Articles Posted in Auto Accidents

Two young drivers collided with on another recently on an icy road in Calais, about two hours northeast of Bangor.

Both drivers suffered injuries, but thankfully survived. This might not have been very noteworthy, but for the fact that the two turned out to be siblings – an 18-year-old high school senior and her 20-year-old brother. She had been on her way to a cashier job, while he was returning home.

Our Bangor car accident attorneys understand that the crash, on U.S. 1, occurred in large part due to the snowy, slushy conditions that rendered the roads slick. She crossed the center line in her Pontiac Grand Prix and slammed into her brother’s Dodge Ram pickup truck. The sister would later relay to a reporter that when she stepped out of the vehicle, she had trouble walking because the roads were so icy.

Sheriff’s deputies in Warren know this much: An 18-year-old driver’s pickup truck crossed the center line of Route 1 shortly before 7:30 a.m., slamming head-on into a sport utility vehicle driven by a 38-year-old woman.

The SUV driver was killed instantly. Her 18-year-old son and his 18-year-old girlfriend were seriously injured.

The driver of the pickup? Investigators say he was also seriously hurt, and has no recollection of the crash. Authorities have concluded texting did not play a role, but they aren’t sure what did. Given that it was so early in the morning on a weekday, alcohol wasn’t likely involved either, but toxicity reports are still pending.

Continue reading

A 47-year-old woman was killed in a recent head-on accident on Route 9, according to the Bangor Daily News. Unfortunately, she was pronounced dead at the scene, reports the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office.

The driver was heading westbound just before 6:00 a.m. when her vehicle collided with a pickup heading eastbound. It happened just west of Rooks Road. Officials are still investigating the cause of the collision. The eastbound driver was seriously injured and remains in Eastern Maine Medical Center.

Our Bangor car accident attorneys know head-on collisions are too often fatal. Preventive measures include traffic signs and road surface markings to help guide drivers through curves, as well as separating opposing lanes of traffic with wide central reservation (or median) and median barriers to prevent crossover incidents. But sometimes even those measures don’t save lives.

Continue reading

State authorities and police in Bangor are searching for the driver of a Jeep Liberty involved in a midday crash on I-95 with a 15-passenger van, causing two serious injuries. The driver of the Jeep fled the scene before emergency officials arrived.

We anticipate more crashes in the midst of Maine’s snowy season and, unfortunately, we see a spike in hit-and-run incidents as well, primarily because drivers are either drunk, driving illegally or don’t have insurance. Sometimes, it’s a combination of all three.

Thankfully, there are some avenues of recourse for victims. By making an uninsured motorist claim in Bangor, victims can secure compensation for injuries, vehicle damages, medical bills and lost wages through their own insurance carrier.

Continue reading

The summer’s is at its peak, as is that heat as the Maine tourism season heads towards autumn. Tire safety will be particularly important through the remainder of the summer travel season, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Tire failure accounts for about 11,000 accidents each and every year. Some of the most common causes for these accidents are blowouts, tread separations, under-inflation and tread separation.Our Portland car accident lawyers understand that under-inflated tires not only increase your risks for an accident, but also hinder your fuel economy. When your tires are not properly inflated, you can lose more than 3 percent of your fuel money. But in addition to the risks affiliated with under-inflated tires, the heat is also causing some concern. As the temperatures rise, our risks for tire malfunctions increase as well.

Properly-maintained tires can help to improve your stopping distance, your traction and your steering and control of your vehicle.

Here are some simple safety tips to make sure you’re on the right road:

-Make sure you know the recommendations for tire pressure in pounds-per-square-inch (PSI). This information can be found inside the door of your vehicle or inside the owner’s manual.

-Consider keeping a tire gauge in your vehicle. You can lose tire pressure in your vehicle each month. You want to make sure you’re checking your tire pressure at least once a month.

-If your vehicle has a monitoring system that shows up on your dashboard, you should give it immediate attention once it’s activated.

-Check the owner’s manual to see the recommended amount of time for tire replacement. Some should be replaced every 6 years, while others require replacement every 10 years. Some tires may need replaced every 18 to 24 months, depending on wear.

-Keep an eye out for treadwear indicators. These are raised sections spaced throughout the bottom of the tread grooves. When you see them, it’s time to replace your tires.

-Give the penny test a whirl. What you do here is put a penny in the tread of your tires with Mr. President’s head upside down. If you’re able to see the top of his head, you should go get some new tires. They’re too worn and they could present some serious problems.

-Be aware of tires on vehicles with occasional use – like recreation vehicles, collector cars, community vehicles, and 15-passenger vans – as they are also susceptible to tire aging.

-Remember that more vehicles experience tire problems when driven under adverse roadway conditions (wet roads, roads underwater, slick roads).

By following these simple tips, you can prevent a potentially fatal and costly accident during your summer travels. Be ready, be prepared and be proactive.

Continue reading

Initial statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are that the number of traffic deaths in the U. . has risen by nearly 5.5 percent just in the last year.Unfortunately, that trend doesn’t seem as if it will be abating anytime soon.

SerioussBangor car accidents have so far been plentiful this summer.

A two-car crash around 7:45 a.m. on a Friday on Norridgewock Road resulted in injuries so severe that one woman had to be airlifted by helicopter to the nearest hospital. According to investigators, a 19-year-old female drove directly into the path of a 28-year-old female, with two young children in the vehicle with her, while traveling 55 miles-per-hour. The 19-year-old was listed in critical but stable condition.

Earlier that same day, a tractor trailer crash resulted in the death of a 23-year-old bicyclist.

The day before, a man was killed in a single-car Trenton crash after losing control of his vehicle around a sharp turn, running off the road and slamming into several sizable trees.

