Distracted Or Drowsy?

Without warning a woman driving a Mercedes Benz heading east-bound on I-40 , left the road, crossed the median and hit a tractor-trailer head-on. The tractor-trailer then skidded into another tractor-trailer and came to a stop across the west-bound lane. According to an article on the website of NewsChannel5 in Nashvile, the Benz and the furniture truck caught fire and the female driver was killed at the scene. My prayers and sympathy goes out to the family and friends of this unidentified woman.

Investigators and family members of the victim will try to understand, and may never know the reason she left the road and died. After toxicology tests are concluded we will know whether alcohol or drugs were involved, but they will not be able shed light as to whether she simply fell asleep at the wheel or she was distracted by something in here car such as a cell phone, radio or navigation device. It only takes a second for a vehicle moving at interstate speed to actually leave the highway.

It seems to me, that distracted drivers cause most Tennessee car accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes and near-crashes. Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event.

In studies by the NHTSA the most common distraction for drivers is the use of cell phones.  However, the number of crashes and near-crashes attributable to dialing is nearly identical to the number associated with talking or listening.  Dialing is more dangerous but occurs less often than talking or listening. Reaching for a moving object increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by 9 times; looking at an external object by 3.7 times; reading by 3 times; applying makeup by 3 times; dialing a hand-held device (typically a cell phone) by almost 3 times; and talking or listening on a hand-held device by 1.3 times. Drivers who engage frequently in distracting activities are more likely to be involved in an inattention-related crash or near crash.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident by a distracted driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile tractor-trailer attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

SUV Roll-Over Crashes

The majority of people that I speak with about highway safety believe that the bigger the vehicle the safer they are in a collision. The thinking seems to be that SUVs are safer than other vehicles on the road. As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I can tell you that they are absolutely wrong in their assumption. Reference a brief article on the website of Knoxville TV station WVLT which reported on a crash on I-40 in which a man and his 7-month-old daughter suffered minor injuries after a roll-over crash in his SUV.

Understanding the risks involved in driving a sport utility vehicle may help prevent unnecessary SUV rollover accidents. A high center of gravity/narrow track width is one of the most important factors in determining a potential SUV rollover. Since SUVs have a higher center of gravity than other vehicles on the road it makes them top heavy. A corrective action puts an SUV in a rollover position.

SUVs are supposed to be able to carry a heavy load of people, equipment, etc, over any type of terrain. This fact has made SUVs a family car, rather than for simply off-roading. More weight increases the chances of an SUV rollover accident occurring, despite the belief that added weight will add stability.

There are about 280,000 rollover accidents in the US each year, resulting in about 10,000 fatal accidents. SUVs with a high center of gravity, are more likely to involved in rollover accidents than typical sedans. About 35 percent of fatal crashes in SUVs resulted from a rollover crash, compared to 16 percent of fatal passenger car accidents resulting from rollovers. This percentage indicates fact that SUVs are much more likely to rollover and result in a fatality.

An SUV without roll protection is what makes an SUV rollover accident so dangerous. Although SUVs were made for the purpose of off-roading manufacturers realized the use of SUVs as a family car and did not include roll bars. While the body of an SUV remained the same as it would if used for off-roading, the removal of the roll bars combined with the high clearance and high center of gravity make rollover accidents that much more fatal.

Studies of real-world single-vehicle crashes show that more than 90% of rollovers occur after a driver runs off of the road. This is not referring to vehicles trying to negotiate difficult trails away from public roads, rather it refers to vehicles rolling over off of the pavement after the driver has lost control of the vehicle. The pavement, a ditch, soft soil, curb or other tripping mechanism usually initiates the rollover accident once the vehicle slides off.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes. Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event. Primary causes of driver inattention are distracting activities, such as cell phone use, and drowsiness.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee roll-over accident contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

Drowsy Drivers Kill

For experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney’s it’s no mystery when we hear of a one car accident simply leaving the highway and crashing into a ditch, crossing the median or ramming into another vehicle which was clearly visible. When the toxicology tests come back negative for alcohol or drugs, we right away know to investigate the victim’s sleep cycle in the 24 hours prior to the accident.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates conservatively that each year drowsy driving “is responsible for at least 100,000 automobile crashes, 71,000 injuries, and 1,550 fatalities.” But among all the major factors that cause or contribute to crashes, like speeding, alcohol use, and weather situations, drowsiness is the most difficult for police and other crash investigators to detect and quantify.

Sleepiness and driving is a dangerous combination. Most people are aware of the dangers of drinking and driving but don’t realize that drowsy driving can be just as fatal. Like alcohol, sleepiness slows reaction time, decreases awareness, impairs judgment and increases your risk of crashing.

