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Safety (Motor Vehicle Crashes)

 

Motor Vehicle Safety: Medline Plus | In Case of an Emergency, Make Sure You are Prepared with a Vehicle Safety Kit | What to Know About Purchasing Motor Vehicle Insurance

 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an estimated 2.35 million people were injured in 2008 in automobile crashes and of those, over 37,000 people were killed. Accidents involving automobiles are a major cause of preventable injury and death in this country. Often times negligence, recklessness, drunk driving or other irresponsible conduct causes preventable car crashes. With the advent of texting, mobile hand held devices, and cell phone usage during driving, safety is a core concern for many drivers.

The ultimate goal is driver safety, and to prevent motor vehicle crashes from happening in the first place. Here are some links on motor vehicle safety and how to make yourself and your children safer while driving in a car:

Motor Vehicle Safety: Medline Plus

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/motorvehiclesafety.html

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/

However, if you or a loved one have been the victim of a preventable car crash and would like to consult experienced attorneys, call 219.464.3246 or 877.526.4371 or for more extensive information about your particular situation, complete and submit a Case Evaluation form.

See "Safety Focus Tabs" on the Home page for more information.

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In Case of an Emergency, Make Sure You are Prepared with a Vehicle Safety Kit:

Consider making yourself a roadside emergency kit, especially as winter approaches, for each of your vehicles in the event your car breaks down, or you have an emergency. Here are some items you should consider having available:

• First aid kit (including bandages, gauze, adhesive tape, antiseptic cream, scissors, aspirin, instant ice and heat compress)
• Flares
• Jumper cables
• Blanket
• Gallon of antifreeze
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• Small tool kit (including flathead and Phillips screwdrivers, adjustable wrench, pliers)
• Tire pressure gauge
• Ice scraper
• Pocket knife
• Couple bottles of water
• Granola bars
• Anything else you think is necessary.

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What to Know About Purchasing Motor Vehicle Insurance to Protect Yourself:

No one likes to think they will be a party to a motor vehicle crash, let alone the victim of a crash. But what happens if you are hit by a drunk driver who is only carrying $25,000.00 in motor vehicle coverage, has no assets, and you suffer a serious injury as the result of the crash? Are you carrying adequate motor vehicle insurance to make sure you and your family are protected from an uninsured or underinsured driver?

As a driver, you should consider reviewing your motor vehicle insurance policy with a trusted insurance agent, or even an attorney, immediately—well before you ever have to think of using it--to make sure you purchased adequate motor vehicle coverage that will protect you if you are ever an at-fault driver and to protect you in the event you are a party or victim of a motor vehicle crash. You should consider purchasing uninsured or underinsured coverage in an amount that would be sufficient to protect yourself in the event of serious injury. In addition, you can purchase medical payment benefits which are helpful in covering your medical expenses in the event you have been injured in an automobile crash. As many injured people realize, once these medical payment benefits run out, it can be difficult to coordinate payments for medical bills as the result of car crashes.

Once you are carrying sufficient underlying policy limits, you can purchase umbrella policies of $1,000,000.00 or more relatively inexpensively, including umbrella policies that afford you underinsured and uninsured coverage. While at first blush, you may think this type of coverage is unnecessary, you will be happy you purchased this type of coverage in the event you or one of your immediate family members are seriously injured in a motor vehicle crash. Make sure to discuss these issues with a trusted insurance agent or even, an attorney. Purchasing the cheapest motor vehicle insurance can be a huge mistake if you ever need it.

See our article called “What to Do if You’re In a Motor-Vehicle Crash” located on our home page.

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