Personal Injury Blog

Switch off the cell phone when you get behind the wheel today. A new study indicates to Nevada car accident lawyers that dialing on a cell phone is the most distracting activity that any motorist-novice or seasoned -can perform at the wheel.

The results of the study were published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. In the study, the researchers placed tracking devices including radar systems, cameras and GPS systems in the vehicles of 42 motorists who had just received their driving licenses, and 109 motorists who had been driving for an average of 20 years. The subjects were monitored over a period of 18 months.

The researchers found that the novice drivers got into 31 accidents, while the more experienced drivers got into 42 accidents. The novice drivers were likely to get their driving skills impaired when they attempted to perform other tasks while driving. For instance, the odds of a novice motorist being involved in an accident or a near - miss car accident were approximately 8.32 times higher when they were dialing a cell phone. The odds were approximately 8 times higher when reaching for something in the car beside the cellphone, and 7.05 times higher while trying to reach for the cellphone.

In the case of the more experienced motorists, the only activity that seemed to increase the risk of being involved in an accident or near-miss was dialing. Older motorists were approximately 2.49 times more likely to have their driving skills impaired while dialing on their cell phone.

The research indicates that no matter how many years of driving experience you have behind the wheel, dialing numbers on a keypad simply increases your accident risk. The risk is especially high in the case of young novice drivers, who may be inexperienced, and also much more likely to use cell phones while driving.

The number of drivers who tested positive for alcohol on roadside breath tests has dropped significantly over the past couple of decades. Any Las Vegas car accident lawyer would have expected the number of drunk driving accident fatalities during the same period of time, to show a similar downward trend. However, that isn't what has happened at all. According to the results of a new study, there is a strong disconnect between the number of motorists testing positive for alcohol, and the percentage of alcohol-intoxicated drivers who were involved in fatal accidents.

The analysis of breath and roadside breath tests was conducted on weekends, in 1986, 1996 and 2007. When the researchers analyzed the breath test surveys during these years, and compared them with the rates of drunk driving accidents that occurred during these years, they found that there was no corresponding decline in fatalities in these years.

What is very perplexing to researchers is that the downward trend in intoxicated driving, has not really translated into significant declines in the number of people killed in these accidents.

There could be several explanations for this mystery. For one thing, impaired drivers are much less likely to wear seatbelts while driving, and this could play a huge role in their risk of sustaining fatal injuries in an accident. Failure to wear seatbelts can increase your risk of being killed in an accident.

It could also be the fact that alcohol-intoxicated drivers are much more likely to drive aggressively or at high speeds, and high-speed accidents typically have a devastating impact. High-speed accidents typically end with multiple injuries and fatalities, and this could be the reason why the decline in drunk driving, has not necessarily led to a drop in fatal alcohol-related car accidents.

Persons who have severe brain injury and suffer from memory failures, especially the lack of ability to remember personal experiences in the past, may be helped by listening to particular types of music. Those are the findings of a new study that was published recently in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation.

The researchers focused on five persons who suffered from memory impairment after a brain injury. One of the persons had suffered severe brain injuries in a motorcycle accident, and had no recollection of many of his life experiences. Another patient suffered from long-term brain damage after an attempted suicide. The researchers played 50 songs that featured in the Billboard Chart 100 from 1961 to 2010, and the songs were chosen depending on the age of the patient.

As the patient listened to the songs, they were asked to fill out a five-point scale questionnaire to indicate their familiarity with the song, whether the song helped them remember experiences in the past, and whether the memory was good or bad. The researchers found that in most cases, the persons had a very strong emotional reaction to the music, and managed to link the music with certain memories in their lives.

These findings clearly show that music is a very powerful tool for evoking memories, both positive and negative, among persons who have suffered a brain injury. According to the researchers, there are many potential benefits from this therapy, not just for persons,who have suffered a severe brain injury in a motor vehicle accident or trucking accident or motorcycle accident, but also someone who suffers from Alzheimer's Disease, symptoms of dementia, and other neurological conditions that impair memory.