Residents of California and the rest of the United States have shown a clear preference for large trucks and SUVs in recent years despite the fact that larger vehicles are more of a danger to pedestrians. Pedestrian crashes and fatalities are increasing nationwide, and so, too, are SUV, van and larger truck sales, leading safety advocates to examine the link between the two.
According to USA Today, drivers of SUVs and large pickup trucks are more likely to strike pedestrians when they make turns than drivers behind the wheels of traditional sedans.
Statistics on large truck and SUV sales
Since 2009, the number of Americans driving large, heavy vehicles such as trucks and SUVs increased substantially. In 2009, SUVs, trucks and vans comprised 47% of all new vehicles sold across the nation. Yet, by 2021, more than 75% of all new cars sold nationwide were trucks. While larger vehicles are more likely than smaller ones to hit pedestrians, they are also more likely to cause significant pedestrian injuries or fatalities.
Statistics on pedestrian crashes and fatalities
The number of pedestrians dying in crashes across California and the nation increased by 59% since 2009. In 2020, there were 6,519 pedestrian fatalities that took place from coast to coast. Research also shows that the average hood height for a pickup truck increased 11% since 2000, and with higher hood heights comes enhanced injury and fatality risks for pedestrians.
Some safety advocates suggest that automakers should be modifying the body styles of their vehicles to make them less of a safety hazard for pedestrians. However, many U.S. automakers have neglected to take such action.
If you become hit by a distracted driver, a wide variety of hardships could lie ahead. In addition to debilitating injuries that cause high levels of physical pain, you could have to step down from work and miss out on other important events and activities. In addition, you could have financial problems due to medical bills.
Sadly, distracted driving crashes are preventable, but too many drivers ignore traffic safety guidelines and even common sense. It is essential to review data on distracted drivers as well as the impact of this dangerous behavior.
Data on distracted driving crashes
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 2019 saw more than 3,100 deaths due to distracted driving. In addition, far more people sustained injuries in distracted driving accidents. In fact, when a driver is going 55 miles per hour, they can travel the distance of a football field in just five seconds. Therefore, a driver taking his or her eyes off the road for just a few seconds can cause a devastating collision, especially if they do not see other vehicles or hazards on the road.
Risks associated with distracted driving
There are a wide variety of reasons why drivers fail to pay attention to the road. Sometimes, distracted driving occurs because of discussions with other passengers in the vehicle or distractions outside of the car, such as a billboard. Adjusting the volume, eating and reaching for something on the floor can lead to distracted driving. In the digital era, electronic devices play a major role in the prevalence of distracted driving, and distracted drivers must face consequences when they cause a crash.
After suffering a personal injury where you slipped and fell on your knee, you want to inventory all the harm you suffered. After all, you cannot get every penny of compensation you deserve if you do not know how much it costs to treat all your injuries.
WebMD explains how health care professionals diagnose knee injuries and pain. Understand your diagnosis options, so you may discuss them with your doctor.
Physical exam
You may need nothing more than a visual examination to diagnose your knee injury or knee pain. During the exam, expect your physician to check your knee for inflammation, warmth and differences in muscles.
Imaging tests
Medical professionals use various imaging tests to see inside the human body. X-rays provide 2D images of bones to identify joint disease and breaks, and magnetic resonance imaging tests use powerful magnets to check for injuries like soft tissue damage. Computed tomography scans use X-rays to create 3D images that help identify bone breaks and issues that X-rays may miss.
Bone scans use film and computer screens to display images of your bones. For the test, you receive a harmless injection of radioactive material. Once the material gathers in your bones, it appears on a scanner.
Lab Tests
Depending on your diagnosis, you may undergo lab tests to confirm your condition. Examples of lab tests include inspecting knee fluid to pinpoint gout, inflammation and infection.
With the right diagnosis method, you know whether and how badly you hurt your knee during your accident. Hopefully, modern medicine helps you know how much to seek in damages from the at-fault party.
Carrying auto liability insurance is an important responsibility as a driver. Unfortunately, not all California drivers have this kind of insurance. You might fear that an uninsured driver could hit you in an auto collision, leaving you without a way to collect compensation for damages. This is where uninsured motorist coverage can make a difference.
As Nerdwallet explains, drivers can purchase uninsured motorist coverage to add to their auto insurance policy. Even if an uninsured driver hits you, your uninsured coverage can cover your vehicle damages and medical bills up to the policy limits of the coverage.
