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• Speeders Beware! Kirkland and Redmond Police Ramping Up 7/16 - 8/1
  Jul 15, 2010
  King County Police departments are hitting the roads with increased number targeting speeding drivers.  Starting July 16, 2010 and continuing through Sunday, August 1st another part of the statewide "Slow Down or Pay Up" campaign begins.
   
  Speeding may seem like no big deal, but in fact it is a leading cause of traffic deaths and injuries in King County and Washington state.  According to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, from 2006-2008, speeding drivers killed 140 people in King County car accidents.  Speeding-related crashes accounted for 44 percent of traffic deaths in King County during those two years.
   
  Joining Kirkland and Redmond Police in the effort to curb speeders and save lives are police agencies from Auburn, Bellevue, Black Diamond, Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, Maple Valley, Mercer Island, Newcastle, Normandy Park, North Bend, Pacific, Renton, Sammamish, SeaTac, Seattle, Snoqualmie, Tukwila and the Washington State Patrol District 2.
   
  The emphasis patrols over the next month are a key component of the Strategic Highway Safety Plan: Target Zero. The vision for the Target Zero program is zero deaths and serious injuries from traffic crashes in Washington by the year 2030.
   
  The Washington Traffic Safety Commission funds the extra patrols.
  
  
   
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• Seattle Hit-and-Run Driver Caught by Police - 4 Cars Hit
  Jul 02, 2010

  A crazed driver smashed into four other cars in a bad Washington hit-and-run car accident. A total of six people suffered injuries in the five car wreck.  The hit-and-run driver's suv flipped over as a result of the collision impact.
  
  Here's a King 5 News report about it http://www.king5.com/news/Police-looking-for-hit-and-run-driver-97646324.html
  
  After the Washington auto accident the hit-and-run driver attempted to flee the scene of the accident on foot.  A local gas station worker, Man Dip Sin, witnessed the Federal Way, Washington car accident and went to help at the scene.  He saw the at fault driver walking away from the seen and told him to wait.  Mr. Sin followed the driver on foot, and the driver started running and fled the scene. 
  
  Police called in a helicopter and the driver was found hiding in some bushes near the accident scene.  The driver is suspected of have multiple traffic tickets and car accidents in his past.  
  
  When stories like this hit the news we are reminded again of the importance of having underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage on your car insurance policy.  Although we don't know if there is adequate insurance on the suv that caused the accident, it's not hard to imagine that if a guy runs on foot from the scene of an accident he probably doesn't have much if any insurance.  Who pays then? You do!  So protect yourself and your family by purchasing as much UIM car insurance as possible.  It does cost much, but can save you from big financial problems if your injured in a Washington hit-and-run accident like this one.
  
  
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• More Bad News For Toyota - 2010 Lexus GX 460 SUV Sales Halted
  Apr 14, 2010

  Consumer Reports this week came out with a review of the 2010 Lexus GX 460 SUV.  The review rated the Lexus SUV a rare "Don't buy."  The reason for the blacklist rating was due to a rollover hazards discovered during testing.  Rollover car accidents are some of the most dangerous Washington car accidents that can occur.  Serious injury or even death commonly result from rollover car accidents.  
  
  It seems as a result of Consumer Reports review Toyota has miraculously decided to temporarily stop sales of its dangerous SUV and fix the problem. The rollover hazard happens when a driver is making a sharp turn then lifts the foot off of the gas pedal.  That causes the rear end of the vehicle to slide toward the outside of the turn, a condition known as "trailing throttle" or "lift-throttle oversteer."  Hopefully, it's only a calibration issue of the electronic stability control that can be adjuster.  Other SUV use the same system without problem in the same test.
  
  A spokeswoman for Lexus, Toyota's luxury-car division, said the company was "puzzled" by Consumer Report's results because it conducts its own tests.  Forgive us for being a little jaded when it comes to Toyota making statements about what it knows.  We would not be surprised to hear Toyota has known about this rollover problem for moths or years, just like it's gas pedal problem in other cars.  
  
   
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• When is it safe to turn the child seat to face forward?
  Mar 12, 2010

  When is the right time to turn your child's car seat from facing backward to facing forward?  New guidelines dispel old rules in favor of greater safety.  The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is revising recommendations on how long a child should spend riding in a rear-facing car seat.
  
