PERSONAL INJURY BLOG

Any Los Angeles car accident lawyer would agree that one of the reasons for the reduction in car accident fatalities in California has been the advanced safety technology in so many automobiles now. General Motors is the process of developing a new auto safety device that could reduce the risk of accidents by as much as 81%, or so the company claims.

The technology was recently presented at the Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress in Orlando. The device is a portable one that helps communicate with similar devices in other cars in the vicinity. These devices can share information with each other about driver behavior and other factors, thereby alerting motorists in the neighborhood, and reducing the risk of collisions.

The device uses Dedicated Short-Range Communications technology to transfer data with other devices. The company is currently testing the technology in two forms. One is in the form of a transponder, and the other in the form of a smart phone app that can be linked to the display unit in the car.

The device warns motorists about factors that increase the risk of accidents, like slowing down of vehicles ahead. The device also warns about prevailing traffic conditions that increase the risks of an accident, like steep curves, wet and slippery roads, or even upcoming signs. The device can also direct information from the other safety systems in the vehicle, to other cars. For instance, when a driver activates the electronic stability control system, the device in his car can send that information to other motorists in the area, thereby possibly preventing a multi-vehicle accident situation.

It's not just motorists who would benefit from the technology. General Motors believes that pedestrians and bicyclists, who can download the app on their smart phones, can also prevent accidents. The data could be transmitted to motorists in the neighborhood, who could then look out for pedestrians and bicyclists based on the data that the device receives.

Intercity buses that pick up passengers from curbside are up to seven times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident. A study by the National Transportation Safety Board finds that these buses may also have more driver violations.

The National Transportation Safety Board report focused on safety of motor coach carriers that conduct trips that begin and end at a particular location other than a bus terminal. The report focused on more than 122 bus companies, and found that between January 2005 to March 2011, curbside buses were involved in 1.4 fatal accidents per 100 vehicles. That is about seven times the rate for conventional terminal-based carriers.

Curbside bus companies are also much more likely to have driver violations, including those linked to driver fatigue and fitness levels. Out-of-service rates for curbside bus carriers were 13.8 per 100 vehicles. For conventional carriers, it was just under 5 per 100 vehicles.

The National Transportation Safety Board report also focused on the increasing challenge that federal commercial carrier safety agencies face in maintaining motor coach safety. One of the challenges has been the few inspectors that federal agencies have at their disposal to conduct compliance reviews and audits of motor carriers. There are currently just over 2,300 state and federal inspectors to inspect more than 53,000 buses.

Additionally, there are increasing challenges from changing business models within the bus industry. For instance, many consumers buy their tickets online, and may not even be aware of the bus company that they are using. These online ticket brokers are not regulated by federal agencies, and therefore, are not required to furnish the names of bus companies.

Besides these challenges, there are other problems that are all too familiar to Los Angeles bus accident lawyers. These include continuing issues with bus companies that continue to operate under an assumed name and address soon after they have been shut down. Such illegal activities have been linked to a fatal accident in New York which triggered the NTSB report.