Keep A Safe Distance

It was just a tiny article in a Nashville media source about a Tennessee school bus accident involving athletes from University School of Nashville. To an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney the article spoke volumes. Simply stated, the school bus was traveling on I-40 in Knoxville following a car that stopped suddenly and the school bus rammed into it.

Tennessee law states: “The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon and the condition of the highway.” When another driver makes a mistake, you need time to react. Give yourself this time by keeping a “space cushion” around your vehicle.  This space cushion will give you room to brake and avoid hazards when needed. Good drivers keep this safe following distance or space cushion to have a better view of the road. The more space you allow between your car and the car ahead, the more time you will have to see and react to traffic hazards or crashes down the road. Many drivers don’t see as well as they should because they follow too closely (tailgating).  The vehicle ahead of them blocks their view of traffic and road conditions.

The Two-Second Rule To share the road safely, stay a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you.  Nationally, safety agencies and driver education programs have tried to define a safe following distance for drivers to maintain.  This has ranged from a two to four second following distance.  Use the following tips to determine if you are following too closely:

A.  As the car ahead of you passes a stationary point on the road (a sign post, driveway, utility pole, etc.), count the seconds it takes you to reach the same spot.

B.  Count to yourself “one-thousand and one, one- thousand and two,” etc. You should NOT reach the same point on the road before you finish counting to at least “one-thousand-two.”  If you do, you are following too closely.

C.  Slow down slightly to increase the space between you and the other vehicle.  Find another spot to check your new following distance.  Repeat this exercise until you are following no closer than two seconds.

This principle will hold true at any speed on state and U.S. highways with moderate speed limits.  However, during inclement weather, interstate highway driving at higher speeds and night driving, the two-second rule should be increased to allow for improved visibility.  A minimum of four seconds should allow for better reaction time and a safer space cushion under these conditions.

Another thing an experienced Tennessee car crash lawyer would look into would be whether the bus driver did have sufficient time to stop but was somehow distracted, maybe by a cell phone and hopefully not by texting. No matter how much time you have to react, if you are distracted, all bets are off.

If you are the victim of a Nashville or Tennessee automobile accident caused by a tailgating or distracted driver we urge you to contact our Nashville car accident attorneys today for a free consultation. When you hire an auto accident attorney from Phillip Miller & Associates, you’re getting a well 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.

Sleeping Drivers Kill

As the economy begins it’s recovery, one of the first signs will be the increasing numbers of tractor-trailers on the highways and byways of Tennessee.  As an experienced Tennessee tractor-trailer accident attorney , I have handled dozens of cases involving tractor-trailer wrecks on Interstate highways and when investigating these accidents, drowsiness or drivers falling asleep as a cause, are the hardest to prove, unless the driver survives.

However, there are a number of clues at a crash scene that tell investigators that the person fell asleep at the wheel. For example, drowsy driving accidents usually involve only one vehicle where the driver is alone and the injuries tend to be serious or fatal. Also, skid marks or evidence of other evasive maneuvers are usually absent from the drowsy driving crash scene.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates conservatively that each year drowsy driving “is responsible for at least 100,000 automobile crashes, 71,000 injuries, and 1,550 fatalities.” But among all the major factors that cause or contribute to crashes, like speeding, alcohol use, and weather situations, drowsiness is the most difficult for police and other crash investigators to detect and quantify.

Sleepiness and driving is a dangerous combination. Most people are aware of the dangers of drinking and driving but don’t realize that drowsy driving can be just as fatal. Like alcohol, sleepiness slows reaction time, decreases awareness, impairs judgment and increases your risk of crashing.

Reference an article on the website of Knoxville TV station WVLT which reports on two men injured in an early morning tractor trailer accident in East Knox County. In this case the driver and his driving partner survived the crash and he told investigators that he had fallen asleep and as he veered off the road he awoke and over-corrected causing the trailer to overturn. Thankfully no one was killed or seriously injured.

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

Engineering Defects Kill

As a Tennessee automobile accident attorney I find interesting the choices buyers make about the make and model of vehicle they buy. The process by which most Tennesseans buy a new car is an individual decision that usually takes into account many different factors. The main focus is on style, color, lifestyle, fuel economy and what they think the type of car says about them. Very few buyers think about automobile safety and the various and sundry built in engineering defects that the different cars have.

Many of these defects are responsible for highway collisions, injuries and death. The most recent defect to draw major attention is with several models of Toyotas. It appears that the design of the accelerator linkage was faulty and would cause high acceleration at the most inopportune times. The list is lengthy with some brands experiencing more problems than others.

