Garden City Personal Injury Blog

Sleep deprivation poses a significant driver safety concern

On behalf of Miller, Montiel & Strano, P.C. posted in motor vehicle accidents on Thursday, November 15, 2018.

There are many risky behaviors associated with higher incidents of traffic collisions. Drinking and drugged driving clearly create dangers on New York highways. Also problematic are driving at excessive speeds and what has been identified as distracted driving, primarily from cell phone use and texting. However, there is another "silent killer" that many motorists don't think twice about.

A Department of Transportation study looked closely incidents of vehicle crashes, which included interviews with the drivers. The DOT report verified what had long been suspected -- driving with insufficient sleep carries risks similar to drinking and driving. The scope of the problem is underlined by the numbers, which show 7 percent of all vehicle crashes and 16 percent of all fatal crashes are related to driver drowsiness.

Uninsured motorist coverage protects you

On behalf of Miller, Montiel & Strano, P.C. on Monday, November 12, 2018.

Car accidents both big and small happen often on the busy New York roads, keeping insurance companies just as busy. However, in recent years studies have found that nearly 6 percent of motorists drive without insurance in New York.

This is illegal, but it does not stop some people without insurance from continuing to drive. Fortunately, uninsured motorist coverage can protect you and your family in the event of an accident.

Tips for school zone safety

On behalf of Miller, Montiel & Strano, P.C. on Friday, November 2, 2018.

School drop-off and pick-up can frazzle the steadiest of nerves, whether you walk your child to school, or drive them. Children appear from every direction and everyone is in a hurry. Throw in buses, and it’s no wonder that pedestrian accidents in school zones continue to happen at a disturbing rate. Luckily, there are things you can do to help.

Your child walksor bikes to school:

Texting and fatigue: two overlooked distractions among truckers

On behalf of Miller, Montiel & Strano, P.C. posted in motor vehicle accidents on Wednesday, October 31, 2018.

In New York and throughout the rest of the U.S., distractions are posing a threat on the road. Billboards may tell drivers to keep their eyes on the road, not to text and not to fall asleep so as to avoid a car crash, but many drivers have the mentality of thinking, "It won't happen to me." Commercial truck drivers are no different, and fleet owners will want to do something about this.

Science backs up the claim that distracted driving leads to accidents. Texting and driving is one of the most alarming forms because it constitutes a visual, manual and cognitive distraction all at once. Sending a text takes about five seconds: With a vehicle going 55 mph, that's like traveling the length of a football field with one's eyes closed.

Safety advocates: large trucks should have crash avoidance tech

On behalf of Miller, Montiel & Strano, P.C. posted in motor vehicle accidents on Tuesday, October 16, 2018.

Many drivers in New York already know the benefits of crash avoidance systems. Though these systems have been incorporated into only a small percentage of commercial truck fleets, the companies that incorporated them say that they can prevent more than seven out of 10 rear-end collisions. The technology is also known to mitigate the severity of injuries and vehicle damage.

Since the 1990s, the National Transportation Safety Board has been recommending the mandatory use of forward crash avoidance and mitigation systems on all commercial trucks. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has reportedly not responded with any regulations along those lines. This has led to criticism from the NTSB and other groups.

Safety tips for riding a bike in the city

On behalf of Miller, Montiel & Strano, P.C. on Friday, October 5, 2018.

Are you someone who has decided to turn to riding a bike instead of continuing to drive a car? Maybe you just want to ride a bike more for its health benefits. Regardless if it is to get you more fit or ease up on the cost of driving a car, riding a bike can be extremely dangerous.

New York City was recently listed as the second most dangerous city for bicyclists, only trailing Los Angeles, California. Even the safest city for riding a bicycle in the state of New York was Syracuse, and that city was ranked #537 nationally.

AAA says many drivers are over-relying on car safety features

On behalf of Miller, Montiel & Strano, P.C. posted in motor vehicle accidents on Monday, October 1, 2018.

In an audit report, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety addressed a dangerous trend that many drivers in New York may be familiar with -- too much reliance on car safety features. While such features can reduce the number of auto accidents and accident-related deaths, they may backfire on drivers who do not understand the limitations of safety technology.

For example, the report showed that 80 percent of drivers with a blind-spot monitoring overestimated this system's ability to detect quickly approaching cars, bicyclists and pedestrians. Furthermore, 20 percent of respondents were so confident in the feature that they never check for oncoming vehicles when changing lanes.

Inspectors issue out-of-service orders during safety check

On behalf of Miller, Montiel & Strano, P.C. posted in motor vehicle accidents on Monday, September 17, 2018.

Commercial vehicle inspectors ordered almost 12,000 semi-tractor trailers out of service between June 5 and June 7 during the annual International Roadcheck safety initiative organized by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and taking place in New York and across North America. Inspectors also removed 2,664 drivers from duty during the 72-hour safety blitz according to figures released by the CVSA. The road safety advocacy group says that almost three out of four of the trucks issued out-of-service orders were pulled off the roads following grueling Level I inspections.

Commercial vehicle inspectors were asked to pay particular attention to hours-of-service logs, as fatigue was the major focus of this year's International Roadcheck event. These violations emerged as the most common reason for drivers being ordered off duty, but they were only discovered by inspectors about 2 percent of the time according to the CVSA.

Noticing signs of elder abuse and neglect

On behalf of Miller, Montiel & Strano, P.C. on Tuesday, September 11, 2018.

The last thing you want is to see a loved one hurt or mistreated, particularly by those entrusted with their care. Too often there are cases of abuse and neglect or the elderly by caretakers, nursing home employees and other residents of a care facility.

As the loved one of an elderly person, your attention to and persistence for spotting signs of abuse may be a critical factor in ensuring their safety and care. Some symptoms and signs of mistreatment are obvious while many others are more difficult to notice. Consider some of the potential symptoms of abuse or neglect and remember this knowledge as you check in with elderly loved ones.

Who is responsible for unsafe conditions in apartment buildings?

On behalf of Miller, Montiel & Strano, P.C. on Tuesday, September 11, 2018.

About 19 million people live in the larger New York City metropolitan area. Of that population, 69 percent are renters. For most New Yorkers, apartment living is a way of life.

As an apartment dweller, you may wonder what your landlord’s duty is to maintain the property. The state of New York has a series of multiple dwelling laws that provide protections to tenants and hold landlords accountable for maintaining their properties.