South Carolina Injury Law Journal - Anderson and Greenville Lawyer & Attorney Workers' Compensation Cases, Product Liability Lawsuits, and Accidents

Drivers getting behind the wheel and texting while driving has become such an epidemic that the United States Department of Transportation has created a website entitled www.distraction.gov. The website is a wonderful research tool and information site for educators, teen drivers, concerned parents, and employers to visit and learn the facts.  Along with the website, USDOT has put together a public service announcement with a compelling and interactive video that will launch this week. 

If you or anyone you know in the family has a teen, young, and/or distracted driver this website should be a requirement before actually getting on the roadways behind the wheel. The facts section illustrates such points as:

• In 2009, 5,474 people were killed in crashes involving driver distraction, and an estimated 448,000 were injured;
• Sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind; and
• Using a cell phone while driving - whether it's hand-held or hands-free delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.
   

Did you know that you are 23x more likely to be in collision by texting while driving? That is a scary statistic and something we have noticed here in South Carolina on the roadways of interstate 85. Please use this tool and information to help spread the word.

Go to http://www.distraction.gov/ now!

 

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As the nation celebrates on Thanksgiving, this the fourth Thursday of the month of November, let us all give thanks.

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
Luke 12:48
 

We hope you all enjoy your time with family, friends, and loved ones.

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I would imagine lawlessness abounds greatly in every state but lately it seems so many people are driving without any automobile insurance and/or not even stopping after being involved in a collision if they are able to drive away. 

South Carolina law is clear on the requirements a driver involved in a hit-and-run must meet in order to pursue their own "uninsured" insurance coverage.  S.C. Code 38-77-170 copied below states:

 SECTION 38-77-170. Conditions to sue or recover under uninsured motorist provision when owner or operator of motor vehicle causing injury or damage is unknown.

If the owner or operator of any motor vehicle which causes bodily injury or property damage to the insured is unknown, there is no right of action or recovery under the uninsured motorist provision, unless:

(1) the insured or someone in his behalf has reported the accident to some appropriate police authority within a reasonable time, under all the circumstances, after its occurrence;

(2) the injury or damage was caused by physical contact with the unknown vehicle, or the accident must have been witnessed by someone other than the owner or operator of the insured vehicle; provided however, the witness must sign an affidavit attesting to the truth of the facts of the accident contained in the affidavit;

(3) the insured was not negligent in failing to determine the identity of the other vehicle and the driver of the other vehicle at the time of the accident. (emphasis added).

Some people will try and manipulate the system so there have to be checks and balances to ensure some validity to what is being offered. Otherwise in rural areas of South Carolina every accident "avoiding a deer" would be claimed as a hit and run. Too bad the deer don't carry insurance or have assets.

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