Automobile Accidents

• Grim Reminder of Bicycling Fatalities

  Brooks Schuelke | November 20, 2007 9:21 AM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  Recently, Austin's KVUE news ran a story about ghostbikes in Austin. The white bikes are chained to telephone poles and street signs to mark a spot where a bicyclist was killed in a car wreck. I found this particularly interesting since the most visible bike is only a few blocks from our office, and I had never known what the bike signified.Car wrecks involving bicyclists has long been a...

• Lessons From A Car Wreck

  Brooks Schuelke | November 19, 2007 10:10 AM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  Last month, Carlos Aleman and his seeing eye dog were walking home from an Austin library when a teenager, who has admitted that he was driving too fast to impress someone, veered off the road and hit them both. The dog, despite sustaining serious injuries himself, ran back to the library to fetch Diane Bomar, Mr. Aleman's fiance, to help him. Mr. Aleman and Ms. Bomar each learned a lesson...

• Another Austin Hit and Run Fatality

  Brooks Schuelke | November 15, 2007 3:30 PM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  We posted last month on a rash of hit-and-run auto accidents here in Austin, and now the problem continues. This weekend, we had another hit-and-run car wreck that left two motorcyclists dead. Fortunately, police arrested a suspect yesterday. According to one witness, the suspect driver, who has a previous DWI on his record, appeared intoxicated shortly after the wreck.

• Incentives For Adjusters to Deny Accident Claims

  Brooks Schuelke | November 06, 2007 4:12 PM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  Under the Progressive Gainsharing program, Progressive Insurance provides bonuses to its employees based on how well the company performs. While this system may work in many industries, it provides an improper financial incentive for adjusters to deny or underpay car wreck and other claims. I'm surprised Progressive has made this information public. This type of information, once disclosed,...

• Progressive Spying on Car Wreck Victims

  Brooks Schuelke | October 19, 2007 8:50 AM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  In August, the Atlanta Journal Constitution broke a story about Progressive Insurance Company's use of private investigators in a shocking manner. The story, which is unfortunately no longer available online, stated as follows:When a new couple arrived at Southside Christian Fellowship in August 2005, members welcomed them with open arms. Soon, the new couple talked their way into private group...

• New Tactic To Reduce Car Wrecks

  Brooks Schuelke | October 12, 2007 8:00 AM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  Earlier this week, the Austin American Statesman ran a story detailing various insurance companies' efforts to reduce auto accidents by monitoring teen drivers. The story stated:Several U.S. auto insurers have begun offering in-car cameras or global positioning equipment to help parents monitor their teenagers' driving behavior, hoping to reduce the alarming number of crashes involving young...

• Rash of Train Wrecks in Austin Area

  Brooks Schuelke | October 05, 2007 4:53 PM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  For whatever reason, there have been several train wrecks in the Austin area over the last couple of weeks. On September 4th, a man was killed in an Austin train wreck. On September 26th there was another Austin train wreck, but fortunately no one was injured. On September 29th, a Seguin woman collided with a train and had to jump out of her car. And yesterday, a train derailment in East...

• Seatbelt failure

  Will Sciba | May 22, 2007 9:25 AM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  When someone is ejected from a vehicle, it is usually assumed that he/she was not wearing a seatbelt. This assumption may be wrong. Laboratory testing has shown that seatbelts can unlatch under real world crash conditions. These cases are difficult to prove so it is important that the vehicle, seatbelt and scene be evaluated as soon as possible by someone with experience in seatbelt...

• Pedestrian Killed by Car in Austin

  Shannon Weidemann | April 18, 2007 1:23 PM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  An 88-year-old man was crossing the street in East Austin on March 28th when he was hit by a car and killed. The pedestrian accident happened around 7:30 in the morning on East Riverside Drive. Police are still investigating, but they do not believe alcohol is a factor.Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the vehicular homicide detectives at 512-974-8212. 17 people...

• Car Crash Kills Haltom Man

  Staff Writer | November 22, 2005 1:19 PM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  A Haltom man died after the car he was driving crashed into a light pole as the vehicle exited Texas 121. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. A 36-year-old passenger was transported to a local hospital by a family member, police said. Her condition was unavailable. The accident was shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday in the 6000 block of Texas 121. The driver was in a 1996 Lexus eastbound on...