Personal Injury Law

Winter Brings Car and Truck Accidents to the St. Louis Area

By Ryan Bradley, Esq.

Over the last few days, the St. Louis area has been inundated with hundreds of car and truck accidents resulting in injuries to many. Winter weather typically creeps upon on us in the Midwest and for some reason, many Missouri drivers simply forget the simple basics of driving in inclement weather.

First, if you don?t have to drive, don't. I was watching the news the other night and the reporter demonstrated how dangerous the St. Louis sidewalks and roads were, yet cars were zipping back and forth in the background as if it were no big deal.

Second, remember it can take much longer to stop your vehicle when driving on snow and ice. In St. Louis, the black top roads may conceal icy conditions, what is commonly referred to as "black ice." Just because you may not see the ice does not mean it is not there. Give yourself plenty of room between your vehicle and the one in front of you. The common rule of thumb for ordinary driving is one car length for every 10 miles per hour traveled. So, if you are driving 30 miles per hour, you need to give 3 car lengths of space. However, in bad weather, I would suggest doubling this distance.

Third, practice defensive driving. Anticipate the young and inexperienced driver will in fact pull right out in front of you and your family. Anticipate the car in front of you will wait too long to brake and then slam on them.

Fourth, do not talk, text or surf the internet on your cellular phone. This is dangerous behavior even in good weather let alone bad weather! If you have hands free, use it if you must talk on the phone. Otherwise, your call can wait. If it can't, pull off the road.

Heed these winter driving tips when driving in the St. Louis area and we will see far fewer car accidents and serious injuries to motorists. In the event you do find yourself the victim of a car accident in the St. Louis area and are seriously injured, call an experienced St. Louis personal injury lawyer to discuss you legal options. As always, all consultations are free and we never charge a fee unless we recover for you!

Full post as published by Missouri Accident Lawyer Blog on December 18, 2010 (boomark / email).