Passenger Vans Require Special Care

Passenger vans are inherently dangerous for a number of reasons. The driver of a passenger van carrying young children owes a special duty of care to transport the children safely and without incident. A three-vehicle accident in Memphis on Friday shows just what can happen when the driver allows himself to be distracted.

Facts about what happened are somewhat sketchy in the local media report but the comment of a 6-year-old male passenger tells the story. The young man said that the driver wasn’t paying attention, that he was just driving along talking on his cell phone when the accident happened. None of the children were hurt but occupants of the two other cars were transported to local hospitals.

Federal regulations prohibit commercial drivers from talking on cell phones when in motion, but I think this driver has bigger problems when his employer reviews his actions.

The lesson here, is that cell phone use distracts a driver and a cell phone distracted driver, according to studies, is a just as distracted as a legally drunk driver. Put the phone down and if you need to take or make a call, pull over and get out of traffic.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee traffic accident involving a passenger van contact the experienced Nashville personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates. Call 615-356-2000.

Drugged Driving Hard To Prove

A recent incident in East Tennessee caught my eye because it illustrates the same problem that exists here in Nashville. The problem is drugged driving. A woman in an SUV accompanied by her two children was so out of it that she drove her vehicle through the wall of a department store. Toxicology tests are pending but officers say enough evidence to place her under arrest for DUI, wanton endangerment and criminal mischief.

The principal concern regarding drugged driving is that driving under the influence of any drug that acts on the brain could impair one’s motor skills, reaction time, and judgment. Drugged driving is a public health concern because it puts not only the driver at risk, but also passengers and others who share the road.

Despite these acknowledged concerns, drugged driving laws have lagged behind alcohol legislation, in part because of limitations in the current technology for determining drug levels, and resulting impairment. For alcohol, detection of its blood concentration (BAC) is relatively simple and concentrations greater than .08% have been shown to impair driving performance.

Thus, 0.08% is the legal limit in this country. For illicit drugs, there is no agreed upon limit for which impairment has been reliably demonstrated. And determining current drug levels can be difficult, since some drugs linger in the body for a period of days or weeks after initial ingestion.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee car crash caused by a drugged driver you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.

Are You A Road Rager?

As an experienced Tennessee car accident lawyer, I regularly witness the role of aggressive drivers in many Tennessee car accidents. Statistics suggest that as many as one third of traffic crashes resulting in death can be attributed to aggressive driving and two-thirds of resulting deaths can be attributed to aggressive driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)  defines aggressive driving as “the operation of a motor vehicle in a manner which endangers or is likely to endanger persons or property.” Some of the most common actions considered aggressive include:

* Speeding

* Red light running

* Failure to yield

* Following too closely

* Unsafe lane changes

* Failure to obey traffic control devices

* Failure to use proper signals

* Improper passing

Many states around the nation have specific statutes prohibiting aggressive driving, specifically drag racing. In Tennessee aggressive driving is addressed in the statutes as Reckless Driving. TN Code section 55-10-205)55-10-205, describes reckless driving as; “Any person who drives any vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property commits reckless driving.” Sound like the shoe fits the drag racer? You bet it does.

I would encourage each driver who ventures out onto the highways and byways of Tennessee to arm themselves with the telephone number of the appropriate law enforcement agency, either 911 or *847 for State Troopers and when you witness an aggressive driver, or a drag racer, pull over to a safe place and call in the license number, description of the vehicle and any other specifics that you observed. Save a life and tell all of your friends and families to step up and help reduce traffic fatalities in Tennessee.

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, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved.

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.

Stupid is as Stupid Does

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyer, I have some advice for car thieves. If you feel you have to steal a car take special care not to violate and traffic safety laws, such as speeding, red light running, seat belt violations, DUI and any other thing that will draw police attention to you and your stolen car.

I often write about fools who get behind the wheel of an automobile and go out of their way to show just how big of a fool they are, unfortunately many times other people have to suffer or die behind their actions. Today’s story has a happy ending for the innocent drivers on Knoxville roads and the brave men and women of the Knoxville PD who are tasked to get these types off the road. According to local media reports  A man was taken into police custody today after being found in South Knox County at the scene of crash involving a stolen car.

The man was found in the roadway, apparently having been ejected during a single-vehicle car crash at 12:45 p.m. on Gov. John Sevier Highway at Denwood Road. The car he was driving, a 1994 Honda was reported stolen 4 days ago. This wasn’t the man’s first brush with the law. He was previously charged with home invasion robbery, but other information was unavailable at this time.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee auto accident involving a guy like this you are really going to need an experienced Nashville auto accident attorney who knows the in’s and out’s of the law to secure a reasonable recovery on your behalf. That lawyer can be found at Phillip Miller & Associates. Check our website or call 615-356-2000.

