Truck Accident
Syracuse beware: Truck Accidents are getting deadlier
| August 3rd, 2018
The NY DMV reports over 11,000 over-sized truck crashes were recorded in 2014, with 74 of those accidents involving fatalities. With summer now officially beginning, highway construction and repairs in and around Syracuse may cause issues on Syracuse roads. Why Do So Many Truck Accidents Result in Fatalities? Due to their heavy weight and massive […]
Do I need a lawyer for a NYC truck accident?
| June 4th, 2018
If you are hit by a truck driver in NYC and suffer serious injuries, you will need to show that the driver was responsible and is liable for paying your damages. Trucking companies may be liable for damages via a legal concept called “vicarious liability”, which means an employer can be held responsible for accidents […]
Syracuse Truck Driving Safety Tips
| March 20th, 2018
Commercial trucks and passenger buses on Syracuse roads serve an important role in society, transporting goods to stores and people to their destinations. But driving a small sedan or coupe in their midst, can be intimidating, if not outright frightening. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), there are a few things you […]
Autonomous Car Liability
| September 21st, 2017
A law review article published in the Southern Methodist University Science and Technology Law Review makes the novel argument that “[l]aws governing canine ownership are a good model on which to base laws governing autonomous cars.” While it may seem implausible to compare a sentient animal—a dog—to the motions, sensors and axels of an autonomous […]
Could self-driving cars impact our privacy?
| July 11th, 2017
“In [a] near-future filled with self-driving cars, the price of convenience is surveillance.” That is the argument advanced in a recent Atlantic article, “How Self-Driving Cars Will Threaten privacy.” The article begins with a morning commute “sometime in the indeterminate future” where the humanoid voice of a hypothetical self-driving car makes seemingly innocuous suggestions as […]
Self-Driving Uber Cars??
| July 11th, 2017
Will self-driving cars eliminate the livery industry as we know it today? A recent Reuter’s article seems to presage, at the very least, major changes. According to a recent Reuter article, citing an auto industry cars source, ride-hailing service Uber is looking to place a “large order for self-driving cars.” Would a fleet of Uber-bots […]
Uber & Lyft Insurance Coverage in Upstate NY
| July 7th, 2017
As companies such as Uber and Lyft set up shop in Upstate New York, many insurance coverage questions arise. New York State has passed legislation allowing these types of companies to operate as transportation network companies (TNC) throughout the state. “A major question is, Who will insure the TNC?” asked attorney William Mattar, who focuses […]
The Future of Self-Driving Cars
| July 7th, 2017
A recent article in the Philadelphia Business Journal distills five takeways from a recent Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the future of self-driving cars: Human drivers only make self-driving cars less safe. According to a Google employee who is leading the technical development of its self-driving car technology, “[d]eveloping a car that can shoulder the […]
Product Liability and the Self-Driving Car
| July 7th, 2017
A previous entry took a look at a Brookings Institute paper examining products liability and self-driving cars. That paper, observing that “[a]utonomous vehicles will complicate the . . . entanglements between insurance providers, plaintiffs, drivers/owners named as defendants, and manufacturers,” set forward a number of proposals for state lawmakers. As a follow up, this entry […]
Using a hand-held GPS device while driving
| June 29th, 2017
Are you allowed to use a hand-held GPS device while driving? Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1225-d generally provides that no person shall operate a motor vehicle while using any “portable electronic device” while such vehicle is in motion. The term “portable electronic device” is broadly defined to encompass ‘any hand-held mobile telephone, as defined […]