Take Caution Drive Defensively

I returned from a short trip out of town and find that Tennessee has had an epidemic of highway fatalities. In one 24 hour period six people were killed on Tennessee highways, a huge spike in traffic fatalities, which have already surpassed last years numbers substantially. (2011- 280/2012- 330)

To top it off, since last Sunday we have experienced five serious motorcycle accident with three fatalities.  After several years of declining fatalities this spike seems to have caught Tennessee Troopers and DOT officials off guard. What can we do to stem the bloodshed? Historically, the number one thing is heavy and severe enforcement for speeders and drunk drivers, followed by a heavy dose of education and public service announcements.

Speeding is one of the most prevalent factors contributing to traffic crashes. Add distractions such as cell phones, GPS, CD players, talking to passengers or eating and you have a potent cocktail of death and disaster. The State can do a number of things to help, but in the final analysis, it’s up to each one of us, Tennessee drivers to follow the law, obey the speed limits and avoid distractions.

If you or anyone you know has been injured or killed in a Tennessee car accident, please contact Nashville 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. 615-356-2000.

Buckle Them Up

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I often speak to groups about highway traffic safety, and often the questions come up regarding Child Safety. I start out providing them with some facts. I hope you find these facts helpful.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among children ages 3 to 14.

Correctly used child safety seats are extremely effective and reduce the risk of death as much as 71%.

Nearly 73% of child restraints are not installed or used correctly.

Nearly half of kids 14 and under who died in crashes were completely unrestrained.

Child safety seats reduce fatal injury by 71 percent for infants (less than 1 year old) and by 54 percent for toddlers (1 to 4 years old) in passenger cars. Young children restrained in child safety seats have an 80 percent lower risk of fatal injury than those who are unrestrained.

Tennessee was the first state in the country to pass a Child Passenger Protection Law requiring children to be restrained in child safety seats (car seats and booster seats).

A.  A child under one year old, or any child weighing less than 20 pounds, must be in a child passenger restraint system (car seat) that is facing the rear of the car.

B. Children who are one through three years old, and who weigh more than 20 pounds, must be in a child passenger restraint system that is facing forward.

C. Children who are four through eight years old and whose height is under four feet, nine inches, must be in a belt positioning booster seat system (child booster car seat) and wearing a seatbelt.

These seats should be in the rear seat of the car, if possible. The children can’t make the decision to protect themselves, this is the legal responsibility of the parents. It is also the responsibility of the parents to teach by example.  If you are driving and witness a parent driving without having their child properly restrained it is your duty to notify the authorities. Call 911 is you are in an urban area and *847 in a rural area. Make the call and save a child’s life.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee highway automobile accident contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident law firm of Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to determine your rights and remedies

Operate A Bicycle Safely

Less than two percent of motor vehicle crash deaths are bicyclists. The most serious injuries among a majority of those killed are to the head, highlighting the importance of wearing a bicycle helmet. Helmet use has been estimated to reduce head injury risk by 85 percent.

Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have helmet laws applying to young bicyclists; none of these laws applies to all riders. Local ordinances in a few states require some or all bicyclists to wear helmets. A nationwide telephone survey estimated that state helmet use laws increase by 18 percent the probability that a rider will wear a helmet.

Helmets are important for riders of all ages, not just young bicyclists. Eighty-nine percent of bicycle deaths are persons 16 and older. During the past few years, only about 1 in 10 fatally injured bicyclists were wearing helmets.

Another issue that a bicyclist faces is car drivers who don’t look or don’t see the bicycle. The rider needs to spend special care to avoid placing themselves in blind spots along the side of other vehicle. Never expect that a car driver is going to yield the right of way to you.

If you are involved in a car/bicycle collision contact the lawyers at Philip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to determine your rights and remedies. Call 615-356-2000.

Drunk Driving Kills

The probability of a fatal crash rises significantly after 0.05 percent blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and even more rapidly after 0.08 percent. Drivers with very high BACs (at or above 0.15 percent) have a very high risk of dying in a crash or getting severely injured. All states have enacted a law defining impairment as driving with a BAC at or above 0.08 percent.

Progress has been made during the past 30 years to reduce the numbers and proportion of fatally injured drivers with BACs at or above 0.08 percent. Since 1982, there has been a 45 percent decline in the number of drivers killed in crashes who had BACs at or above 0.08 percent. There also has been a substantial decline among those with very high BACs (at or above 0.15 percent), who often are assumed to be “hard-core” drinking drivers.

However, little progress has been made since the mid-1990s and alcohol-impaired driving is still a major problem. In 2005, Institute research estimated that 8,916 deaths would have been prevented if all drivers on the road had BACs below 0.08 percent. Applying the same methods yields an estimate of 7,082 preventable driver deaths if BACs were below 0.08 percent in 2010.

