Auto Accident

Florida Highway Patrol accident investigators are looking into what led to a fatal two-vehicle accident that occurred on September 8. FHP officers say that the accident occurred around 8:00 p.m. at South Orange Blossom Trail and 43rd Street. A FHP spokesperson said that 911 dispatchers received numerous calls about the accident that evening and when emergency responders arrived at the scene, they found two badly damaged vehicles that were blocking the road. They report that one of the vehicles involved in the accident, a small four-door sedan, was crushed so badly on the passenger side that firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to extricate victims from the wreckage.

The other vehicle involved in the accident was a minivan with extensive front-end damage. The two people in the sedan and the lone occupant of the minivan were transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where two of them died from their injuries.

If you live in the area, you know very well how dangerous it is to drive, bike and walk on Florida roadways in general and Orlando-area streets and highways in particular. To illustrate how dangerous Florida roadways are, consider the following accident statistics from 2007:

• 366,917 drivers involved in Florida auto accidents
• 3,221 people killed in auto accidents
• 2,947 fatal auto accidents
• 212,149 people injured in auto accidents
• 22,823 alcohol related auto accidents
• 1,252 drug related auto accidents

Have you been injured in an auto accident? If you have and would like to speak with an Orlando personal injury attorney, call the Law Offices of James O. Cunningham at 888-425-2004 or 407-425-2000 today to schedule a free consultation. Mr. Cunningham has made helping injured people the foundation of his law practice since 1977 and has the experience, resources and skills to help you receive the fair and just compensation you deserve. He gives each client and case the individual attention they deserve and has a proven record of success helping clients receive damages through negotiated settlements and court awards. If you were injured by a negligent driver and want to learn more about your rights and legal options, call today for effective and aggressive legal representation.

Orange County officials are planning to install as many as 80 additional red light cameras at dangerous intersections throughout the county over the next two years, but they are holding off on installing them until Florida legislators make a decision about them slated for next spring. Currently, there are ten red light cameras in place in Orange County, which were installed after lawmakers approved the cameras and the $158 fines for running red lights. The use of the cameras was approved in recent years, but a bill in the Florida House last spring proposed eliminating these cameras. The bill did not pass, but opposition to the life-saving cameras remains strong, and Orange County officials want to make sure red light cameras laws will remain legal before investing in their installation.

Orange County commissioners mentioned that if red light cameras remain legal in Florida, they plan to add 40 new cameras in each of the next two years. They said that the focus would be on adding them to busy state roads in the area, with State Road 535 and Colonial Drive among the first new installations. Officials stressed that moving forward with the additional red light cameras was contingent upon what state lawmakers decide next spring.

“We don’t want to invest in more cameras with the prospect that the Legislature will rescind them,” one said.

Just how big is our county’s problem with drivers disobeying traffic signals? Consider that in the last six months, red light cameras in Orange County have generated $738,000 in fines from nearly 8,400 citations, with the state taking around half of that revenue and the county receiving $396,000. Of that dollar amount, the county plans to invest $282,000 in managing the red light camera system and honoring its contract with the vendor that sells the cameras. County officials say that the $114,000 that remains will be spent on improvements to make area roadways safer for bicyclists and pedestrians. The intersections of John Young Parkway at Central Florida Parkway and West Oak Ridge Road at Texas Avenue have generated the most citations, with each intersection averaging 87 citations a week.

If nearly 90 citations for running red lights from one intersection each week sounds alarming, that’s because it most definitely is alarming and profoundly disturbing. It makes no sense at all that drivers continue to value their time more than they do the lives of other people sharing the road, but that is essentially what they are doing. It is senseless, reckless and incredibly negligent. If you or someone in your family has been injured in an accident caused by someone running a red light and you want to learn more about your legal options, contact Orlando personal injury attorney James O. Cunningham today at 407-425-2000 or 888-425-2004 to schedule a free consultation. Please exercise extra care when entering an intersection after the light has changed.

Florida Highway Patrol officers closed all eastbound lanes of Interstate 4 in Volusia County recently due to wreckage from an auto accident. Accident investigators say the accident occurred on July 30 near mile marker 121 in DeLand near State Routes 44 and US 92 East. Eastbound lanes were open again around 1:35 p.m. after the investigation was complete and the scene was clear of debris. The FHP did not officially release details about the accident, but officers at the scene reported that victims were receiving treatment for minor injuries.
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On the morning of June 28, 2010, travelers on Interstate 95 encountered multiple auto accidents that snarled traffic and sent an undisclosed number of people to area hospitals. Police investigated at least seven auto accidents in different sections of Interstate 95 in Brevard County. Most notable of these Central Florida auto accidents was a nine-vehicle crash, which blocked the southbound lanes of I-95 near mile marker 191.

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A car heading eastbound in the westbound lanes of State Road 408 in west Orange County caused a recent auto accident that sent three people to local hospitals for treatment. Florida Highway Patrol troopers investigating the accident say the accident occurred around 3:26 a.m. near Pine Hills Road when a 2002 Mazda driven by a 25-year-old Orlando woman collided with a 2001 Saturn. Police say the driver of the Saturn swerved to avoid the collision, but both vehicles hit nearly head-on.

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If you’re one of the few people who still don’t buckle a seat belt when driving or riding in a car, truck or SUV, it’s going to cost you. Florida law enforcement officials at the state, county and locals levels are cracking down on drivers disobeying seat belt laws. The Click It or Ticket campaign, which officially ran from March 1 to 15, but is still vigorously enforced, has resulted in 37,000 traffic tickets written, 6,500 of them for failing to buckle up.
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The Toyota Company currently has a lot on its plate, but even as government officials await a more detailed study of what is causing unintended or sudden acceleration in many Toyota vehicles, reports continue to surface from drivers whose Toyotas are acting strange. One of the latest ones concerns a Toyota Prius that got away from its driver on a southern California road.
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Executives at embattled auto giant Toyota say the company is working hard to fix problems in its North American market, but some United States legislators and consumer groups are asking whether Toyota is on the right path towards resolution of current safety recalls or just spinning its wheels.
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Today’s Toyota executives come bearing gifts to the American public. Amid a mammoth recall of several million late model Toyotas and increased scrutiny of the company’s track record on addressing safety issues, Toyota top brass are trying to revive trust and interest in their brand with new financial incentives for customers.
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Those who watched Congressional hearings on Toyota’s recall and safety issues Tuesday saw Toyota executive James E. Lentz III do an about-face on his previous adamant assurance that fixing accelerator pedals would lead to successful repairs for Toyota vehicles that owners reported were vulnerable to sudden acceleration.
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