It’s nearly impossible to determine with certainty the cause of a fatal crash where drowsy driving is suspected. However, there are a number of clues at a crash scene that tell investigators that the person fell asleep at the wheel. For example, drowsy driving accidents usually involve only one vehicle where the driver is alone and the injuries tend to be serious or fatal. Also, skid marks or evidence of other evasive maneuvers are usually absent from the drowsy driving crash scene.

Unlike alcohol-related crashes, no blood, breath, or other objective test for sleepiness behind the wheel currently exists that investigators could give to a driver at the scene of a crash. This makes police training in identifying drowsiness as a crash factor very difficult.

There are many underlying causes of sleepiness, fatigue and drowsy driving. Including sleep loss from restriction or too little sleep, interruption or fragmented sleep; chronic sleep debt; circadian factors associated with driving patterns or work schedules; undiagnosed or untreated sleep disorders; time spent on a task; the use of sedating medications; and the consumption of alcohol when already tired. These factors have cumulative effects and a combination of any of these can greatly increase one’s risk for a fatigue-related crash.

Sleepiness or Fatigue Causes the Following:

* Impaired reaction time, judgment and vision

* Problems with information processing and short-term memory

* Decreased performance, vigilance and motivation

* Increased moodiness and aggressive behaviors

We all are responsible for driving, walking, and biking safely on our Nation’s roads. Drivers and pedestrians have the responsibility to always be alert and obey the traffic rules. If you are sleepy and nodding off you owe it to yourself and your family, as well as the other drivers on the road to find a safe place and pull over and nap. Take a half an hour or so and save your life. If you notice a driver acting erratically contact the Tennessee Highway Patrol by calling *847, reporting them may save their life and the lives of others.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident by a drowsy driver contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of our free consultation so you can understand your rights and remedies

Drunk Hit & Run Driver

Hakeem Nadhir Abdur Raqeeb, formerly known as Carl Anthony Simmons, has made it to my people who should never be allowed to drive again list for 2009. If you follow my blog you know the general profile of candidates for this title. Usually it’s someone who gets drunk or high and gets behind the wheel of a motor vehicle and causes the death of another and then leaves the scene of the accident.

According to an article on the NewsChannel5 website, Mr. Raqeeb was driving drunk last Wednesday when he swerved into a vehicle driven by Perry Dale III and forced his car into a utility pole and several trees. Mr. Dale died in the crash while Mr. Raqeeb sped off  so that he could avoid the consequences of his action. My sympathy and prayers go out to the family and friends of Mr. Dale.

What kind of person wrecks another or hits a pedestrian and leaves them to die in the street? Obviously, some drivers, like Mr. Raqeeb, are impaired by alcohol or drugs. If there is anything worse than a drunk driver, it is a drunk driver who causes an accident and then flees the scene. Others are drivers with no license, like Mr. Raqeeb, perhaps their license has been suspended or revoked because of prior traffic violations, or they never had one in the first place.

Then there are drivers who want to avoid detection because they are uninsured and don’t want to be financially responsible themselves for the damage that they have done. Even though liability insurance is required in every state, you’d be stunned at the number of uninsured drivers on the road. Mr. Raqeeb is presently in jail charged with vehicular homicide, and yes, driving without a license, on a bond in the amount of 177,500.00. If you want to let your voice be heard contact District Attorney General Victor S. Johnson, at 615-862-5500 and tell him what you think ought to be done with people like Mr. Raqeeb.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed by a drunk driver contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

Beware The Blind Spot

Yesterday, I blogged about a woman who tried to cross an Interstate median and was killed when she was hit head-on by a fast moving tractor-trailer. The theme of the article was that there are things you should and should not do when traveling on an Interstate highway.

A recent article on the website of the Herald-Citizen tells of a tragic automobile tractor-trailer accident on I-40 near Monterrey that brings the focus on another driving error that we must avoid. An inevitable fact of life is that we have to share the highways of this wonderful country with commercial vehicles of all sizes. We have to understand the dynamics of these 80,000 lb giants and act accordingly.

According to the article an 18-year old woman, Lindsey Toft, was fatally injured and three other teens were injured in the collision. It appears that the SUV they were riding in was being driven by Matthew Harris, 18, and was driving in the right lane in a blind spot of the tractor-trailer that was passing on the left. The Tractor-trailer gave a right turn signal and attempted to enter the right lane, Harris blew his horn and swerved to avoid being hit, lost control, hit the guard rail and then went back onto the roadway where his vehicle was hit by another tractor-trailer. Ms. Toft was not wearing her seatbelt and was ejected fro the SUV.

