A recent rash of motorycle accidents have reminded local residents why bike safety is important. It’s often been said that tragedy comes in three. That’s exactly the case for the three Gainesville bikers who lost their lives or were injured after severe motorcycle accidents.

A 28-year-old man from Summerfield was recently tied up in a deadly crash that took place in Williston. This was the most recent crash that came only days after a man was killed in a different motorcycle accident. One of the three bikers made it out with his life after he was critically injured during a motorcycle accident in Gainesville.

Our personal injury lawyers at Steven Bagen are some of the leading experts in motorcycle accidents. Learn more ways to protect yourself through our video vault of PSAs, or contact us today.

A fishing trip turned deadly Tuesday morning when an airboat capsized in the Rodman Reservoir.
The 64-year-old operator of the boat was killed in the accident, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Joy Hill said. His 50-year-old fishing companion received minor injuries.

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Investigators are still looking for the driver that struck a motorcycle and killed the rider in Georgia. It was late Sunday night when Tahj Robinson, 22, was riding his 2011 Suzuki around 10:00 p.m. when he was struck by a 2011 Saturn at the intersection of Canal Road and Golden Isles Parkway.

Robinson was airlifted to Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah where he later died. The drive of the vehicle that struck Robinson fled the scene. The state patrol is still attempting to determine the driver’s identity and whereabouts.

Security camera footage from a nearby Racetrac convenience store has helped the police identify the driver as male.

Floridians are demanding reform for personal injury protection (PIP) due to an increase in fraudulent claims. Governor Rick Scott and SEO Jeff Atwater joined a band of consumers, business leaders, law enforcement officials, and concerned citizens in Tallahassee on January 25, 2011 to discuss the need to “put the brakes on accident fraud and abuse.”
According to a joint statement filed by the concern parties, “PIP [is] is the domain of those who exploit the broken system in order to enrich themselves at the expense of consumers – further illustrating the the PIP system is long overdue for meaningful reform and the Legislature must act this session to end the nearly $1 billion fraud tax and stop accident fraud.”
The coalition to fight PIP fraud urged lawmakers to include the following reforms in a final bills:

1. Reasonable limitations on attorney’s fees to remove the incentive to file frivolous lawsuits at the expense of Florida drivers.
2. Increased anti-fraud controls to identify suspicious claims and allow insurers time to investigate those claims to avoid unnecessary payments paid by innocent consumers.
3. Enhanced controls on medical costs, through clarification of the medical fee schedule and other tools that rein in high utilization of questionable medical procedures, the costs of which are passed on to consumers.

To learn more about PIP reform and how it will effect you, visit this website.

Picture by Brad McClenny/The Gainesville Sun

It started as an ordinary day for Hugh Suggs. While operating a leaf blower outside of a fast food restaurant in Lake City, a fully loaded log truck jumped the curb and crushed his body.

The front of the truck knocked him down while the four rear wheels rolled over his legs. Suggs said he felt nothing as limbs were crushed and torn from his body.

As he points to his midsection, he tells reporters, “I lost all of my meat here. I think one of my legs was left in the road.

On Thursday, March 1, 168 days after the accident, Suggs finally was able to roll out of the University of Florida Shands rehabilitation center and go home.

As for the truck driver, Suggs says he and the truck driver exchanged glances and nodded at each other right before he took the turn too tight and clobbered Suggs.

On the same day, the driver was charged that day with using unsafe equipment.

Suggs remained unconscious for a number of weeks. His mangled right arm had to be rebuilt, he spent some time in the burn unit to receive skin grafts for the areas that were torn off his body, and the volume of blood transitions he had to receive broke records.

Dense fog and smoke left for a terrifying and tragic scene on I-75 after ten people died as a result to multiple pile ups.

It was a scene out of a Hollywood horror movie: mangled cars, twisted, burned cars, the sounds of screams and moans that seemed so distant and far away. A fog so thick, that police officers only had to listen to shrieks and calls for help to tend to those who needed help.

The mixture of heavy smoke and fog that clouded the area of south of Gainesville on Interstate 75 is said to have come from a brush fire that was intentionally set nearby. As a result of dense smoke, at least a dozen cars and six tractor-trailers were involved in a pileup where 10 people died.

Gainesville resident Steven R. Camps was caught up in the accident where he and some friends were driving home several hours before dawn. Upon entering the scene, he said, “You could hear cars hitting each other. People were crying. People were screaming. It was crazy,” he said. “If I could give you an idea of what it looked like, I would say it looked like the end of the world.”¹

Camps told authorities that he was talking to a man in a vehicle next to him about the road conditions when another vehicle struck that man’s car. The man’s vehicle was crushed under a semi-truck that was stopped in front of them. Although Camps car was hit twice, he and his friend were able to evacuate the vehicle and find safety in the grass on the shoulder of the road.

Camps went on to describe the scene he saw from the safety of the shoulder, “It was happening on both sides of the road, so there was nowhere to go. It blew my mind,” he said, explaining that the scene “looked like someone was picking up cars and throwing them.” ²

Authorities have not released the names of the ten people who died nor the 18 people who were taken to the hospital. As surveyors and investigators canvassed the scene, all six lanes of the interstate were closed most of Sunday afternoon.

