Camera Technology Saves Lives

The yacking hens that sit around the Waffle Shop in Red Bank Tennessee and complain about traffic safety technology programs to save lives, such as red light and speed reduction cameras have lost their drive to get rid of what they refer to as a violation of their constitutional rights. I guess they mean their right to speed, run red lights and kill innocent pedestrians.

Unfortunately the victory was not won by common sense but rather by the cost of breaking the contract. The new Mayor, pandering to the “know-nothings”, was against them and the first thing he tried to do was to get rid of them. Turns out, it would cost a pretty penny for the city to buy their way out of a contract with American Traffic Solutions.

Two new studies have once again demonstrated the deterrent value of using automated enforcement cameras to reduce red light running. A new review of traffic data from the City of Philadelphia conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has shown that the introduction of red light cameras after lengthening the yellow-light phase has virtually eliminated red light running violations at two problem intersections.

Researchers tracked signal violation rates at intersections before and after extending the yellow light sequence and again after red light camera enforcement had been in effect for about a year. The first step reduced signal violations by 36 percent. The cameras reduced the remaining violations by 96 percent . At the same time, violations were virtually unchanged at two control group intersections.

Another red light running study conducted by researchers from Old Dominion University in Virginia, reviewing data collected both before, during and after the City of Virginia Beach’s six-month deployment of red light technology before Virginia’s red light camera authorizing law was allowed the sunset. The results showed that red light running violations more than tripled in just the first year after the law expired. Red light running at the several intersections that had previously been equipped with red light cameras is now worse than it was before they were installed.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a speeding driver or a red light runner contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies at no charge.

Slowing Speeders Saves Lives

The Greeneville, Tennessee Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted unanimously Tuesday to authorize Mayor W.T. Daniels to negotiate a contract with a company that will develop a partnership with the Greeneville Police Department for a traffic speed-reduction program.

Speed cameras are used in more than 40 U.S. communities as part of police efforts to improve traffic safety. In 2007, speeding was a factor in 32% of motor vehicle crash deaths in the U.S. and has been a factor in about one-third of crash deaths since 1998.

Below are some examples of the safety impact of speed cameras.

* In New Orleans, LA, speed cameras led to an 84% drop in speeding.

* Six months after implementation of speed cameras on residential streets and school zones in Montgomery County, Maryland, in 2007, the proportion of drivers exceeding speed limits by more than 10 mph declined by about 70 percent.

* A 2005 review analyzed data from 14 studies and found crash reductions in the immediate vicinities of speed camera sites ranged from 5 to 69 percent for all crashes, 12 to 65 percent for injury crashes, and 17 to 71 percent for fatal crashes.

* A 2006 review by the Cochrane Collaboration analyzed data from 21 speed camera studies and found reductions ranging from 14 to 72 percent for all crashes, 8 to 46 percent for injury crashes, and 40 to 45 percent for crashes involving fatalities and serious injuries.

* A 2007 NHTSA-sponsored review of 13 published studies reported injury crash reductions of 20 to 25 percent for fixed speed cameras and 21 to 51 percent for mobile speed camera programs.

* In the District of Columbia, almost 1 in 3 motorists were found to be speeding aggressively (defined by police as traveling above the threshold speed established for the program) at the beginning of the speed camera program in 2001. During September 2006, the number dropped to less than 1 in 58.

* Implementation of a 9-month pilot program using fixed speed cameras on a busy urban freeway in Scottsdale, AZ, in 2006 was associated with up to a 95 percent decrease in the odds that drivers would travel more than 10 mph above the posted 65 mph speed limit.

* A study of the same fixed speed-enforcement program in Scottsdale, AZ, found that the speed camera program led to lower speeds, safer drivers, shorter drive times and economic savings. Average speeds were reduced by about 9 mph following the installation of six cameras on the Loop 101 freeway, total crashes were reduced by 44% to 54% and injury crashes decreased by 28% to 48%.

* A study of speed cameras in 10 school zones in New South Wales, Australia, found overall reductions in traffic speeds not only in the school zones but also on the roads approaching the school zones.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile intersection accident caused by a speeder you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

Medical Emergency

Wade Arlyn  (BoomBoom) Crane, a well known 66-year-old pro billiards player from Acworth, Ga. was killed early Sunday in a one-car crash in Knoxville, Tennessee. My sympathy goes out to the family, friends and fans of Mr. Crane.

Local media reports said that his car suddenly swerved across three lanes of traffic and hit a concrete wall on the right side of the roadway and then back across five lanes to slam into the left side wall. Police investigators believe that Mr. Crane suffered a medical emergency before his car went out of control. Fortunately, no other vehicles were involved in the crash.

According to a recent study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, older drivers face substantially elevated risk of being involved in and responsible for crashes in which they themselves die, and they pose more risk to other road users than the lowest-risk drivers do; however, the degree to which older drivers’ risk to other road users is elevated.

In 2008, older people accounted for 15 percent of all traffic fatalities and 18 percent of all pedestrian fatalities. Most traffic fatalities involving older drivers in occurred during the daytime (80%), occurred on weekdays (72%), and involved other vehicles (69%).

If you or a loved one is seriously injured in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by an older driver, contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

Leaving Keys In Car Can Be Costly

Last week I wrote about a Tennessee Court of Appeals decision in which the Court ruled that people who leave their keys in their cars can be held liable for any harm caused by a negligent car thief. Reference an incident in Knoxville Tennessee this weekend in which a criminal on the run from police for a string of pharmacy robberies crashed his stolen vehicle in a subdivision, jumped out of the car and into a car that was being warmed up in a nearby driveway.

