Worsening economy may cause accidents too

Due to continuing rise of fuel prices and worsening economy, people are continually trying to find ways to lessen their everyday gas expenses, or any expenses for that matter.

Some altogether discard gas allowance by commuting – taking buses or trains, to and fro.

Some use motorcycle and bicycles to reduce the continuing micro economic burden that increasing fuel prices brought to American families.

In the State of California alone, the number of motorcycle licenses has reportedly increased – from 908,000 in 2002, the figure reached a staggering more than a million this year.

But as they say, everything has a price. Due to increasing use of motorcycles and bicycles, the accidents in the streets involving them has exponentially increased as well. Cases of pedestrian accidents have noticeably increased too.

However, we can just surmise that this continually becoming a common occurrence would not deter people form opting to bicycles and motorcycles, considering the path that the economy is taking. More and more people are expected to use motorcycles and bicycles to stretch whatever amount we received this days.

In this light, we need more measures and programs, government or private sector alike, to combat increasing motorcycle accidents and bicycle accidents. We need the government to act, but citizens’ cooperation is indispensable; especially it is us who will be greatly affected after all.

We need not say that we need safer roads – and we need them now.

Car Accident Kills Septuagenarian Couple

What could have been a sweet time for this elderly couple turned out to be the day they leave everyone behind because of a horrible vehicular accident.

LA Times reports about the couple who were believed to be in their 70s. The two were struck by a car and killed as they were apparently moon watching and taking photos of the full moon.

Witnesses said that the couple from Walnut was walking/standing in the eastbound No. 2 lane of the Pathfinder Road near Annadel Avenue in Rowland Heights when they were stuck by a Ford Explorer.

They both perished at the scene of the accident.

The driver was identified as Gabriel Mayesiro, Rowland Heights, only 26 years of age. He was sensible and good enough to remain at the scene of the accident where he was immediately questioned. A California Highway Patrol officer said that Mayesiro was neither under the influence of alcohol nor drugs.

Investigators said that they will determine whether the couple failed to yield or Mayesiro failed to see them. If the result leans on the second, the case will be referred to the DA.

If found to be at fault, Mayesiro will be facing vehicle manslaughter charges – a rather unfortunate life changing occurrence considering his age. Something that he should envy his poor victims, who, we can safely presume, had live their lives to the fullest.

Lives, which could have been more, were it not for this unfortunate vehicular accident .

Big Rig caused Great Damage to 6 Cars, Minor Injuries to Person

True to its size, another big rig truck caused another big accident very recently. The Los Angeles Times reported about an accident that occurred in the parking lot of Hill Street Café in La Cañada Flintridge.

News accounts said that a big rig plowed into the parking lot and rammed into several cars parked on it, a large trash bin, and walls and injured one person.

The injured person was not yet identified by police authorities neither the extent of the person’s injuries. He was inside one of the damaged cars and suffered minor injuries.

The truck was reportedly traveling south on Angeles Crest Highway, south of the 210 Freeway when it crossed Foothill Boulevard and plowed directly into the parking lot where it caused a great damage. The rig’s breaks were believed to have gone out.

Some sources state that the trucker, James Bienes, 43, of Florida, said that just before he lost his breaks, a driver pulled her car in front on his big rig and repeatedly hit the breaks.

“She pulled in front of me and mashed on her brakes”, Bienes said. “On about the third time she did that, I didn’t have no more breaks.”

Police authorities said that Bienes was able to avoid hitting other cars as he steered the rig through a busy intersection on Foothill. However, six vehicles parked in the restaurant were hit, some of them greatly damaged due to the impact – one was even smashed down to its frame.

The truck was reportedly carrying about 78,000 pounds of onions en route Los Angeles and caused an estimated $300,000 amount of damages.

At the outset and based on the facts, it is the trucker who can be held liable for the damages produced by the accident. I don’t think he can absolve himself of liability because some woman decided to drive in front of him.

Unless he can establish that this alleged woman acted in such a way as to produce the proximate cause of the truck accident – he will have no choice but to face the consequences brought about by his own act.

More than a Dozen Injured in Pedestrian Accident

There was a horrible accident that happened in San Diego just before the end of this month. EMSResponder.com reported that at least 16 people were injured when a walkway near a construction site collapsed.

At the time of the accident, there were about 25 people on the walkway. Witnesses said that the walkway’s wooden walls and roof just fell in.

“It was a living nightmare”, said one of the witnesses. “The whole thing just caved in. People were trapped.” Many of the injured victims had just eaten lunch and were living at a homeless shelter just across the street where the accident occurred.

The construction accident caused broken back, leg and head injuries. The scaffolding above the walkway was being look into by investigators as it “could have had some impact on the integrity of the walkway.”

Allgire General Contractors, Inc, the company overseeing the construction of the building said no workers were injured. The US Department of Labor records show that Allgire was fined three times already for safety violations.

The largest fine was $15,750 last December 2004 for not installing guardrails on an elevated platform or stairway in the construction premises.

If it later on found out that, the scaffolding caused or contributed to the collapse of the walkway, which consequently injured the 16 pedestrians, the company might no longer just be facing fine but personal injury lawsuits as well.