Fort Lauderdale Accident Attorneys
| Gary T. Lazarus | 0 Comments | Fort Lauderdale Accident Attorneys

How to Deal With Road-Rageous Drivers – Fort Lauderdale Accident Attorneys

Road rage is a serious problem, and in south Florida it can be very hazardous to your health. This week an incident in Broward County started with one driver cutting off another and concluded with one driver getting hit in the head with baseball bats. Miami Herald story – click here.

The victim in this case apparently got out of her vehicle to go face-to-face with the other driver, and what we will say about this response is don’t do that. Ever. We all pay taxes for police protection, so call the police. The driver who was beaten has serious head injuries, a broken nose, and will possibly require long-term medical care. News reports say she stepped out of her vehicle to record the incident on her cell phone, and once again our advice is don’t do that. Stay in your car and call police. You never know what weapon another driver might have, a bat, a knife, or a gun.

If you see a problem developing with another driver on the road and you feel he or she may confront you, try to diffuse the situation. Nod, smile, say you’re sorry. Even if you aren’t and it wasn’t your fault. It’s better to swallow some pride than to end up in the hospital.

“A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it.” Albert Einstein

Because Albert was just about the smartest person to have ever lived, it’s a good idea to model our advice on road rage after that quote. How do you avoid road rage, including your own?

Here are a few tips from the Progressive Insurance Company:

Fort Lauderdale Accident Attorneys - Road RageProtect yourself.
If you are dealing with an aggressive driver, make sure your doors are locked. If you’re stopped in traffic, leave enough room to pull out from behind the car you’re following. If an aggressive driver confronts you, dial 911 or go to the nearest police station.

Don’t take it personally.
Be polite and courteous, even if the other driver isn’t. Avoid any conflict, if possible. If another driver challenges you, take a deep breath and move out of the way! Never underestimate the other driver’s capacity for causing mayhem.

Reduce your own stress.
Allow plenty of time for a trip and listen to soothing music when you drive. Make sure your seat position and climate are both comfortable for you. And mostly understand that you cannot control traffic, only your reaction to it. In the end, you may find that personal frustration, anger and impatience are the real danger zones on the highway.

Report aggressive drivers.
Some states have a phone number that you can use to report dangerous driving to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Keep the number handy on your cell phone. If you make a call, be sure you give a vehicle description, license number, and the location and travel direction. You could prevent a tragedy.

Be a courteous driver.
You can set the example, which can help make our roads safer.

Control your anger.
Don’t take traffic problems personally.
Avoid making eye contact with an aggressive driver.
Don’t make obscene gestures.
Don’t tailgate.
Use your horn sparingly — even a polite honk can be misinterpreted.
Don’t block the passing lane.
Don’t block the right turn lane.

Fort Lauderdale Accident Attorneys

The attorneys at Lazarus and Lazarus are here to answer questions if you have been involved in an accident or a road rage incident. Our primary duty is to our client and we work very hard to make sure your rights are protected. Call us at 954-356-0006 if you have an issue you would like to discuss with us.

| Arleen Lazarus | 0 Comments | Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Attorney

What Happens After a Judgment? Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Attorney

Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury AttorneysIn almost any accident-related injury situation, there is usually someone or something that is at fault. It may be a car accident where one driver failed to obey a traffic device or it may be a slip-and-fall accident where a business was negligent by not maintaining a safe environment for customers. Whatever the cause, we are fortunate in this country to have the ability to pursue and then recover damages.

But, just because a court awards a judgement to someone doesn’t mean they will be able to recover. Let’s go to the beginning of the whole process.

1 – A person checks into a hotel and steps into the tub to take a shower. The tub is slippery from a spill of one of the bottles of shampoo, and the guest slips and falls, hitting their head on the hard tile and is seriously injured. The hotel is uncooperative about admitting their contributory negligence, and the victim files a lawsuit.

Before anything happens, there will be a pre-trial phase where motions will be made and a judge will decide if they have merit. These motions will usually involve evidence which may be witness testimony, photographs, or actual pieces of evidence. This information is reviewed so cases with little chance of winning do not clog up the courts.

Note: There have been thousands of incidents like the one described above, and many have failed to go forward due to lack of evidence. If you are ever injured because of someone else’s negligence, it is very important to document what happened the best you can. Take pictures, save evidence, and ask for the names and phone numbers of witnesses. It all helps to build your case.

Once the pre-trial phase is complete and a case moves forward, a trial by judge or jury will be scheduled and if a judgement in favor of the plaintiff (victim) is granted, what happens then?

Personal Injury AttorneysA very important concept to understand is that a judgement has value to a victim if it is collectible. If the defendant has the assets to pay, there is usually not too many problems, but if they don’t it might present a delay. Some defendants may attempt to hide assets and finding them can be difficult.

Interviewing attorneys about their credentials, ability to win cases, and collect judgments is very important when making a decision to hire an attorney who will be able to represent you and fight for your rights.

