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Halloween is one of the most popular holidays of the year. Children love it because they get to wear a costume and run from house to house getting free candy. Halloween is also a dangerous time for young pedestrians.

The CDC studied accident data over a 20 year period. It revealed the number of deaths among young pedestrians was four times higher on Halloween evening as compared with the same time period during every other evenings of the year. The numbers may actually be higher because this analysis did not count crashes that occurred in driveways, parking lots and on sidewalks.

The report cites these reasons:

• Halloween activities usually occur after dark, an unfamiliar time for most children to be playing outside;
• Trick or Treaters may cross streets midblock instead of at corners or crosswalks;
• Trick or Treaters frequently wear dark costumes and masks which hinder their ability to be seen, see and/or hear;
• Trick or Treaters are distracted by all the visual and auditory stimuli;
• The young age, small size and limited motor skills of the Trick or Treaters diminish their ability to perceive and react.

What you can do to make Halloween safer:

• Drive well below the posted speed limit;
• Watch for children darting out midblock;
• Enter and exit your driveways and alleys slowly and carefully;
• Talk to your children about always crossing at the corner;
• Fasten reflective tape to your monsters’ costumes and treat bags;
• Have your action heroes and princesses carry a flashlight; and
• Make sure any masks do not interfere with their vision.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is optional auto coverage in Washington and like Uninsured Motorist coverage it is worth getting.  With PIP coverage, your insurance company pays the medical bills for the treatment of crash related injuries.  You can buy varying levels of coverage, usually $10,000 or $35,000 for treatment received 1-3 years following the crash, as well as reimbursement for a portion of your lost earnings if you are not able to work, funeral expenses and other miscellaneous expenditures.

PIP covers you, your family and your passengers when you are in an accident while driving in your car – regardless of how the crash occurs.  It also covers you and your family members while traveling in someone else’s car.  Most people are also surprised to learn it also provides coverage if you or a family member are struck by a car while walking, riding a bike or even skateboarding.  And unlike your health insurance, there are no deductibles or co-pays.  PIP is a worthwhile purchase.

If you have any questions about your automobile insurance coverage, call me.

In June 2011 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that patients taking ACTOS (aka Actoplus, Met and Duetact) for longer than one year have an increased risk of bladder cancer.  Two months later the agency required updated labels to include safety information informing patients of this increased risk.  Due to these same risks, France has suspended the marketing of ACTOS.  And in Germany, it is no longer available to new patients.  Here in the U.S., big pharmacuetical companies have much greater influence on the regulation of medications.  Thus, the drug is still available.  Unfortunately, the new warning the FDA now requires may be too late for many patients who followed their doctor’s advice.

I am investigating potential claims to be filed against Takeda, the manufacturer of the drug.  If you or someone you know has been on ACTOS (pioglitazone) for more than one year, I would like to talk with you/them.  You do not need to have been diagnosed with bladder cancer.  Blood in urine with or without pain,  side or flank pain, or distended bladder are other problems associated with this drug.  To have a potential bladder cancer case evaluated please contact me.

Last August we were back again at the Rainer Valley “Summer in the Streets” festival, letting kids have fun at our “Duck Pond” while parents were able to pick up a “Keeping Kids Safe” brochure (which we printed in seven different languages) as well as other safety information.  We also held a raffle to give away a kid’s bike helmet.

Recently we were able to deliver the winning helmet to nine year old Mark L. of Seattle. Mark didn’t have a bike helmet, but he knew he needed one.  It was the first contest he’d ever won.  And don’t worry, the chin strap will be buckled when he rides.

Bike accidents involving kids can be devastating.  Reducing kids’ injuries is our goal.  Take a look at our Childhood Injury Prevention Program to see what we are doing to help keep kids safe.  Mark L is now a safer when he rides his bike.

According to reports in the media, at around six p.m. on Saturday, September 10, 2011 a young man riding his bike was hit and killed when a car turned left in front of him.  http://bit.ly/qyblI8.  I have not seen the police report nor read any of the witness statements, but as the crash was described, the driver failed to yield the right-of-way to the biker.

