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Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys Discuss The Danger of Levees

One man died in a recent Mississippi motor vehicle accident involving a levee. It appears as though the man drowned after his vehicle slid down a levee into the Mississippi river, and he was unable to get it back up the levee. The accident happened near East Carondelet, at a time when the river was at an elevated stage.

Spring and fall often bring heavy rain to Mississippi. That rain often causes rivers and streams to flood, or, at the very least, to run very high and fast. Drivers should not operate their vehicles on or near levees because it is unsafe to do so. Levees are, by nature, unstable, and they can collapse. Floodwaters can also wash over the tops of levees, sweeping away vehicles, and anything else that is nearby.

Likewise, roads that are near rivers and streams can suffer damage during times when rainfall is heavy or frequent. In addition to floodwaters washing over the road surface, culverts and storm drains can fail or collapse. Scrutinize the side of the road as you drive along because road collapses often begin on the shoulder and can happen quickly.

When there is flooding, do not drive your vehicle on flooded roads. Water that is too high can enter your vehicle’s exhaust system and stall it, leaving you and your car at the mercy of the rushing water. Rain on the road obscures holes and other debris that can damage your vehicle. It could even conceal holes large enough for a car to fall through. Just six inches of water can disable many vehicles, and water that’s moving fast can sweep vehicles away quickly and without warning.

A good safety rule to follow is to avoid driving through water that you could not walk through. Also, avoid any water that is moving fast, even if it looks shallow enough to drive through. Moving water is a powerful force. If you see that the water is not moving quickly and it’s shallow enough to drive through, proceed slowly and carefully. Creep along at one to two miles per hour to start. As much as possible, drive in the center of the roadway because that’s the highest point. Once you have exited the water, continue to drive slowly and dry your brakes by tapping them lightly several times.

If you get swept up in floodwaters unexpectedly while you are driving, exit your vehicle if you can do so safely and get to higher ground. Do not try to restart the engine if it stalls; you could damage it severely. After your vehicle is recovered from the water, have it towed to a reputable mechanic and explain what happened- they’ll need to know that it was in a flood so they can repair it correctly.

If you were hurt or if a family member died in a Mississippi automobile accident, call the Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (800) 707-9577, to learn more.

 

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Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys Talks About School Bus Accidents

A man died, and eight children were hurt in a school bus accident that happened on Tuesday, September 10, on Highway 72. The school bus driver had a heart attack and lost control of the bus, which went off of the road and flipped over several times before coming to rest in a ditch. The students that were on the bus at the time of the crash attend school in the Benton County School District. Eight children of various ages were transported from the accident scene to a hospital for evaluation and treatment. Four of the children were admitted to the hospital in serious condition. The other four children received minor injuries, for which they were treated and released.

Riding the school bus is part of many children’s school day routines in Mississippi. Parents and children do not often think about the possibility of a school bus accident, and most children will never experience one. School bus accidents are uncommon, but when they do occur, there is a risk to the bus driver as well as to every child who is on the bus. Since many parents depend on school buses to get their children to and from school, a report of a school bus accident may cause parents to question whether having their kids ride the bus is safe. Fortunately, you do not have to pull your kids off of the bus and make a plan to get them to school yourself to keep them safe. The National HighwayTransportation Safety Administration has studied school bus safety, and it has concluded that riding the school bus is multiple times safer than riding to school in a private vehicle.

You may wonder how it’s possible that school buses are a safer transportation choice for kids when most buses have no seatbelts. One factor that gives a school bus a safety advantage over a car is its size. School buses are large, and when a school bus crashes, the force of the impact is distributed throughout the entire vehicle. Passenger vehicles are much smaller and have much less area over which to distribute the force of a collision. Also, despite the lack of seat belts, the design of school bus seats separates the bus into compartments where passengers experience less movement during a crash than people riding in a passenger car experience in a collision. Finally, while anyone who can pass a driver’s license test can drive a passenger vehicle, school bus drivers undergo hours of safety training and testing before they can obtain work transporting students.

As safe as school buses are, school bus accidents do occasionally happen. Fortunately, most school bus accidents result in only minor injuries. However, severe injuries and deaths do sometimes occur. If you’d like to learn about the possibility of pursuing a claim for damages following a school bus accident, call the Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (800) 707-9577, to learn more.

 

 

 

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Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys Talk About the Dangers of DUI

All automobile crashes have the potential to cause serious injury, death, and lots of property damage. DUI crashes are no exception, and one recent wreck shows just how damaging a DUI crash can be. A young man is now partially paralyzed after a wreck that occurred when authorities believe he was driving under the influence of alcohol.