The Tennessee Rules of the Road specifically warn us not to drive in the blind spot of other drivers, especially tractor-trailers. Traveling in a position where the driver ahead of you cannot see your vehicle can be dangerous as evidenced by this accident. Either stay behind or go around. If the vehicle begins to enter your lane immediately slow down and yield the right of way. Do NOT follow to the side and do not expect the other driver to hear your horn.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Tennessee car/tractor-trailer accident contact the experienced Tennessee accident and injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

Craig Sinard, a truck driver from Dandridge Tennessee is a Good Samaritan. I’m sending a shout out his way and hope he has a speedy recovery from his injuries incurred as he was trying to pull an injured motorist from his wrecked car on I-24. 

Report Drunk Drivers

According to an article on the website of WATE TV in Knoxville, Sinard was driving his tractor-trailer along I-24 when he came upon a wrecked vehicle in the fast lane. He immediately pulled over and used his CB radio to get other truckers to form a roadblock to protect the man trapped in the car. Fellow truckers did block traffic and a call went out to the THP and local first responders. Everything was going well, Sinard was able to pull the injured man from his vehicle and get him to the shoulder to wait for an ambulance.

Sounds good so far, but then an impatient drunk driver drove around the tractor-trailer road block and raced off down the shoulder. He hit Sinard at about 50 mph. Sinard remembers the crash and being thrown under the man’s pickup. He spent four days in the hospital with a broken foot, sprained ankle, fractured wrist and dislocated shoulder. The pickup driver was arrested and charged with drunk driving. According to Murfreesboro Police the original injured driver was in serious but stable condition.

Sinard told reporters, “I’d stop again. If you drive by and see somebody sitting there getting ready to possibly get killed and you have a chance to save them, wouldn’t you help them?” What a guy!

The next time you complain about a tractor-trailer driver on an Interstate just remember Gary Sinard and the other unnamed truckers who joined together and saved a life. When you have a chance give the next trucker you meet a smile, a hand-shake and a big thank you. Also remember the totally selfish, uncaring drunk driver who put himself ahead of everything and everyone else. If you live in or around Rutherford County you might want to drop The Honorable Willian Whitesell, District Attorney General a line at (615) 898-8008 and let him know how you feel about the drunk driver who nearly killed a good decent man.

If you are a loved one is injured in a Nashville car tractor-trailer accident involving a drunk driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.

Safety And Courtesy

As the holidays approach I am reminded of the dark side of the holiday buying season and that is the craziness that surrounds what has come to be known as “Black Friday”. I’d like to take this opportunity to remind my readers to pay particular attention to the rules of the road and to practice safe driving, especially in and around the parking lots of shopping centers. Watch out for pedestrians, especially children in parking lots.

There seems to be a frantic nature about this day, we see people getting trampled as stores open before dawn, normally peaceful people get into fist fights over merchandise and parking spots. On the road this day is know by the Tennessee Highway Patrol for the higher number of calls regarding aggressive driving.

On a day like this it is hard for drivers to focus their attention on the task at hand. So little time, so many multi-taskers. If you’re driving your vehicle, you are already multitasking. At a minimum you are: operating a piece of heavy machinery at high speed; navigating across changing terrain; calculating speeds and distances; and responding to all the other drivers and obstacles around you. Putting one more activity in the mix, even talking to your passengers or changing a radio station can be enough to make you lose control of your vehicle or fail to respond in an emergency.

Many road and parking lot rage incidents have resulted from drivers overreacting and allowing their egos to stand in the way of common sense and good judgment rather than safely reporting aggressive driver incidents. A simple display of common courtesy will often be appreciated and may even become contagious. Try it!

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Black Friday road incident contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.

Stay Out Of Interstate Medians

There are a few simple, yet important, rules that one must follow when driving on an interstate highway. Keeping a good look out for other vehicles, staying at or near the speed limit, avoiding distractions and employing your signals when changing lanes, might just make your trip safe and successful. There is also a list of things that you should never do and one of the top items on the “don’t do” list is to try to reverse course by attempting to cross the median to get to the opposite lanes of traffic.

According to an article on the website of WBIR TV in Knoxville this is precisely the move 63-year old Donna Brennan, an Overton County woman made last Saturday. According to the THP Ms. Brennan was heading east when she decided to reverse course and go the other way. Moments after she made the fatal attempt she died in a firey crash. She entered the lane and was immediately hit head-on by a tractor-trailer hauling furniture. A second tractor-trailer was unable to stop and it crashed into the two vehicles.

