As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I regularly talk with people about the dangers of SUV rollover crashes.  SUV rollovers do not occur as often as other types of crashes, but when they do occur, they often result in a serious injury or death. SUV rollover accidents, on average, account for more than 10,000 fatalities in the United States each year, which is more than side and rear crashes combined.

The result was thousands of deaths and serious injuries. Some rollover accidents may be preventable if consumers realize the dangers involved in SUV vehicles and the serious and tragic injuries that can result.

SUV Rollovers

Reference a Tennessee SUV rollover accident the other day that took the lives of two Lawrenceburg women. A 51-year-old and an 71-year-old woman were killed when their Chevy Trailblazer left the roadway on the left side of I-75, overcorrected and came back onto the highway before it began to roll. The women were not wearing their seatbelts and were ejected from the vehicle and killed.

Studies of real-world single-vehicle crashes show that more than 90% of rollovers occur after a driver runs off of the road. I’m not referring here 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.

If you want to learn more about issues related to highway crashes in Tennessee, or you are involved in a an auto accident and need guidance, contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates.

Driving Wothout A License

If you live in Tennessee and want to drive a motor vehicle, you must have a valid Tennessee driver license. If you move to Tennessee from another state and have a valid drivers license from another state or country you must apply for a Tennessee drivers license if you;

So why is it that one fatal crash in five (20%) involves a driver who is unlicensed or whose license is suspended, canceled, or revoked. States differ dramatically in their incidence of crashes involving unlicensed and invalidly licensed drivers, from 6.1% in Maine to 23.4% in New Mexico. Unlicensed drivers are almost five times more likely to be in a fatal crash than are validly licensed drivers.  Nationally two-thirds of drivers continue to drive while under suspension.

Why do these people drive without licenses and what can we do to deter them from continuing this dangerous behavior. The obvious answer is that these are drivers who have at one time had licenses and because of prior traffic violations, had that license suspended or revoked. In just about every case of an unlicensed driver you are going to find an uninsured driver. Insurance companies pay particular attention to selling coverage to someone on a revoked or suspended license. These types of drivers are more than likely to run from an accident with another motor vehicle or a pedestrian.

What can we do with people who continue to ignore the law and driver a motor vehicle? There are any number of things we can do. We can put them in jail. In Tennessee any one in this category who has been charged and convicted of driving without a license on two or more occasions can be charged as an Habitual Traffic offender. In some cases the car they were driving can be confiscated and sold and there are new technological devices that are reaching the market as we speak that will make it virtually impossible for a driver to get behind the wheel.

This is a very tricky area of the law for those motorists who are involved in a Nashville automobile accident with people like these. As I mentioned, for the most part they do not have insurance and are unable to personally pay for any damage they might cause, but there are avenues to explore but they required an experienced lawyer. If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident with one of these people you really need to check in with one of the experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates to find out about your rights and remedies.

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Stay Awake at the Wheel

The Sullivan County, Tennessee Sheriff’s investigators will have an interesting task in determining just what caused a driver to slam into the rear-end of a tractor-trailer on I-81 last night. As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney, based on the fact that the accident occurred around 3 AM,  I would opine that the driver fell aseep at the wheel. A police report noted that the man was not wearing his seat belt.

It is well established that driving while drowsy or fatigued increases one’s risk of being involved in a motor vehicle crash. However, estimates of the prevalence of drowsy drivers on the road and of the proportion of motor vehicle crashes that involve drowsy driving as a contributing factor vary widely.

A survey in the year 2002 found that more than one in three drivers admitted having fallen asleep while driving at some point in their lives; more than one in ten reported doing so in the past year. The most frequently cited statistics suggest that drowsy driving might contribute to roughly 1 to 4 percent of crashes; however, research using more sophisticated methodology suggests that the true prevalence may be much higher.

If you are having trouble staying awake, please pull over and allow another person to drive. If you are alone, get outside and get yourself awake by walking, jumping and other physical activity. If necessary, pull to safety and take a brief nap.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a drowsy driveontact the experienced Nashville auto accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates to find out about your rights.

Head-On Fatality

Witnesses say the woman driver drifted across the middle lane and slammed head-on into a Franklin, Kentucky police officer driving a marked police cruiser. The officer had to be extricated from the vehicle and was taken to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. He was listed in stable condition.

Our prayers go out to the family of the deceased, and to the officer wishing him a full and speedy recovery. Investigators will have their hands full trying to figure out why the woman crossed the center-line.

Whenever you see an accident, usually involving one car that leaves the road or crosses the center-line, an experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyer starts thinking about driver distractions. Just what was the driver doing moments before the crash that caused his/her vehicle to go off the highway? What caused the driver to change focus from driving to other things?

I’ve noticed several accidents like this in East Tennessee this past week and I thought I might use them as examples to my reader of why it is so important to keep your focus on your driving and ignore distractions.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident caused by a distracted driver 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 find out about your rights and remedies.

Tennessee Speed Related Fatality

An Erin, Tennessee teen driver died last week in a one-vehicle roadway departure crash Shortly after midnight. According to local media reports the young man and his passenger, were traveling west on Tenn. 49 sometime before 12:40 a.m. Monday morning. A couple miles east of Tenn. 13 in Erin, he lost control of the vehicle for an unknown reason as he came out of a sharp, right-hand curve.

As the car hit the edge of the road, it went airborne and overturned, ejecting the man, whose body came to rest on the embankment on the south side of the road west of the vehicle. The car ended up in a creek. The man was ejected which often indicates that he didn’t have his seat belt on. The injured passenger was able to make a 911 call.

