Phoenix-Mesa, AZ Personal Injury Blog

An 18-year-old male was killed and his 15-year-old companion was injured when they were struck by a distracted driver in Phoenix, Ariz., on July 3, 2010. Manuel Rodriguez and the unidentified youth were walking on a sidewalk when a 2006 Chevy Colorado swerved off the road and struck them. Rodriguez's body had to be pulled from beneath the vehicle. The youth sustained minor injuries.

The driver of the truck told authorities that he was momentarily distracted by his children in the backseat. According to the Phoenix police, the driver was not impaired.

Just in time for summer, Arizona's average yearly ranking as having the fifth highest boating accidents and seventh highest boating injuries in the U.S. made the news again. For a state that has so much natural beauty, this is an ugly truth. So, has the time come to raise Arizona's boating safety awareness?

As reported by various Arizona government agencies during 2008, there were 197 watercraft-related accidents, 124 injuries and 6 fatalities from activities taking place in Arizona lakes and rivers. There were 278 vessels involved in these incidents. Besides the warm weather that abounds and allows people to enjoy year-round boating, there are other factors that contribute to accidents and injuries on the water.

On June 1, Alice Fielding was taking a break from her job at a Walgreens in Peoria, AZ. Fielding was sitting on a bench in the parking lot when an 87-year-old woman mistook the gas pedal for the brake and struck Fielding with her car.

Fielding received treatment from paramedics at the scene but died later at the hospital. There have been no criminal charges against the driver, who claimed to be "confused and disoriented" from the accident.

Dogs and other pets sometimes ride in their owner's vehicles, or hang outside the windows, on the way to veterinarian's offices, to family gatherings or during road trip vacations. While some pets may travel better than others, all pets can pose a potential driving distraction to their owners. This is particularly true for unrestrained dogs or pets that are free to roam between the laps of the driver and other passengers as the car speeds down the road.

Because cell phone use and texting while driving are two major sources of distractions to drivers these days, many states have passed, or will soon pass, laws related to prohibiting and punishing for these specific offenses. In addition, some state legislatures are also working on broader distracted driving laws, which may allow law enforcement officials to punish drivers with loose animals in their vehicles.

Texting while driving - and the use of handheld cell phones or other electronic devices while driving - have come under the microscope in recent months. A number of studies have shown evidence that distracted driving is one of the leading causes of auto accidents in the United States.

One of the steps many states have taken to curb distracted drivers is to ban texting while driving and, in general, the use of electronic devices while driving. The idea is that if drivers - especially young people - are banned from texting, their attention will be more fully on the road in front of them and the cars around them. There is some question, however, over whether such bans work.

The group Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety has given Arizona highways ranked Arizona's highway system as one of the least safe highway in the country. In its latest rankings, the group lists Arizona as the 49th safest in the country.

In compiling its rankings, AHSF compares each state's adherence to 15 different model highway safety laws. States can get credit for fully conforming to the recommended laws or for passing measures that partially conform to the models. In this most recent survey, Arizona is credited for adhering to only 4.5 of the recommended measures.