The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus has earned a sterling reputation for gathering evidence into a clear and convincing cases, and then following through with doing whatever it takes to get clients the help they need. Please call us if you have any questions about how to help if you’ve been hurt in any kind of accident. Our number is 954-356-0006.

| Arleen Lazarus | 0 Comments | Fort Lauderdale Accident Attorneys

Are Self-Driving Cars a Danger to Motorcycles and Pedestrians? Fort Lauderdale Accident Attorneys

Who is Responsible When There is no Human Driver?

A near-miss between a self-driving Tesla and a Phoenix motorcycle police officer last year raised eyebrows in the motorcycle community even though there were no damages or injuries.

According to USA Today: The officer, who was in front of the Tesla, stopped for a traffic signal, police said. After also stopping briefly, the Tesla began creeping forward, prompting the officer to jump off his motorcycle and move away. The officer later estimated the car was moving at about three miles per hour, police said. There were no injuries or damage.

Recently The Mercury News reported: General Motors is in a race to be the first company to mass produce self-driving cars, but a recent crash with a San Francisco motorcyclist has illustrated the tricky challenge of assigning blame when an autonomous vehicle gets in an accident.

There are several other incidents in the news, some involving very serious injuries.

Self-driving cars operate using sensors and those sensors are calibrated to “see” cars, trucks, and trees. Obviously they won’t tell the car to slam on the brakes if a pigeon crosses the road, but somewhere between a large truck and a bird is a motorcycle. Are these cars going to be able to detect a motorcycle when one is riding alongside on the highway? Can they detect a dog that may run out in the road?

There have been many reports about hackers that have a ability to break into a driver-less car’s navigation system and remotely disable it. We can’t imagine the panic a person would feel if their car suddenly accelerated on its own as it approached a red light, nor the damage that could be done to people and property.

Floridians have a right to know if these new vehicles are a danger to motorcyclists, bicyclists, pedestrians, and everyone, and what protection we have if they cause an accident with injuries or worse.

Fort Lauderdale Accident Attorneys

Self-driving cars may be the future of travel and they may someday be perfected. In the meantime, we will work diligently to help people who are injured in accidents with these vehicles. If you have questions, please contact us at 954-356-0006 and thank you.

Motorcycle Accident Attorney
| Arleen Lazarus | 0 Comments | Motorcycle Accident Attorney

Why Don’t Drivers See Motorcycles? Fort Lauderdale Motorcycle Accident Attorney

Motorcycle Accident AttorneyIf you speak with a police officer who has investigated a lot of car vs. motorcycle accidents, they will tell you that 90% of the automobile drivers say the same thing about what happened: “I didn’t see him.”

Fort Lauderdale Motorcycle Accident Attorney

Why don’t people see motorcycles? There are several reasons, but first let’s look at the most common types of accidents:

The single most dangerous situation for motorcyclists occurs when cars are making left-hand turns. These collisions account for 42% of all accidents involving a motorcycle and car. Other types are

Unsafe Lane Changes by Cars
Sudden Stops by Cars
Cars and Trucks Running into the Rear of a Motorcycle

What is the most common reason for the above types of accidents?

We opened with this: The single most common reason given by drivers is “I didn’t see the motorcycle.”

Do these drivers have vision problems? Are they careless? Are they distracted? Are they impaired? It could be any or all of these, but a very interesting article in Road and Track magazine says:

The first thing to understand is that our eyes don’t see very much. We tend to think of eyes as cameras, but in reality they are biological devices with considerable limitations. If you could see a raw feed of the image sent to your brain by your eye at any given time, you’d be horrified. It’s mostly blurry, it has a blind spot near the middle, and it’s upside down.

Luckily for us, our eyes are constantly in motion, even when we think we are looking straight ahead. They send several pictures every second to the brain, which then assembles the best and sharpest parts from each picture into a mental image. That’s what we see. When you read the print on this page or screen, your eyes are flicking all over that page or screen, assembling a complete picture that you can then read.

Think of an old-school radar screen. There’s a bright green line that tells you what the radar is seeing at that very moment, and it sweeps in a circle, continually refreshing the screen. Compared with the human eye, the line is the small area it can focus and see at any given time, and the whole screen is the image we have in our minds.

Many motorcyclists think they can stay safe by avoiding the other driver’s “blind spots” and that is a common philosophy, but now that we understand the way the human eye works, combined with the issues of distraction, carelessness, and drunk drivers, isn’t it better to assume everything is the other driver’s blind spot? Isn’t it better to assume you are invisible to every driver?

Rather than being surprised when a driver makes a totally bone-headed move, isn’t it better to expect it? To be prepared for it? Drive like you’re invisible because in reality, you are. We will always promote the “Look Twice, Save a Life” campaigns and we hope they make a difference but all motorcyclists must take the initiative to ride safe.

If you’ve been involved in an accident involving a motorcycle, please fell free to reach out and ask us questions. Motorcycle accident cases require a special expertise when it comes to understanding the causes and how to pursue compensation for victims. Please call us at 954-356-0006 for a free consultation.