According to a Trooper report, speed was a factor in the accident, but any other conclusions would have to wait until the investigation is complete. In 2006, there were 38,588 fatal crashes resulting in 42,642 deaths. Rural areas accounted for 55 percent of the fatal crashes and 56 percent of the fatalities. Urban areas accounted for 45 percent of the fatal crashes and 44 percent of the fatalities.

According to the 2006 Census, 23 percent of the U.S. population lived in rural areas, however, rural fatalities accounted for 56 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2006. From 1997 to 2006, rural fatalities decreased 7 percent whereas urban fatalities increased by 9 percent.

The lesson here is that no matter where you are, the interstate highway or the rural roads that wind through this beautiful state of ours, you have to be alert and mindful of your task. If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee car crash, whether on a highway or a byway, contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and let us help you recover damages for your injuries and loss.

Tennessee Roadway Fatlity

This past Friday afternoon a 62-year-old Oliver Springs man was killed in a one-car roadway departure crash in Anderson County, Tennessee. According to local media reports the man was traveling westbound on Oliver Springs Highway when he lost control, swerved across the intersection of Bill Key Lane, went airborne, and then flipped into a pond. Police told local media that the man was wearing his seat belt.

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney, I’m left to wonder what caused the man to lose control. From the article, I would assume that the man was speeding and was not able to negotiate a turn or was somehow distracted in the seconds before leaving the road.

Numerous studies point to 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. Call 615-356-2000.

Teen Driver Dies

According to local news reports an 18-year-old Cookeville teenager was killed in a traffic crash on the Gainesboro Grade in Jackson County on Wednesday afternoon. Three passengers, a 39-year-old woman, an 80-year-old man, and a 57-year-old woman, all of Gainesboro, Tennessee were injured.

The facts of the accident are confusing, at best. It appears that the teen driver was driving westbound in the eastbound lane and crashed head-on into an oncoming van. The driver was not wearing his seatbelt. The three people in the van were all injured but the report doesn’t describe their injuries.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney, I’ll have to say, I’m confused and have lots of questions. The main question is why was the young driver in the wrong lane, followed by why he was not wearing his seatbelt. I’ll keep up with this story and try to gather more facts. Was he passing another car? Was he somehow incapacitated by a medical problem? Was he distracted in some way?

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident contact the experienced Tennessee auto accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation. Call 615-356-2000.

Distracted Driving Kills

The source of the distraction that caused a Giles County, Tennessee man to take his eyes off the road long enough for his vehicle to veer across the center line into oncoming traffic and then leave the road and end up in a creek, will be the focus of the police investigation into the death of the man’s wife and injury to an infant in the car.

Whenever you see an accident, usually involving one car that leaves the road, an experienced automobile accident starts thinking about driver distractions. Just what was the driver doing moments before the crash that caused his/her vehicle to go off the highway? What caused the driver to change focus from driving to other things?

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. Each of these accidents had the potential to have taken numerous other lives but somehow that didn’t happen.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have to avoid distractions while we are behind the wheel or we are going to die or kill someone else. If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee auto accident caused by a distracted driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation. Call 615-356-2000.

Hybrid Vehicle Safety

Hybrids have a safety edge over their conventional twins when it comes to shielding their occupants from injuries in crashes, new research by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, shows. On average, the odds of being injured in a crash are 25 percent lower for people in hybrids than people traveling in nonhybrid models.

“Weight is a big factor,” says Matt Moore, HLDI vice president and an author of the report. “Hybrids on average are 10 percent heavier than their standard counterparts. This extra mass gives them an advantage in crashes that their conventional twins don’t have.” He notes that other factors, such as how, when, and by whom hybrids are driven, also may contribute. Researchers included controls to reduce the impact these differences may have had on the results.

The new finding is more good news for green-minded drivers who don’t want to trade safety for fuel economy. Not so long ago, car buyers had to choose between the two because fuel-efficient cars tended to be smaller and lighter. Now, consumers have more options than ever when it comes to picking an environmentally friendly — and crashworthy — vehicle.

“Saving at the pump no longer means you have to skimp on crash protection,” Moore says.

In the study, HLDI estimated the odds that a crash would result in injuries if people were riding in a hybrid versus the conventional version of the same vehicle. The analysis included more than 25 hybrid-conventional vehicle pairs, all 2003-11 models, with at least 1 collision claim and at least 1 related injury claim filed under personal injury protection or medical payment coverage in 2002-10.

For this and other highway safety data, check out the web site for the experienced Nashville personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates, or call 615-356-2000.

Drinking and Driving In Nashville Will Cost You

The attorney’s and staff at Phillip Miller & Associates are happy to report great news this week in Nashville’s effort to reduce drunk driving injuries and fatalities. Officers paid through a Governor’s Highway Safety Office grant charged 18 persons with DUI last weekend in the police department’s continuing DUI initiative using extra duty officers.

These officers target impaired drivers Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. in areas with a propensity for fatal crashes, crime and DUI arrests. Additionally, the DUI Unit, the front line in this righteous crusade, charged 49 persons last week with driving under the influence.

Public education, enhanced visibility on Nashville’s roadways and zero tolerance for impaired drivers are the cornerstones of the police department’s DUI initiative. So far this year, extra duty officers working under the grant have arrested 32 suspected drunk drivers, a 45% increase over this time last year. The DUI Unit has arrested 98 suspected drunk drivers, an 88% increase over this time last year.

We here at Phillip Miller & Associates send out a big “Thank You” shout-out to the brave members of the Metro Police. Thank You.