Tennessee Motorcycle Fatality

A Tennessee motorcyclist was killed as he drove through an intersection and was struck by a teen driver in a pickup truck. According to police and local media reports the motorcyclist had the green light and the unnamed teen ran the light. What was this kid doing? Did he run the light on purpose, I doubt it. Was he paying attention to his driving, I doubt it.

Among experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorneys, the Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), it is generally agreed that teen drivers have the highest crash risk of any age group. Per mile, the crash rate for 16 year-old drivers is 10 times the rate for drivers between 30 and 59. The basic reasons behind this statistic are obvious, teen drivers have no experience with the myriad issues faced by drivers with experience, furthermore, they are immature and often takes risks, most often speeding, and are easily distracted which contribute to the increased death rate.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyer I have seen far too many teen deaths and I strongly encourage parents to be realistic about the skills and propensities of their children. It’s a time of excitement and dread for every parent, the time when their precious little Bobby or Betty reaches the age when they can drive. Excitement because their child is growing up and the parents can relinquish to job of being the chauffeur for their busy teens and dread because the know in their heart of hearts the dangers that teen drivers face as they take to the highways and byways.

In addition to laws, safety experts agree that parents play a key role in helping teens become good drivers. Parents should not rely solely on drivers education classes to teach good driving habits and should restrict night driving, restrict the numbers of passengers riding with their teen, supervise practice driving, always require use of seat belts and choose vehicles for safety, not image. Parents can also set a good example by practicing safe driving techniques themselves.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a teen driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

Roadway Departure Crash

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that Tennessee drivers just don’t seem to be getting it. The stories are more or less identical, a couple of lines summarize the life of a human being. The story goes like this; a driver is killed when his car left the roadway, he hit a tree, he didn’t have his seat belt on and he died.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney we know that these crashes are referred to as “Roadway Departure Crashes” (RDCs). The Federal Highway Administration defines a RDC as a non-intersection crash that occurs when a vehicle crosses an edge line or a centerline, or otherwise leaves the traveled way.

According to the Federal Highway Administration roadway departure crashes are frequently severe and account for the majority of highway fatalities. In 2008, there were 19,794 fatal roadway departure crashes resulting in 22,080 fatalities, which was 53 percent of the fatal crashes in the United States.

According to local media reports, a Gatlinburg man was killed when his vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree along U.S. Highway 321 in Sevier County on Sunday. What made him leave the roadway is a question that may never be answered, the usual suspects are that he was under the influence, fell asleep, or he was distracted by a cell phone or other electronic device. The lesson here is that when you are behind the wheel you have to be alert at all times making a particular effort to avoid distractions.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee car crash by a distracted driver or a case like the present one that will require an experienced Tennessee automobile accident lawyer contact the lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates for a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

Motorcycle Fatality

As an experienced Tennessee motorcycle accident attorney I am concerned that while all other types of fatal crashes involving cars, trucks and pedestrians are on the decrease, motorcycle fatalities continue to rise. What lies at the cause of this phenomenon? Several things come to mind.

First of all manufacturers continue to make motorcycles bigger and faster. Sometimes known as “crotch rockets” these high-powered bikes require more skill and unfortunately anybody with the money or credit can buy one and without any specialized training, take to the highway.

Reference a motorcycle fatality that occurred in Kentucky yesterday. A man was driving a motorcycle along a two lane highway when a pickup truck failed to yield and tried to make a left turn in front of him. State police say the motorcycle driver  tried to stop, but the motorcycle started to slide, spilling him and his passenger, a young girl to the roadway. The girl was injured and the driver was killed.

In 2007, 5,154 motorcyclists were killed, an increase of 7 percent over the 4,837 motorcyclists killed in 2006. There were 103,000 motorcyclists injured during 2007.

In 2007, 2,641 (50%) of all motorcycles involved in fatal crashes collided with another type of motor vehicle in transport. In two-vehicle crashes, 78 percent of the motorcycles involved were struck in the front. Only 5 percent were struck in the rear.

As is the case here, motorcycles are more likely to be involved in a fatal collision with a fixed object than are other vehicles. In 2007, 25 percent of the motorcycles involved in fatal crashes collided with fixed objects, compared to 18 percent for passenger cars, 13 percent for light trucks, and 3 percent for large trucks.

