Las Vegas Injury & Accident Attorney Blog

A Las Vegas couple that was injured when a teenage girl crashed her half ton pick-up truck helped present their case at a National Transportation Safety Conference in Washington DC.  The couple had driven to Tropicana street to help a friend whose vehicle had broken down and upon exiting their vehicle were struck by the teenager who was both on the phone and adjusting her radio.

Distracted driving in Nevada, whether it be texting, fumbling with the radio, fixing make-up or using a cell phone, is increasing cited as causes of accidents not only in Las Vegas but the rest of the United States.  In fact, distracted driving was sited for 63 fatalities in the State of Nevada over the past five years, a figure that is more then likely far greater due to the difficulty to prove the  distraction.   Furthermore, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration pens the numbers at a much larger clip.  The Las Vegas Review Journal quotes the agency as:  “According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted-driving related crashes caused nearly 5,500 deaths and 450,000 injuries last year.”

While over 30 states have banned the practices of texting and 8 others driving or talking on cell phones without adequate hands-free attachments, the State of Nevada is not on the list.  The Nevada Senate passed a law that would have banned texting in their last session, however the bill was killed in Assembly.  Another bill that would have banned the use of cell phones or PDA’s by drivers 18 years of age or younger was also not passed.  Nevada legislatures continue to try pass further law outlawing such practices, however a broader support needs to be shown on both the political and local levels in order to get a grip on this epidemic of vehicle accidents in Nevada.

As for couple that were struck by the distracted teenage girl?  Their lives will never be the same after going through brain injury surgery and dozens of other neck, arm, elbow, liver, spleen, pelvis and rib surgeries.  If you or a loved one has been injured do to a Nevada drivers’ distracted driving, contact a legal firm that understands the plights of these practice, contact Benson & Bingham:  702-382-9797.

Share and Enjoy

A North Las Vegas pedestrian was struck and killed by an automobile today on the corner of Berg and Craig.  The victims is believed to be a teenager or young adult, was crossing the crosswalk when he was struck by a car that had ignored a red light.  There where no skid marks on the scene, which lead investigators to believe the driver had not seen the light, nor victim.  This was the sixth fatality accident in North Las Vegas in 2010, and unfortunately won’t be the last.

Today, drivers are frequently distracted by host of modern day technologies, such as cell phones, pagers, texting, ipods, as well as many older distractions such as putting on make-up, reading the paper, or just fiddling with the seat or radio dials.  Unfortunately, pedestrians are the ones that often pay the price, and in the incidence the price was death.

It is unknown if the driver of the vehicle, a 29 year old women, was under the influence of alcohol or drugs during the accident in Las Vegas as toxicology reports were yet to be concluded.  While DUI accidents are often rightly blamed for pedestrian accidents in Nevada, there is a newer bread of factors that are creating accidents on Clark County roadways.  In fact, a recent study showed that more vehicle fatalities are caused by non-alcohol or drug related distractions, such as texting or talking on the phone.  Benson & Bingham has been a strong proponent of regulating such distractions in an attempt to keep Nevada roadways safe, however accidents do happen and injuries are sustained.  If you or a loved one has been a victim of an accident, contact the experts that care for a compassionate and thorough analysis of the event.  Contact Benson & Bingham:  702-382-9797.

Share and Enjoy