Washington DC Injury Attorney Blog

In the state of Maryland there are 202 plug-in electric vehicles registered, of which, 94 of them are registered in Montgomery County. The owners of these plug-in electric vehicles will now have more charging stations throughout the county. A national real estate and development firm, Federal Realty, is in partnership with Car Charging Group to install eight more electric charging stations on the east coast, seven of which will be right here in the metropolitan area. In Montgomery county there will be one at the Rockville Town Square and one at Bethesda Row. The charging stations will be of the category level II and 240-volts. Charging stations come in three levels, the higher the level, the quicker the electric car charges.

These charging stations work just like gas pumps. All you need to do is pull up, plug-in and pay for the electricity with a credit card. The cost per hour of electrical charging will be between $3.00 to $4.00. An electric car can travel an average of 100 to 200 miles between charges.

There are also a lot of tax benefits to owning an electric car. Anyone who registers and titles a plug-in electric vehicle in the state of Maryland through July 1, 2013, is eligible to claim $2,000 excise motor vehicle tax credit along with the already established $7,000 federal tax credit for owning electric vehicles. Also, owners of electric cars can claim a $400 tax credit toward the installation of electric vehicle charging stations in their homes.

For more information on the locations of charging stations in your area, please visit www.mychargepoint.net

Drivers in the state of Maryland can now electronically store emergency contact information onto their driving records at the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. This information will help police officers and other law enforcement officials contact family members of people involved in serious and fatal automobile accidents quicker.

Contact information can be uploaded by visiting the MVA website at www.mva.maryland.gov/emvastore/ or by visiting any MVA kiosks located at both full and express MVA locations. Any Maryland driver with a valid Maryland driver's license or state issued identification card can add up to three emergency contacts. The contact information is safely stored and is only accessible to law enforcement officials.

In order to upload your contact information online; you will need the following:
- an email address or phone number
- driver's license number
- date of birth
- last 4 digits of your Social Security number

Eight other states have the same type of emergency contact program to date. Some of the states that do not do offer a downloadable emergency contact card that people can carry with them at all times.

Virginia drivers, under the age of 21, could have their license suspended for a year if they get behind the wheel after drinking alcoholic beverages. These underage drinkers and drivers will face stiffer penalties for driving with a blood alcohol concentration of .02% or more. Violators will have their license suspended for a year and will receive either a fine of up to $500 or 50 hours of community service.

GMAC Insurance published the results of an annual National Driver's Test in May 2011 which ranked the state of Maryland 49th out of 51 states with the worst knowledge of the rules of the road. Maryland scored 73.3%. Hawaii was behind with 73% and the District of Columbia was ranked the worst. The state with the best results, of 82.9% was Kansas.

Maryland's test results for 2011 came as a surprise, seeing that the state ranked 20th in 2010 and 41st in the 2009 results. The 29 place plunge in this year results were only beaten by Alaska, which went from 10th to 40th place.

The GMAC Insurance Annual National Driver's Test polls 5130 drivers aged 16-65 nationwide. The test consists of 20 questions taken from each state's driver's license exam. The average results nationwide for 2011 improved from 76.2% to 77.9%.

The Chief Marketing Officer for GMAC, Mr. Scott Eckman, stated that drivers are forgetting some of the more basic rules of the road. Driver's are most commonly forgetting the distance a driver must keep between their vehicle and the one in front and also how to respond when a traffic light turns yellow just a vehicle reaches the intersection. The rule is to continue through the intersection, rather than braking abruptly. Only 15% of people answered the later question correctly.

In a study conducted by the Maryland State Department of Education, in February 2011, there were 7,028 violations recorded during one single day, for drivers who illegally passed stopped school buses with flashing lights. The study was conducted on 65% of Maryland's bus drivers. 4,000 of these violators were oncoming drivers, who failed to stop. 2,665 drivers passed the buses from behind on the driver's side and 366 drivers passed the buses on the passenger side.

Violating the law in Maryland, currently has a fine of up to $1,000 and three points on your driving record, if a police officer stops you, after failing to stop at least 20 feet from the school bus that has the flashing red lights operating.

Therefore, a new legislation is being passed in Maryland, where cameras would be placed on the buses by county police and the department of education to catch these violators. The violators would be fined $250. No points would be added to ones driving record and it would not be considered a moving violation, but the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) could refuse to register or suspend the registration of vehicles in cases where the fines we unpaid.

Once the ticket has been written, you have two easy steps you can take: Pay the ticket or appear in court.

When you are issued a ticket and the officer checks the "Notice to Appear" box, you have three of the following options:
- Plead "guilty" and pay the fine. Be aware however, that a plea of guilt results in the charge becoming part of your driving record. You have 15 days to pay the ticket. If the ticket is not paid within 15 days, you will automatically receive a trial date set by the court.
- Wait for trial notice and appear in court. At trial, you and the officer that issued the ticket have the opportunity to appear in court and testify in front of a judge. If you are found guilty, you have the right to an appeal within 30 days. If you do not appear at your trial, the Motor Vehicle Administration will suspend your driver's license.
- Plead "guilty with an explanation". This option gives you the opportunity for a hearing. At the hearing you can request that the fine be reduced or waived.

