2011 February Archive

City engineers have named the intersection of Main Street and State Highway 121 as the most dangerous intersection in The Colony, a suburb of Dallas, according to a recent report by NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. The second most dangerous intersection in the area is the crossing of Paige Road and Highway 121, just half a mile away.

Nearly 200 car crashes have occurred in these two intersections in the past two years.

According to city engineers, both intersections allow drivers to turn left on a green light, as long as they yield to oncoming traffic. However, these engineers note that drivers are failing to yield, which results in collisions. Although city engineers would like to install left turn lights with green arrows and a dedicated left-turn lane, the city is not permitted to change the intersections on its own. Rather, it must convince the North Texas Transit Authority and the Texas Department of Transportation to change the lanes and the signals.

To speed up the process, city engineers began officially documenting the crashes, discovering that 68 percent of the Paige Road intersection’s collisions occurred on a left turn, and 72 percent of the Main Street collisions involved a left turn. The city hopes that transportation officials will move quickly now that there is documented evidence of the dangers of the intersections.

Dallas car accident attorneys are concerned about the dangerous intersections in Texas that present a particular risk to drivers, even when they are driving carefully. Stay safe everyone!

At least three people were injured recently when a passenger car and a truck hauling fuel crashed on Interstate 30 west of downtown Dallas, according to a recent news report from KWTX. The crash ignited the fuel, causing the tanker truck to explode, which shut down both sides of the interstate.

The driver of the fuel tanker and two people riding in the car were taken to a local hospital for treatment, which were not reported to be life-threatening. No one was killed in the crash or the resulting explosion.

According to Dallas Fire-Rescue personnel, the fuel truck struck the median, resulting in the explosion. At least one car was also involved in the crash, but police are not yet certain how the accident occurred or in which order the vehicles collided with one another or the median. They are also investigating the source of the explosion.

The explosion rattled doors and windows in nearby homes. Both the sound and the fire could be seen from several miles away. Dallas Fire-Rescue crews noted that some of the fuel spilled into a nearby creek, but did not say whether plans have yet been made to clean up the contamination.

The Texas Department of Transportation plans to inspect the section of I-30 where the accident occurred. The inspection will verify that the damaged roadway is safe to drive on. Meanwhile, traffic will be rerouted to avoid the area.

Most U.S. truck drivers work hard to prevent accidents on their routes. Unfortunately, no driver can avoid all possible accidents. Texas motorists who suffer injuries in a collision have certain legal rights and options to help them obtain compensation and move forward after an accident. An experienced Texas truck accident attorney can help injured motorists in Texas learn about their rights and protect them in court.

Snow, ice and cold weather combined to cause several accidents in Collin County and the Dallas-Fort Worth area this month, including an accident in McKinney that claimed the life of a 21-year-old driver, according to a recent article in The Allen American.

The deceased was riding with his father on State Highway 121, when a patch of ice caused their vehicle to skid out of its lane and into oncoming traffic. The car sideswiped a passenger van, which spun around but managed to stay on the road. The car in which the young man and his father were traveling, however, ended up in a ditch. Although rescue crews rushed to the scene, the 21-year-old was unable to survive his injuries, according to the Texas Highway Patrol. Neither of the drivers was seriously hurt.

Although the car was reportedly traveling at or under the posted speed limit, the ice made the roads too dangerous to drive safely at that speed, state troopers noted. Icy roads were responsible for at least eleven other serious accidents in addition to the accident that claimed this young man’s life. At least 32 minor accidents were reported in Allen in the days immediately following the storm, but no one was seriously injured.

Texas state troopers suggest that drivers pay careful attention on slick roads by driving slowly and leaving plenty of room between vehicles to stop. They remind Texas drivers that, while four-wheel drive may help you move through snow, it will do nothing to stop your vehicle, especially if you skid out of control on ice. Driving carefully or postponing your trips altogether is the best way to prevent Texas motor vehicle crashes. When an accident occurs, however, learn how to protect your legal rights by talking to an experienced Texas car accident attorney.

Sassy, Inc., a Michigan-based maker of baby toys, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have issued a recall of Sassy’s “Refreshing Rings” infant teethers and rattles. Pieces of plastic may fall off the teether/rattle when it is chewed, making it easy for children to accidentally swallow the plastic.

So far, Sassy, Inc. and the CPSC have received one report of plastic bits falling from the polka-dot end of the teether/rattle when a baby chewed on it. No injuries have been reported, however.

The “Refreshing Rings” teethers/rattles being recalled have a red ring filled with water on one end and a polka-dot plastic ball on the other end. The middle of the teether/rattle is a black and white plastic rod with three “floating” rings attached. The rings’ packaging displays the style number 80026. They were sold in mass merchandising store for about $5.00 apiece, and about 37,000 were sold from July 2009 to January 2011. The toys were made in China.

The CPSC advises parents and caregivers to take the teether/rattle away from infants and children. The toy can be returned to Sassy for a refund by calling 800-323-6336 or visiting http://www.sassybaby.com. In addition, the CPSC asks that any reports about the toy’s defects or injuries caused by the toy be submitted at http://www.cpsc.gov.

Parents do their utmost every day to provide the best possible environment for their babies and children. Unfortunately, parents must often rely on makers of children’s products to use child-safe materials that will not hurt children or make them ill. When a manufacturer doesn’t take this duty seriously, consumers can be seriously injured by a defective, dangerous product. Texas law provides legal rights and remedies for those who are injured by defective products. An experienced Texas product liability attorney provides an excellent resource for learning what your rights are and how to protect them.