When these types of collisions involve two cars, they are rarely fatal. But when a bike is involved, it usually results in serious personal injury or death.  I know, as I represent several cyclists who have sustained serious personal injury in recent bike v. car crashes.

Last month I blogged about several steps cyclists and car drivers can take to reduce the likelihood of these bicycle injury accidents occurring over and over.  Our “Childhood Injury Prevention Program” which provides a five percent rebate on children’s safety gear is now expanded to cover adult bike safety equipment such as lights (including strobe-type lights), safety vests and adult helmets.  Hopefully this will make these items more affordable for the biking community.

I also blogged that we all need to learn the meaning of the new bike signage appearing on our streets. I admit I was confused when all this white paint started appearing on the pavement.  I did some research and hit the streets with a camera.  This is what I learned.

We  have “Bike Lanes”, “Sharrows”, “Bike Blocks” and “Left Turning Warning Strips”. There is also a street symbol I am calling “Guess What This Means” because I cannot figure it out.  Here is the legal deal on the first two.

BIKE LANES looks like this:

There is a white line on the left and right sides of the image which depicts a rider on a bike with an arrow over the rider’s head.  Only bikes are allowed drive inside the white lines, although cars  can cross through them when parking, turning in a driveway, etc.

SHARROWS look like this:

The image is of a bike only with two chevrons over the bike.  According to the city of Seattle, sharrows are “bicycle symbols carefully placed to guide bicyclists to the best place to ride on the road, avoid car doors and remind drivers to share the road with cyclists. Unlike bicycle lanes, sharrows do not designate a particular part of the street for the exclusive use of bicyclists. They are simply a marking to guide bicyclists to the best place to ride and help motorists expect to see and share the lane with bicyclists.”  In other words, they are placed on the street to alert car drivers there may be bicyclists on this particular road and to suggest to bikers where to ride.

It is important to note that sharrows  become bike lanes  and bike lanes can quickly become sharrows. As seen in this next photo, the symbols change within one block.  Both cyclists and drivers need to be aware that the protection provided by a bike lane can suddenly disappear.  This tends to occur on roads that are not wide enough to support two bike lanes:

Sharrow that becomes a Bike Lane

The “sharrow” becomes a bike lane as the road goes uphill, while on the left side of the street there is only a sharrow.

What does all this roadway gobbledygook mean?  It means PAY ATTENTION.  Stay alert for the presence of bikes.  A public service announcement that educated the driving and biking communities as to what these symbols mean would be good.  We aren’t Amsterdam yet, but the numbers of bikers will only increase, so we need to do all we can to reduce the risk of serious personal injury to bicyclists in Seattle and the surrounding areas.

In the near future, I will be blogging about “Bike Blocks”, “Turning Strips” and the surprise symbol. Stay tuned.

On Saturday August 20, we were back having a great time at this annual south end street fair.  After an incredible parade (which included an Aztec dance group) various (mostly) children’s activities took over Rainier Avenue.  Some of the fun included “Somersault City”, Create Your Own “Paint Chip Mosaic” and a Chicken Petting Zoo.  Who knew chickens liked to be petted?

Steve Sitcov, PLLC was back again, making kids laugh while spreading the word about keeping kids safe from injuries with our Duck Pond.  Very simple – kids pick a duck out of the pond and they win a prize.  While the kids are having fun, parents are able to pick up a “Keeping Kids Safe” brochure in 7 different languages and other safety info. We also held a raffle for 2 kids’ bike helmets.  The helmets were compliments of Bike Works (www.bikeworks.org), a  great outfit in beautiful downtown Columbia City.

Reducing children’s injuries is our goal. Check out our Childhood Injury Prevention Program to see what we are doing to help keep kids safe (www.sitcov.com/childhood-injury-prevention-program).

