Springfield Injury Law Blog : Springfield Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Jason Krebs Law Firm : Branson, Tri-Lakes, Missouri: car accident, personal injury, food poisoning, medical malpractice, wrongful death

A fair amount of snow hit Springfield over the weekend and along with it more snow related car accidents.  Bad weather doesn't seem to deter many drivers from their bad habits.  Over the weekend I still saw people talking on their phones, eating sandwiches with two hands, and talking on the phone and eating a sandwich at the same time!  Let's face it, there will always be bad drivers in any kind of weather, so the only thing you can do is make sure you aren't one of them.  

I think the best advice for winter driving is from the Missouri Department of Transportation with their "In Ice and Snow, Take it Slow" campaign.    By driving more slowly you are:

• more likely to remain in control of your car
• better able negotiate slippery turns and unexpected stops
• best able to avoid hitting the guy who isn't going slowly (and is also eating a sandwich!)

Ultimately, all you can do is control your driving and avoid causing an car accident due to your own carelessness. Even driving slowly is no guarantee that the "other guy" won't crash into you.  The only way to completely avoid a car accident is to stay home and off the roads.  Some days, that isn't such a bad idea.  

If you were unfortunate enough to be injured in a car accident on Missouri roads, please contact a Springfield attorney to be sure you are best represented and able to maximize your physical and financial recovery.

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 Here is a fantastic article in the Springfield News-Leader about a mock drunk driving accident at the Nixa High School.  The accident also involved texting while driving.  I thought it was interesting the change in the students demeanor as things played out.  

 I had a friend who died graduation night twenty years ago in a drunk driving accident that I still think about every time I pass the cemetery where he is buried.  When I ride by his house on my bicycle, I always think about his dad who buried his only son a few short years after his wife had died of cancer. It needs to hit home for new drivers. Some decisions can not be changed.

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 1. Seek medical attention as soon as possible. 

2.  Get as many photographs of the accident scene and vehicles or objects involved in the accident as you can.  If you fell, get pictures of what you believe made you fall. YOU CAN NOT TAKE TOO MANY PHOTOS.  Make sure you have them "developed"or printed and safely stored on disk.  Do not leave them solely on your computer.  Now is not the time to save costs.

3.  Keep all medical records and bills that you receive.

4.  Keep a running list of all health care providers see.

5.  Immediately make a police report in case of any motor vehicle, motorcycle or bicycle accident.   Get  a copy of the police report.

6.  Keep a careful list of witnesses' names and contact information.  Get the name of the manager of the premises for any premises or slip and fall injury.

7.  Keep a list of all expenses or costs including lost wages you believe attributable to the accident.

Save your  prescription drug bottles and any casts, hardware, pins, braces, screws.  Save damaged personal property like clothing, eyeglasses, bicycles.  Anything damaged in the accident

Don't speak to anyone without the advice of an attorney.

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 I came across an article on CNN about a Twitter site for calling out bad driving.  It does say at the end that they should pull over.  I doubt that advice will be taken.  

Just what we need on the streets, roads and highways people twittering or tweeting to complain about the driving habits of people probably on the cell phone or texting wile driving.

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 That is how many drivers will be driving uninsured within the next year according to an industry funded research group.  The other thing in the article that I find interesting is the following:

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which represents insurance regulators in all 50 states, said most Americans were woefully uninformed about what was covered by their auto policies.

A quarter of Americans rarely or never review their policies, the association reported in a survey, while three-fifths review their coverage only when they file a claim or renew their policies. As a result, tens of millions of Americans are driving around with policies that don’t reflect major changes in their incomes and family situations, it said.

Insurance policies are complicated, and we all have the responsibility to review our insurance and tell our insurance agent of any changes, but isn't one of the main jobs of the agent, to explain coverage?  

Be sure and get as much uninsured and under insured coverage as you can afford.  I am always surprised when an injured client says their insurance agent never discussed it with them before the accident.  Unfortunately, I hear it far too often.

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 The Springfield News-Leader has an excellent Op-Ed piece on hilltopping car crashes.  It includes some photos of the vehicles involved in the quadruple fatality last year.  I previous wrote about hilltopping here.

The Safety Council of the Ozarks encourages youngsters -- and parents -- to learn more about the challenges of teen driving in an organized fashion.

The council says, "Whether you're a parent who is anxiously anticipating your teen's novice driving experience, a family looking for guidance during the minimum two-year process a new driver goes through, or a teen unfamiliar with the surprisingly high risks that teenagers face behind the wheel, the National Safety Council's Family Guide to Teen Driver Safety is intended to be helpful to everyone involved."

The guide includes information on the transition from beginner to
independent driver as well as the permit process, risks of teenage drivers and safe driving behaviors.

The safety council also encourages parents to enroll in a one-hour seminar that provides insight to using the guide with a teen.

To learn more, call 800-334-1349 or 869-2121.

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There is currently a bill before the Missouri state Senate that would prohibit drivers from reading or writing text message while operating a moving motor vehicle. The bill does not affect the use of a wireless telephone as a telephone by the driver. However, the bill preempts the field of regulating the use of all wireless communication devices in motor vehicles. In other words, in the future, no municipality could regulate the use of a wireless phone by the driver of a vehicle. 

Click here for the full text of the bill.

I have previously written about this issue

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