Austin, Texas Personal Injury Blog

Over the past year, truckers traveling near Atascosa County, Corpus Christi, McMullen County, and other parts of Texas were in for a big surprise. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) inspectors were on the roads and were making sure that unsafe trucks were off the roads. Over the course of several days, troopers and inspectors were hard at work checking vehicles and pulling unsafe rigs out of service. These continuing efforts were all in the name of Operation Texas Thunder.

During its November 17, 2011 Public Safety Commission meeting, the DPS announced the results of its newest truck safety law enforcement efforts. The DPS report revealed that since the start of 2011, over 330,000 commercial vehicles had been inspected. Of that number, over 66,000 were deemed unsafe and were removed from the road. As a result of its heightened enforcement efforts, 12,301 commercial drivers were also removed from the roads for safety violations.

Few things seem more American and traditional than tailgating at a weekend football game or going over to a friend's house to watch it on TV. Unfortunately, this has lead to binge drinking and the inevitable DUI accidents.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) announced a new program aimed at reducing the number of accidents and fatalities associated with football game days.

The rapid advancement of technology in this modern world brings with it some great inventions that make life easier and more fun but can also make life a lot more dangerous. Most motorists today have a cell phone with them in the vehicle and the temptation to use it while driving proves to be too great for many. At the same time, the evidence continues to mount that distracted driving, including texting while driving, is an extremely dangerous activity.

How are these new laws going to affect you? That's the question many Texans are asking. Considering all the major changes, it's no wonder Texas drivers want to know.

The new laws passed during our state's last legislative session went into effect on September 1, 2011. One of the most important new laws creates safer conditions for tow trucks that are in the process of tending to broken down vehicles or car accidents on the side of the road.

The state of Texas doesn't require motorcyclists to wear a helmet. But two separate accidents resulting in the deaths of two motorcyclists not wearing helmets on one summer weekend have brought the helmet law into debate. The current law requires riders to have a minimum of $10,000 of health insurance coverage for motorcycle-accident-related injuries. If a cyclist has such coverage, the rider is not required to wear a helmet.

For 72 hours in June 2011, the Department of Public Safety scrutinized the condition of trucks on the nation's roads in an annual operation they call Roadcheck. Every year since 1988, DPS inspectors across North America coordinate their efforts and intensify inspections on commercial carriers looking for safety violations in the vehicle, cargo and drivers. This year's Roadcheck resulted in DPS agents in Texas inspecting 7,993 vehicles and removing 2,118 of them from the road for violations - about 26.5 percent of the total number DPS agents inspected.

High gas prices, expanding waistlines and a more environmentally conscious society have caused more people to ditch their cars and use alternative forms of transportation. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Secretary Ray LaHood, walking and biking trips have more than doubled in the last 20 years. However, those forms of travel make people more vulnerable to injury and death in accidents with automobiles.

In 2009, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported 4,281 motorcycle accident fatalities. In the previous year, more than 5,000 bikers were killed and another 96,000 injured on U.S. roadways. Based on vehicle miles traveled, the statistical odds for motorcycle deaths and injuries are considerably higher than those of drivers of SUVs, cars or trucks. Motorcyclists are some of the most vulnerable riders on American highways.

For an Oklahoma man this fact was fatally true. On March 18, the Oklahoma man and a group of motorcyclists were heading north on Texas 149. The young rider was trailing his group and attempted to catch up. He then lost control of his bike and was subsequently ejected off of the bike. Although he was wearing a helmet, he died at the scene from injuries sustained from the crash.