Automobile Accidents

• Defective Cruise Control Subject Of Recall

  IB Contributor | March 11, 2007 10:10 PM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  Ford recalls more pickup trucks and SUVs. Ford Motor Co. recalled about 155,000 pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles last week to repair a defective cruise control switch system that already had led to millions of recalls, according to an Associated Press news report posted on CBS news' Web site.This announcement came on the same day that the Associated Press reported that the auto maker had...

• 1,500 Lives Lost To Fatigued Driver Auto Accidents

  IB Contributor | March 09, 2007 12:04 AM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  70,000 auto accident injuries attributed to sleepy drivers annually.Ken Gonyea had been an accident investigations detective for the Long Beach Police Department for over ten years, but even that couldn't prepare him for the accident that took the lives of his father, stepmother and sister-in-law several years ago in Riverside County . Gonyea was devastated, "My parents were just driving down...

• NHTSA Holds Public Hearing On Five-Star Rating

  IB Contributor | March 07, 2007 12:49 AM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  What about competitive testing? Only the truly best get a 5-Star rating. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has been rating cars and trucks on how they perform in crash tests for 30 years, is considering overhauling the tests just as the ratings will become more obvious to consumers, according to an article published Wednesday in USA Today. NHTSA gives vehicles one to...

• Tram Accident At Disneyland

  IB Contributor | February 24, 2007 12:35 PM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  Two park patrons hospitalized after fall.Two people were injured and taken to Anaheim area hospitals after falling off the slow moving tram in the Disneyland parking lot yesterday at approximately 10:30 p.m. according to an article in today's Orange County Register.The tram was moving at about five miles per hour at the time of the incident according to Bob Tucker, a Disney spokesman. He did...

• Car Seat Saves Baby's Life

  IB Contributor | February 16, 2007 12:52 PM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  One of mom's last acts saves here child's life.Here is a heart-rending story that clearly tells you why your infant should be in a car seat.On Valentine's Day, 21-year-old Natalie Canton and her 10-month-old son, Aiden Koch, were traveling on the 91 Freeway. According to various news reports, the woman's car flew off the freeway before it plunged nearly 100 feet. Canton died on the spot, but the...

• More Driving Distractions Created By Car Makers

  IB Contributor | January 26, 2007 9:40 PM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  The Center for Auto Safety, a nonprofit group, has filed a petition with the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, asking the government agency to restrict the use of interactive systems carmakers are building into vehicles so motorists can't make phone calls and check e-mails while driving, according to a Bloomberg Business News report. The petition, which can be viewed on the group's...

• Jury Rules in Ford Explorer Rollover Death

  IB Contributor | January 23, 2007 12:41 AM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  An Indiana jury on Tuesday ruled that Ford Motor Co. wasn't responsible for the death of a youth pastor in the 2001 rollover of an Explorer sport utility vehicle, according to a Bloomberg Business News report and the Detroit News.Richard Bourke, 20, died in a horrific accident when he drifted off the road and lost control when attempting to steer back onto the highway, according to the report....

• Another Fatality Due To A Defective Seat Belt?

  IB Contributor | January 02, 2007 7:46 PM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  Did his seat belt fail him when he needed it most?Was the victim of a fatal auto accident, who was ejected from the vehicle he was riding in, wearing his seat belt at the time of the accident? Or was he another victim of a defectively designed seat belt that failed when he needed it most? Only an investigation by a team of experts before the evidence is contaminated will be able to tell. A...

• Insurance Company Fraud Alleged - Be Careful What You Sign

  IB Contributor | December 27, 2006 11:33 PM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  Be aware of what you are signing. Read everything you sign, especially when settling an auto accident claim. Do not sign any document that doesn't comply with the terms of the agreement as you understand them to be. If you feel like you are being pushed or rushed to sign, there probably is a reason that you are unaware of.Once you have settled a claim, there is no re-opening the claim for...

• A Defective Tire? An Unstable SUV? Defective Seat Belts?

  IB Contributor | July 22, 2007 2:14 PM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  What to do now? Here is another one of those tire blowout, SUV rollover accidents with people ejected stories that may need a much closer look by the attorneys for the people involved.According to a story reported on Sun-Herald.com an Isuzu Rodeo SUV blew a tire, flipped over and three people were ejected on I-75 in North Port, Florida, last Friday. The driver, Petr Jakoubek, 39, was extricated...