Rollover Fatality

It was a bad weekend in Greene County Tennessee with three fatal accidents. The final accident happened at 9:30 PM on Interstate 81. A 74-year-old Morristown man was driving his 1987 Bronco along the interstate when he was struck from behind by a 2005 Chevrolet Suburban, driven by a 40-year-old Morristown man.

The Bronco ran off the right side of the road, struck and embankment and rolled over. It’s not clear from the local media source but it appears that the drivers of both vehicles were acquainted but the article wasn’t really clear on that.

The question that family and friends will have to ask is what was the Chevrolet driver doing in the seconds before the collision took place? 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.

Distraction from the primary task of driving could present a serious and potentially deadly danger. In 2008, 5,870 people lost their lives and an estimated 515,000 people were injured in police-reported crashes in which at least one form of driver distraction was reported on the crash report. While these numbers are signi!cant, they may not state the true size of the problem, since the identification of distraction and its role in the crash by law enforcement can be very difficult.

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 and experienced Tennessee automobile accident lawyer contact the lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates for a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

Teen Driver

It’s hard to tell what really happened by reading the local media report, but from what I can garner, a 19-year-old Chattanooga Tennessee man was driving his vehicle in the left lane of US highway 11A in Greene County Tennessee when for some unknown reason he lost control and crossed into the right lane and struck a tractor-trailer in the rear-end.

A 20-year-old passenger in his vehicle was killed as a result of the crash. The driver and another passenger were injured. The media report quoted the THP investigator, as saying criminal charges are pending. It’s hard to tell what caused the wreck, but you can bet that the driver was either speeding, driving recklessly, driving drunk or under the influence of drugs.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, accounting for more than one in three deaths in this age group. In 2008, about 3,500 teens in the United States aged 15–19 were killed and more than 350,000 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor-vehicle crashes.

Young people ages 15-24 represent only 14% of the U.S. population. However, they account for 30% ($19 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among males and 28% ($7 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among females.

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.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney, when I hear about an accident like the one that took the life of a 72-year-old Greenville, Tennessee man I immediately wonder if the accident was caused by a medical emergency.

The facts are simple, the man was driving in one direction on US Highway 321 and for some unknown reason he crossed the centerline and slammed head-on into a car traveling in the other direction. The driver and his passenger who were hit were injured and transported to a local hospital.

Incidences of drivers who had crashes precipitated by medical emergencies  while driving are relatively rare and account for only 1.3 percent of all road fatalities. Older drivers have relatively higher incidences of crashes precipitated by 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.

Patient education by health care providers on early warning signs of a health crisis, such as warning signs before seizures, diabetic or hypoglycemic comas and potential side effects of medications are recommended as the most effective countermeasure.

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

Medical Emergencies

and take advantage of a free consultation to determine your rights and remedies.

What Kind Of Mom?

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I regularly identify, in my Blog, people who should be banned forever from driving on the highways and byways of Tennessee. I wish to introduce you to a Johnson City, Tennessee woman, 31-year-old Christina Cochran who was arrested this past Sunday afternoon and charged with child abuse and neglect, driving under the influence and child endangerment, leaving the scene of the accident and having no driver’s license.

Police responded to a call about an accident in which a vehicle had run off of the road, gone into a ditch, hit a tree and rolled over on it’s side. Ms. Cochran, the driver fled the scene of the accident leaving her 8-year-old son, who suffered facial injuries, in the vehicle to fend for him self.

An officer captured this person a short distance away from the crash. She was incoherent and fought with police. After subduing her the officer found a bottle of heavy-duty pain pills. From evidence at the scene police believe she had taken 57 pills in 24 hours. This is her second offense and she did not have a valid driver’s license.

In my book she is the perfect candidate to receive a lifetime ban from having driving privileges. If you feel the same as I do you might want to contact Tony Clark the District Attorney General at 423-434-6840 and let him know how you feel.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a drugged driver, contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates for a free consultation.

Doitracted With No Seat Belts

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I find it hard to believe that Tennesseans 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.

Reference an automobile accident in Missouri involving a Tennessee man who was driving along I-55 in Eastern Missouri. According to local news media the driver lost control of his SUV, left the highway and slammed into a bridge support.

The accident raises three issues this unfortunate man’s family and friends will ponder for some time. What caused him to drift off of the interstate in the first place and hit the bridge, and why wasn’t he wearing his seatbelt? Third, whether this man would have survived had he taken the few seconds to buckle-up have them buckle up their seat belts.

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.

According to NHTSA, 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.

The Subaru driver in a multi-car Tennessee accident was obviously doing what all drivers should be doing, paying attention to the drivers around him, front and rear. This Johnson City Tennessee accident started as cars on the Bristol highway slowed to stop for cars in front of them.

