Recently in Maryland Car Accidents Category

The Washington Post reports on a moped accident death in Maryland.  From the report, it sounds like a classic "left turn, did not see the moped/bike/motorcycle accident.  

In these cases, the Defendant is responsible for the death of the moped driver, assuming the facts are as I think they are.  But juries hate bikes, motorcycles and, particularly, mopeds.  Why?  Because jurors can imagine missing motorized bikes and bicycles and because everyone has seen these vehicles used inappropriate on the roadways.  Almost invariably, regardless of the facts, these cases are a fight. 

Cell phone related accident statistics are pretty amazing: 342,000 auto accident injuries and $43 billion each year in property damage, lost wages, medical bills and fatalities.  Some statistics suggest that there are over 2,500 cell phone car accident related deaths in 2009.  

Trying to put 342,000 accidents in perspective is mind numbing.  You cannot help but wonder, given the improvements in technology and driver education and and safety, if all the talk would be how much safer road travel now is if it wasn't for cell phones.  Technology is giving to us... and taking away.   

Let's assume this study is exaggerating the impact of cell phone usage on car accident and the number is really 200,000.  Is using a cell phone while driving really worth 200,000 car accidents.

The moral of the story is that tough cell phone usage laws, while incredibly inconvenient for all of us, would decrease the death toll on our nation's highways.  It would cause a lot of car accident lawyers to lose their jobs and, ironically, I think this would be a great thing.