The uses of uninsured motorist coverage
Uninsured motorist coverage is usually not expensive, so buying a policy might not financially burden you. In fact, you may save yourself tens of thousands of dollars if you experience a car crash. For instance, while you may have your own health insurance, your uninsured coverage may help pay for longer term costs that your health insurance might not cover.
Uninsured coverage may also help you in the event of a hit and run. If someone collides with you and then drives away, you might never find out who the other driver was, so you will not be able to hold the driver responsible for your injuries. In this situation, your uninsured coverage may step in and compensate you for damages.
Uninsured coverage takes different forms
If you think you have uninsured coverage, be certain that it covers the personal injuries of yourself and your passengers as well as property damage. Uninsured motorist coverage comes in two kinds of policies. Uninsured motorist bodily injury covers your medical costs while uninsured motorist property damage will pay for damage to your vehicle or other property you cover in the policy.
Hopefully, you will never have to deal with a serious auto accident, especially if the other driver lacks insurance. Still, preparing yourself for such a situation may save you a lot of money and stress if an irresponsible driver does hit you.
A surgical site infection is a common type of hospital-acquired infection. This means that you contracted it at the hospital while you were receiving treatment. Incising the skin to perform surgery makes you vulnerable to bacteria, and the risk of a surgical site infection increases if hospital personnel failed to properly sterilize equipment or wash their hands prior to surgery.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms of a surgical site infection include fever, drainage from the wound and pain or redness at the site of your surgery. There are things that you, as a patient, can do to protect yourself from infection at the surgical site. There are also steps that hospital personnel should take to protect you.
What can you do to prevent surgical site infection?
It is often necessary to remove hair from the surgical site prior to the operation. However, shaving with a razor increases the risk of infection. Do not use a razor to shave the site prior to surgery and ask questions if someone else tries to do it at the hospital.
Tell your doctor about any medical problems you have prior to surgery as some of these can affect healing. You can decrease your risk of infection by quitting smoking prior to the surgery. After the procedure, learn how to change your dressings and make sure your hands are clean before touching the site.
What steps do hospitals take to prevent SSI?
There are thousands of bacteria living on the skin. As part of the preoperative preparation, the surgical team should clean the skin of the site to remove germs and scrub their own hands with an antiseptic agent. They may give you antibiotics prior to surgery to prevent infection, but this is not always medically necessary. If it is necessary to remove hair from the site prior to surgery, they should do so using electric clippers rather than a razor.
While it may be possible to treat a surgical site infection with antibiotics, you may have to undergo a second operation to resolve the symptoms.
Motorcycles often have more risk of danger than almost any other type of motor vehicle, which motorcyclists have a strong awareness of. Of course, you can take steps to mitigate some of the dangers you potentially face, such as wearing protective gear.
Helmets serve as the most important protective gear you could own, as well as one of the tools that can spare your life in the event of a crash. But how exactly do they work?
The purpose of the interior and exterior
The National Library of Medicine discusses ways that helmets protect your skull from potential injury. Helmets sit on and around the skull in a way that they essentially act as a secondary skull, which the force of a crash must break before reaching your actual skull.
Inside a helmet, padding provides ample cushion and protection against bouncing, keeping your head firmly in place even after taking a hit. The outer, hard layer acts in the same way the skull does, providing an encasing to protect the more vulnerable contents within.
The importance of fit
Of course, this means the fit is of crucial importance when it comes to helmet safety. If your helmet is too loose, it will not sit on your head properly in the event of a crash, which can result in your actual skull taking some damage when it should not have.
If it is too tight, it can feel uncomfortable, which may discourage riders from wearing it. It can also create a choking sensation and can impede your flow of oxygen if it tightens or gets tangled in a crash. Thus, only a helmet of the right fit can provide maximum safety benefits.
Life in California has many perks, and one of them is the favorable weather that makes it easy for residents to move about on foot. Yet, pedestrian deaths are rising across California and the nation, and the growing popularity of sport utility vehicles is contributing to the uptick.
According to J.D. Power, SUVs are typically taller and heavier than typical sedans. They also have higher leading edges. This enhances risks for those traveling on foot because it means the brunt of the force of the SUV strikes them higher up on their bodies than a traditional car would.
SUV popularity
As of 2009, SUVs only accounted for about a fifth of all vehicles out on U.S. roads. By the summer of 2020, SUV sales accounted for 70% of all new cars sold across the nation. As SUV sales increased, the number of pedestrian fatalities increased alongside them.
