Londonderry Law Blog

New Hampshire drivers who use hands-free devices may not be as safe on the road as they think they are. The company Lytx, which works in the area of video telemetrics and analysis, released data on the commercial and public sector fleets that it works with. The data covered more than 100 billion miles of driving and 100,000 of what the company identified as "risky driving events." Lytx found that talking on the phone hands-free was somewhat distracting, but many drivers significantly compounded that distraction by engaging in other activities, including using other devices, smoking or eating.

Distraction is the second leading cause of fatal accidents in which commercial drivers are at fault, and distracted driving kills nine or more people daily on the nation's roads. Lytx reported that hands-free cellphone use is on the increase, which is positive, but many drivers do other activities at the same time that make the risk of an accident higher. The company found that cellphone usage was the most common at 65 mph, possibly because this is the upper speed limit in many trucks, and drivers would set their cruise control at this speed.

Many of the big rig accidents that occur in New Hampshire involve jackknifing. There are two types of jackknifing. In a trailer jackknife, the trailer wheels lose traction, usually during hard braking. In a tractor jackknife, the tractor wheels lose traction during sudden acceleration. To avoid causing a catastrophic accident, truckers should know how to avoid such incidents.

Truckers should first of all check their rearview mirrors for any trailer swing. This will happen more often when truckers are hauling a light load, the reason being that light loads give you less friction on the road. Light loads are also dangerous in that they make it easier to "overbrake." This is because the brakes are made for fully loaded trucks.

When you know how to do something and get good at it, you can experience the psychological phenomenon known as flow. Flow occurs when you feel so immersed in the task at hand that you don't notice the passage of time or much of what happens around you. During flow, people often experience intense productivity and creativity. They may not even notice the aches and pains that come from performing the same work every day.

Unfortunately, the longer you have been at your job, the more likely you are to wind up hurt from the work that you do. Even if the job itself is not inherently dangerous, using your body to repeatedly perform the same task day after day causes damage to muscles and connective tissue. These kinds of injuries that accrue over time are repetitive motion injuries, and they can happen to all kinds of workers.

Drivers in New Hampshire may be pleased to learn that 2018 marks the second year where traffic fatalities have dropped. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that the 2.4% drop in fatalities is due in part to advancements in modern automobile safety features.

The behavior of drivers may also play a role. Alcohol impaired fatalities dropped by 3.6% in 2018. Additionally, there was a 5.7% drop in fatalities connected to speeding. Motorcycle fatalities fell by 4.7%.