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.

The information in this fact sheet is based on data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia with imputations for missing BACs provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s multiple imputation model.

The lesson here for Tennessee drivers is to avoid driving if you have had any alcohol. If you are involved in an accident caused by a drinking driver call the experienced Nashville personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

Distractions Kill

According to local media reports a 23-year-old Bell County woman died and her pregnant passenger was seriously injured in a one-vehicle crash Wednesday. The 27-year-old passenger, was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. She was eight months pregnant, and is listed in critical condition.

The women were driving a 1994 Pontiac Grand Am that left the road and struck a tree about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. 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.

One can only guess what was going on between the two women, cell phone use, sometimes just talking between driver and passengers can so distract the driver that the vehicle will leave the road. This is a tragic accident that might well have been preventable.

The lesson here for Nashville drivers is that you must keep all of your attention on the acting of driving and avoid distractions. You never know when another driver is going to fall asleep, have a medical emergency or get distracted and leave their lane and initiate a deadly collision.

If you or a loved one is injured by a distracted driver, contact the experienced Nashville personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation. Call 615-356-2000.

Yield To Emergency Vehicles

Tennessee law requires that when an emergency vehicle is approaching, all traffic meeting or being overtaken must yield the right-of-way and immediately drive to a position parallel to, and as close as possible to the right hand edge or curb of the roadway stop. You must remain in that stopped position until the emergency vehicle has passed or until you are directed to move by a police officer. You must still proceed with caution; there may be other emergency vehicles coming.

There are a few other important details about sharing the road with emergency vehicles:

• If you are in an intersection, drive on through the intersection before pulling over, or you may block the emergency vehicle’s path through the intersection.

• Do not pull over to the right if it will block a side road or driveway. The emergency vehicle may need to turn into that road or driveway to get to the incident scene.

• If the traffic light is red, stay where you are. If the light turns green before the emergency vehicle has passed, do NOT proceed on green. Wait until the emergency vehicle has passed or turned onto a different street.

• When yielding to emergency vehicles, get in the habit of turning down the volume on the radio (if on) so you can hear any instructions or directions given out over the emergency vehicle’s loudspeaker. Your immediate reaction to such directions may be critically needed.

Local media reports in Clarksville, Tennessee, tell of an accident between a car and an ambulance. According to the report the ambulance was responding under lights and siren to a medical call Tuesday night when a car turned in front of it.

The 21-old woman who was driving the car was later reported in stable condition with a head injury. Fortunately, the two people on the ambulance crew weren’t hurt. There was no patient aboard the ambulance.

As an experienced Nashville car crash lawyer my first thought goes to the question, what was the driver doing that so distracted her that she didn’t see or hear the emergency lights and siren?

If you or a loved one are injured or killed in an accident caused by a distracted driver, contact the experienced Nashville car crash lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates, and take advantage of a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

Educate Your Tennessee Teen Drivers

Funds supplied by Nissan will more than double the number of Tennessee children reached by the Governor’s Highway Safety Office. This is a major move to provide Tennessee teen drivers with information they need to stay alive.

NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 19, 2012 – Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for American teens. The yearly increase in numbers of alcohol-related crashes for teens begins to occur during April and May — prom and graduation season — according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Nissan North America and the Tennessee Governor’s Highway Safety Office (GHSO) are stepping up and talking to teens about the importance of avoiding distracted driving, and other harmful behaviors behind the wheel, as part of the ThinkFast program. The interactive, game-show-format teen awareness initiative officially kicked off in April, just in time for National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. With Nissan’s support, the number of ThinkFast events will more than double from previous years, taking place at more than 110 Tennessee high schools and middle schools statewide, with program completion in the fall.

“Nissan’s commitment to driver and passenger safety is reflected in the ThinkFast program,” said Bob Yakushi, director of Product Safety, Nissan North America, Inc. “Nissan has a vision of eliminating teen accidents and fatalities by instilling safe driving habits in students before they get their driver’s licenses – just one of many safety education initiatives in place to help reduce the number of auto-related injuries and fatalities. This vision aligns with Nissan’s global Vision Zero, which aims to help reduce the number of accidents through the development of safety technologies, with a goal of ultimately reducing fatalities and serious injuries in Nissan vehicles to zero.”

Since 2006, GHSO has worked to decrease the number of teen vehicle fatalities and serious injuries through the ThinkFast program. Historically, GHSO has been able to offer ThinkFast to 35 to 40 counties in the state starting with those that have the highest fatalities among teen drivers. This year, with the support of Nissan North America, GHSO is able to add an additional 75 schools, bringing the total to more than 110 throughout Tennessee, allowing more teens to be educated on the risks associated with drunk or distracted driving.