The crash happened at about three in the morning, and witnesses report that the vehicle was speeding before the wreck. They also reported that the driver ran a stop sign before turning a corner and colliding with a house. The collision made the car catch fire, and the house also caught fire.

Two good Samaritans had been following the vehicle and saw the crash. They pulled the man from the burning car and got him to safety, across the road from the house.  The two men that were inside the house when the accident happened thought that the crashing noise was an earthquake until they saw the vehicle in the house. They also waited across the street as the car and house burned. The garage and two front rooms got damaged by the blaze and the new living room furniture that the homeowner had purchased burned in the fire.

The good Samaritans who witnessed the crash mentioned above may have saved the driver’s life. If you see a car crash, there are things that you can do to help, even if you cannot stop at the accident scene or you are unsure whether it is safe to get out of the car. If you see an accident, find a phone and call for help right away. Every second matter when it comes to getting emergency service personnel to an accident scene. One or both of the vehicles could be on fire or leaking gasoline or some other flammable material, all of which create significant risks to life and health. Also, one or more people could be hurt, and it is critical that they get medical attention as soon as possible. Sometimes, an accident might look like no big deal. However, remember that it is better to be safe than sorry and call for help even if the accident looks like it caused no damage or injuries.

After you have called for help, if your vehicle or other vehicles are on the roadway and you can move any of them safely to the shoulder, you should do so. Getting vehicles out of the flow of traffic reduces the chance of other vehicles colliding with them and creating additional injuries and damage. If you or anyone else who is at the accident scene has flares, cones, or reflectors, place them in the roadway to get the attention of drivers passing by. You might find that it is necessary to have someone direct traffic around the wreck to keep traffic moving and keep the area clear for emergency vehicles to arrive. When emergency personnel arrive, help them by following any instructions that they give you.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Help for Victims of Mississippi Car Accidents

If your family has been affected by a Mississippi car accident, a Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorney can help you file a claim for damages. Call the Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (800) 707-9577, to learn more.

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Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys Talk About Pile-Up Accidents

One person died in a recent three car pile-up accident in George County. The wreck occurred when a truck hit another truck from behind, pushing it into the garbage truck stopped in front of it. Two workers had been on the back of the trash truck, one on either side. The crash sent both of them flying off of the garbage truck. One man died from his injuries. The other man went to the hospital. The driver of the trash truck and the driver of the truck that got hit went to the hospital after the crash because they had minor injuries.

Rear-end collisions are a common cause of pile-up accidents. When roads are busy, and people are not always looking where they are going, rear-ending the car in front of you is always a possibility. Traffic can slow and stop suddenly, and unless drivers are paying attention, they might not always be able to avoid hitting the car in front of them. If there is an accident on the roadway, a driver might not see it until it’s too late to avoid hitting it, and then they pile onto the existing wreckage. When vehicles begin to pile up, more vehicles can become involved in the crash quickly if drivers are not paying attention and if the wrecked cars remain on the road.

Fortunately, you can help prevent chain reaction accidents. Remember the following safe driving strategies to increase your chance of avoiding a chain reaction crash. The best way to prevent a pileup is to leave plenty of room between your car and the vehicle in front of you. Some vehicles like garbage trucks and mail trucks make frequent stops and need even more space because they move erratically. Stay one car length back from the vehicle in front of you for every ten miles per hour of your speed. Leaving space between vehicles gives the driver in the rear time to react to the movements of the vehicle in front of it. Drivers can also avoid chain reaction wrecks by paying close attention to the weather and adjusting their driving speed to the road and weather conditions.

Sometimes, even the safest drivers cannot effectively prevent an accident. If you got hurt in a chain reaction accident, you could be facing a complicated set of facts that might make it hard for fault to be assigned conclusively. When fault is unclear, insurance companies often withhold payment for claims. Your attorney can help you by remaining in contact with the insurance company to ensure that they act on your claim within a reasonable amount of time.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Help for Mississippi Accident Victims

Pile-up accidents that happen in slowed or stopped traffic can cause severe injury or death. If you got in a chain reaction crash and you got hurt, or a family member got killed, contact a Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorney right away. To find out more about what a Mississippi automobile accident lawyer could do for you after your crash, call the Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC at 1 (800) 707-9577 to arrange an initial consultation.

