Drive Drunk Lose Your Car

We often talk about modern technology and the good and bad things that come from them. It’s well known and a constant topic of my Blogs that cell phone and texting are the leading cause of distracted driving and highway fatalities. GPS and related programs can help drivers find their way but can also cause a driver to take his eyes off the road long enough to leave the road, hit something hard and die.

A new technology that will soon be employed, a database and let county clerks check it to see if drivers meet financial responsibility requirements (insurance) before registering or renewing their vehicle registrations, will now be available to police and highway patrol officers. In Tennessee there is a serious problem with drivers on the road who ignore the requirement that they must have a statutory minimum car insurance policy.

Drivers who fail to have insurance cause the policy costs of other drivers who do to cost much more then if all drivers were covered. The cost of uninsured motorist policies has skyrocketed in recent years.

What this means is that when a driver is stopped for an infraction, the officer would have access to the clerks records to determine on the spot whether there is insurance on the car. If not, the car would be impounded and the driver ticketed and required to walk home. This technology would help police and highway safety departments get these selfish drivers off the road and save lives and lower insurance rates.

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.

Red Light Cameras Work

Recent 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 was conducted by researchers from Old Dominion University in Virginia. A team of researchers 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 intersection accident caused by a red light runner 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. Call us at 615-356-2000.

We Can Help

As experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorneys one of the first things the investigators at Phillip Miller & Associates have to do is make a concise investigation of the cause of the accident. This begins with securing all of the police reports and witness statements, and then we re-interview the witnesses and inspect the scene of the accident. We look for tire marks, roadway conditions, obstructions and any other item that might have lead to the crash.

After we have concluded those tasks we investigate the backgrounds of all of the people involved in the crash, driving records, reputations, medical condition and any other thing that might be relevant to their condition at the time of the wreck. After we conclude this phase of our investigation the attorneys then individually study all of the findings and then the whole team sits down to discuss the specific approach to seeking damages for our client.

This is the kind of process that assures that our clients receive the most effective legal representation during this traumatic time. If you or someone you love has been hurt in a serious Tennessee car accident due to another’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. Call 615-356-2000.

Nashville Car Accident

The other night I was at a holiday party and was cornered by an acquaintance who wanted to tell me about her recent automobile accident. After listening for a couple of minutes, I was convinced that she had broken all of the rules of what you should do if you are involved in an automobile accident. This set me to thinking about writing a Blog outlining the do’s and do not’s of what to do if you find yourself curbside with another party.

Always call the police if you are in a collision. Many times the other party will try to talk you out of making the call. Be polite but firm and call the police. While you are waiting for the police use your cell phone camera to take photos of the intersection and any tire marks, the damage to the vehicles and the car tag of the other car.

You may be frightened or upset following the crash but try to become chatty and discuss the things leading up to the accident. Do the same thing when the police investigators arrive, state the facts, answer the police questions succinctly and don’t add more than is necessary.

If you suspect you are injured seek medical care as soon as possible. Call your auto insurance representative at your earliest convenience and contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights. One last thing, Never, I repeat, never speak to the other party or a representative of that persons insurance company. They are not your friend and you gain nothing by talking to them.

Call 615-356-2000.

Habitual Traffic Offenders In Handcuffs

One really has to be a complete fool to achieve the dubious distinction of being an Habitual Traffic Offender. Add to that a person with this designation who continues to drive and continues to drive badly and you have a guy who ought to pull some serious time in the penitentiary.

Section 55-10-600 of Tennessee’s law is known as the “Motor Vehicles Habitual Offenders Act” and, as its name suggest, is in place to “deny the privilege of operating motor vehicles on public highways to persons who by their conduct and record have demonstrated their indifference to the safety and welfare of others and their disrespect for the laws of the state.”

The act sets forth a process said offenders must follow, which includes a uniform “computation of convictions,” assembly of and serving with a court order and a jury trial to determine appropriate punishment.

A Johnson City, Tennessee man who carries the banner as an Habitual Traffic Offender was out driving when he showed his true colors and failed to stop at a stop sign. I mean, how hard is it, knowing you don’t have a driver’s license and could go to jail, to do something as simple as comply with a stop sign?

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a traffic accident with one of these people, recovering damages may prove to be difficult, but there are ways to succeed. Contact the experienced Tennessee automobile personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation. Call 615-356-2000.

Drunk Driver Runs Through Closed Garage

An intoxicated Baxter, Tennessee woman was arrested by Putnam County Sheriff’s deputies after she drove through the front garage door of a detached garage (not on her property) through the garage and out the back wall destroying the goarage and many of it’s contents.

Sheriff’s dispatchers received a 911 call at about 2 a.m. last Sunday from the homeowner and responded to find the driver dazed and confused. She told police she didn’t remember what happened. She failed a field sobriety test and was booked into the county jail pending a November court appearance.

On average, a human being is killed by 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.

In Tennessee we are serious about keeping people like this lady off of the road. The legislature has made legal consequences for multiple DUI/DWI severe and can make for a serious change in your lifestyle.