"Must appear" tickets are given for more serious infractions, such as, driving under the influence, driving while intoxicated, driving on a suspended license, etc. , according to the District Court of Maryland.

The Maryland General Assembly has passed a new law that will come into effect on January 1, 2011. This new law requires anyone who wants a trial to formally request one. The state will no longer automatically send you a trial date notice for a traffic violation. Once the law goes into effect, you have 30 days to respond by either, paying the fine, requesting a hearing or requesting a trial date. When you request a trial date, the District Court will give you a date and time to show up in court, in front of a judge. You may bring witnesses and any evidence to prove your case.

The previous law was changed because the courts were receiving complaints from various jurisdictions about officers wasting time appearing at trials where the defendants did not appear. The new law states that failure to take one of the above options means the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) can and will suspend your license.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), automobile crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers in the USA. The deadliest time is the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day for drivers between the ages of 15-20. It is during this time that teens are out of school, have more free time under less parental supervision and have more opportunities to drive at night, when the road risks are higher and their curfews later in the night. Inexperience and Immaturity are the two main factors in teen auto crashes.

Justin McNaull, state relations director for auto club AAA states that, "For many kids, every day in the summer is a weekend day." During the summer teens are less supervised by their parents and allowed more freedom, when it comes to driving. Teenagers also do more purposeless driving, which are more dangerous. Driving at 10pm is different than driving at 7am. The deadliest hours for teens are the hours between 10pm to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. It is because of their inexperience and immaturity that they tend to maneuver turns carelessly and rear-end other vehicles more frequently, and when you add the fact that they are doing this more at night it becomes even more dangerous.

States and Highway safety officials try to reach out to young drivers, as well as their parents, before the end of the school year to remind them to exercise caution while driving during summer vacation. The Washington Regional Alcohol Program, a non-profit group battling drunken driving and underage drinking in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia, warns parents of the hazards of summer driving through media and parent-teacher organizations. According to this organization, during the summer months there are about 50% more drink driving deaths involving teens than any other time of the year.

Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia have implemented laws specifically for teens. Two of the laws implemented are the "Click it or Ticket" and "Seat Belt Laws", which push seat belt usage for teens. Other than what the states can do, parents also need to be more responsible during the summer months for their children.

The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA), the Maryland State Highway Administration's Highway Safety Office, the Montgomery County Police Department and the Prince George's County Police Department are in the third year of their Buckle Up for a Buck Program.

Prince George's County leads the state in motor vehicle deaths, according to the Highway Safety Office, and therefore in the weeks prior to Memorial Day weekend police officers in both P.G. County and Montgomery County were handing out hundreds of dollars to motorists who had all occupants of their vehicles wearing seat belts.

This program is intended to draw attention to the value of seatbelts. Between 2004 and 2008 an estimated 620 people died in motor vehicle accidents in P.G. County. The state of Maryland has had a primary seat belt law in affect since October 1, 1997. The law requires the use of seat belt for the driver and front seat passenger, and any other passenger under the age of 16 must be secured by a seat belt or a child safety seat. The fine for an adult not using a seat belt is $25, the fine for a child under the age of 16 not being properly restrained is $48.

In Virginia, motorcycles make up about two percent of all registered vehicles, yet in 2009, they accounted for nine percent of total fatalities, ten percent of all occupant fatalities, and three percent of all occupants injured, according to Richard Holcomb, the Governor's Highway Safety Representative.

For every mile traveled by motorcyclists there chances of dying in a traffic crash is 37 times more likely that passenger car occupants. This is because there is no protection on a motorcycle, which increases the likelihood of being seriously injured or even killed in a crash.

In 2009, there were 71 motorcycle fatalities and 1,938 reported injuries in Virginia alone. The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Highway Safety Office announced last week that law enforcement agencies across Virginia will focus more on the safety of motorcycle riders by enforcing stricter traffic laws. The traffic laws that will be enforced are speeding, improper licensure and drinking and riding.

In the state of Maryland over 500,000 people take the driving tests to obtain a drivers license each year. However, the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) has updated the educational curriculum by implementing new standards from the American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association. These changes will call for parents of young new drivers to complete an orientation and for new drivers themselves to demonstrate a higher driving ability, then just the ordinary closed course, that tests stopping, parallel parking, three point turns and the use of turn signals.

According to Buel Young, spokesman for the MVA, students are going to be tested on their individual skills as a new driver. The on-the-road test will allow for the examination of new driver's driving ability, which includes driver's awareness of hazards, understanding of traffic signals and the ability to maintain intersections, curves and lane changes.

These changes for new drivers are being implemented in order to make roadways safer and reduce fatal crashes among new drivers. Statewide there were over 95,000 accidents reported in 2008, by the Maryland State Highwat Safety Foundation, which researches traffic safety.

As of October 2009, Cell phone use by driving instructors while teaching students behind the wheel has been prohibited.

The Highway Safety Foundation is also pushing for a change to the current text messaging, and overall use of cell phones while driving. Currently, if you use a cell phone, whether it is for texting purposes or phone use, you can face a fine of $500.

All of these changes will ultimately make driving safer for all of us. Of course there changes will take time, but the first step is to make the public aware of these changes and hope that the new laws are respected and obeyed.