Due to their sheer size and capacity, city garbage trucks present a threat to everyone else on the road. From drivers of passenger vehicles to cyclists and pedestrians, a scrape with a garbage truck can end in disaster very quickly. These accidents have a high rate of serious injury and death. Filing a claim for your Portland…
Despite strict laws against drunk driving, statistics indicate that more than 14,000 people were arrested in Oregon and more than 23,000 were arrested in Washington State for driving under the influence in 2016. Many, many more intoxicated drivers escape detection without an arrest, which means there are even more drunk drivers on the road than those statistics reflect. When…
Top car manufacturers are investing heavily in the technology that powers driverless cars. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are being hailed as the answer to rising auto accident deaths. Poor human decision-making is the #1 cause of 94% of fatal car accidents annually; the logic follows that restricting human involvement behind the wheel will cause the number of fatalities…
These days, you don’t need to pester your family members for a ride to the airport or guilt-trip a friend into being the designated driver for the evening. With rideshare king Uber, an inexpensive ride is never out of reach. While Uber has surpassed the popularity of taxis, issuing over 5.5 billion rides daily, riders…
Portland City Council recently voted to set 20 miles per hour speed limits on residential streets. The council voted unanimously to reduce speeds to 20 mph from 25 mph in residential areas, which make up about 70% of the city’s street grid. The ordinance takes effect immediately on roads that lack speed limit signs. The…
The Oregon Department of Transportation recently invited the public to opine on the use of congestion pricing to improve the flow of traffic on the state’s vital highways: I-5 and I-205 in Portland. The state hopes to ease the volume of traffic on freeways, highways, and bridges in the gem of Oregon, known for around-the-clock rush…
The holiday season is already upon us. From late November to early January, a surge of festivities invites us to socialize with our coworkers, friends, and loved ones. Too often, there are more opportunities and obligations to imbibe than many of us can handle. Consequently, the toll for alcohol-related crashes and fatalities spikes during the…
Even though most states, including Oregon, ban texting and other kinds of cell phone use while driving, cell phone laws are sometimes difficult to enforce. With a device called a Textalyzer, police officers at the scene of an accident could tell if phone use was involved in the crash. According to the U.S. Centers for…
It’s a fact. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are nearly three times more likely than drivers aged 20 and older to be in a fatal crash, with the risk of motor vehicle crashes higher…
Rideshare company Lyft is proving to be serious competition for Uber. With over one million rides per day, Lyft is gaining traction in the rideshare market. Experts predict that Lyft will control a third of the rideshare market by the end of 2017. Portlanders frequently rely on ride-hailing companies like Lyft to get around when…