Child pedestrians are vulnerable for several reasons: their size, judgment and distractibility. So it is up to each of us to make up for these differences.

Here are some safety tips for drivers, published by AAA:

• Slow down near schools and residential areas
• Drive with your headlights on – even during the day so kids and other drivers can see you
• Look for clues, such as playgrounds, bicycles, school that indicate children are in the area
• Look between parked cars and other objects for signs of children
• Practice extra caution in bad weather
• Always stop for school buses that are loading and unloading students

Motorists must be responsible and held responsible, for watching out for child pedestrians.

Statistics on teens and distracted driving is a topic we often cover on our Clearwater Car Accident lawyer website to raise public awareness. It is the hope of our personal injury law firm that by posting local crash reports as well as information about safety and injury prevention information, we can reduce the number of serious injuries suffered in a car crash.

Here’s another teen driver study, this one by the University of Texas at Austin. They looked at the relationship between time of day, number of passengers, kind of vehicle and seriousness of  injuries in teen car crashes. Some of  the data you might find surprising!

• Teen age drinking and driving is the deadliest combination.
• Driving a pickup puts teens at a far greater risk of injury than driving a car. (A more powerful engine appears to lead to more aggressive driving.)
• Driving with one young passenger is riskier than driving alone or with two teens in a vehicle.
• Drivers are more aggressive during morning rush hour.
• 16 and 17 year old drivers are more likely to drive aggressively than young people age  18-20 years.

Jim  Dodson and our Clearwater Car Accident Law Firm reminds you to wear white today to White Out Teen Crashes, in support of National Teen Driver Safety Week.

If you find yourself in the awful position of needing helpful  information after your child has suffered a serious injury, request a complimentary copy of my book, “When Kids Suffer Big Injuries” here.

 Myth Number Four

 Myth: I have a 4 year old son and he weighs 33 lbs. I recently switched him to a booster because he is now 4. He still fits into his forward facing 5 point harness car seat, but I switched him anyway.

 Fact: In this case, the child is 33 pounds and has not outgrown his harness in the car seat even though he is 4 years old. He can and should continue using his existing 5 point harness car seat until it is outgrown. His harness may cover him until he weighs 40, 60 or even 80 pounds, depending upon the limits for his specific car seat. Parents should always check their child’s harnessed car seat to learn what the upper limits are for that particular seat. Do not rush to remove a child from the harnessed car seat into the booster seat just because he turns 4. The harness and car seat shell afford a child much more protection as long as it is not outgrown.
Signs that a child has outgrown his forward facing harness car seat include: Surpassing the height or weight requirement for the seat, the ears have reached the top of the seat, and/or the child’s shoulders are above the top harness slots. When a parent notices any of these things, it is necessary to obtain a new, properly fitting seat.

 Myth Number Five

 Myth: My daughter is 10 years old and some of her friends are still in boosters, and others are not. I’m overwhelmed by this entire car seat situation and there is no one formally trained to take a quick look at how she fits in the booster and help me figure out what is best for her safety.

 Fact: You’re in luck. There are over 34,000 certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians throughout the country who can help. These qualified individuals can assess your individual situation – whether you have an infant or an older child – and help guide you. It’s always best to bring your child and the car seat/booster when you see the technician to evaluate the fit and decide what steps to take. Remember to also bring your car seat instruction book and the vehicle owner’s manual to the inspection. (courtesy of Safe Kids)

As a personal injury lawyer, I know that child safety seats when used properly, are the most effective tools available to prevent death and child injury in a car crash.  Get involved in Child Passenger Safety Week and prevent child injury by making sure your child is properly restrained in an appropriate safety or booster seat.

Check below for more helpful information about child safety seats and online websites to visit this week:

www.AAA.com/SafeSeats4Kids

www.HealthyChildren.org

www.SeatCheck.org

Clearwater Child Injury Lawyer, your child safety advocate and author of “When Kids Suffer Big Injuries.” Available at No Cost to parents of a child injured in a Florida accident. Law Office of James W. Dodson  @1-888-340-0840   – Working to make safety every child’s reality.

We all know teens’ lives are more in danger in the car. Fatal car accidents are the leading cause of death for 16-20 year- olds.

Car accident risks increase when a teenager has a passenger in the car, has been using drugs/alcohol and if they are speeding. Ken Ginsburg, an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine recommends rules parents should set for teen drivers:

• no passengers during the first 6-12 months of driving
• Limit driving in bad weather
•  enforce curfews
•  maintain control of the car keys

 Finally reward your teen driver with a special privilege once they’ve been driving successfully and by your rules for awhile. –Just don’t buy them a car, studies show kids who do not have  their own car are 50% less likely to be involved in a car crash.

For additional information and safety resources to protect your teen driver, visit our Florida Child Injury document and resource library or contact our office for a free consultation @ 1-888-340-0840.

 “We were walking into the bathroom and we heard this … crash. I came outside, saw the car where you see it now.”  A teen driver lost control of her car, sideswiped another vehicle, drove through the front yard and crashed into the home of Michael Whaley.  The impact pinned a van inside the garage.  Troopers cited the 17-year-old driver with careless driving.

 “I asked both kids… if either were hurt,” the retired police was quoted as saying.   Very fortunately for the teen and her passenger, there were no serious injuries in the car crash. Whaley’s home, though reportedly,  has $20,000 in damages. The accident could have had  serious injuries and consequences  had he and  his wife  been in the area where the car crashed. Whaley, it seems from a news report,  had a fairly calm reaction to the evening’s events and was relieved  no one was injured.

He remarked,  ”I got insurance…everybody got insurance.” Fortunately, in this case it sounds like insurance is not an issue, but that’s not always the case.

Many drivers in Florida are extremely underinsured and unprepared if they are responsible for damages far beyond the coverage they bought.  The damage to property caused in this accident may be covered by the driver’s Property Damage insurance on any policy insuring the car. Too many Floridians opt for the minimum Property Damage coverage of $10,000. Such coverage would pay for only half the reported loss to the home in this accident, leaving the driver on the hook potentially for the rest. Far too many crashes involving expensive cars cause property damaged liablity well in excess of $10,000 and drivers need to be aware of such potential liabilty and get the coverage they need. 

In addition,  many injured people I see in my office after an auto accident believe they have full coverage or are unclear about what they do have. Unfortunately, there are many uninsured or underinsured drivers on our roads – as many as 665,000 Florida drivers have no insurance, according to a 2004 report.  The Dodson Law Firm stresses the importance of uninsured motorist coverage - the least expensive and best bargain when it comes to your coverage. Check your policy’s coverage today!

For more information on car insurance from Florida Car Accident and Child Injury Lawyer Jim Dodson, request a FREE copy of his consumer guide about Buying Car Insurance in Florida It’s available on Amazon for $12.95 but offered at NO COST to Florida drivers on our website www.JWDodsonlaw.com.   

A 9-year-old boy who was a passenger in the car was taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital to treat serious injuries he sustained in the car crash. Florida Highway Patrol says  the boy was not wearing a seatbelt.

The Dodson Law Firm urges all drivers and passengers to wear seatbelts.  The failure of a child to wear a seatbelt or use a child restraint safety device is a contributing factor in more than one-half of the accidents in which a child dies.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports, “safety belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by forty-five percent. Wearing a seat belt is no longer an option. It’s the law.