Anchorage Personal Injury Law Blog

This story may be a month old, and it may not have occurred here in Anchorage -- but considering the prevalent trucking industry in Alaska and the dangers that come with it, the following story will certainly hold some weight with local residents.

A truck driver was operating his vehicle in Miami, Florida when he approached an overpass. There was no signage that indicated a low clearance, so the trucker just kept on going. The truck's cargo was too high to clear the overpass, though; and a bunch of boating equipment fell on top of a car that was trailing the truck after the inevitable collision happened. Somewhat miraculously, no one was injured in the truck accident.

We have all heard about the dangers of distracted drivers; but new research shows that pedestrians can be equally at fault for exhibiting distracting behaviors while crossing the street.

According to researchers -- who observed more than 1,100 pedestrians crossing the street at 20 "high-risk" intersections -- 29.8 percent of pedestrians they observed were distracted when they crossed the street. The distractions were centered on tech equipment: 11.2 percent were listening to music; 7.3 percent were texting someone; and 6.2 percent were making a phone call on a cell phone.

A motorcyclist in Anchorage, Alaska passed away earlier this week, just two days after he was involved in an accident. The crash occurred on a local highway on Sunday, when the motorcyclist was operating his vehicle and suddenly lost control. A car that was nearly stationary was struck by the motorcyclist, who suffered a serious head injury in the accident. He survived, but was taken to a hospital for treatment. On Tuesday, he passed away due to the severity of the injury.

This unfortunate accident is exactly that -- an accident. It is unlikely any fault will be involved with the wreck, though an investigation is under way. The vehicle the motorcycle struck had almost reached a stop. It appears that this was simply a tragic event, something that no one could have prevented.

According to data from Mothers Against Drunk Driving, 31 percent of 2011 traffic fatalities in the United States were related to drunk driving. The state of Alaska came in under that rate, with only 28 percent of traffic deaths related to drunk driving -- however, from 2010 to 2011, the number of traffic fatalities related to drunk driving increased.

Drunk driving accidents may never fall to the backburner in terms of national prominence. But recently, texting while driving has taken pole position as the most controversial driving-related topic. States are ramping up to stamp out this behavior. What that means is it is as important as ever for drunk driving accident victims to be aware of what kind of options they have in the wake of their terrible ordeal.