1963 was the first year that more than 40,000 people died in motor vehicle accidents in the United States. This was a combination of the vehicles becoming more widely used and a dreadful lack of safety equipment available on them. The rules of the road were also much different back then.

However, for nearly three decades the figure stayed above 40,000 deaths per year, and routinely jumped above 50,000 deaths per year. It wasn’t until 1992 that it dropped below 40,000, and then it immediately went back above it the following year, and remained there until 2008.

That was the year of a major change, and ever since the motor vehicle fatality rate has stayed beneath 40,000 deaths per year. It reached a modern era low of 32,479 deaths in 2011, and it seemed poised to remain at these lower levels well into the future. But a funny thing happened: the last two years of recorded data saw dramatic upticks in the number of people dying in car accidents.

No one is entirely sure why it is happening, but in 2016 there were 37,461 motor vehicle accident fatalities.

Of course, distracted driving is an easy culprit to point to, and for good reason. People have become so enamored with their cell phones that using one while driving has become commonplace. It will be interesting to see where the data goes from here, as road laws may need to change to ensure that safety improves.

Source: Wikipedia, “Motor vehicle fatality rate in U.S. by year,” Accessed Feb. 21, 2018

Dogs are man’s best friend, and in most cases they are properly trained pets that adore their owners and love the people that are around them. But in certain cases, the dog may be improperly trained or display vicious and dangerous behavior. These dogs are serious threats to everyone around them, and if they snap and attack, they can cause catastrophic or even fatal injuries to unsuspecting people.

There were 31 fatalities in 2016 that were related to dog bites in the United States. From 2005 to 2016, the number of dog bite-related deaths was 392, and a vast majority of these cases involved a pit bull. Even though pit bulls only make up 6 percent of the dog population in the U.S., they were involved in 71 percent of the fatalities related to dog bites in the U.S. from 2005 to 2016.

This is the first lesson from these statistics: pit bulls are inherently powerful dogs that are often mistreated. As a result, these dogs can lash out at people and harbor aggressive behaviors. When they are involved in a dog bite incident, the possibility of injury and even death is high. Owners of these dogs need to pay special attention to their dogs, train them properly, and ensure they are secured.

The other lesson here is that dog bites affect a lot of people and families every year. These victims need to fully consider their rights and legal position in the wake of an unfortunate dog attack.

Source: Dogbites.org, “2016 Dog Bite Fatalities,” Accessed Jan. 30, 2018

Trucking accidents are not always the fault of truck drivers. Nor are they caused by mechanical failures within the trucks themselves. Rather, as detailed in a series of recent investigative articles published in USA Today, many tractor-trailer collisions can be traced back to the trucking companies that hire drivers, as well as the retail outlets that they service.

Specifically, owing to demands that stem from the retail industry, many truck drivers are forced to work shifts as long as 20 hours, are disallowed from going home, and even, in some cases, work off-the-clock – that is, for free. Failing to go along will result in being laid off. Such practices (which clearly violate federal labor  laws) are a primary contributor to driver fatigue, which in turn is a primary factor of trucking accidents.

What did USA Today learn?

Some key takeaways from the USA Today report, which reveal how systemic pressures make trucking needlessly dangerous, include:

• Dozens of Fortune 500 companies, such as Target and other major retailers, have paid lobbyists more than $12 million to fight bills that would ensure truckers receive a minimum wage and other basic protections.

• Dispatchers would schedule truckers for shifts of up to 20 hours, despite a federally mandated 11-hour limit. In many cases, truckers were forced to claim 11 hours on their timesheets, and were not compensated for the additional hours. This is so that the trucking companies can keep their costs down, and offer the lowest bid for trucking contracts.

• Trucking company managers physically bar truckers from going home after a shift, keeping lot gates locked and then sending drivers back to work with minimal rest.

• Managers and supervisors create a “culture of fear,” by threatening to fire drivers if they don’t comply.

• Some trucking companies charge their drivers a weekly fee for company toilet paper and other necessary supplies.

These are just a few of the means by which truckers are mistreated. Of course, the abuse they endure gets passed on, all too often, to other drivers on the road.

Late last week, a Tesla traveling at 65 miles per hour crashed into the back of a fire truck. The Tesla’s driver claims the collision wasn’t his fault; the Tesla’s driver claims he wasn’t driving. The vehicle was on autopilot—that is, the car was driving itself. As such, the driver believes he should not be held liable for the incident.

As detailed in The Washington Post, this is just one in a growing number of such accidents. And the legal ramifications aren’t yet clear cut. Namely, it’s uncertain whether the “drivers” of such cars, their manufacturers, or engineers further up the supply chain are at fault for collisions when the cars are set to autopilot.

Where does responsibility lie?

Tesla is quick to deflect blame. They note that “its autopilot system is not fully autonomous,” and that drivers are informed that they are expected to be “fully attentive” behind the wheel because they are ultimately responsible for any accidents that happen.

But the cars themselves do make mistakes. In 2016, for example, a Tesla Model S crashed after it failed to recognize that a semi-truck had turned onto the highway in front of it—yet recognizing and accounting for merging and fluid traffic is something the cars are supposed to be able to do. (The driver was held responsible in this case, but prominent commentators assert that the vehicle contributed actively to the incident.)

Likewise, according to Claims Journal, as autonomous vehicles become more and more common, the start-ups and tech companies that develop the software that goes into them may find themselves liable. “Software that will run each component of an autonomous vehicle” – such as onboard computing, wireless internet networks, and graphics rendering systems – “will be essential to the smooth, safe, and secure operation of the vehicle and each present a point for consideration of the assignment of liability in the supply chain.”

Furthermore, there is the question of whether autonomous vehicles are in some way responsible for cultivating overreliance on behalf of drivers. That is, even though drivers should know that the autopilot feature is unreliable, the carmakers have made it too alluring and safe-seeming to resist giving it too much authority.

Still, in many cases to-date, the drivers themselves are the ones being held to account.

What to do

If you have been in a collision with an autonomously piloted car – with you were driving one yourself, or were struck by one – it could be advantageous to work with a lawyer to ensure your rights and interests are protected.

Such incidents can lead to a wide range of expenses – from property damage to lost wages to medical bills – and, in many situations, an attorney is necessary for accident victims to get their fair due.