or daughter and marvel at just how grown-up they’ve become. But it’s important to remember that behind the makeup and fancy clothes, your child is still ... well, a child. Teenagers may look like they’re on the verge of adulthood, but their decision-making skills haven’t fully matured and they lack critical experience behind the wheel. It’s your responsibility to talk to your kid about staying safe on the road and to make it easy for them to get out o[...]

Why Texas is Considering Waiving Driving Tests for Teens

Teenage drivers are still learning the rules of the road

April 12, 2019
EVANS / DESHAZO / REILLEY

Texas roads are hazardous places. That’s especially true for teenagers, who may lack the critical-thinking ability and experience necessary to avoid dangerous situations and make those on-the-fly judgments so essential for safe driving. But, as reported by Houston Public Media, Texas State Representative James White — Republican representing District 19 — wants to make it easier for young people in the state to get a driver’s license. He has filed a bill to revoke the current requirement, which states individuals under the age of 18 must pass a test administered by the Texas Department of Public Safety in order to receive a license. White’s bill would allow a parent to administer the test to their child — as was the[...]

Pay Attention, Texas: Observing Distracted Driving Awareness Month

April 2, 2019
EVANS / DESHAZO / REILLEY

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month As the EVANS / DESHAZO / REILLEY Law Firm and the National Safety Council observe Distracted Driving Awareness Month in April, help us by doing your part to keep Texas roads safe. Distracted driving is nothing new. People have been eating, touching up makeup, and fiddling with the radio dial while behind the wheel since long before cell phones became part of the equation. But as much as advancements in technology have improved our lives and ability to communicate, they haven’t done many favors for our driving. In addition to all of the old-school distractions, we now have dashboard touch-screens, GPS devices, and those ever-present smartphones to tempt our eyes away from the road. [...]

Grim News for Texas Pedestrians

March 20, 2019
EVANS / DESHAZO / REILLEY

Things are bad on Texas roads. In fact, we’re nearing the top of the list of states with the most pedestrian deaths. Our state’s increase in pedestrian fatalities is part of a bigger trend. In other words, the pedestrian safety problem is bad everywhere, but it’s particularly scary in Texas. Just how bad is it? During the first six months of 2018, the number of pedestrian deaths in the Lone Star State increased by 32 percent from the year before, bringing the total number of pedestrian fatalities during the front end of 2018 to 298. Only Georgia saw an increase that big from 2017 to 2018. This is a National Trend, Too An increase in pedestrian deaths isn’t unique to Texas. Nationally, there’s been a 35 percent increase in[...]

4 Ways to Stay Safe in Austin on New Year’s Eve

December 29, 2018
EVANS / DESHAZO / REILLEY

As 2018 winds down and you begin looking forward to 2019, remember: The best way to get the new year off to a good start is to stay safe on New Year’s Eve. Some common sense, planning ahead, and situational awareness will help ensure a smooth and festive transition from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1. These four tips are a good place to start. Have a house party where you control the environment. Sometimes it makes sense to avoid strange places and unfamiliar situations—and if you want to celebrate but stay in a safe environment, what could fit the bill better than your own home? If you host festivities at your place, you get to stay in control of all the elements of the evening: the guest list, the atmosphere, and what (and how much) peo[...]

What Every Limousine Renter in Texas Should Know

November 12, 2018
EVANS / DESHAZO / REILLEY

The limousine that crashed in New York state in early October, killing 20 people, should not even have been on the road. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stated days after the Oct. 6 accident that the vehicle had failed its latest safety inspection—and the driver did not even have the proper license. The limousine itself was what some have called a “Frankenstein vehicle”—basically an SUV that has been cut in half and stretched out. "When we look at limousines and stretch limos, we see a really Frankenstein system of cars that potentially are cut up and put back together with parts and pieces that were not original to them," Deborah Hersman, president, and CEO of the nonprofit National Safety Council and former chair of the N[...]

Are Lenient Traffic Laws Making Texas More Dangerous?

August 27, 2018
EVANS / DESHAZO / REILLEY

It may not be much comfort if you're the one getting a traffic ticket, but drivers in the Lone Star State may actually be getting off easy compared to other parts of the country. But does lax enforcement of traffic laws make a state less safe? A recent report from personal finance site Wallet Hub puts Texas at the bottom of the list of "Strictest States on Speeding and Reckless Driving." The state ranked 51st overall in a study that collected data from all 50 U.S. states as well as Washington D.C. The study assigned points to states based on several metrics related to speeding and reckless driving; the points were totaled to arrive at the overall strictness rank. Among the factors that kept Texas in last place are: Speeding i[...]

This Mobile App Could Test Driver Impairment

June 12, 2018
EVANS / DESHAZO / REILLEY

When the police ask you to take a Breathalyzer test, it's usually already too late. The damage -- sometimes property damage, sometimes injury or loss of life -- has already been done. But what if there were a way you could tell if you were impaired before you got behind the wheel? Well, there’s an app for that. DRUID is one of a recent (and ever-growing) crop of phone-based applications that allow drivers to measure their level of impairment before they turn the key. How It Works DRUID, which was specifically formulated to measure impairment from marijuana, asks users to complete a series of cognitive and physical tasks while sober to establish a baseline performance score. Reaction time, decision making, hand-eye coordination, b[...]

Accidental Injuries Climb as Cause of Death in U.S.

March 21, 2018
EVANS / DESHAZO / REILLEY

In January, the National Safety Council announced that in 2016, 161,374 people died from accidental injuries. That was the first year in recorded history that accidental injury was the third leading cause of death. The NSC analysis of fatality data found accident-related fatalities increased 10 percent in 2016, compared to the previous year. In the same time period, vehicle crash deaths increased 6.8 percent. Crashes killed 40,327 people, and unintentional opioid overdoses claimed 37,814 lives. Fatal accidents are usually preventable. But inattention, judgment errors, and outright negligence continue to cause fatal accidents year after year. In the press release about its analysis, NSC president and CEO Deborah A.P. Hersman said, [...]

These Medications May Affect Your Driving

February 16, 2018
EVANS / DESHAZO / REILLEY

It’s cold and flu season, which means many Americans are heading to the store to stock-up on over-the-counter medicines. OTC medicines can help minimize symptoms of illness, but they can seriously interfere with your ability to drive. Before you take any medication, read the label carefully. Some medications are known to cause marked drowsiness, and even those that aren’t associated with drowsiness could interact poorly with prescription medications. Cold and Allergy Medicines That Cause Drowsiness Antihistamines are widely used to treat symptoms of colds and allergies. But some of these medicines can be dangerous for drivers. When purchasing OTC antihistamines, consider the following: Diphenhydramine – This active ingre[...]