  When children are in a Washington car accident the forces they experience are more extreme when in a forward facing car seat. Impact forces can jerk a child's head away from their immature bodies causing injuries to the spine.  While rear-facing seats are safer because the entire back of the body absorbs the impact force.
  
  Children are safer if they remain in rear-facing car seats until the upper height and weight limits of their car seat. Many seats top out at 35 lbs. in the rear-facing position, which many children don't reach under they are 3-4 years old. Current AAP and NTHSA guidelines state its okay to turn the car seat to forward facing when kids are 1 year old and weigh at least 20 lbs.    
  
  A 2007 article in Injury Prevention showed that U.S. children are five times less likely to be injured in a car crash between their 1st and 2nd birthdays if in a rear-facing car seat.  The study found that its rare to find spine injuries in accidents with kids in rear-facing seats.  The vast majority of serious injuries where seen in crashes with kids in forward-facing car seats.
  
  Don't view switching the seat around as a rite of passage, which is common for parents.  Instead be slow to switch and only when necessary.  Switching from rear-facing to forward-facing to booster all result in the loss of some safety, so only switch when necessary.
  
  
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• I-90 Head-On Car Accident Hospitalizes Two l Kirkland Car Accident Attorney
  Dec 16, 2009

  Late Tuesday evening a 2001 Acura crossed the median of I-90 near Preston and continued onto the on coming lanes of I-90.  The Acura narrowly avoided hitting a semi-truck but smashed head-on into a 2006 Honda Civic being driven by a 29 year-old North Bend, Washington woman.
  
  Both drivers suffered serious injuries in the I-90 car accident and were transported to Harborview Medical Center.  The North Bend woman is in critical condition in the Harborview intensive care unit.  The at-fault driver is in serious condition and also in the Harborview intensive care unit.  Alcohol is suspected of playing a role in causing the head-on collision.
  
  During this Holiday Season parties are in full swing. Which means drunk drivers will be increasingly hitting the roads every night of the week, not just weekends.  Please take a cab if you have a few drinks at your Christmas party.  It's just not worth risking serious injury or death over a $40 cab ride. 
  
  
  
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• Do Wet Seattle Roads Increase Traffic Deaths in November?
  Nov 19, 2009

  In the last 2 days there have been two fatal Washington car accidents on Seattle area roadways.  November 2009 in Western Washington has seen many days of rainy and stormy weather.  The trend sure indicates that rain storms equal increased fatal car accidents.
  
  A 63 year-old Edmonds, Washington man died following a rear-end car accident involving three cars on Tuesday morning.  The man who suffered the fatal injuries was stopped at a red light when he was slammed into by another car and thrown into the car in front of him.  It's not clear what kind of injuries led to this tragic result. 
  
  As Kirkland Washington rear-end car accident attorneys we see this kind of collision all the time.  In our experience this is a very out of the ordinary result.  Normally rear-end collisions at red lights don't result in people being killed, even in high speed collisions.  So there must be some extraordinary circumstances in this case. 
  
  However, from a legal stand point it does not matter.  If you rear-end someone and they suffer fatal injuries as a result because they were more fragile medically than most people it's tough luck for you.  Washington law says that you take the injury victims as they are, period end of story.  You don't get to compare and generalize to other people.  Injury cases focus solely on the person injured nobody else.  In this case the driver could be faced with a wrongful death claim.
  
  Another three car accident happened on I-5 near Sea-Tac, which took the life of a person driving a Toyota Land Cruiser.  The 3-car collision closed southbound I-5 for three hours Wednesday.  The Washington State Patrol is still investigating the fatal Washington car accident and is looking for eye witnesses.  If you saw this accident you are asked to call WSP Detective Ruth Medeiros at 425-401-7719. - 6 - 10

• Do Cell Phones Cause Enough Driver Distraction to Kill?
  Oct 06, 2009

  Ephrata, Washington mother was reaching for her cell phone which caused her to lose control of her car.  The car left the roadway and flipped down an embankment near Royal City killing her 6 year-old daughter.  The child was not proper restrained in a child safety seat.  As a result the young girl was partially ejected from the car and died at the scene of the Washington car accident.  Fortunately, the mother's 2 and 3 year old sons who were also in the car survived. 
  