Motorcycles made up nearly 3 percent of all registered vehicles in the United States in 2006 and accounted for only 0.4 percent of all vehicle miles traveled. Per vehicle mile traveled in 2006, motorcyclists were about 35 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a motor vehicle traffic crash and 8 times more likely to be injured.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a careless motorcycle rider, contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates for a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

Roadway Departure Crash

Without knowing more about the facts, but as an experienced Nashville auto accident attorney, I can tell you that when a roadway departure crash occurs at 3AM one of two things is going on. Either the driver was sleeping at the wheel or she was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Reference an accident last night in which a 29-year-old woman was driving along on Murfreesboro Road in South Nashville near the airport when, for no apparent reason, her car left the road and hit a telephone poll and split her car in half. The driver was wearing her seat belt but for some reason she was ejected from the vehicle and was dead at the scene.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney we know that these crashes are referred to as “Roadway Departure Crashes” (RDCs). The Federal Highway Administration defines a RDC as a non-intersection crash that occurs when a vehicle crosses an edge line or a centerline, or otherwise leaves the traveled way.

According to the Federal Highway Administration roadway departure crashes are frequently severe and account for the majority of highway fatalities. In 2008, there were 19,794 fatal roadway departure crashes resulting in 22,080 fatalities, which was 53 percent of the fatal crashes in the United States.

If you or a loved one are involved in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a distracted driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associatesw and find out about your rights and remedies.

Elderly Driver Hazards

Accident investigators in Dickson County Tennessee will have to unravel a mystery when they seek to determine why an elderly woman simply failed to stop when she approached four cars stopped at a stop sign. When faced with a case like this police and experienced Tennessee automobile accident lawyers look to several different things that might explain such an accident. Those two main things are medical emergency and distractions.

As our population ages we might expect to see more Tennessee automobile accidents caused by drivers who suffer medical emergencies while they are driving. Incidences of drivers who had crashes precipitated by their medical emergencies while driving are relatively rare and account for only 1.3 percent of all road fatalities.

Older Tennessee drivers have relatively higher incidences of crashes precipitated by drivers’ medical emergencies when compared to young and middle-age drivers. Drivers in crashes precipitated by medical emergencies were more likely than other drivers to be severely injured or to die as a result of the crash.

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, talking with passengers and drowsiness.

My prayers go out to the driver and all of the people injury in this serious accident with my hopes for a quick recovery. If you or a loved one is injured and killed in a Tennessee auto accident you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

Senseless Motorcycle Accident

As an experienced Tennessee motorcycle accident attorney I can tell you right off that a high-powered motorcycle, high speed and failure to yield on an 2-lane state highway is a recipe for disaster. So it was for a young man from Greene County Tennessee, who, according to local police reports was driving a 2002 Yamaha “crotch rocket” motorcycle when he came upon traffic waiting for a car to turn left from the road into a driveway.

Instead of waiting for the traffic to begin to move the young man whipped out into the oncoming lane and attempted to pass in a no passing zone. You guessed it, the driver turned to enter the driveway and the motorcycle slammed into the side of his vehicle. The motorcyclist was dead at the scene and the driver of the car has been hospitalized.

Motorcycles made up nearly 3 percent of all registered vehicles in the United States in 2006 and accounted for only 0.4 percent of all vehicle miles traveled. Per vehicle mile traveled in 2006, motorcyclists were about 35 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a motor vehicle traffic crash and 8 times more likely to be injured.

Stories like these should remind us that when we get behind the wheel, or handle bars, of a motor vehicle we have to have our full attention on the task at hand. If you or a loved one is injured in a Tennessee motorcycle accident contact our experienced Nashville accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and learn about your rights and remedies.

Avoidable Tennessee Tractor-Trailer Crash

As an experienced Tennessee tractor-trailer accident lawyer, I can tell you for certain that a drunken truck driver with serious logbook violations weaving from lane to lane, hauling 42,000 pounds of paper rolls, is an accident looking for a place to happen.  We have to wait no longer. The driver’s  swerving caused the load to shift and the truck rolled over blocking the highway.

I want to remind you that driving with a BAC of .08 or higher is illegal in every state. If you follow my blog you will see that in Tennessee we continue to see a tragic number of people with debilitating injuries and deaths as a result of impaired driving. Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. 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.

On average a human being loses their life at the hands of a drunk driver every 45 minutes. In 2008, an estimated 11,773 people died in drunk driving related crashes, a decline of 9.8 percent from the 13,041 drunk driving related fatalities of 2007.

