Pittsburgh Personal Injury Blog

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, motorcycle crashes in the state decreased by 7.5 percent between 2017 and 2016. Rather than illustrate a steady decline, however, a look at the department’s reported figures from 2013 to 2017 shows troubling fluctuations in not just the number of crashes involving motorcycles, but also the number of fatal injury crashes involving a motorcycle. At the time of compiling this article, the Pennsylvania D.O.T. had not yet published the statistics for 2018.

But, why is it that so many drivers fail to see motorcyclists on the road? A motorcyclist who has had way too many close calls with your four-wheeled road companions may believe drivers are merely negligent and therefore at fault. However, while scientists certainly agree that drivers are at fault in a lot of these instances, negligence is not the scientific explanation they propose. Instead, scientists credit a lapse in how the brain processes information, called saccadic masking.

People are involved in various types of accidents while working, such as those which involve the use of dangerous equipment. However, motor vehicle collisions are especially concerning, and these accidents happen for all sorts of reasons, from inexperience to working too many hours and falling asleep on the road. Moreover, some job-related traffic collisions are caused by alcohol consumption, and it is important for employees, employers and everyone on the road to be aware of how prevalent this is.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 0.15 percent of transportation workers who were involved in accidents during 2008 were found to have had alcohol in their system at the time of the accident. However, this figure represents a decrease in the number of transportation accidents which involve a worker who was under the influence of alcohol in comparison to 2008, when 0.25 percent of transportation workers were found to have alcohol in their system after a wreck. The BTS states that alcohol testing devices from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are used to test millions of transportation workers across the country.

Work accidents occur every day, and in many cases, these employees are working with machinery. Though companies utilize machines to make work faster, easier and more efficient, the operation and maintenance of these machines often create dangers for those who must use them and can lead to on-the-job accidents.

In an effort to reduce such instances, there are regulations and rules in place to enhance safety. However, for a few reasons, they are not always as affective as possible. Check out a few of the biggest misconceptions about machine safety.

A lot of large truck wrecks happen because of high speeds, fatigue or the use of intoxicating substances. These are certainly not the only reasons why collisions involving large trucks take place, however. For example, a large truck may be hauling materials that are not secured properly, which can cause a large truck driver or someone riding in another vehicle to become hurt or lose control of their vehicle. When these types of accidents occur, those who fail to secure materials should be held accountable.

There are many different types of debris that can fall off of a truck and lead to an accident. A large truck may be carrying gravel that is not contained properly, and rocks could go flying on the road. This could cause a rock to slam into the windshield of a vehicle heading in the opposite direction, startling the driver and prompting them to lose control of their vehicle. Or, large objects may fall off of the back of a truck, right into the path of traffic.