It is important to look into the various factors leading up to a car accident in order to determine cause and liability. If an auto product defect causes a fatal accident, then the auto manufacturer could be held liable. This is the time when the victim or victim’s family needs the guidance of an experienced Tennessee automobile accident lawyer. Having a lawyer that certified as a civil trial specialist, which most lawyers are not, is a critical element in finding out the cause and prosecuting the case on behalf of the family.

I am an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney and a certified Tennessee civil trial specialist. I handle complex civil  cases all over the United States. In fact, I am regularly employed by law firms all over the country to consult with them about complex litigation on behalf of injured parties. I can put that experience and training to work on behalf of your family.

The next time you buy a new or used car I suggest that you go to the website of an organization like http://autosafety.org/ and see what they have to say about known defects that the dealers don’t tell you about.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident which was caused by a defective vehicle you owe it to your self to contact the experienced and certified civil law specialists at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to determine your rights and remedies.

Fetal Fatalities

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyer I don’t think that I can repeat myself enough when I remind my readers that the use of safety belts, child restraint safety seats and child booster seats are required by Tennessee law. These laws can help save you and your passenger’s lives in the event of a traffic crash.  Tennessee law enforcement officers can stop drivers and issue citations for failure to observe the seatbelt or child restraint laws. Officers can stop and ticket drivers solely for disobeying Seatbelt and Child Restraint Device (CRD) .

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 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. 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.

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. All child passenger restraint systems (car seats and booster seats) referenced above must meet federal motor vehicle safety standards and be used consistently with the manufacturer’s and the vehicle’s instructions.

According to a recent article on the website of Nashville TV station WSMV researchers are now looking into ways to develop better devices to help prevent fetal deaths by making automobile travel safer for expectant mothers. The study being conducted by researchers at Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences in Blacksburg, Va., was reported after the schools recently completed a three-year research project, partly funded by Ford.

There are no official federal statistics kept on the number of fetal deaths in car accidents. It is estimated that 300 to several thousand such deaths occur annually as a result of vehicle crashes, which amounts to about four times the number of victims between infancy and 4 years old. Overall, about 27,000 vehicle occupants died in car crashes in 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and auto accidents are the single largest cause of death for pregnant women.

If you or a loved one experiences a fetal death in a Tennessee automobile accident you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

Fatal Tractor-Trailer Car Crash

As an experienced Nashville auto accident attorney I cannot for the life of me picture the moments preceding a fatal accident between a speeding tractor-trailer and a mini-van occupied by a Pittsburgh family. An article on the website of WSB-TV in Atlanta Georgia reports that a tractor-trailer driven by Willie Hill of Jacksonville Florida was traveling at a high rate of speed moments before it rammed into the rear-end of a 2007 Toyota Siena and forced it off the road and into trees lining the interstate.

According to the article a three-year-old boy was killed, his mother is in critical condition and another child is in serious condition. The article goes on the report that charges are pending against the truck driver. My sympathy goes out to the family and friends of this innocent family whose lives are transformed by this thoughtless tragedy.

So many things go through the mind of an experienced Tennessee tractor-trailer car crash attorney in an accident like this. What could have caused the truck driver to ignore the slower moving vehicle directly in front of him? The first thing that comes to my mind would be to check his driving log and determine whether he had been driving for too long and had become drowsy and had fallen asleep at the wheel. The next thing I would do is determine whether he had any medical conditions that might have prevented him from controlling his vehicle.

Other avenues of inquiry would be to determine from investigative toxicology tests whether the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. And finally I would subpoena his cell phone records and determine whether he was distracted by texting at or near the time of collision. The United States Department of Transportation recently announced new measures that restrict the use of cell phones and banning texting by operators of commercial motor vehicles. 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 roadway collision caused by a negligent tractor-trailer driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.

Respect The Warning Signs

According to Knoxville TV station WVLT, two East Tennesseans were killed and a third was seriously injured Thursday morning when they collided with a commuter train in South Florida. The report identifies Connie Hamblin, 44 of LaFollette and Felicia Hatmaker, 22 of Pioneer as the deceased victims. Eddie Hamblin of LaFollette remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition. Ms. Hamblin was driving and as she pulled into a rail crossing she saw a commuter train coming.

According to the article, Ms. Hamblin stopped on the tracks and was unable to get her vehicle out of the way of the oncoming 300-ton train traveling at 60 miles per hour. Ms. Hamblin and Ms. Hatmaker were thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene. According to the preliminary investigation report all the safety features at the crossing, including the railroad crossing arms, lights and bell were function properly at the time of the collision. My prayers and sympathy go out to the family and friends of Ms. Hamblin and Ms. Hatmaker and my wishes for a speedy recovery go out to Mr. Hamblin.