If you or a loved one are injured or killed in a Tennessee accident like this one involving a tractor-trailer it is absolutely essential that you contact an experienced Tennessee tractor-trailer accident lawyer immediately. The trucking company will have their investigators at the scene, sometimes before the authorities. They coach the driver on what to say and they have access to important evidence that is necessary to prove your claim. Don’t wait. Contact the experienced Tennessee tractor-trailer lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates now and protect your rights and remedies.

Poorly Marked Railroad Crossings

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I can tell you that a 20-year-old Chattanooga Tennessee man is one lucky son-of-a-gun. The man was crossing a railroad crossing that has only minimal signage and his pickup truck was struck by a train, pushed from the tracks, overturned and ended up in a ditch. The only injury he sustained was a minor shoulder injury from his seatbelt holding him in position. He traded a little shoulder pain for much more serious injury if he had been ejected from his vehicle.

Neighbors said the crossing is unsafe because of a curve that only allows motorists to see approximately 75 feet down the track. They say that there have been many close calls and a number of collisions. This accident, as well as those that occurred previously should put the railroad operators on notice of this dangerous condition and force them to add additional warning signs to prevent further injury or loss of life.

If you or someone you love has been hurt in a serious Tennessee car accident due to somebody else’s negligence, then you may be feeling angry, frightened, or even alone in your suffering.

There is no reason for you to bear your burden alone.  The experience of a Tennessee auto accident is traumatic enough and your recovery will bring its own challenges.  You don’t need the added stress of worrying about who will pay for the medical care you need, how your car will be repaired, and if the individuals responsible for your suffering will be brought to justice.  This is the time to call Phillip Miller & Associates, the law firm of local Tennessee attorneys and staff who for the past 25 years have dedicated their lives to protecting the rights of injured men, women, and children in Tennessee.

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I can tell you that speed, distraction and not wearing your seatbelt is a toxic mix. I just read about a fatal accident in Chattanooga is which a woman was driving too fast, experienced some sort of a distraction, left the road, overcorrected and wound up rolled over in a ditch. She was not wearing her seatbelt and was partially ejected and crushed beneath the vehicle.

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.

Speeding is one of the most prevalent factors contributing to traffic crashes. The economic cost of speeding-related crashes is estimated to be in excess of 40.4 billion dollars per year. In 2007, speeding was a contributing factor in 31 percent of all fatal crashes, and 13,040 lives were lost in speeding-related crashes.

For more information about highway safety and some good accident prevention tips go to my website at www.seriousinjury.com.  If you need further information and or the advice of a group of experienced Tennessee automobile accident lawyers call Phillip Miller & Associates for the answers.

Click It or Ticket

Occupant protection systems are safety features designed to protect occupants of motor vehicles in the event of a crash. Occupant protection systems can be ‘active,’ as in the case of seat belts and child restraints, or ‘passive,’ as in the case of air bags and vary depending on the occupant’s age (or height and weight).

Seat Belts

Seat belts are the oldest form of occupant protection, with Volvo patenting the first rudimentary automobile seat belt in 1889. However, it wasn’t until 75 years later, in 1968, that the federal government required seat belts to be installed in all passenger cars.

The first seat belt use law was enacted in New York in 1985. Over time other states followed suit and began enacting use laws. There are two types of seat belt laws:

• Primary
  Primary (standard) seat belt laws allow law enforcement officers to stop a vehicle and issue a citation when the officer simply observes an unbelted driver or passenger.
• Secondary
  Secondary seat belt laws allow law enforcement officials stop a vehicle and issue a citation only after the officer cites the offender for another infraction.

GHSA strongly encourages all states to adopt and enforce primary seat belt laws. Today, the trend is moving in this direction. Being able to ticket a seat belt violation in and of itself has resulted in big increases in the use rates in many states. Unfortunately Tennessee is a secondary use state except under certain circumstances.

The use of safety belts, child restraint safety seats and child booster seats are required by Tennessee law. These can help save you and your passengers’ lives in the event of a traffic crash. Tennessee law enforcement officers can stop drivers and issue citations for failure to observe the seatbelt or child restraint laws. Officers can stop and ticketdrivers solely for disobeying Seatbelt and Child Restraint
Device (CRD) laws.
A. Seat belts are required for ALL drivers and all passengers in the FRONT seat, any time the vehicle is in motion.
B. Seat belts and child restraints are also required for BACKSEAT passengers when they are 17 or younger.

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I always remind adults that it is their job, not only to make sure that young people and passengers are buckled up , but they must also set a good example and buckle-up themselves. If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee auto accident contact the experienced Nashville car crash lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.