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Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys Say Not All Accident Scenes Are Easy to Examine

Many car accident scenes provide investigators with plenty of useful and easy to access information that they can then use to formulate conclusions about how the accident occurred. Sometimes, though, conditions at or near an accident scene can make finding answers difficult for investigators. Unfortunately, in the case of fatal accidents, this means that families who have lost their loved ones must wait to find out how and why they died.

For example, the investigation into an accident that killed at least three people got delayed by heavy rain. The SUV that crashed is reported to have had four people in it, but there were only three bodies, two men and a woman, that got recovered after the wreck. The fourth person, a woman, is missing.  All three people who perished in the wreck died as the result of multiple traumas from the crash.

The crashed vehicle did not get discovered until about three or four days after the accident because of where it ended up. Fishermen found the SUV in a creek, under a fifty-foot-high bridge. Motorists driving on the bridge cannot see underneath it, so no one driving by noticed the vehicle until the fishermen found it. At the time the vehicle got found, the creek as a lot higher than normal due to heavy rains in the area, the same rain which made it tough to look for the fourth person who is said to have been in the SUV. The search for the missing woman got suspended because the weather and the stream and river conditions made it unsafe for rescuers and volunteers to look for the woman.

The people who were driving and riding in the SUV were en route from Illinois to Florida. Someone reported them missing before the fishermen found their vehicle in the creek. Investigators are working to piece together the details of what may have happened, and initially, there are still so many unknowns which make it hard to put together any cohesive theory of what happened. The search for the missing woman can continue as soon as possible so that more can be known about the accident and so her family can know where she is.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Help for Mississippi Automobile Accident Victims

Accidents that leave investigators with more questions than answers can be frustrating for friends and family members of those who got hurt or killed in the crash. When there are injuries and or losses, families want as many answers as they can get. Speaking with an attorney might not speed up the investigation into the cause of the accident, but it can prepare you and your family for what you might be able to expect in the weeks and months to come. If you got hurt or a family member got killed in a traffic accident, contact a Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorney right away, even if the accident is still under investigation. If you have questions about what a Mississippi automobile accident lawyer could do for you and your family after your accident, please call the Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC at 1 (800) 707-9577 to set up an initial consultation.

 

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Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys Talk About Pile-Up Accidents

Recently, one person died, and at least four others got hurt in a six-vehicle pile-up accident in Mt. Olive. The accident happened at a traffic light. The chain of events that led up to the pile-up started when a trailer truck rear-ended a car which was s at the traffic light. Other cars collided with the crashed vehicles until a total of six vehicles got ensnared in the wreckage. Authorities are currently investigating the accident.

Chain reaction accidents can be dangerous and often deadly. Fortunately, drivers can sometimes prevent them or avoid getting entangled in them. Pile-ups can happen fast, especially on crowded roads during busy travel times, but the following safety tips just might help you avoid causing or adding to a chain reaction wreck. For example, one of the best ways to prevent a chain reaction crash is to always leave enough space between your vehicle and the vehicles around you. Many drivers do not realize that adequate space means staying at least one car length back from the vehicle in front of you, for every ten miles per hour of your car’s speed. When drivers leave enough space between their vehicles and the cars around them, they have some space to work with if other vehicles nearby make unexpected maneuvers.

Sometimes, pile-up accidents start with a vehicle hydroplaning or otherwise losing control because of weather-related driving conditions. That type of pile-up can sometimes be avoided, and drivers can also avoid piling onto other accidents by paying close attention to the weather and road conditions and adjusting their driving accordingly. Mississippi often experiences heavy rain and thick fog. Fog and rain reduce visibility, so drivers must slow down to give themselves time to react to things as they can see them. If you drive too fast when visibility is low, you could get into an accident if a car stops short in front of your vehicle because, by the time that you see the vehicle stop, it is too late to react to it. Rain also reduces traction, so drivers must go slow enough to avoid hydroplaning and ensure that they can stop without sliding all over the road.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Serving Families Affected by Mississippi Chain Reaction Accidents

Unfortunately, sometimes even the safest drivers cannot avoid an accident. Reaching your destination safely depends on many things, some of which are beyond your control. If you got hurt or someone you love got killed in a chain reaction accident, you might face a complicated set of facts that could make it difficult for fault to get assigned to one or more of the drivers that were involved in the wreck. Not only can that be frustrating, but it can also delay the payment of your automobile accident claim, at a time when you need that compensation to recover or help your family recover from the effects of the accident. If your family was affected by a Mississippi motor vehicle crash, a Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorney could help you pursue an automobile accident claim for your damages or your loss. Call the Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (800) 707-9577, to learn more.

