Welcome to the December Edition of the Bisnar Chase Ezine
This month we're going to discuss driving at night.
As winter arrives and daylight hours dwindle, Californian motorists spend a lot of time driving in the dark. This month's feature article includes a few tips that will help you avoid motor vehicle accidents at night so you can enjoy this wonderful season.
But that's not all -this month's edition is also packed with great stuff including a relevant news story, a lawyer joke, a recent winning case, and more!
Please take your time to enjoy everything I've put together for you.
Truly,
- John Bisnar
In this issue:
- Meet Carey Wagenblast
- The Dangers of Night Driving and Ways to Stay Safe
- "Deftones" Band Member Seriously Injured
- Recent Case
- Lawyer Joke - The Car Wreck
The Dangers of Night Driving and Ways to Stay Safe
According to statistics from the California Highway Patrol, over 60,000 California motor vehicle accidents happen in the dark each year, with nearly 10% of them being fatal. Due to the restricted lighting, driving at night is more dangerous than driving during the day.
Here are six helpful tips you can use to improve your safety while driving at night in California:
- Keep your vision clear. Keep the windows of your vehicle clean - both inside and out. Many people only clean the exterior and they don't realize the haze that can develop on the interior of the windshield.
Dirty windows limit your visibility making it difficult to see, especially during dusk and dawn.
- Use your high beams when necessary. According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, you should use your high beams at night unless you are within 500 ft of oncoming traffic or less than 300 ft away from the vehicle ahead of you. (California Vehicle Code, Section 24409).
Your high beams lengthen and widen your field of vision which dramatically increases your field of vision and your visibility to other drivers.
- Avoid using interior lights. Although you may see adequately enough to stay on the road while an interior dome light is on, it can limit your ability to see what's ahead without you realizing it. Tinted windows can cause a strong glare when the interior lights are on, so try to keep them off when driving.
- Slow Down. This point can never be emphasized enough. As previously mentioned, your vision is limited at night. By driving slower, you increase your available reaction time to unforeseen dangers. By driving slower, you also increase the reaction time of other drivers when in your presence.
- Stay Visible to other drivers. Check your vehicle's exterior lighting. Drivers often neglect to make sure their own vehicle lights are working well.
Take a minute before you head out at night to make sure your headlights, turn signals, and brake lights are all in good working order. Staying visible to other drivers can keep them from colliding into you at night and causing an accident.
- Lose the tailgater. When a vehicle behind you is "sitting on your tail," it's more common to make unsafe decisions.
Their bright lights and their uncomfortable proximity to you can often cause you to speed up, tap your brakes, or just lose focus of the road ahead. Instead, you should safely merge into a slower lane to let the vehicle pass.
Although driving at night is more hazardous then during the day, by following these tips and using common sense you can decrease your chances of being involved in an accident.
No matter how safe we are, accidents sometimes happen, so you should always be prepared with an emergency kit, cell phone, warm clothes and water. Call us for a free glove box organizer and accident instruction kit, equipped with a flash light.
"Deftones" Band Member Seriously Injured
On the night of November 3, Chi Cheng - the bassist for a famous California-based band called "Deftones" - was involved in a serious car accident in Santa Clara and is reportedly in a coma at a Northern California hospital.
Although details of the collision remain vague, it just goes to show how unexpected a car accident at night can be. The car accident has shocked the music world and gathered coverage from mainstream media such as the New York Times. [via Sacramento Bee]
Recent Case
We reached an out-of- court settlement with General Motors Corporation on an auto defect case on behalf of Michael Samardzich, a California teenager who was a passenger in a GMC Yukon accident.
On July 7, 2006, Samardzich was a passenger in a GMC Yukon driven by Vincent Ibarra. Traveling westbound on Golden Springs Drive in Los Angeles County, Ibarra made a left turn at the intersection with Diamond Bar Boulevard.
At the same time, Steven Jinseon Kang was driving a vehicle proceeding eastbound on Golden Springs Drive and hit the GMC truck on the right passenger's side where Samardzich was sitting.
The impact shattered the side passenger window of the GMC Yukon. Glass shards pierced and ruptured Samardzich's left eye, permanently blinding him. Samardzich was properly restrained at the time of the accident, the police report showed.
"Had General Motors used laminated glass instead of the less-expensive tempered glass, the side passenger window of the GMC SUV would not have shattered and would not have caused permanent and serious personal injury to Samardzich," said John Bisnar.
"This settlement was an appropriate resolution to Mr. Samardzich's claim against General Motors. Both sides took into consideration the costs and risks associated with taking the case to trial and settled for an amount greater than General Motors wanted to pay but less than what I demanded for my client."
Mr. Samardzich was pleased with the amount of the settlement and intends to use a portion of the funds to fund his college education. As a part of the settlement, the actual amount of the settlement was required by General Motors to be confidential and not made public.
"It is Mr. Samardzich's hope that his lawsuit helps encourage General Motors to build safer vehicles and thereby prevents others from suffering a similar injury," said Bisnar.
Although you can greatly decrease your chances of being in an automobile accident by practicing defensive driving, there are many factors beyond your control that can either cause a collision or create an injury that should have been prevented.
Bisnar Chase represents people who have been seriously injured because of an accident caused by a defective product or negligence. For more information, visit www.BestAttorney.com.
Lawyer Joke - The Car Wreck
It was just after dark when a doctor and a lawyer got in an accident on a small country road in Southern California.
The lawyer had figured that nobody else would be on the road and had raced through a stop sign.
The doctor, on a cross street, had no time to react and couldn't have missed the lawyer if he had tried. Fortunately, neither driver was hurt.
The lawyer, seeing that the doctor was a little shaken up, helped him from his battered car and offered him a drink from a hip flask.
The doctor accepted, took a deep drink, and handed the flask back to the lawyer.
The lawyer held the flask for a minute or two before giving it back to the doctor again.
The doctor took another swig and again returned the flask to the lawyer, who closed it and put it away.
"Aren't you going to have a drink yourself?" asked the doctor.
"Not now," answered the lawyer. "I'll have something after the police leave."
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