Albert Galvin and his wife Carolyn were both airlifted to the UT Medical Center in serious but stable condition while the driver and passenger in the second truck were unhurt. My sympathy and prayers go out to the family and friends of Ms. Brennan and my hopes and prayers for a speedy recovery to Mr. And Mrs. Galvin.

Interstate Highway Driving Is Different

Traffic on interstates usually moves more safely and efficiently because access is controlled.  There are no stop signs, no railroad crossings and no traffic lights.  Interstates usually have few steep hills or sharp curves to limit the view of the road ahead.  Limited access or controlled access means that drivers enter or leave the roadway only at entrances and exits, called interchanges, without ever crossing the path of other traffic. Interstates and divided highways have largely removed the chance of head-on collisions.

Interstate driving requires good skills and habits so you can safely get where you are going.  Safe use of the interstates demands a complete awareness of a higher speed type of driving and constant alertness by the driver. In Tennessee you may not drive over or across any dividing section or separation in the roadway. Only emergency vehicles and highway maintenance crews may cross an interstate median legally.

If you or a loved on is injured or killed in an Tennessee tractor-trailer car accident you owe it to yourself to take advantage of a free consultation with the experienced Tennessee automobile tractor-trailer accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates to find out about your rights and remedies.

Drunk Driver Kills Mother Of Four

Keeping up with my theme today of blogging about people who should not ever be allowed to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, I ran across another article on the web site of WRCB TV in Chattanooga about a clown named Robert Ayiteyfio from Atlanta who was driving his car at a high rate of speed on I-20 on the wrong side of the road. Not surprisingly, he ran head on into a vehicle driven by Shameyka Welch, 24, a mother of four children, killing her instantly. Her boyfriend and two of her children avoided death but ended up in Grady Memorial Hospital. My prayers go out to Ms. Welch and my deepest sympathies to her family and friends. Police told the reporter that Ayiteyfio was drunk during this heinous criminal act.

As he was being questioned by police at the scene of the crime, Ayiteyfio fled the scene on foot and had to be hunted down by the police. During the investigation another police officer was hit by a car and was hospitalized in stable condition. I hope this officer makes a speedy and complete recovery, what they do for us out there on the road is beyond comprehension. Ayiteyfio has been charged with vehicular homicide and is in custody.

Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. Here in Tennessee in 2008, 327 people were killed in crashes where the driver or motorcyclist had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. That is down from 377 people killed in 2007 with a BAC of .08 or higher.

Every day, 36 people in the United States die, and approximately 700 more are injured, in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. The annual cost of alcohol-related crashes totals more than $51 billion. But there are effective measures that can help prevent injuries and deaths from alcohol-impaired driving and one of them is to lock people like Mr. Ayiteyfio up to keep him from driving a motor vehicle ever again. During his incarceration he should be educated and treated for his alcohol issues and when he is released from custody he should be closely monitored and made to understand that if he tries to operate a motor vehicle again, he will be taken off the streets for good.

During this holiday season be ever vigilant as you drive. If you see a drunk driver give them plenty of space on the highway, don’t engage them and immediately report them to the Nashville Police by calling 911 or to the Tennessee Highway Patrol by dialing *847.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident by a drunk driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation so that you can get a complete picture of your rights and remedies.

Hit & Run Drivers KIll And Run

No matter how much care we put into our driving there are always those people out there who should never be allowed behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. I’m going to blog today about one of them today. Please pardon me if my tone is angry, people like Roger Strickland get my dander up.

Hit & Run drivers are, in my consideration, the worst kind of human being. Most H&R drivers are under the influence of alcohol, others have already run afoul of the law and have lost their driving privileges, yet they continue to get behind the wheel and ignore the rules. Many H&R drivers are trying to avoid detection because they don’t have insurance and they don’t want to face the responsibility for their actions. No matter which category they fall into they are the very worst type of person, someone who will leave an injured or dying pedestrian lying in the street.

Reference a recent article on the web site of WRCB TV in Chattanooga where Roger Strickland, 26, hit a 5-year old riding his bicycle and left the scene leaving the injured child lying in the street. Luckily, witnesses got a description of  Strickland’s car and immediately informed the police. Acting quickly, members of  the Fugitive Squad apprehended him a couple of blocks away. Strickland was one of those drivers who had previously shown that he was unable to act in a responsible manner and had his license revoked. The child sustained minor injuries and was released from the hospital that same day. I send my prayers to this young man and his family along with my wishes for a speedy recovery.

If you witness someone hitting and running, be a good citizen, get the license plate number and report it to the police. If you can do it safely, whip out your cell phone camera and make a picture of the car that has hit and run.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville car accident by a Hit & Run driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and get a free consultation so that you can find out about your rights and responsibilities.