 

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Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys Share Safety Tips for Driving in Traffic

A horrific crash in Gautier claimed the lives of four people. The accident occurred in heavy traffic. An accident had stopped traffic on the westbound side of the highway. As people sat in traffic waiting for that accident to get cleared, a devastating pile-up crash occurred. An eighteen wheeler rear-ended an SUV, and the force of the impact pushed the SUV into the rear of a pickup truck and then into the rear of another tractor trailer. The four adults who perished in the wreck were all passengers in the SUV.

It is essential that drivers learn how to drive safely through congested traffic. Sitting in traffic can be annoying, and it can make you feel anxious if you are trying to arrive somewhere at a specific time. Despite how you feel about sitting in traffic, you must remain aware of what is going on around you and do what you can to stay safe.

One way to drive safely in traffic is to avoid it whenever possible. Sometimes, you can commute to work early and leave early, or go in later and stay later to avoid rush hour traffic on either end of the day. For non-work trips, plan to go during times when traffic is not usually heavy. Sometimes planning your trip around traffic is not an option. When that happens, it is time to employ the following safe-driving strategies.

Whenever you are driving, look ahead of you often, so that you can see traffic slowing or stopping before you get right up to it. When you see slowed or stopped traffic, slow down accordingly as you approach it. Once you are sitting in traffic that is slowed or stopped, it can be tempting to distract yourself with a smartphone, loud music, or conversation. It may seem counter-intuitive, but you must pay extra close attention to driving when you are driving slowly or not even moving. If you have ever turned the radio way, way down while driving in a congested area or you have asked your children to “Be quiet, there is traffic, and I need to focus,” you understand the need for focus that driving in traffic creates. Turn off the phone, turn down the radio, and ask that your passengers help you be safe by talking quietly amongst themselves.

Now that you are focused on the road and the traffic around you, it’s time to drive defensively. Pay attention to your surroundings, keep your vehicle moving with the flow of traffic, and leave plenty of space between your car and other nearby vehicles. As traffic begins to move, maintain more and more space between your vehicle and the car in front of you as speed increases because you need room to stop if traffic slows down or stops again.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Serving Families Affected by Mississippi Car Crashes

If your family has been affected by a Mississippi motor vehicle wreck, a Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorney can help you pursue a claim for your damages or your loss. Call the Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (800) 707-9577, to learn more.

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Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys Share Safe Driving Tips for Drivers of Standard-Shift Vehicles

Many people enjoy driving standard-shift cars, even though there is more effort required in learning how to drive them safely. Whether you’re learning how to drive a standard-shift car or you are an experienced driver, it is a good idea to review the following safe driving tips for navigating slowed and stopped traffic safely with your standard-shift vehicle.

The most basic safe driving strategy for getting through heavy traffic in your standard-shift car is to allow plenty of space in between your car and the vehicle in front of you. If you’re accustomed to driving an automatic shift vehicle, be aware that the suggested amount of space between vehicles is even greater for standard-shift vehicles than it is for automatic shift vehicles so leave more than you usually would. The space between your car and the car in front of you will enable you to creep forward in low gear when traffic begins to move, eliminating the need to ride your clutch or shift more often than necessary.

Stop and go traffic can be frustrating when you are driving a standard-shift car. It is a good idea to learn how your vehicle handles and decide whether you prefer first or second gear for navigating traffic jams. When you need to slow down use engine braking to your advantage by easing off of the gas and shifting into a lower gear when the RPMs are low enough to do so. Shifting in this manner is much more gentle than an abrupt shift, and makes for less wear and tear on your car.

If someone is following you too close behind, remain calm. The law expects drivers to leave space between their car and the car in front of them, in acknowledgment of the fact that standard transmission vehicles roll back when the driver is shifting into first gear. If someone is close to your bumper, give your car a little more gas than you normally would as you shift into first and slowly let the clutch out.

Whenever you can, maintain a constant speed that is slightly slower than the traffic. You can avoid frequent shifts by doing this, and it also gives you time to respond to the maneuvers of cars near you. It also helps you to keep a good distance between your car and the car in front of you. Be prepared to downshift quickly if a car cuts into that space because that can happen, especially in traffic.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Help for Mississippi Traffic Accident Victims

Accidents that occur in slowed or stopped traffic can cause severe injury or death. If you got hurt or a family member got killed in a traffic accident, contact a Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorney right away. If you would like to find out more about what a Mississippi automobile accident lawyer could do for you and your family after an accident, call the Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC at 1 (800) 707-9577 to arrange an initial consultation.

