Asheville Legal Blog

North Carolina drivers should know how to avoid car accidents

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in personal injury on Tuesday, January 21, 2020.

Motor vehicle accidents occur every day across the country, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety wants drivers to understand that there are ways to avoid some of the most frequent crash types. Drivers need to be aware that modern technology can assist as great tools in newer vehicles, but there are also several easy-to-implement practices that will assist drivers with overall safer vehicle operations.

The most common accidents include front- and side-impact wrecks along with rear-end crashes and parking lot accidents. Many newer vehicles can come equipped with technologically advanced systems such as lane-maintaining and automatic braking features. These devices not only alert drivers to a possible dangerous situation, but they can also control the steering and braking of vehicles. Forward-collision warning gadgets and rear-view cameras are more tools designed to protect drivers from getting into accidents.

Drivers combining hands-free cell use with other distractions

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in personal injury on Monday, January 6, 2020.

Drivers in North Carolina and across the nation use hands-free devices in order to talk on their cellphones while driving. While some may feel like this makes driving safer, data actually shows the opposite to be true. It seems that when a person uses a hands-free cellphone while driving, he or she is likely to engage in other risky behaviors at the same time.

This data comes from Lytx, which is a provider of safety and productivity solutions, analytics and video telematics for commercial and public sector fleets. They found that over 20% of the fleets that they analyzed involved drivers who engaged in various behaviors that were potentially risky. Depending on which risky behaviors are engaged in at the same moment, it could increase a driver's risk of getting into an accident by up to 100%.

Tips for a functional co-parenting relationship

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in family law on Monday, December 23, 2019.

When parents divorce in North Carolina, they may struggle afterwards to maintain a functioning co-parenting relationship. However, it can be important to the well-being of their children that they do so.

It may be helpful for parents to work with a counselor. At minimum, a counselor may offer assistance in setting ground rules and expectations for the co-parenting relationship. Focusing on the children may help parents move past resentment, anger and other negative emotions and work toward what will be best for them. Parents should consider where would be the best places for them to meet to discuss the children. Places that have painful associations, such as the house they once shared, may not be the right choice. Instead, a pleasant public environment where both feel comfortable, such as a cafe, may be a better choice.

Distracted driving happens in 3 main ways

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC on Monday, December 23, 2019.

There are two ways to look at distracted driving. First, you can think of it as something with a nearly endless list of causes. Texting and driving is one of the most common, but you also have people doing their grooming on the way to work, talking to their children in the back seat, trying to choose a new playlist on their phones and drinking a morning cup of coffee -- just to name a few.

The truth is that, while you can cite an incredible amount of specific causes for distracted driving, there are just three main ways that it happens. Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they are:

Cognitive
Visual
Manual

How negligence works in car accidents

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in personal injury on Wednesday, December 11, 2019.

North Carolina drivers are likely interested in finding out how negligence applies to auto accidents. This information could help them drive safer and determine if they have a legal case against another person who caused an accident.

In order for negligence to apply to a car accident, there are certain criteria that need to be met. First, a requirement or an expectation for some type of reasonable care needs to exist. Individuals who possess a driver's license are expected to drive safely in order to keep others safe. There has to be proof that care wasn't exercised, such as a driver failing a breathalyzer test after the accident. Third, evidence needs to show that the negligence of the driver caused injury or loss.

Truck collisions: the five most frequent causes

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in personal injury on Tuesday, November 26, 2019.

Collisions between big rigs and passenger vehicles are all too common in North Carolina, and their causes can be divided roughly into five categories. The first and most widespread is, of course, driver error. Both truckers and passenger vehicle drivers can cause a crash by being drowsy, drunk, drugged or distracted behind the wheel. However, 81% of truck crashes involving driver error are caused by passenger vehicle drivers.

The second most common factor is bad weather as inexperienced truckers can hydroplane or jackknife when braking on icy, wet or snowy roads. Trucks already have long stopping distances as it is, so truckers must know proper braking techniques.

How North Carolina drivers can avoid a crash in winter

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in personal injury on Monday, November 11, 2019.

Winter driving is dangerous, what with the sleet and ice and snow that can cover the roads and make them slippery. By considering the following tips, though, drivers can keep safe and reduce the risk for an accident. First, they should head out on the road only when necessary (work, errands etc.). Once on the road, they should keep their speed down and maintain a distance of at least five or six seconds from the car in front.

Drivers should not accelerate harshly as this can cause them to spin their wheels. To avoid coming to a full stop at a traffic light, drivers can slow down and keep their momentum as well as maintain good traction.

Scientists say blood spatter analysis needs more rigor

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in criminal defense on Monday, October 28, 2019.

Some people in North Carolina might be convicted in crimes involving shootings based on blood pattern analysis, but scientists say that people trained in this analysis are not taught with the scientific rigor needed for accuracy. This could result in the conviction of innocent people.

For example, one man who has been in prison in Texas since the 1980s for the murder of his wife was convicted on evidence from blood pattern analysis that showed he was standing near his wife when she was shot. The man claims that he was at a conference 120 miles away at the time. Blood pattern evidence has also been used in some prominent cases, including the murder trials of O.J. Simpson and Phil Spector. If the blood pattern in the Texas case was in fact analyzed incorrectly, the man might be innocent. He has a final attempt at requesting a new trial ahead, but his last appeal was rejected in 2018.

Splitting your home's value during divorce

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC on Friday, October 25, 2019.

Have you heard people talk about some of the more modern approaches to the family home after divorce? For instance, some couples literally share the home, moving in and out with the custody schedule, so that the children do not have to move. They call it "nesting." Other couples continue to own the house together, perhaps renting it out and using it as an income property.

For you, though, these new approaches feel far too complex. You don't want to stay that connected to your ex. While you understand that a home is not an asset you can divide like a savings account, you also know that the home is an asset with a financial value. It's that value that you want to divide.

Divorce may be predicted by these signs

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in family law on Monday, October 14, 2019.

Divorce is one of the most stressful, anxiety-producing situations a person can go through in North Carolina, and most couples seek to avoid it for as long as they can. It can be difficult to know if divorce is the right decision, especially given the weight of the emotions involved. For people who are considering divorce but are not sure about it, there are some telltale signs that divorce is on the way. Among them are not eating meals together, living separate lives, experiencing addiction and not having sex regularly.

It may seem like a small thing, but couples who do not eat dinner together may have major problems. Whatever the surface-level reasons, such as if one partner works late and the other doesn't want to wait to eat, it's a sign that the spouses are disjointed. Meal time is connection time. Living separate lives means that the spouses are making big decisions independently, and they don't care about their partner's opinions. Happy couples have a feeling of connectedness even when they're apart.

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