The chase continued after the criminal grabbed the new car. Police finally corralled the miscreant and as they approached the vehicle he tried to run over the police and sheriff’s officers. He is charged with aggravated assault and a host of other felonies. The police are waiting to decide whether to charge the vehicle’s owner.

Whether you agree with the Court’s decision or not, it’s not smart to leave your keys in the car or in the car with the engine running. It is foreseeable that if you do, someone could come by and steal your car. I have seen cases where mothers have left their babies in the car, the engine running, to go into a day care center to pick up another sibling. How stupid can you get. In that case the car was stolen with the baby inside.

Criminals know that day care centers, schools, hotels and medical centers are easy places to snatch a car, don’t let it be yours.

For information about Tennessee highway safety visit the web site of Phillip Miller & Associates or call us for a free consultation if you are involved in a serious Tennessee automobile accident.

Elderly Man Dies

A 71-year-old Warrensburg, Tennessee man who had just celebrated his birthday died Thursday afternoon when his pickup truck left the Warrensburg Road and struck a tree head-on. What a tragedy. Family members and investigators will be trying to figure out why a driver suddenly veers from the road and slams into a tree.

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.

Possible answers include distraction, medication complications, and possibly a medical emergency. An autopsy might answer the question but the loss will remain. My prayers go out to this man and his family and friends.

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.

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

Pedestrian Suicide

A Nashville Tennessee pedestrian was killed after he ran out in front of a moving vehicle on Briley Parkway. My prayers go out to the un-named victim and especially to the innocent driver who became the weapon for another man’s suicide.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) a pedestrian is defined as any person not in or upon a motor vehicle or other  vehicle. In 2007, 4,654 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States, a  decrease of 13 percent from the 5,321 pedestrians killed in 1997.

On average, a pedestrian is killed in a traffic crash every 113 minutes and injured in a traffic crash every 8 minutes. There were 70,000 pedestrians injured in traffic crashes in 2007. Most pedestrian fatalities in 2007 occurred in urban areas (73%), at non-intersection locations (77%), in normal weather conditions (90%), and at night (67%).

More than two-thirds (70%) of the pedestrians killed in 2007 were males. In 2007, the male pedestrian fatality rate per 100,000 population was 2.19, more than double the rate for females (0.91 per 100,000 population). In 2007, the male pedestrian injury rate per 100,000 population was 26, compared with 20 for females.

If you or a loved is seriously injured or killed in a Tennessee motor vehicle accident by a speeding driver you ought to contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.

Speed Related Crash

In rural Tennessee, beer cans in a vehicle after a roadway departure crash may or may not mean that alcohol was the cause of the crash. It may simply indicate that the owner of the van is not a litterbug. In the case of a Dickson County single van crash, investigators think that speed was the contributing factor although blood tests will determine whether the speeding was fueled by the alcohol. Luckily, all four men involved in the roadway departure crash survived.

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. The total economic cost of crashes was estimated at $230.6 billion in 2000.

If you or a loved is seriously injured or killed in a Tennessee motor vehicle accident by a speeding driver you ought to contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.

Two Tennesseans Die

A Maryville Tennessee driver and her passenger were killed Friday afternoon in a collision with another vehicle on U.S. 321 near state Highway 95, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol. A 20-year-old woman was driving south when her car collided with another car going the other way. The woman and her 62-year-old passenger were killed at the scene.

The other driver is in stable condition today at University of Tennessee Medical Center. Just how this accident occurred is under investigation with both drivers undergoing blood tests to see if drugs or alcohol might be involved. Local media reports say that all three of the people involved were wearing their seat belts

If you or anyone you know has been injured or killed in a Tennessee car accident, please contact Nashville auto injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here.

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved.

Seatbelts: It's Not Brain Surgery

Investigators say a 47-year-old woman killed in a Meigs County Tennessee automobile accident was not wearing her seatbelt. According to local media sources, she was a passenger in a vehicle driven by a 32-year-old man who was driving south on Tennessee Highway 58 when he lost control of his vehicle and slammed into another oncoming car.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol investigator says he couldn’t tell whether the winter weather was the cause of the crash. Restraint use is clearly designed to reduce injury severity and prevent occupants from being ejected from their vehicles.

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I find it hard to believe that people still get into an automobile and fail to secure their safety seat belts. I mean this isn’t rocket science and it’s not like they don’t know that it’s a deadly mistake.

Tennessee law requires the use of seat belts. An overwhelming number of studies show that seat belts, when used correctly, save lives. In 2009, 388 people in passenger vehicles died in motor vehicle crashes in Tennessee between the nighttime hours of 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly two-thirds (64%) of those killed in traffic crashes at night nationwide were not wearing their seat belts, compared to less than half (45%) of the passenger vehicle occupants killed during the daytime hours of 6 a.m. to 5:59 p.m.  When worn correctly, seat belts have been proven to reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent, and by 60 percent in pickup trucks, SUVs and minivans.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee motor vehicle accident contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and learn about your rights and remedies.

Roadway Departure Crash

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident lawyer the facts of a recent Chattanooga interstate accident are most peculiar but the police report is telling. According to local media reports following the accident the investigating police officers said that charges are pending the results of a blood test. This is a good indication that the police think alcohol or drugs were involved.

The driver was behind the wheel of a tow truck (car hauler) and traveling along in the fast lane when for some unknown reason the truck veered across the the right lane left the road went through the fence and into the parking lot of a local Health Center at Standifer Place, where it struck a power pole, three unoccupied cars and a another car entering the parking lot driven by a 45-year-old man.

The truck driver and the other driver were transported in critical condition. 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.

If you or a loved one are seriously injured or killed in a Tennessee auto accidentdrunk or drugged commercial truck driver,Tennessee auto accident caused by a time is of the essence. Contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates to protect your rights.