Pedestrian and Motorcycle Deaths on the Rise in South Carolina

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Trey Mills

The injuries from a pedestrian vs. motor vehicle collision and motorcycle vs. motor vehicle collision are never minor. I just settled a pedestrian vs. motor vehicle collision that occurred in the Five Points area of Columbia, South Carolina. The client was lucky to be alive but his injuries were in no way minor and he had to undergo surgery.

As everyone knows in upstate South Carolina, especially throughout Anderson, Abbeville, Belton, Clemson, Easley, Iva,  Oconee, Pickens, Seneca, and Westminster,  rural roads can be the most dangerous. As The Greenville News indicated in their Sunday article entitled, "Highway Deaths Start to Rise":

South Carolina led the nation in the fatality rate on non-interstate, rural roads in 2009 with 4.7 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles of travel, according to numbers released earlier this month by the Washington-based nonprofit TRIP.

The news article was prompted from two separate motor vehicle collisions recently that resulted in five fatalities, the statistics are alarming for South Carolina drivers on rural roads.

I have had dozens of motorcycle collision cases and 99% of motorcycle drivers will tell you that they have to constantly watch out for other drivers in upcoming intersections, stop signs, and lane changes.

As for pedestrians on the rural roadways, you need to take every precaution possible. Since most rural roads dont have sidewalks, make sure you are facing oncoming traffic while walking so that you have time to react as the vehicle approaches. South Carolina Department of Transportation is doing their part with infrastructure and enforcement as indicated with the article "Safety Programs Target Rural Roads in South Carolina" listing these improvements:

  • Adding paved shoulder and safety edge to most rural roadways through roadway resurfacing program to address run off road crashes and shoulder drop-offs;
  • Installing rumble strips on all high speed rural roadways where adequate shoulder is available to address run off road crashes; and
  • Provide funding for overtime speed enforcement by the South Carolina Highway Patrol of high crash rural road corridors.

 

 

 

 

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Why Is It Important to Report a Wreck to the Highway Patrol or Local Police?

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Trey Mills

First and foremost for accountability when it comes time to be reimbursed for your property damage or personal injuries.  Yes, this essentially equates to insurance purposes. The person that causes the collision may be apologetic and a "really nice person" at the scene but a couple days later have a change of heart and not be so forthcoming with their admission of liability.   Therefore the primary reason is to ensure that the at fault, or sole contributor, that admits to being inattentive or distracted is memorialized by the reporting South Carolina Highway Patrol or local authorities. The primary goal of any insurance company is to protect their insured and if their insured said it was not their fault, the property damage on your car or medical treatment you incurred is not going to be reimbursed anytime soon, if at all.

Secondly, if this is a serious offense and someone is driving on the roadways under the influence of drugs or alcohol, they need to be stopped! Hopefully, no one is seriously injured and by helping this person realize the gravity of their actions, you may save lives down the road.

Thirdly, you have no idea the true impact this collision will have on any property damage to your car or any personal injuries to your person. (no pun intended). Your adrenaline is pumping, so you feel no pain initially. Or the frame of your car is bent but you don't realize that until you pull off and the vehicle drives crooked. Too late. You let that "nice person" go with a handshake and a smile. That's okay, I am sure you have a couple thousand dollars lying around to repair your car and medical expenses.

A few tips if you are in an accident, from both a personal injury lawyer and person that has been in two accidents (neither of which were his fault):

  • Call 911 or *HP immediately, regardless of severity. If not life threatening tell the operator and explain the details. Those calls are recorded by the way;
  • Take pictures of the property damage with your fancy phone or at the very least make a mental note;
  • Make sure to get any contact information from any witnesses, especially if they do not have time to stick around for the reporting officer. They can still be helpful but not if you don't know how to get in touch with them. It would be better if they could stick around and talk to the officer;
  • If the other party tries to leave the scene make every effort to get their license tag, vehicle description and/or notify the 911 operator. License tags are usually only 6 characters. You can remember that;
  • If you feel any pain at all, notify the reporting officer and go get checked out when the ambulance, or EMS comes out. Otherwise, you know what the insurance company for the at fault driver will say?  "Obviously you were not hurt because you did not seek immediate medical attention."

 

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