A Chevrolet pickup slowed and the Subaru reacted by slowing and the driver then noticed that the car following him was not paying attention and quickly pulled to the shoulder to avoid being hit. No such luck, the car hit the Subaru and pushed it into the concrete median and the pickup truck. The driver of the car was hospitalized, but luckily no one else was injured.

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

Drunk Teen Behind The Wheel

An 18 year-old Bluff City Tennessee teen driver made two bad decisions and they will probably cost him his driver’s license for an extended period of time. The first bad decision was to illegally purchase and consume a bottle of rum. The second bad decision was to get behind the wheel of a Dodge pickup truck.

Those bad decisions ended when the teen driver drove his truck into the side of a gas station. When police arrived at the scene they found an open bottle on the floorboard of the truck. The young man performed poorly on the field sobriety test and transported to the Sullivan County Jail.

Drivers younger than 21 are more vulnerable than older drivers to the impairing effects of alcohol. At the same BAC, young drivers are far more likely to get into a fatal or nonfatal crash. The minimum drinking age is 21 throughout the United States. In addition, all states have “zero tolerance” laws that prohibit people younger than 21 from driving after drinking. Typically, these laws prohibit driving with a BAC of 0.02 percent or greater. In recent years, drivers younger than 21 killed in crashes are about half as likely as fatally injured drivers ages 21-30 to have a BAC of 0.08 percent or higher.

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

Would Seat Belts Have Made A Difference?

Even with the decades of experience as a Tennessee tractor-trailer accident lawyer I am having a hard time understanding how a fatal one-car collision in Greene County Tennessee happened. It appears that a tractor-trailer was turning left onto US Highway 11A and had almost completed the turn into the right lane when a Honda driven by a 27-year-old man in the left lane struck the rear end of the trailer.

The man in the Honda was not wearing his seatbelt and as the car spun around in the median he was ejected onto the roadway. The local media report doesn’t mention anything that could have obstructed the drivers vision, and it’s hard to understand how the driver didn’t see the tractor-trailer in front of him.

Under those circumstances, it appears that the driver was either speeding or was somehow distracted. My prayers go out to the family and friends of the driver. It is up to each of us, when we are behind the wheel of a motor vehicle to keep our attention on the road ahead and the road around us at all times.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee tractor-trailer accident you owe it to your family to contact the experienced Nashville truck accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

Pedestrians Distracted Using Electronic Devices

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I’m thrilled that overall traffic fatalities are down. Sown that is, with one exception and that is pedestrian accidents in urban areas. Highway safety experts and those who study these things, including the Governor’s Highway Safety Administration, believe that the increase is due to the use iPods, MP3s and cell phones with ear buds (speakers).

Pedestrian fatalities increased for the first time in five years in the first half of 2010, according to a report released last week by the Governors Highway Safety Association, an organization based in Washington that represents state highway safety agencies.

Among the states, Arizona and Florida had the largest increases in pedestrian fatalities, followed by North Carolina, Oregon and Oklahoma. Nationally, pedestrian traffic fatalities had dropped to 4,091 in 2009 from 4,892 in 2005, the report stated.

Across the nation legislatures are taking a look at how to address this trend. In New York, a bill is pending in the legislature’s transportation committee that would ban the use of mobile phones, iPods or other electronic devices while crossing streets, runners and other exercisers included. Legislation pending in Oregon would restrict bicyclists from using mobile phones and music players, and a Virginia bill would keep such riders from using a any hand-held communication device.

If you are involved in a Tennessee automobile pedestrian accident you ought to give us a call and take advantage of a free consultation with one of our experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies

No License Don't Drive

It’s not a good idea to loan your car to a teenager who has already forfeited his privileges to drive. If you are the teenager who has forfeited his license and you borrow a car to go get cigarettes at 3 AM, it’s not a smart move to speed. If you are that same teenager and the police try to stop you for speeding on city streets it’s way not smart to try and evade them at high speeds.

That’s just what happened the other night in Kingsport Tennessee. While attempting to flee the police this 18-year-old man lost control and wrecked his friends car in a ditch. Instead of have a second count of driving on a suspended license, this young man now faces charges of felony evading arrest, leaving the scene of an accident and driving on a suspended license.

When a driver decides to flee police and enter into a game of high-speed cat and mouse with law enforcement he decides to put the lives of other drivers and pedestrians in danger so that he can stay out of jail. As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney, I can tell you that the vast majority of drivers who attempt to flee are caught or wreck first like this guy and are then caught.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee auto accident caused by a fleeing driver collecting damages may be tricky and you owe it to yourself to contact the Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates.