Car Accidents

Massachusetts Teen Driver Accidents Increase During Summer Months

August 18, 2015 | by John S. Moffa

According to AAA, summer marks the 100 deadliest days for teen drivers who get behind the wheel. Although summer offers young drivers an opportunity to travel and engage in other hobbies and activities, it also presents them with ample time to make mistakes behind the wheel. Unsurprisingly, Massachusetts and the surrounding New England region are seeing an increase in motor vehicle accidents involving teen motorists.

Last month, for example, a New England news source reported that two teenagers suffered severe injuries after the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a group of trees. Both occupants, one 19 and the other 17, were trapped inside the vehicle immediately after the collision.The passenger was flown to a local hospital and treated for severe injuries, while the driver was also treated for a number of physical injuries.

The Perils of Prom & Graduation

May 8, 2015 | by John S. Moffa

THE MOFFA REPORT MAY 2015

Five Ways Young Cape Codders Can Avoid the Perils of Prom & Graduation

By John S. Moffa, Esq.

They are innocent and iconic springtime rites-of-passage though both prom and graduation ‘seasons’ are fraught with danger between the Lower and Upper Capes and all towns in between. Between the glitter, flowers, pictures and teenage merriment that comes with proms and commencement into a wider world, only a thoughtless moment separates a minor wearing a gown or tux or graduation robe from a senseless, life-changing moment involving alcohol, a motor vehicle accident or other type of personal injury.

Unfortunately, my office has seen first hand the devastating effects of alcohol and driving during prom and graduation season. In 2010 I represented the family of a teenaged girl who was tragically killed while a passenger in a friend’s car en route to pick up their prom dresses. We have handled many drunk-driving cases over the years involving teenagers, and it is always heartbreaking to see the impact one bad decision can have
on family, friends and loved ones.

Winter Driving Trips

January 20, 2015 | by John S. Moffa

When you’re behind the wheel of a car or truck in winter, the only thing worse than heavy white snow is unseen black ice, so even on days when there’s no precipitation, cold weather presents awful road conditions everywhere in southeastern Massachusetts.

From Route 3 heading South from Plymouth toward Cape Cod, to Route 6 which runs down the spine of the Cape, to Route 25 that connects the Cape to the South Coast, to Route 195 leading to New Bedford, and all those small residential side streets-danger is excruciatingly close, so the best protection against winter accidents is mere common sense. Slowing down is the best course of action on the road in winter.

As simple as this sounds, I advise my clients that reducing speed is the smartest thing you could do when it’s snowing, sleeting or when the mercury is south of 32 degrees, or, the point when water freezes. After all, danger doesn’t announce itself and often you’re only a skid or a few seconds away from a serious traffic incident at any given moment.

Distracted Driving Defined

December 10, 2014 | by John S. Moffa

Distractions are everywhere on roads and highways from Hyannis to New Bedford, Plymouth to Falmouth, and no drivers behind the wheel of a car or truck are immune.

A beautiful deer stands at the berm along Route 3 and a driver takes her eye off the road for a mere two seconds to admire the animal’s beauty.

A trucker new to the Cape Cod area notices the iron beams that straddle the span of the Sagamore Bridge leading to Cape Cod and for several moments his mind is more occupied by its beauty, rather than keeping his thoughts wholly dedicated to the wheel of his semi. A working mother rushes to work along Route 28 in Falmouth and since she had missed breakfast, she wolfs down a muffin while balancing a cup of take-out coffee. A 17-year-old male from Barnstable, late for his school’s football game, texts his friends while driving on Route 132 in Hyannis and he barely notices the accelerator climbing over the speed limit.

In all these scenarios a thought ‘steered’ a driver’s attention and that’s the definition of distracted driving. And the granddaddy of distracted driving is texting.

New Bedford Cracking Down On Impaired Drivers

August 10, 2012 | by John S. Moffa

Beginning next week as of August 15, 2012, the New Bedford Police Department is joining up with 128 other law enforcement agencies in a nationwide movement to suppress driving under the influence. The most common personal injury claims are for car accidents.

The “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” movement will take place from August 15 ^th to September 3, 2012 and the New Bedford Police will be going after any person that consumes alcohol or takes drugs and gets behind the wheel.This armament is being funded by a federal grant through the (EOPSS-HSD) or Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Highway Safety Division.

Did you know that on average, someone is killed every 51 minutes in the United States because of a drunk driving accident? On holiday weekends such as the Fourth of July or Memorial Day weekend these statistics become even more shocking.