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Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys Talk About Rear-End Crashes

A man was extricated from his vehicle and airlifted from the scene of a two-vehicle rear-end wreck. The mid-afternoon accident happened as a pickup truck was waiting to make a turn. A pickup truck rear-ended the first pickup truck. The man who got trapped inside of his truck was the driver of the truck that collided with the back of the stopped pickup truck. The driver of the truck that was stopped and waiting to turn did not get hurt.

Rear end crashes are a common type of motor vehicle accident. These collisions often happen when a driver pulls out in front of another moving car. They also occur when people follow other cars too closely, when drivers get distracted, when traffic slows suddenly, and when weather and road conditions increase braking distance. Rear end accidents can happen to anyone, and they can cause painful injuries and extensive damage to your vehicle.

If you get into a rear-end collision, it is essential that you and the other driver remove your vehicles from the road if it is safe to do so. Rear end wrecks can quickly turn into pile up accidents if drivers are not paying attention to what they are doing and notice the crashed cars when it is too late to avoid hitting them. It is also important to call the police to report your accident right away so that they can send emergency personnel to help anyone who got hurt as well as a tow truck to remove the vehicles from the road if one or both is too damaged to be removed without the aid of a tow truck.

When there is a rear end accident, it is not always clear who is at fault. In Mississippi, accidents must get investigated to determine whose fault the accident was. It is important that you not discuss fault with anyone at the accident scene. Aside from providing the police with any documents that you need to give them like your license and vehicle registration, it is important to talk with an attorney before speaking with anyone about the accident. This also applies to insurance companies, who may try to contact you after the crash and trick you into saying something that could compromise your position or offer you a settlement that is well below the actual value of the amount that you could receive for your injuries and damages if you understand the value of your claim.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Help for Mississippi Rear End Accident Victims

Rear end accidents can cause severe injury or death and lots of property damage. If you got hurt or a loved one got killed in a rear-end wreck, contact a Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorney today. If you want to learn more about what an automobile accident lawyer could do to help you recover physically and financially after a devastating accident, call the Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC at 1 (800) 707-9577 to arrange a consultation.

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Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys Discuss Accidents Involving Big Animals

An enormous Louisiana black bear was the lone fatality in a recent automobile accident. The bear is the largest that ever got recorded in Mississippi, and it tipped the scales at just under four hundred and seventy pounds. A woman was driving an SUV when she hit the bear. Her Chevrolet Suburban was severely damaged, but none of the five people who were riding in the vehicle at the time of the crash were seriously injured. Some of the people who were in the SUV when the wreck happened complained of pain afterward.

Bears are rare in Mississippi, and while some bears are trapped, weighed, examined, and fitted with radio collars before getting released. There are also bears in the state that do not have radio collars, so an exact count of how many bears are presently in the state does not exist. While bears are rare, there is always a chance, albeit not a large one, that a driver will encounter some other large, wild or domestic animal on the road. Depending on where you drive, you might see a deer, elk, cow, or horse on the road when you are driving. Knowing a few things about animal accidents can help you anticipate situations in which you might encounter an animal while driving.

About one and a half million car accidents get caused by animals every year. Many of those accidents occur at night because it is harder for drivers to see animals at night than it is during the day. Another because that’s when many animals are out and about.  There are also seasonal variations in wildlife movement that affect the likelihood of a vehicle-wildlife collision. For example, deer are very active during hunting season.

Drivers should be aware that in wooded areas and other places where the vegetation that grows next to the road is tall, animals can appear on the road suddenly.  This gives motorists little time and space to maneuver to avoid hitting them. Also, be aware that many animals travel in groups. If you see one deer by the road, scan the area carefully to see whether there are others nearby.

The people who were in the SUV that hit the bear are fortunate that they did not get badly injured or killed in the crash. Accidents involving large animals are often fatal. The size and weight of large animals create forceful impacts when they come into contact with vehicles. An animal that gets tossed into the air after getting hit by a car can crash through the windshield or even crush the vehicle’s roof. If you cannot entirely avoid a collision with an animal, try to hit it at an angle, so it will get deflected away from the car instead of getting tossed into the air.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Serving People Injured in Mississippi Car Crashes

If you collided with an animal, you might be hurt, and your car is probably badly damaged. Automobile accident claims for accidents involving animals can be complicated, and the insurance company may require that a police report gets submitted before a claim can be paid. If you were involved in any car crash in Mississippi, a Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorney could help you file a claim for your damages or your loss. Call the Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (800) 707-9577, to learn more.

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