Many motorcyclists ask (and many auto drivers ask) whether lane splitting is legal in California. Lane splitting is legal in California and has been for a long time. However, the California Highway Patrol–just in early 2013–has issued some guidelines about lane splitting, and the guidelines are that a motorcyclist should not split lanes: 1) If [...]
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Is lane splitting legal in California?
Posted Friday, June 14th, 2013Medical cannabis creating uncertainty in state DUI laws
Posted Monday, June 3rd, 2013Two states have legalized cannabis and 17 states (18 including Washington, D.C.) have legalized medical cannabis. As the nation slowly shifts towards decriminalization, numerous questions arise on how to regulate and police cannabis fairly and responsibly. Michigan’s Supreme Court recently acted as a guinea pig on one matter: driving under the influence of cannabis. Last [...]
If I make an uninsured motorist claim, will my insurance rates go up?
Posted Friday, May 24th, 2013Very often, about 15 percent of the accidents in California involve someone who was uninsured. So if you are one of those people where you were injured in an accident that’s caused by an uninsured motorist, you can use your own uninsured motorist insurance coverage to make a claim with your own company. We can [...]
What if there’s no police report for my accident?
Posted Friday, May 17th, 2013If there’s no police report your case becomes a little more complex than it otherwise would. On the other hand, we handle lots of cases where there’s no police report. I would say 10-15 percent of our cases there’s no police report. Sometimes the reason is the accident happened on private property, sometimes the reason [...]
What if I don’t feel the insurance company is making a fair offer on my car?
Posted Friday, May 10th, 2013Many times the insurance companies will try and make a relatively low offer on your car. It’s important to know that you don’t have to accept the offer. And, just because they say, “Oh, gee – this is what our appraiser says,” doesn’t mean that their appraiser is right. And we’re happy to help with [...]
New studies reiterate texting while driving is unsafe
Posted Tuesday, May 7th, 2013Recently released studies have confirmed what we already know, but too often ignore: texting and driving is not a safe combination. Even though you’re 23 times more likely to be involved in a car crash if you’re operating your cell phone while driving, many motorists still try to sneak out a text or two while [...]
What if I was in an accident caused by someone with no insurance?
Posted Friday, April 12th, 2013A very common question is, “What do I do if the person who caused the accident is uninsured?” And, there are several answers to that. First of all, we don’t always take at face value the statement of the person that they’re uninsured–because it’s rare–but occasionally a person will say they’re uninsured when they really [...]
What if I was in an accident and don’t have insurance?
Posted Friday, April 5th, 2013A question that we get at least once a month is, “What do I do if I was in an automobile accident and I was uninsured?” And, this is a very significant problem. First of all it’s illegal to drive in California if you’re uninsured, and secondly, if the other person is at fault for [...]
Robert Redford is too cool for speed limits
Posted Monday, March 25th, 2013As proof that it’s not just young celebrities who can be terrible role models, 76-year-old screen icon Robert Redford recently boasted he drives at speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour. In a recent interview with Esquire, the onetime Sundance Kid was asked if he still enjoys driving fast. Redford’s response: “You bet. I’ll [...]
What if the police report is against me?
Posted Friday, March 22nd, 2013If the police report is against you, and you disagree, you should always feel free to give us a call. Yes, it’s more of a challenge if the police report is against you, but there are two important questions. The first question is, “Were there any independent witnesses?” Because if there were no independent witnesses [...]
Motorcycle lane-splitting in California to remain unrestricted for the foreseeable future
Posted Friday, March 1st, 2013A California Senate bill proposing restrictions on motorcycle lane splitting was placed on hold this week pending a safety study currently being conducted by UC-Berkeley. The bill, which would have eliminated lane splitting from highways of less than three lanes and required motorcyclists to engage in the activity at a “safe speed” only when facing [...]
National Safety Council reports increase in traffic fatalities for the first time since 2005
Posted Monday, February 25th, 2013According to a preliminary report from the National Safety Council, the number of traffic fatalities during 2012 increased by 5 percent over the previous year. This marks the first time since 2005 that traffic fatalities have been on the rise. The National Safety Council estimates that during 2012 there were 3.9 million injuries and approximately [...]
Don’t Drive Drowsy: Tips to Avoid Driving While Fatigued
Posted Wednesday, February 20th, 2013When it comes to making poor decisions behind the wheel, drunk driving and distracted driving get the bulk of the attention, but numbers show drivers impaired by fatigue account for one in every six deadly car crashes. However, unlike drunk driving where you can easily test a driver’s blood alcohol level, proving someone was sleep [...]
Guest Post: What types of driver behavior constitute negligence?
Posted Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013If you’ve been involved in a car accident and one party is suing the other party for injuries that were sustained during the accident then it’s most likely the suit is based on the legal theory of negligence. Negligence is when a person fails to exercise the reasonable care that an ordinary person would have [...]
Mother of five gets harsher sentence for involving children in multiple staged car crashes
Posted Friday, January 18th, 2013Committing insurance fraud is already bad enough, but when you endanger your children in the process it reaches a whole new level of scuminess. For mother of five, Ana Ovando, the exceptionally poor decision to stage three different collisions in one year was compounded by her even worse decision to bring her kids along for [...]
Washington drivers may face hazy DUI laws when it comes to marijuana use
Posted Wednesday, January 9th, 2013Despite the recent legalization of recreational marijuana in the state of Washington, the lines for what constitutes a DUI may remain somewhat fuzzy. Although the state’s new law says a driver is considered legally impaired if he or she has 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood, simply being under the limit may not [...]
What does marijuana legalization mean for drivers in Washington and Colorado?
Posted Thursday, November 29th, 2012With the recent legalization of marijuana in both Washington and Colorado, police are in the process of determining how to enforce DUI laws in light of legislation that could potentially lead to more drivers under the influence of drugs. Challengers of the Washington initiative (I-502) expressed concern that marijuana users could end up facing “driving [...]
92-year-old Sonoma motorist collides with two teens using crosswalk
Posted Monday, October 29th, 2012On Saturday afternoon 92-year-old motorist Levon Arkelian was cited for failing to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk after he struck and injured two 14-year-old boys who were crossing Fifth Street West at Sassarini Elementary School. Neither alcohol nor speeding played any role in the collision, and the driver claimed he simply didn’t notice the [...]
The safety implications of driverless cars
Posted Wednesday, September 26th, 2012California is now the third state to legalize driverless cars, joining the ranks of Nevada and Florida in paving the way for what might be the new technology’s largest obstacles yet: testing and regulation. With an estimated 80 percent of all accidents occurring as a result of human error, the safety implications of reducing that [...]
Bridgestone’s ‘Teens Drive Smart’ campaign is stopping in Alameda this weekend
Posted Friday, September 21st, 2012This weekend, Bridgestone’s “Teens Drive Smart” campaign will be at the Alameda Point Naval Air Station on Saturday, September 22nd and Sunday, September 23rd. The free half-day program is designed to help teens and young adults recognize the potential dangers of driving as well as develop the skills needed to cope with those challenges. Sessions [...]
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