And in Augusta, two people were killed when a truck, driven by a Chinese national, crossed the center line and struck a vehicle in oncoming traffic. Both drivers were pronounced dead.

All of this was within a matter of just a couple days. When you start to analyze these figures, those statistics seem to hit the mark, and drive home the point: It’s getting more dangerous out there.

The NHTSA reports that there were 32,267 people who lost their lives in traffic fatalities in 2011. Initial reports from 2012 are that 34,080 people have been killed in motor vehicle crashes. If this figure holds true when the final counts are in, it will be the first annual increase in traffic fatalities this country has seen since 2004-2005. Since that year, it’s dropped about 25 percent.

The figures seem to suggest that we saw an especially dramatic spike of fatal crashes in the first quarter of last year – a 12.6 percent increase. An uptick that high hasn’t been reported since the late 1970s.

Part of the reason we’re seeing these figures climb is that more people are driving than in recent years. We saw a 0.3 percent increase in the number of vehicle miles traveled, which amounted to a total of more than 9 billion last year. That’s a direct result of a steadily improving economy. More people have jobs to drive to and from, more people can afford gas and cars, more people are ordering products and services delivered by truckers and people are more apt to take road trips and vacations than they were before.

Still, this does not give license to people to drive carelessly or under the influence or while negligently fatigued. These remain the top reasons for fatal traffic collisions, and they are all 100 percent preventable.

Continue reading

The pair were apparently on their way to a beach vacation, as evidenced by the fact that emptied suitcase, piles of clothing, a beach umbrella and a cooler were strewn about the roadway.The crash, on Interstate 95 near Pittsfield, sent both occupants to the hospital, one with potentially life-threatening injuries. Maine State Police have reported that the driver was speeding when he approached a smaller-moving vehicle, swerved to the left and lost control of the vehicle, causing the car to crash.

Our Bangor personal injury lawyers know this was not the way these two intended to spend their vacation. We are thankful no other vehicles were involved, and we hope these two make a full and swift recovery.

It’s our hope that other Maine road-trippers will avoid this same fate by taking into account the recent safety advisory issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association.

Summer is by far the busiest travel season. Maine is a prime destination, but many locals prefer to travel out-of-state to holiday.

Everyone should of course adhere to local laws, which include refraining from speeding, driving intoxicated or texting/operating an electronic device while behind the wheel.

Drivers on road trips, though, should also take special care to provide ample travel time to account for delays (so you aren’t tempted to speed or drive aggressively), make sure you get plenty of rest (so you aren’t driving when you’re too sleepy to do so safely), have your route well-mapped out before you go and keep your vehicle in good working order.

Regarding the last item, many drivers may be unsure of exactly what they need to do to ensure a road-worthy vehicle. Use this as your vehicle safety checklist:

Keep up on your regular maintenance. This is good advice in general, but it’s especially important if you plan to take your vehicle long distances. This means you want to maintain the schedule for oil changes, tune-ups, tire rotations and battery checks. All of this will help you to avoid an unexpected breakdown, which is particularly unpleasant if you’re in an unfamiliar area far from home.

Avoid a blowout or flat tire by using the tire pressure gauge to ensure your tires are all properly inflated.

Make sure all the belts and hoses under the hood are in decent shape, with no signs of serious wear and tear. Bear in mind that summer heat can accelerate the rate at which hoses and rubber belts degrade.

Swap out your wipers, if you haven’t done so in a while. Clear vision is critical in a road trip, and blades that are old won’t offer you that. This is a cheap fix that can literally be a life-saver.

Make sure all your lights are working properly. This includes not just your headlights, but your brake lights, your emergency flashers, your turn signals and your interior lights. For those in an RV or trailing a boat, check the trailer lights as well.

Continue reading

Whether you’re from here, or you are up visiting for the holiday, all drivers are asked to be safe out there as our roadways will be packed with long-weekend, Memorial Day vacationers.

Our Portland car accidents attorneys are asking you to take a few precautionary steps to make sure that your holiday travel runs smoothly. We’re here with officials from the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) to offer you some tips to make sure that your vehicle is ready for the haul. Avoiding breakdowns is one of the most beneficial ways to prevent a roadside accident.Here are some reminder tips for a safe trip:

-Take a look under your hood and make sure that all of the fluid levels are topped off. This includes your windshield wiper fluid, brake fluid, coolant and oil.

-Make sure that all of your tires are properly inflated and that the tread is not too worn.

-Before heading out, it’s a good idea to check the www.511maine.gov website for the latest travel conditions. Plan out your route before starting up the car. It will help you to stay off of busy roadways.

-Are there any repairs you’ve been putting off?sNow is the time to do it. Don’t take the chance.

-Check your blinkers, taillights, headlights and side marker lights. You want other vehicles to know where you’re going and when you’re going there. Predictability is a good way to help to prevent an accident.

-Are your windshield wipers working efficiently?s

-Have you packed your vehicle so that your visibility is not hindered?sIf your luggage is stored on the roof, make sure it’s secure.

The Memorial Day holiday weekend is not only the kick off to our summer travel season, but it’s also one of the most dangerous weekends to be behind the wheel. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), there will be more than 405 people who will be killed on our roadways during this holiday weekend. Officials also predict that nearly 44,000 people will be injured in traffic accidents during this time.

One of the most important things that you can do to help protect yourself is to buckle up during each and every car ride. Seat belts are your best bet against the risk of injury or death in the event of a traffic accident. Make sure everyone in your vehicle is buckled in every time.

Consider this your reminder to get your vehicle checked out, make sure you’re ready for anything the roadway as to throw your way, you’re prepared for the traffic and congested conditions and you plan for your trip in advance. Preparation is the best way to help eliminate your risks for an accident. Stay safe out there and enjoy the holiday weekend.

Continue reading