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.

What Distracted This Driver?

A Carter County, Tennessee Constable is in critical condition this morning, and a local woman is dead after a one-car traffic accident in Carter County yesterday, according to local media reports. The story is similar to a number of other roadway departure crashes, the vehicle leaves the roadway, crashes into a ditch, or over corrects, crosses the road and hits a solid something, (tree, bridge abutment, another car) and people die.

The report went on to say that the driver was not wearing his seat belt. The passenger was but died at the scene from injuries received in the crash. One would think that elected officials whose job it is to patrol the highways and byways would be more aware of what has truly become an epidemic of roadway departure fatalities.

The message to Tennessee drivers is that if you want to arrive alive and avoid killing someone you love, you have to pay attention to the fact that you are piloting a deadly weapon and lives are in your hands.

If you or a loved one are injured in a Tennessee roadway departure crash caused by a distracted driver, contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates. Call 615-356-2000.

Auto Insurance is Mandatory

In a great Blog, article writer Gregg Laskoski reports on finding from the Insurance Research Council avers that one in seven drivers in the United States are driving without insurance. As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney this is not new information to me. Actually, in Tennessee that figure is more like one in four drivers are taking to the highways and byways without automobile insurance.

The Blog goes on to point out that because of a lag factor in the research present day employment trends are not yet reflected in these numbers and the numbers of uninsured may actually be higher.

In the state of Tennessee, you do not have to provide proof of insurance to register a vehicle or obtain a driver’s license, but you do have to carry auto insurance in order to  operate a motor vehicle on all Tennessee streets, roads, and highways.  The minimum liability coverage required by Tennessee law is $25,000/$50,000 for bodily injury and $15,000 for property damage.

You must carry proof of financial responsibility in your vehicle at all times. Failure to provide proof of insurance or financial responsibility is a Class C misdemeanor that carries a $100 fine and license suspension.

Have you or a loved one been injured in a Nashville motorcycle accident or auto accident as a result of negligent driving?  If so, you should call the experienced Nashville personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates, a Nashville personal injury lawyer from our law firm will fight to help you win. We will treat you with the utmost compassion and respect. Call us today and speak with an experienced Nashville personal injury lawyer to discuss the details of your case. Call (615) 356-2000.

Highways and city streets are not the only dangerous place for drivers. Reference a car restaurant crash the other night in Nashville. According to the taxi driver another vehicle lost control in front of a well known local restaurant on West End Blvd, and hit his cab causing him to drive into the front of the restaurant.

According to local media reports the other driver fled the scene. Fortunately, the taxi driver received minor injuries to his leg and no one else was injured.

Hit & Run Driver

As an experienced Tennessee auto accident lawyer I read about a number of different types of Hit & Run cases. Drivers hit pedestrians, other car, trucks, some hit ditches, and they all leave the scene. Most H&R drivers are under the influence of alcohol, others have already run afoul of the law and have lost their driving privileges, yet they continue to get behind the wheel and ignore the rules. Many H&R drivers are trying to avoid detection because they don’t have insurance and they don’t want to face the responsibility for their actions.

If you or a loved one are injured or killed in a Tennessee auto accident caused by a drunken Hit & Run driver, contact the experienced Nashville personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates. Call 615-356-2000.

Highway Safety Requires Thought

According to the GMAC Insurance’s National Drivers Test, Tennessee drivers have a lower driving IQ then the national average. Tennessee scored a 77.3, just below the national average of 77.9. Kansas ranked first in the test, with a score of 82.9. Washington, D.C. ranked last, with a score of 71.8.

The study found that nearly 37 million drivers in the U.S. would not pass a written drivers test exam if taken today. Older drivers scored better than younger drivers, and men scored better than women. This might very well be a wakeup call for the political leadership in Tennessee to look at the way we license and renew licensed drivers.

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident lawyer who monitors the mayhem on the highways and byways of Tennessee on a daily basis, this data does not surprise me. In a blog I wrote earlier today I discussed a weekend of roadway departure crashes on the upper Cumberland Plateau which were all preventable had the drivers put on their IQ hats.

Have you or a loved one been injured in a Nashville motorcycle accident or auto accident as a result of distracted driving or other negligent driving?  If so, you should call the experienced Nashville personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates, a Nashville motorcycle accident lawyer from our law firm will fight to help you win. We will treat you with the utmost compassion and respect. Call us today and speak with an experienced Nashville personal injury lawyer to discuss the details of your case. Call (615) 356-2000.

No Insurance No Car

The political leadership in Shelby County Tennessee is on the verge of taking positive action to deter non-insured drivers. In Tennessee, as in all states, if you drive a motor vehicle on the streets, you must have insurance. According to a recent report by the Insurance research Council, Tennessee ranks third among state with the most uninsured drivers at 24 percent. Nationwide, one in six drivers are uninsured.

What this means is that those of us who follow the law and have insurance are going to pay substantially more for our coverage. As the economy continues to tank this data is going to trend higher. According to an article in the Memphis Commercial-Appeal Shelby County Commissioner Wyatt Bunker says, “I hear from deputies that pull over sometimes three or four people a night that can’t prove that they have insurance or they know don’t have insurance.”

In an effort to deter this violation, Commissioner Bunker is pushing an ordinance that would give Sheriff’s deputies the authority to seize vehicles if the driver does not have proof of insurance. If the owner does not appear within a reasonable time to retrieve their car, with proof of insurance, the car will be auctioned off.

As an experienced Tennessee auto accident lawyer I support this idea. This is a good way to prevent those whose driver’s licenses have been suspended from taking to the roads. One problem that I see is that an owner can secure insurance and when they get the car out of hock, simply cancel the coverage. A mechanism should be put in place that requires the owner to submit coverage proof quarterly that shows that the insurance coverage has been uninterrupted.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident caused by a negligent driver who does not have insurance you are going to need to consult with an experienced Tennessee auto accident lawyer to protect your rights. Call Phillip Miller & Associates at 615-356-2000.

A Day of Bad Luck

If it wasn’t for bad luck, a Kentucky family wouldn’t have any luck at all. An elderly couple and friends from Lexington were visiting the resort area of Gatlinburg Tennessee when their van broke down. They secured a tow truck and got into the cab of the truck for a ride to a repair shop.

As they were traveling down Ski Mountain Road in Gatlinburg, the brakes on the tow truck went out. The truck and it’s passengers, with van in tow, careened down the road and slammed into an apartment complex. The crash resulted in injuries to all of the parties.

The building suffered major damage and officials on the scene said it might take up to six months to repair. As an experienced Tennessee accident lawyer, I feel certain that the towing company insurance company is going to trying to determine whether the insurance policy prohibits the tow truck from carrying passengers.

My bet is that the company had a policy against carrying passengers and this issue alone is going to create a serious problems if the passengers want to receive compensation for their injuries and medical bills, as well as the repair or replacement of their van.

In cases like this an injured party needs an experienced Tennessee automobile personal injury lawyer that can navigate the dangerous waters of insurance company shenanigans. These are the kind of lawyers you will find at Phillip Miller & Associates. Give us a call at 615-350-2000 or check out our website here.