SUV-on-pedestrian crash statistics
Over the past 10 years, the number of pedestrians dying in crashes increased steadily year after year, rising a total of 53% within that span. Nowadays, car-on-pedestrian wrecks cause more than a fifth of all U.S. traffic deaths, and the majority of those involve SUVs. Research also shows that, when SUVs hit pedestrians when traveling at above 19 mph, those pedestrians are much more likely to suffer a serious injury than they would be if struck by a standard passenger car moving at the same speed. When SUVs move at 40 mph and hit pedestrians, 100% of those hit die.
Some automakers who fabricate SUVs are making moves to change their body styles to make them less of a threat to pedestrians. However, these modifications have yet to have a positive impact on pedestrian death rates.
After an automobile accident, victims must inventory their injuries. Even minor accidents may cause whiplash, and accident victims must know how the injury looks.
Mayo Clinic explains how medical professionals diagnose whiplash. Personal injury victims must understand the extent of their harm to seek proper compensation.
Physical examination
Doctors move a patient’s arms, neck and head during a physical examination for whiplash. The exam tests range of motion, movements that cause pain or discomfort, and tenderness in the upper body. Initial exams also test the patient’s strength, reflexes and ability to feel sensation in their arms.
Imaging tests
While imaging tests cannot diagnose whiplash, they can help doctors rule out other injuries. Computerized tomography scans create cross-sectional visuals of bone to pinpoint damage. X-rays uncover neck arthritis, dislocation and fractures. Magnetic resonance imaging tests build 3D images of the body using magnetic fields and radio waves. MRIs can uncover spinal cord, ligament and disk damage.
Questions
Medical care professionals ask about experienced symptoms to diagnose whiplash. They may ask patients to rate their pain and list accompanying symptoms. Car accident victims should share whether they use other treatments or take medication for their symptoms. Dietary supplements and herbal medicines count as medication.
It makes sense for patients to note how the car accident happened and share the account with their doctor. The more details physicians have, the more accurate a diagnosis they provide.
Car accidents cause various injuries victims may not realize. With a medical professional’s help, they get the insight they need to build a case and seek compensation.
You may consider yourself a safe driver, but you never know when another driver may hit you. No matter if you suffer major or minor damage, would you know how to react after a car accident?
AARP offers steps to take after motor vehicle accidents. Refresh your memory or learn the proper procedure for responding to a collision.
Check for damage
Immediately after the accident, check everyone for injuries, calling an ambulance for anyone who needs it. For minor accidents, move the vehicles to the side of the road out of traffic, and turn your hazard lights on. A major accident may make it difficult to move your car, so do not worry about it.
Call the police
A police report may prove essential if you have a personal injury case and for your insurance claim. Call them to the scene of the accident. Besides getting a copy of the report, note the officer’s badge number, name and contact information.
Gather details
While waiting for the police, get the names, contact information, driver’s license numbers and insurance information of everyone involved in the accident, even passengers. Snap pictures of all vehicle and property damage, note the weather at the time of the accident and take images of nearby street signs and names. Ask witnesses for their statements, and record details about all the cars involved in the collision, such as the make and model.
Say nothing
Aside from checking others for injury, say nothing at the scene of the accident. You do not want to admit fault or say something that may harm your insurance claim or injury case.
You must know what actions to take and which to reconsider immediately after a car accident. Hopefully, you now feel better prepared to handle an unfortunate situation.
Dealing with a fractured skull is one of the possibilities you face if you suffer a strong blow to the head. While damage to the soft tissue – i.e. the brain itself – serves as a more common problem, even bone can buckle under enough force.
Thus, you need to know how to identify signs of a potential fracture in order to get the fastest medical treatment possible.
Internal bleeding and external bruising
Merck Manual discusses some of the red flags that might indicate a skull fracture. The physical signs may not stand out as prominently, but they can indicate the possibility of blood inside the skull. First, keep an eye out for bruising around the eyes or behind the ears. This is due to the fact that blood in the skull will often settle in the hollow points, and will show in the form of bruising.
You may also notice blood leaking from the ears, along with clear fluid leaking from the ears or nose. Blood may build up behind the eardrums until they burst, while the clear fluid – cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) – is within cranial and spinal spaces. If these spaces end up punctured or damaged, the fluid within can leak out through orifices in the face.
The onset of neurological symptoms
The onset of neurological symptoms due to skull fracture also often appears faster than the symptoms that occur due to concussive damage. This may include seizures, repeated vomiting, partial or full paralysis and a failure to identify one’s surroundings.
If skull fractures do not get immediate medical treatment, you risk the possibility of permanent brain damage. Thus, if you notice such signs, you want to get immediate medical help.
