Maine Injury Lawyer Blog

The Maine Bureau of Highway Safety is reminding motorists to obey the state’s Move Over Law, after a trooper’s dash-cam video recorded a truck side-swiping a motorist stopped by Maine State Police.

You can view the video at the Boston Globe. The officer had been standing alongside the motorist’s vehicle in the moments before it was struck by a box truck, and he likely would have been very seriously injured or killed. Authorities report the at-fault truck driver told police he was looking at his phone.

Maine’s Move Over Law (Title 29-A §2054-9) was passed in 2001 and requires motorists approaching stopped emergency vehicles to slow down and pull over to the lane furthest from the traffic stop (whenever possible). Emergency vehicles under the law are defined as law enforcement, fire department vehicles, or ambulances. Wreckers were added to the law in 2007. The law provides for a minimum fine of $311.

A number of legal questions are being raised by the death of an Arizona pedestrian, who was struck earlier this month by a self-driving Uber vehicle in Tempe, Arizona.

It is the first death in the country involving a self-driving vehicle, and the Insurance Journal reports legal liability in the case is being closely watched. It could raise issues relevant to Maine car accident victims as well.

The self-driving SUV was operating in autonomous mode under the supervision of a safety driver when the Volvo XC90 struck and killed a 49-year-old woman walking her bicycle outside a crosswalk on a four-lane road, according to police. The incident has been caught on videotape.

An increasing number of motorists are driving without insurance, according to an article published this month in the Insurance Journal.

Nationwide, the Insurance Research Council estimates 13 percent of all U.S. motorists were uninsured in 2015, up slightly from 2010 following a number of years of decline. Maine reported about 5 percent of all motorists are on the road without insurance, which put it ahead of other states. But motorists in Maine still remain at substantial risk of uninsured motorist accidents — in part because poor driving records have often left such motorists without either a driver’s license or liability insurance. 

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage in Maine

The Maine Department of Transportation is releasing a new Strategic Highway Safety Plan in response to an increasing number of traffic fatalities.

MDOT reports about 33,000 Maine car crashes a year with about 150 traffic deaths. The improving economy and low gas prices were both cited as factors in the increase. Still, motorists are urged to do their part.

“Crashes are not accidents,” said Highway Safety Director Lauren Stewart.

Our injury attorneys in Bangor and Portland have posted recently about the risks of driving in Maine’s harsh winter conditions, as well as the increased risk of slip-and-fall injuries. Children face even greater risk of injuries in both scenarios. 

The Associated Press has reported a six-year-old child was hospitalized after a Garland crash being blamed at least partly on bad weather, including low visibility and slushy roads. A Penobscot County sheriff’s deputy noted such conditions can make vehicles more prone to leaving the roadway, which increases the chances of serious injuries.

The Maine Bureau of Highway Safety reports Maine motor vehicle collisions remain the number one cause of unintentional deaths of children under age 16. Poor driving conditions make it even more important that parents and caregivers are following Maine’s Child Passenger Safety (CPS) law.  Under the law, children who weigh less than 40 pounds must ride in a child safety seat. Those under age eight who weigh between 40 and 80 pounds must be in a federally approved child restraint system. The state also reminds parents that recommendations of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urge motorists to keep children ages 8-12 in a booster seat until they are big enough to fit properly in the lap belt.