Walnut Creek Traffic Accident Statistics 2012

Walnut Creek Car Accident

The infographic below presents some very interesting information relating to Walnut Creek traffic and DUI related accidents that occurred last year in 2012. Below are some observations of the data we complied from the Walnut Creek police department. Accidents involving alcohol are much more likely to involve serious injuries and death. Be safe this summer.
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April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month

Multi-taskers, beware.  In honor of Distracted Driving Awareness Month, California will be cracking down on drivers that insist on texting or using their handheld cell phones while behind the wheel of their vehicles.  This high visibility enforcement operation is being conducted by the California Office of Traffic Safety, California Highway Patrol, and more than 200
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CHP Issues Guidelines for California Motorcyclists

This week the CHP, in conjunction with the California Office of Traffic Safety, issued the first-ever written guidelines for California’s motorcycle lane splitting law. Last year, we blogged about a survey conducted by the California OTS which revealed that only 53 percent of drivers thought that lane-splitting by motorcyclists was legal. The guidelines were issued as part of a broader safety initiative to decrease the growing number of motorcycle accidents in California. Let’s review the lane splitting guidelines after the jump:
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Court Bumps Plaintiff’s Amusement Park Lawsuit in Nalwa v. Cedar Fair LP

bumpercar

On December 31, 2012 the California Supreme Court issued a ruling that could affect thousands of recreational activities taking place in the State of California.

In the case of Nalwa v. Cedar Fair, the plaintiff, who had fractured her wrist on a bumper car ride at an amusement park, sued the park owner for negligence in the operation of the bumper car ride. While the trial court threw her case out on summary judgment, a divided Court of Appeal had reinstated her claim, causing the intervention of the Supreme Court.
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Auto Liability Implications for Lyft and Other Ride Sharing Apps

lyftcar-300x200

The San Francisco Chronicle recently wrote about the new challenges that face Lyft, SideCar and several other ride sharing startups that were given cease and desist letters from the California Public Utilities Commission.
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Bay Area Drivers Rank Amongst Nation’s Worst Reports Says

Yesterday Allstate Insurance Company released its eighth annual “Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report™.” The findings in the report are based on Allstate claims and used the frequency of car collisions to rank nearly two hundred cities to discover America’s safest driving city. This year’s top honors went to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. If you drive in that city you are likely to be involved in an auto collision every 13.8 years, which is 27.6% less likely than the national average of 10 years. How do Bay Area drivers compare?
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Hands Free Texting Law Passed in California

Siri& Car

Last Friday, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1536 that will allow California drivers to use “hands-free” technology to text behind the wheel for the first time since driving while texting was outlawed more than three years ago in 2008. The new law will take effect January 1, 2013.   Current Cell Phone and Driving
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Legal Issues Arise When Spectator’s Are Injured at Olympic Club during US Open

us open

This past weekend, the US Open was held at the Olympic Club, a private athletic club located in San Francisco and Daly City.  Many spectators who attended the event attempted to witness the popular golf event from the 8th hole at the Olympic Club Lake Course. According to John Abendroth, a well-known local golf pro
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Federal Funds to Increase Distracted Driving Enforcement in California

The U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary announced yesterday that California and Delaware will receive $2.4 million to support the federal government’s latest initiative to reduce distracted driving. This program will test the effect of increased law enforcement and high-profile public education campaigns on distracted driving. The California program will take place in the Sacramento valley
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Defendant Strikes Out In Mediation Baseball Arbitration

arbitration

Yesterday, the California Court of Appeal affirmed a judgment after a mediator awarded $5,000,000 to a plaintiff after both parties attempted to resolve the alleged defamation dispute in a mediation/baseball arbitration.  Not familiar with this type of alternative dispute resolution? Let’s start off by discussing what mediation /baseball arbitration is and then we’ll discuss what
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