Kids having fun at The Duck Pond

Bike Works' Float

Aztec Dancers

In July two bicyclists were killed while riding home from work in broad daylight, less then seven days apart.  And while my case load is not statistically significant, in the last month two other bicyclists recently hit by cars have hired me to represent them in their personal injury claims.

From 2001 to 2009 on average there had been one bicycle fatality per year in all of Washington.  Yet in the span of just one week, tragedy has struck two families of bicyclists.   Let me make a disclaimer.  I am not a bicyclist.  However, I am concerned about safety issues.  So I can only wonder why this deadly increase?

My two new clients were struck by vehicles pulling across the bike’s direction of travel: one was hit by a car was entering a parking lot and the other was hit by a pick-up truck leaving a parking lot.  Michael Wang, the PATH photographer who was killed last week was struck and killed by a SUV driver making a left hand turn in front of him.  John Przychodzen was struck from the rear by an eighteen year old.  In each case, the bike rider was riding with traffic.

This injury pattern is consistent with the most recent statistics maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation.  Their research shows that 52% of all bicyclists fatalities occurred when the bicyclist was riding with traffic.    Also surprising is that during that same time frame, about 11,500 people were involved in non-fatal bicycle/motor vehicle crashes.  Yet, that is just the tip of the iceberg.  WSDOT estimates there were actually 40–60% more non-fatal bicyclist vs. vehicle collisions than were reported.

What can be done about this? Several things:

First, motor vehicle operators must be more cognizant of bicyclists.  There are more and more bicycles on a road each day. The experts say that increasing the number of bicyclists on the road will actually decrease the number of bicycle vs. car crashes, as car drivers become more accustomed to seeing them on the road and responding to them. In short, drivers will have a greater expectation they will be sharing the road with bicyclists.

Second, we need to understand the new signage our cities and counties are using to change driving and biking habits and respond to it.  In later posts I will discuss the “Sharrows” and “Bike Blocks” that are turning up on our streets.

Third, bicyclists need to increase their conspicuity.  That is, they must become more visible.  For example, wearing an orange safety vest or having a bright oscillating headlight on the front of the bicycle is likely to increase the bike rider’s visibility to the driving public, even during the day.

We are finally hitting summer in the Northwest.  I hope that with more bikes on the roads, both cyclists and motorists will heighten their level of awareness

Everyone seems to complain about the recent addition of red light cameras at busy intersections which, with the aid of high speed cameras and a strobe, are able to catch drivers who go through a yellow light.  At least that is what I thought.  But when I fought my red light ticket, the judge, prosecutor and I watched a video of my car going through a red light.  I am happy to say that I have become more cautious when going through any traffic signals that are not clearly green.

New research has shown that there has been a tremendous benefit from these red light cameras.  I am not talking about the financial benefit that the cities have received from the payment of the fines.  Rather, I am talking about the lives saved as a result of city’s use of red light cameras.  Researchers at the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety concluded that between 2004 and 2008 the rate of fatal red light running crashes in 14 large cities with cameras in place was 24% lower than it would have been without cameras.

Municipalities in our area have been using red light cameras as a low cost way to police intersections.  This data seems to indicate that there are other significant benefits – namely in lives saved.

In these challenging economic times, with auto insurance premiums increasing, everyone is trying to cut costs by increasing deductibles and eliminating certain coverages. Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage (UM) is optional, but  everyone should have it.

UM coverage protects you, your family and your passengers in the event of a car crash caused by a driver who has little or no insurance on his car.  A study in 2010 revealed that 18% of drivers did not have auto liability insurance.  And as our state only requires $25,000 in bodily injury coverage, which is inadequate for anything but the most minor of injury accidents, you can provide added protection with UM coverage.

With UM insurance, you make a claim against your own insurance company and deal directly with it to resolve your injury claim.  Your company cannot raise your rates or cancel you because you made a UM claim.  It is coverage that is well worth the cost.  My recommendation is that you buy the highest level of UM coverage you can afford.

If you have any questions about your automobile insurance coverage, call me.