San Francisco Injury Lawyer Blog

Spride, a provider of personal vehicle sharing services, and City CarShare, a Bay Area nonprofit car sharing organization have announced the availability of the first personal vehicle share program within a car sharing fleet. The new Spride Share pilot program enables car owners to loan their vehicles to members of City CarShare, which has more than 13,000 members, by equipping their cars with City CarShare’s access and tracking technology. The launch of the program is directly related to Assembly Bil 1871, a bill that Governor Schwarzenegger recently signed into law. The new law establishes that personal vehicle sharing does not constitute a commercial use of the automobile, eliminating the primary barrier to broad adoption of personal car sharing opportunities. Prior to the law, car owners ran the risk of losing their personal auto insurance if they received compensation for sharing their cars.

Now car owners can make their cars available for hourly reservations, and members can conveniently locate, reserve, and gain access to a car using their phone. What is more, car owners can make money by sharing something they already own, while the cost for borrowers is only about $7 dollars an hour. Because choosing reliable transportation in the bay area is always a challenge, car sharing may prove to be bay area resident’s greatest option. The program allows residents to collectively share the responsibility of reducing carbon emissions and eliminating some of the hassle their daily commuting routines, and it may just make commuters feel less harried and frantic, which may, in turn, lead to fewer accidents. Here at the Brod Law Firm we believe the creation of such program proves that citizens can band together to make up for the failures of public transportation, and the dissatisfaction and burden many people feel owning a car.

In 2007, very near Thanksgiving Day, an Illinois State trooper was driving over 100 miles per hour, responding to an accident. The former officer, Matt Mitchell, was reportedly talking on his cell phone to his girlfriend, and sending e-mails on the police car computer, while driving at outrageous speeds. It was estimated that Mitchell was driving approximately 126 miles per hour, and drove across the highway median, where he ran into an oncoming vehicle, and killed two, teenage sisters, aged 18 and 13. The police officer, who pled guilty in criminal court, but did not serve any jail time, has now denied any fault or responsibility in the civil action. In fact, the former police officer has applied for workers compensation benefits to receive payment for injuries he suffered as a result of the crash in which he killed two innocent girls.

Police officers and other law enforcement personnel are not above the law, and must be mindful of the safety of the general public, who they are sworn to serve and protect. In the horrible tragedy in Illinois, the accident that the former police officer was heading towards at the time of the crash, had already been responded to. Undoubtedly, the Illinois State Police are ashamed by this incident, which should have been avoided, and could have been prevented. Ideally, law enforcement agencies around the country will learn from incidents like this, and properly train their police officers to respect the safety of the public when in pursuit, or when responding to an emergency.

At the Brod Law Firm, we fight for people who have been injured due to the fault of others, including police officers driving in a high speed chase, in pursuit, or in response to an emergency. To learn more, please contact us at info@brodfirm.com.

Over this past 4th of July holiday, a 65 year old San Jose woman, Verna File and her friend, Royce McFadden were killed in a rollover crash as they were returning home to California from a dog show in Missouri. Verna File and husband, Bill, were traveling with their their friends, Royce and Vickie Mc Fadenns, along with both couples’ bichon frise dogs. According to the Colorado State Patrol, Bill File was driving a 2000 GMC Yukon on Westbound Interstate 70 Saturday evening when he drifted into the center meridian. The SUV rolled over twice before landing on its top. Verna File and Royce McFadden,62, were declared dead at the scene, and Bill File and Vickie McFadden sustained serious injuries. The Colorado State trooper who was at the scene said the bichon frise dogs traveling with the couples were transported to the local veterinarian and that alcohol and drugs were not factors in the motor vehicle accident. The state patrol suspect driver fatigue as the contributing factor. If driver fatigue was truly a factor in the accident, we hope drivers pay attention and remember this story the next time they feel drowsy and want to get behind the wheel of a car.

Most people don’t think about driving long distances while feeling fatigued as seriously risky behavior or as behavior that has deadly consequences. Yet according to data put out by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) regarding research conducted by the National Highway Transportation Safety Association(NHTSA)and Virginia Tech Transportation Institute(VTTI), the opposite is true. Their research measured real-world driver behavior through video and sensor devices on 100 vehicles over the course of one year, and researchers found:

• That nearly 80% of crashes and 60% near crashes recorded involved some type of
“driver inattention” within three seconds of the event
• Drowsy driving was by far the leading cause of driver inattention
• Driving drowsy increased a driver’s risk of a crash or near- crash by four to six times.

What is also interesting is how much people fail to realize how lack of sleep affects roadway safety, as stated in an article written by the NSF posted on DrivingDrowsy.org titled Drowsy Driving a Dangerous Yet Preventable Hazard for Holiday Drivers. In the article, Richard Gelula , NSF’s chief executive officer states, “drowsy driving may be just as dangerous as drunk driving because sleepiness results in slower reaction times and performance; reduced judgment and vision; delayed information processing and short term memory formation; and increased anger and moodiness.” He also makes a statement which we here at the Brod Law Firm find the most poignant of all: “Drowsy driving risks the life of not only the driver, but the lives of their passengers—family and friends—and other drivers on the road…the disastrous effects of fatigue related crashes can easily be prevented; all It takes is for people to recognize the problem and get off the road.” The NSF has put forth a set of warning signs that a driver should use to gauge when it is time to pullover and stop driving:

• Difficulty focusing, frequent blinking and/or heavy eyelids
• Drifting from you lane, swerving, tailgating and /or hitting rumble strips
• Yawning repeatedly
• Trouble remembering the last few miles driven
• Missing exits or traffic signs
• Trouble keeping your head up

Here at the Brod Law Firm, we feel for the victims of this particular 4th of July accident, and we hope the readers of this information come away with a better understanding of what is at stake when anyone drives while feeling fatigued. The tips above we find invaluable when we consider how many lives could be saved every year if drivers followed them. We believe arriving at your destination safely is more important than drowsily driving in order to beat traffic or to arrive early at your destination.