“Our ultimate goal is to greatly reduce, and perhaps even eliminate, motor vehicle deaths throughout Tennessee,” said Kendell Poole, Director of Tennessee’s Governor’s Highway Safety Office. “Thanks to Nissan North America’s commitment to safety education, we’ve significantly increased our existing efforts. We’re excited to partner with a company that is equally passionate about the safety of our youth.”

Beginning in April, Tennessee students aged 12 to 18 will compete against their peers in the game-show-format contest. The program, complete with a full production set, mainstream music, an entertaining host, and informative and engaging trivia that appeals to teens, is designed to spread the messages of impaired driving prevention and awareness continuously and consistently.

A typical ThinkFast show is 75 to 90 minutes long and consists of two rounds, with 20 questions per round. The audience uses wireless remote controls to answer trivia questions on a variety of topics, including pop culture, movies, music, driver safety and distracted driving avoidance. ThinkFast aims to provide students with information that can facilitate healthy choices while offering an exciting educational experience that can extend to the real world.

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.

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.

Yield To Oncoming Traffic

I read a news article about an automobile/tractor-trailer collision in Harrogate, Tennessee the other day that made me ponder the consequences of distracted driving and the importance of convincing Tennessee drivers to avoid distractions.

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.

In the case at hand, the driver of a Camaro was turning left from US Highway 25E onto Forge Ridge Road. Somehow, for some unknown reason the Camaro driver failed to see a tractor-trailer coming the other way. The Camaro pulled out right into the path of the truck and was t-boned sending the unnamed Camaro driver to a local hospital.

Traffic investigators will have to determine what the driver was doing in the seconds before the crash that so distracted him that he pulled in front of a truck.

If you or a loved one is involved in a Nashville automobile collision caused by a distracted driver, contact the experienced automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates.  We provide a free, confidential consultation to not at fault persons named in this article. The free consultation offer extends to family members as well.

No Insurance It's Off To Jail

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I have noticed a troubling trend in the last several years. The problem is drivers who take to the road without automobile insurance. For years legislators have struggled to find a solution to this problem and during this session have taken some positive steps to achieve that goal.

Governor Haslam has signed a bill that authorizes police to arrest drivers is serious accidents who cannot produce proof of insurance coverage. The bill also gave police the power to arrest these same drivers for not having a valid drivers license. Serious accidents are defined as those resulting in death or serious bodily injury, leaving the final decision up to the investigating officers.If we really want to be effective we should impound vehicle driven by these people.

My experience tells me that there may be unintended consequences to such a law. Knowing that they are going to be arrested for not having a license or insurance a driver involved in an accident may decide that fleeing the scene is the best option. Considering all of the circumstances, I think that anything that might deter an uninsured driver from taking to the Tennessee roadways is a good thing.

If you or a loved one happen to have an accident involving an unlicensed or uninsured driver, the first thing you need to do is get out your cell phone and take photos of the license plate on the vehicle, photos of the other driver may help later if the person decides to flee the scene.

Just because the person doesn’t have insurance doesn’t mean that you don’t need an effect personal injury lawyer. Don’t rely on your insurance carrier to do the right thing by you when you file an uninsured motorist claim. The experienced Nashville car accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates recently secured a million dollar plus judgment on behalf of an elderly couple when their carrier offered then sixty thousand. Call for a free consultation at 615-356-2000.

Distractions While Driving Can Ruin Your Life

If you think you are a better driver then those others mopes in the lanes next to you and that warnings of the danger of, and laws prohibiting texting while driving, don’t apply to you, I’d like to introduce you to a $13 million dollar verdict in Birmingham Alabama. At the present time Alabama does not prohibit texting and driving but there are several bills floating around the state legislature.

The jury found that the 21-year-old female defendant was negligent because she allowed herself to become distracted by texting. An accident reconstruction expert hired by the Plaintiff, testified that the defendant had drifted off the roadway onto the shoulder before over-correcting and striking the right rear of the plaintiff’s vehicle. The plaintiff lawyers presented the defendant’s cell phone bill, which showed one incoming and one outgoing text message about the time that the crash occurred.

The plaintiff’s injuries left him with little sensory function below the chest and no motor function below that level and the verdict against the woman has resulted in the ruination of two lives. The loss of sensory function leaves this poor victim in a chair for the rest of his life and the verdict will make it impossible for the young woman to have any financial security for the rest of her life.

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 are injured or killed in a Tennessee auto accident caused by a cell phone using driver, you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Tennessee personal injury lawyers at Phillip miller & Associates and secure your rights and remedies.