  Recent studies and news have linked cell phones to an ever increasing problem of distracted drivers.  Tragedies like this one illustrate the horrible consequences that can result when a driver loses focus on the road to reach for a cell phone. 
  
  The importance of using a proper child safety seat is made shockingly clear here as well.  Adult seat belts do not work to keep children as safe as needed in car accidents.  Child seats are the only way to make sure your child will be as safe as possible when riding in your car.  Is it worth risking the life of your child to not do it?
  
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• Washington Traffic Fatalities Lowest Since 1955
  Oct 01, 2009

  Washington car accident related death are at a 54 year low according to Washington Department of Transportation and Washington Traffic Safety Commission.  In 2008 522 traffic deaths have been reported, which is the lowest number since there was 461 in 1955.
  
  The drop is attributed to use of seat belts.  Since 2000 the number of traffic fatalities caused by failure to wear a seat belt has dropped by over 33%.  The percentage of drivers in Washington who wear their seat belt is 96.5%, third highest in the nation behind Michigan and Hawaii.  
  
  The number of car accidents is also dropping.  In 1990 the number of traffic deaths or serious injury accidents was 2,500.  In 2008 that number has dropped to just over 1,000 according to the Washington State Patrol. - 8 - 10

• Toyota Lawyer Alleges He was Ordered by Toyotay to Destroy Evidence
  Sep 01, 2009

  A story out of Los Angeles, California details how a high ranking lawyer for Toyota Motor Corp.'s USA sales company was ordered and forced by Toyota management to hide and wrongfully withheld evidence in lawsuits alleging defective roof design in rollover car accidents.  Dimitrious Biller, former attorney for Toyota, has filed a lawsuit with these allegations.
  
  I find this very, very troubling and frankly the reason that injury victims often need attorneys to file civil lawsuits against big greedy corporations.  It is a complete disregard of the American justice system for Toyota to act in such a way.  Any why?  So they can keep their massive profits despite having put defectively designed and unsafe vehicles out on the road.
  
  Roof crush injuries in rollover accidents are usually of a very serious nature.  Often times roof crush injury victims suffer severe spine injuries, broken bones, head and brain injuries and even death.  This kind of corporate abuse of the justice system is the stuff John Grisham books and Hollywood movies are made of. 
  
  Mr. Biller's lawsuit claims he was ordered to destroy evidence in over 300 roof crush lawsuits.  Ethically this is a cardinal sin for a lawyer.  I won't be surprised if Mr. Biller is disbarred eventually.  However, if Biller's claims are proven true Toyota could be faced with the reopening of hundreds of cases that have been previously settled or decided and examined for abuse. 
  
  I'm sure we can also look forward to Biller getting a book and movie deal to tell the story in the coming years. - 9 - 10

• Everett Police Looking For Driver in Fatal Collision l Everett Wrongful Death Attorney
  Aug 25, 2009

  Everett police are looking for the driver of a car involved in a fatal Everett Washington street race car accident that killed a Everett man on Friday, August 21, 2009.  The street raced between two cars took place just before the fatal Everett car accident on 9000 block of northbound Evergreen Way.  The driver the police are looking for was driving a Dodge Neon type car.  If you have any information about the driver please call (425) 257-8450.
  
  One of the racing cars, an Acura Integra, slammed into a Toyota Corolla at a high rate of speed.  The Acura broadsided the Toyota as the Toyota made a left turn into a driveway from southbound Evergreen Way.  Witnesses reported the racing cars were going over 50 mph in a 35 mph zone.  
  
  The Acura driver is cooperating with police in their vehicular homicide investigation.  The Acura driver apparently did not know the other driver.
  
  This type of tragic car accident is why it's so important to carry UIM insurance.  Even if the Acura has car insurance, there's a chance his insurance company may deny coverage because he was street racing.  However, if you have UIM insurance on your own car insurance then you can deal with this problem effectively.  Especially in a fatal car accident where the surviving spouse and family will have a Washington wrongful death claim against the Acura and even the other car if he can he found.  - 10 - 10

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