Colorado Personal Injury Blog

People love to listen to music through headphones or ear buds while walking or even driving. Unfortunately if a person's attention is focused on what they are listening to, and other sounds are blocked out, they are more at risk for accidents.

In fact, a recent study links headphone use to a significant spike in pedestrian fatalities. Serious injuries as a result of headphone use by pedestrians have more than tripled during the past six years, according to research from the University of Maryland. The data showed that 70 percent of pedestrians wearing headphones who were hit by motor vehicles or trains were fatally injured.

In a Colorado pedestrian accident, a 21 year-old woman was hit by a Denver light rail train about two months ago. According to her mother she was wearing earphones, and didn't look both ways. Although the woman survived the accident, and was recently released from Denver Health Medical Center, she continues to undergo rehabilitation.

Auto insurance is a topic that most people don't think too much about until they get into a car accident. Motorists in Colorado should be aware of the state's insurance requirements, and what benefits they are entitled to if they experience an accident.

In 2003 Colorado eliminated no-fault insurance, also known as personal injury protection or PIP. Instead, all policies are now required to offer consumers at least $5,000 in medical payment coverage, often referred to as med-pay. Med-pay must be included as part of every auto insurance policy unless a consumer specifically opts out of the coverage in writing.

The purpose of med-pay is to provide coverage for immediate medical costs after an accident related to injuries of driver and any passengers in the vehicle, regardless of fault. Examples of covered expenses include first responders, ambulance rides, and emergency room costs. Med-pay provides coverage for these services up to the limit set by the policy.

Onboard monitoring systems for drivers are currently under study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to determine if the systems may be used to improve safety in big rigs and prevent truck accidents.

The truck monitoring system combines technology that warns of safety issues-including radar that detects other vehicles or objects in front of the vehicle to warn of collision, and forward-mounted cameras that warn when the truck is drifting into another lane-with technology that evaluates if the driver is fatigued or inattentive. The system processes this information in an onboard computer and provides a warning to the driver if there is a potential danger.

A baseline of the driver's performance without assistance from the device is first established. That baseline is then compared to the driver's performance while using the monitoring system. The goal is to eventually ascertain whether driving improves after receiving the system's feedback, whether the system is able to determine the "risk potential" of a particular driver, if any improvements in driving will last over time, and how drivers react to the monitoring system itself.

Maybe your teen is asking if they can take the car for a summer road trip with friends. Before giving them an answer, you may be considering the cost, wear on the car and whether your teen is mature enough to handle such a responsibility. Another issue you should think about, however, is your potential liability if they get into a car accident.

Recently we published an article on this subject of Colorado's family car doctrine. This blog will provide an overview of some of the main points parents of teen drivers should know.

Colorado is among about half the states that follow a rule called the "family car doctrine". Essentially the family car doctrine makes the owner of a vehicle liable for any damage caused while it is being driven by a family member with the owner's permission.