Penalties can be:

* Fines range from $600 to $10,000

* Minimum jail time ranges from 48 days to 120 days

* Maximum jail time can extend to almost one year

* License revocation ranges from two to ten years

The statute also provides for vehicle confiscation and there will be no opportunity to get a temporary drivers license for school, work, hospital, doctor’s visits or church. Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. Here 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. That is down from 377 people killed in 2007 with a BAC of .08 or higher.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident by a drunk driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation so that you can get a complete picture of your rights and remedies.

Teen Driver Accidents

According to a new study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, teen drivers are approximately 50 percent more likely to crash in the first month of driving than they are after a full year of experience driving on their own, and are nearly twice as likely to crash as they are after two full years of experience.

Analyzing the crashes of new drivers in North Carolina, researchers found that three common mistakes—failure to reduce speed, inattention, and failure to yield – accounted for 57 percent of all crashes in which teens were at least partially responsible during their first month of licensed driving. Additionally, when researchers looked at specific types of crashes in relation to how long the driver had been licensed, they found that some types of crashes occurred at relatively high rates at first and declined particularly quickly with experience.  For example, crashes involving left hand turns were common during the first few months of driving but declined almost immediately.

The high initial rate and subsequent steep decline in certain types of crashes appeared to reflect teens’ initial inexperience followed by rapid learning.  Crash types that decline more slowly appear to result not from lack of understanding, but from failure to master certain driving skills. “We know that young drivers’ crash rates decrease quickly as they gain experience. What our new study tells us is that there are a few specific abilities that we could do a better job of helping teens develop before they begin driving independently,” said AAA Foundation President and CEO Peter Kissinger.

A related AAA Foundation study used in‐vehicle cameras to monitor teens when they were learning to drive with parents, followed by the first 6 months of licensed driving without their parents in the car.  The research found that while teens had their learner’s permits, routine trips on familiar roads under relatively easy driving conditions accounted for the bulk of the time spent behind the wheel.

The study also illustrated changes in teen behavior when a parent is no longer in the car. While the vast majority of driving caught on camera was uneventful, the study did capture a number of close calls due to simple mistakes likely attributable to inexperience, along with a few instances of texting behind the wheel, horseplay with passengers, running red lights, and other potentially distracting or dangerous behaviors.

Among the steps parents can take to improve teens’ safety as they start driving on their own, AAA suggests:

• Practice, practice, practice: Once teens have their actual license, continue to practice together to ensure that basic skills are mastered and to introduce varied driving conditions (snow, heavy traffic, rural roads) with an experienced driver in the passenger seat.

• Keep passengers out: Teen drivers’ crash risks multiply with teenage passengers in the vehicle. Set limits and enforce them consistently.

• Limit night driving: Reduced visibility makes night driving riskier for drivers of all ages. For inexperienced teens, it’s even harder.  Allow new teen drivers to drive at night only if truly necessary or to practice with a parent.

• Keep setting rules: Parents can – and should – set and enforce rules above and beyond their state laws. In addition to night and passenger limits, set rules for inclement weather, highways, cities, or other driving conditions in which a teen has not gained enough experience. Find a parent‐teen driving agreement on TeenDriving.AAA.com that can help.

Keep up with the latest information regarding highway safety by visiting our web site at Phillip Miller & Associates or call 615-356-2000.

Photo courtesy of AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

Learn About Car And Motorcycle Insurance

The televisions are full of insurance advertisements telling viewers that their insurance is better cheaper and that if they don’t buy from their company they are making a big mistake. The myriad companies have spokesmen and and spokeswomen trying as best they can to create a connnection with the potetial customer.

What’s a viewer to think? Most people in Tennessee go for cost, the lowest will do, and many bond with one particular brand or another. If you really want to know the in’s and out’s of buying automobile and motorcycle insurance I have a suggestion. Visit my website and place your order for free booklet prepared by the experienced Nashville personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out what we have learned over the past two and a half decades we have been doing this.

If you are involved in a serious car accident and you need quick and concise information about your rights and remedies, call Phillip Miller & Associates at 615-356-2000.

Are You Properly Insured?

When I speak to friends and clients it appears to me that the main focus is on the cost and the secondary focus is on the limits of coverage. But let me tell you, there is a whole lot more to the process and the staff and lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates have prepared a booklet to help you learn the best practices.

I’d love to share this with you free of charge. All you have to do is visit my website, fill in the online form and I’ll make sure you get your copy asap. If you have any other questions about Tennessee highway safety we have all sorts of information on our website. Visit Phillip Miller & Associates or call 615-356-2000.

Severely Penalize Uninsured Drivers

In Tennessee drivers are required to carry automobile accident insurance. Unfortunately, one in every four ignore the law at great expense to those who do. A recent report from the Insurance Research Council says that at least, 24 percent of Tennessee drivers do not carry the required insurance.

Nationwide, it is reported that uninsured drivers cost an extra 10.8 billion dollars. In my opinion, there are two things that can help change this culture, a growing economy so that people have jobs with a living wage and severe penalties for those who violate the law.

Recently, the experienced automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates, were successful in obtaining a million dollar verdict on behalf of an injured Nashville couple in a claim against there own uninsured motorist carrier. If you are involved in a Nashville car crash you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates. Call 615-356-2000.