“Our standard operating procedure is to get the road open as quickly as possible but let’s not forget we have 10 people who are not with us today,” said Lt. Patrick Riordan, a Florida Highway Patrol spokesman. “So we are going to take our time assessing the situation.” It was not clear when the highway would fully reopen because part of the road melted, police said.³

1-4: The Ledger. 1/30/2012. The Ledger Media Group. 2/06/2012. http://www.theledger.com/article/20120129/NEWS/120129265?p=4&tc=pg

There is something that all parents can agree on – being a child in today’s world is vastly different than when you were growing up. Bullying in schools is on the rise and it’s taking on different forms thanks to smart phones and online messaging applications. Parents breathe a deep sigh of relief seeing their child get off the bus at the end of the day with no tears, bruises, or torn clothes. It’s a sad, sad world where every corner in school could be one that your child is backed into.

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, close to half of all children will experience school bullying at some point while they are at primary or secondary school. At least ten percent of children are bullied regularly.

Bullying on Buses
The bus ride home after a long day of school should be a safe haven for children. It’s a place to relax and kick back with your neighborhood friends. That dream of a peaceful bus ride home has been shattered as sexual abuse and violence is now prevalent on bus rides home.

National story of bullying on buses
Two 10-year-old boys could face up to 40 years in jail (or no jail time, depending how the judge rules) for forcing an 8-year-boy to perform sex acts on them while riding on a school bus. Authorities became aware of the incident after receiving a tip from a parent, who was not related to the case, to review footage from Aug. 30. The three students involved in the case are special needs students.

Gainesville story of bullying on buses
In Marion County, deputies arrest seven girls between the ages of 13 to 15 for allegedly beating a 13-year-old girl unconscious on a school bus.

What you can do as a parent
The best thing you can do as a parent is to speak to your child. Sit down with your child, discuss anything that’s going on in school and make it an open-minded, safe environment so you he or she can feel open to talk to you about any issues without any judgment. Also, be aware of the signs of bullying (provided by BullyingStatistics.org)

• Becoming withdrawn
• Showing fear when it is time to go to school
• Increasing signs of depression
• Decline in school performance
• Speaking of another child with fear
• Noticeable decline in how the child sees him or herself
• Signs of physical altercations, such as bruises, scrapes and other marks

If you can’t get a straight answer from the child, then turn to the school administration. Your child’s parent will provide more insight and feedback than your child normally will.

It’s scary to let go, hand your child your car keys, and wave goodbye. You have been driving for some time so you understand the dangers and perils out there on the road ahead. How do you explain that to a teenager who knows everything?

Driving is not what it used to be when you first learned how to. The introduction of smart phones and texting has increased the risks by a staggering amount. Just how much? According to statistics provided by NegligentDriving.org, distracted driving is the number one killer of American teens. While 90% of teens admit that they don’t drink and drive, nine out of 10 say they have seen passengers distracting the drivers or drivers using cell phones.

It gets worse. A survey conducted by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Survey found that more than 80% of drivers admit to blatantly hazardous behavior: changing clothes, steering with a foot, painting nails and shaving.

So what can you do to prepare your child and deter them from these bad habits that could lead to life-threatening consequences? We’d like to help. Here are some tips to prepare your teen for the Florida roads.

Practice + Patience = Perfect.

It takes a lot of practice and patience to teach your child how to become a safe driver. The skills need time to develop gradually so they are instilled properly as good habits. Once your child is old enough for a restricted license, it’s time to start practicing. The longer you wait, the less time you will have with your child on the road before he or she is of age to drive alone and at night.

Here are the hours of practice we recommend when your child receives a driver’s permit:

• 5 Hours – Driving in deserted places
• 10 Hours – Driving in neighborhoods/residential areas
• 40 Hours – Driving throughout the city (except for interstates)

Here are the hours of practice we recommend when your child receives a driver’s license:

• 40 Hours – Driving throughout the city (including interstates)
• 1 – 3 Months – Driving during daylight hours with parent/guardian
• 6 – 12 Months – Driving during evening hours with a friend in the car
• After first year – Driving during evening hours with more than one friend in the car

Prepare for Rain, Sleet, or Snow

The amount of time you spend with your child preparing for weather will depend on where you live. For Florida, you will want to prepare your driver for heavy rains. Remind your child to reduce speed, keep the vision clear, and make sure there are proper treads on the vehicle. In Florida, it tends to rain during sunny weather. This can make it incredibly difficult to see. Some drivers have found it beneficial to wear sunglasses during this paradoxical weather. It allows you to see through the sunlight and into the direction ahead despite the rain.

Avoid Distractions

As a parent of a teenager, you already know that even though your child tells you he or she will not do something, he or she will most likely do it when you’re not looking. Of all of the guidelines, avoiding your cell phone while driving should be the most important lesson you pass on. This is where you can take advantage of applications and innovations that allow you to monitor your child in real-time while he or she is on the road. Some GPS apps will let you monitor your child from your computer to ensure he or she is adhering to the boundaries you have set. Also, some phone apps will allow you to block your child from being able to use the phone while on the road. Ask your insurance company about such apps and be sure to ask to see if they have tools to ensure your child is staying safe on the road – whether they like it or not!

It’s not easy being letting go, but hopefully these tips will make it just a bit easier to transition. They grow up so fast don’t they?