Car Accidents Archives - John A. Caputo & Associates, P.C.

Protecting teen drivers during the ‘100 Deadliest Days’ of summer

May 23, 2025/in Car Accidents/by John A. Caputo & Associates, P.C.

As the parent of a young driver, you should know about a dangerous period that puts your child at higher risk. The 100 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day are known as the “100 Deadliest Days” for teenage drivers.

During this time, fatal crashes involving teens spike dramatically. According to research, teens are three times more likely to be involved in a deadly crash during the summer months. With school out and more free time, young motorists face increased hazards that demand attention.

Why summer roads can turn deadly for teens

Several factors make summer driving particularly dangerous for inexperienced drivers. Teens spend more time behind the wheel with less supervision during summer break. Their inexperience and increased freedom create a perfect storm for accidents.

Distractions play a major role, with cell phones, passengers and other activities diverting attention from the road. Speed and impaired driving also contribute significantly to summer crash statistics.

Safety tips for young drivers

Before your teen gets behind the wheel, review essential safety practices, including:

Limit passengers in the vehicle to reduce distractions
Always wear seat belts – they reduce the risk of fatalities by 45%
Never text while driving or use handheld devices
Follow posted speed limits and maintain safe following distances
Get adequate sleep to prevent drowsy driving
Never operate a vehicle after using drugs or alcohol

Discussing these guidelines regularly reinforces their importance and could save your child’s life.

Proactive steps for parents

Your involvement significantly impacts your child’s safety. Communication is vital before giving them the keys. Consider these actions:

Create a driving agreement that clearly outlines rules and consequences
Model good driving behavior – put your phone away and follow traffic laws
Consider installing a monitoring app to track driving habits
Talk regularly about driving dangers and defensive techniques
Encourage your teen to call for a ride if they ever feel unsafe driving

If your teen is involved in an accident despite these precautions, know that skilled legal guidance can help you navigate the aftermath and protect their future.

When to replace a child’s car seat after an accident

March 10, 2023/in Car Accidents/by John A. Caputo & Associates, P.C.

Children have a higher risk of injury in an accident than their adult counterparts. When parents do not use child car seats, booster seats or appropriate seat belts for children, their risk increases drastically. While the car seat may protect your child during a severe accident, you do not want to continue using the car seat after.

You must replace the car seat after any moderate or severe accident.

How car seats protect children

Young children and babies need extra support, and car seats help cradle and support their bodies to reduce the risk of injury. Infant seats, for example, protect the baby’s neck, head and torso. Car seat restraints also keep children from being flung from the vehicle. Manufacturers design protective measures for adults. Seatbelts, airbags and seats can protect an adult or teenager, not a child.

Why replace the car seat after an accident

Car seats can become damaged in an accident. While the seat may protect your child during the accident, it cannot continue to protect the child after the accident compromises it. The car seat may be okay in minor accidents where you can drive away from the scene and no one sustains injuries.

However, if the vehicle door near the car seat sustained damage or the airbags deployed, you should not keep the car seat. Even if you cannot see the damage, it does not mean the car seat did not sustain damage.

Under no circumstances should you keep a child’s seat after a moderate or severe accident.

What is microsleeping and why is it risky?

March 3, 2023/in Car Accidents/by John A. Caputo & Associates, P.C.

Drivers understand that drowsy driving puts them at significant risk for injury. But what about microsleeping?

This problem goes hand-in-hand with drowsy driving, and yet fewer people know about it.

Why microsleeping is a problem

WebMD discusses microsleeping as a problem drowsy drivers face. First, what is microsleeping? This happens when a person has not had enough sleep and their body attempts to force them into sleep because it can no longer tolerate staying awake.

In these moments, a person will fall asleep for one to three seconds. Typically, this is not a big problem, but it becomes one on the road.

In just three seconds, a car driving at 60 miles per hour can cover the distance of a football field. In that time, it is possible for a driver to get into many accident-causing situations.

High-stake accidents

Many of the worst accidents happen when a driver falls asleep behind the wheel. This includes full-speed rear-end collisions, crashes where a driver veers off the side of the road, and crashes over the meridian where a driver drives into oncoming traffic.

Due to the high rate of severe injury and fatalities associated with these types of crashes, it is easy to see how and why drowsy driving and microsleeping cause major problems for drivers across the country. Awareness of these dangers can help lead to people exerting more caution when they hit the road, thus reducing instances of drowsy driving.

Can car crashes cause crush injuries?

October 31, 2022/in Car Accidents/by John A. Caputo & Associates, P.C.

Crush injuries happen in any situation where a person’s body could end up pinned, run over or otherwise trapped by larger or heavier objects.

Thus, while most people associate these injuries with industrial jobs or work in construction, they can happen to anyone. This is especially true in situations involving vehicles.

Crush injuries to the limbs

Up To Date discusses the impact of crush injuries on victims. These injuries can have a catastrophic effect that may vary depending on the type of crush incident that occurs.

For example, crush injuries to the limbs and extremities can result in parts of the body losing blood flow, resulting in tissue and cell death. This can cause necrosis of the limbs and gangrene and may even result in sepsis in severe cases. This deadly blood infection can take a person’s life in less than three days after symptoms first show.

Torso crush injuries

As for crush injuries to the torso or trunk, these tend to overburden the organs and result in organ shutdown and failure. As other organs attempt to compensate for the loss of production from the damaged ones, they too begin to shut down and fail.

So how do crush injuries occur in cars? Simply put, vehicles can still crumple inward with enough force to the outside, even with safety measures like crash cages.

It is most common for drivers to suffer from crush injuries to the legs because the front of the car does not have any reinforcements. Hands and arms can also end up crushed due to their high level of mobility.

How do traumatic brain injuries happen?

August 25, 2022/in Car Accidents/by John A. Caputo & Associates, P.C.

Brain trauma often happens in car accidents when a victim ends up hitting either the car, something inside of it, or even the window.

These injuries can vary from mild to severe. Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) almost always fall on the severe end of the spectrum. But what are they, and how do they happen?

Where do these head injuries stem from?

Medline Plus discusses how brain injuries happen in the first place. Head trauma occurs when the head bangs into something, or something bangs into the head. This can cause the brain to hit the interior of the skull, which can result in swelling or bruising on the brain itself.

In a car crash, a person is most likely to hit their head on the steering wheel or dashboard in the event of a rear-end collision. If they get side-swiped or T-boned, they may end up hitting their head against the side window or door. It is even possible for passengers or the driver to end up colliding. Unless the victim is not wearing a seatbelt properly, they should not have to worry about hitting or going through the windshield.

The impact of TBIs

These types of injuries can result in numerous psychological, emotional and physical impacts. For example, if the front of the brain ends up hit and injured, a person could have a lessened amount of control over their temper and impulse. This is because those centers for control are located in the front of the brain.

Many effects of these brain injuries last for weeks or months. Some last much shorter, while others can last years or even a lifetime. This is why quick medical attention is a necessity.