The 25-year-old man was out with friends took drunk and ignored the pleading of friends for him not to drive. He convinced them that he could drive and took them up on the offer to follow him home. To the horror of his friends, he began to speed up and they dropped off when he reached speeds over 100-miles-per-hour. Moments later they were stunned as he crossed the centerline and slammed head-on into the vehicle carrying the child and her 20-year-old aunt. Our prayers go out to these two young women and their family and friends.

Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. 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. At a sentencing hearing this past week the man pleaded guilty to numerous charges and was sentenced to serve eight years in the Tennessee Department of Corrections.

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. Call 615-356-2000.

Prison For Drunk Driver

Would Seat Belts Have Made A Difference?

A roadway departure crash is East Tennessee left one woman dead, and three other injured. According to local media reports, a 2010 Murano driven by a 27-year-old man rounded a curve on Boyd’s Creek Road, lost control and crossed the yellow center line and slammed into the 1999 pickup truck driving by the deceased, a 51-year-old woman. None of the people involved were wearing their seat belts.

Was it speeding or distraction or both that caused the driver to lose control? 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 significant, 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 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.

Drunk Driving Can Be Costly And Time Consuming

When you read about an accident that involves several totally stupid actions on the part of a driver, you can usually bet the guy is drunk or on drugs, and in many cases both. So it was with a Coffee County man who has already been convicted of DUI. This guy gets drunk and gets into his vehicle and heads out onto the interstate highway.

The guy is so drunk that he can’t keep the vehicle he is driving from running off I-24 around 3PM this past Monday afternoon. Somehow he got the car in a position to re-enter the interstate highway and without looking for oncoming traffic he pulls back onto the interstate and collides with an SUV carrying four children. The adult driver and a 9-month-old were not injured but three children, ages 12, 14, 17, had to be taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

So let’s count the stupid actions of this driver: 1. Got drunk, 2. Got behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, 3. Drove off the interstate highway, and 4. Pulled back on to the highway without making sure he was clear to do so. My, my, this guy might well be in line for the dumbest driver in 2012.

If you or a family member or friend, is injured in a Tennessee vehicular accident, take a minute and check out the experienced Nashville personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and learn about your rights and remedies. Call 615-356-2000

Drinking + No Seat Belts = Death

According to local media reports the TSP determined that the two Greenbriar, Tennessee men involved in a one-car roadway departure collision had been drinking and were not wearing their seatbelts.

The reports went on to say that the men were driving in a a Jeep Wrangler were heading southbound on Highway 49 when the driver lost control of the vehicle near the Owens Chapel Road intersection. The Jeep veered off the left side of the road and rolled over, ejecting the two men inside.

The 22-year-old passenger was killed and the other man was treated and released. Since the vehicle was registered to the injured man, criminal charges will probably be brought. The sad part of this whole incident is that TSP Investigators believe that both men would have survived had they been wearing their seat belts.

On average a human being loses their life at the hands of 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. Tennessee law requires the use of seat belts. An overwhelming number of studies show that seat belts, when used correctly, save lives.

If you are the victim of a Nashville or Tennessee automobile accident we urge you to contact our car accident attorneys today for a free consultation. When you hire an auto accident attorney from Phillip Miller & Associates, you’re getting a qualified and dedicated lawyer. Details about our attorneys and staff can be found by viewing our website at www.seriousinjury.com where you can get to know the men and women who will be looking out for your best interest. Call 615-356-2000.

Car/House Crashes-Are We In An Epidemic?

It’s Deja Vous all over again. This morning I blogged about the recent spate of automobile/house collisions we here in Tennessee are experiencing. What to my surprise when I pick up one of Nashville media reports and see that another collision was avoided only because the car hit a tree that a saved the house.

In addition to the house/car collisions we have seen a number of Hit & Run accident in the last several weeks and this article made clear that we have both in one incident. The driver of the vehicle in question was most probably drunk and speeding in a residential neighborhood when he lost control of his car, left the roadway, and flipped over several times before slamming into the tree. The driver then fled the scene.

Drunk drivers are a trip, their thinking patterns are all screwed up. This guy leaves the ultimate in evidence at the scene, a car registered in his name, and presumes he’s going to get away with it. Drunk drivers put everyone on the road in danger, especially during holiday season, which often combines travel with multiple opportunities to consume alcohol. Driving is both a privilege and a responsibility. Every alcohol-related fatality is preventable, and it is everyone’s responsibility to make the right decision before getting behind the wheel.

If you are the victim of a Nashville or Tennessee automobile accident we urge you to contact our car accident attorneys today for a free consultation. When you hire an auto accident attorney from Phillip Miller & Associates, you’re getting a qualified and dedicated lawyer. Details about our attorneys and staff can be found by viewing our website at www.seriousinjury.com where you can get to know the men and women who will be looking out for your best interest.

Photo: Cleveland.com