In Tennessee railroad crossings have pavement markings that include a large crossbuck (“X”), the letters “RR”, a no-passing zone stripe and a stop line.  Railroad crossing collisions should not happen.  When they do, it usually means drivers are not paying attention to  signs, pavement markings and other warnings that tell when a train is coming. Stop—LookListen— Look Again!

Every motor vehicle should be driven at a rate of speed that will permit the vehicle to be stopped before reaching the nearest rail of a railroad crossing.  The vehicle should not be driven over the crossing until all railroad tracks are completely clear of train traffic. Violations of railroad signals or signs carry the same penalties as violations of other traffic control devices.  When you approach a railroad crossing and a train is coming, you must stop between 15 and 50 feet from the railroad tracks.  Wait until the train has passed and it is safe to cross before proceeding across the tracks. The following are indications that a train is approaching an intersection:

• The crossing has a crossbuck sign with flashing lights to warn drivers when a train is approaching.

• The crossing has a crossing gate that is lowered, blocking access to the railroad tracks when a train is approaching.

• A human flagger signals drivers that a train is approaching.

• Trains are required to signal a horn when they are approximately 1,500 feet from passing through a railroad crossing.

If you want to find out more about train crossings accidents, or if you have been involved in a Nashville  automobile accident caused by someone who failed to respond to an emergency signal of stop sign contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies

Distracted By Technology

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) distraction is anything that diverts the driver’s attention from the primary tasks of navigating the vehicle and responding to critical events. To put it another way, a distraction is anything that takes your eyes off the road (visual distraction), your mind off the road (cognitive distraction), or your hands off the wheel (manual distraction). So when you think about tasks that can be a driving distraction, you can see that they often fit into more than one category: eating is visual and manual, whereas using a navigation system is all three.

There are two basic components of the distraction safety problem: The attentional demands of the distracting task and the frequency with which drivers choose to multitask.  Task demands relate to the amount of resources (visual, cognitive, manual) required to perform the task.  The other issue is exposure, which is how often drivers engage in the task.  Putting those two concepts together, even an easy task can be a bigger safety problem if the person does the task 50% of their driving time.

Yesterday evening while I was watching a documentary on television I saw a commercial that made me wonder if we are taking the technology thing in the wrong direction. One of the main satellite TV providers is now marketing a TV system that you can watch in your car. Is it time for legislatures to take a look at this problem? I mean, if 80% of the nations traffic accidents are caused by distracted drivers, is it time to try to undistract them and save lives and prevent injuries and the attendant cost?

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney the first thing I’m going to when a client comes to me for help is to inspect the vehicle of the driver who is at fault and determine which and how many electronic devices the offender has in his vehicle and try to determine whether they were in use at the time of the collision.

If you or a loved one is involved in a Nashville automobile collision caused by a distracted driver contact the experienced Nashville 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.

Tennessee Trucker Dies In Crash

According to an article in the Greeneville Sun trucker driver Carl Seaton, 76, of Greene County died from injuries received in a one vehicle tractor-trailer wreck on Tennessee Highway 81. The information in the article came from the report of the State Trooper investigating the accident and claims that 2005 Freightliner, pulling an empty trailer, veered from the highway and crashed into a ditch. The initial investigative report indicated that Mr. Seaton either fell asleep or had some sort of medical emergency. The investigation is continuing.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney we know that these crashes are referred to as “Roadway Departure Crashes” (RDCs). The Federal Highway Administration defines a RDC as a non-intersection crash that occurs when a vehicle crosses an edge line or a centerline, or otherwise leaves the traveled way.

According to the Federal Highway Administration roadway departure crashes are frequently severe and account for the majority of highway fatalities. In 2008, there were 19,794 fatal roadway departure crashes resulting in 22,080 fatalities, which was 53 percent of the fatal crashes in the United States. FHWA uses the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to compute statistics on roadway departure crashes.

The FHWA’s Roadway Departure Safety Program provides important information for transportation practitioners, decision makers, and others to assist them in preventing and reducing the severity of roadway departure crashes, but no matter what steps they take this problem will never be successful if drivers refuse to observe the speed limits, avoid distractions, refuse to drive when sleepy and continue to drink and drive.

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 in a Nashville car crash contact our experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies. If you are not sure you need a lawyer to handle your claim, at least check out our website for helpful information that will help you with this complex and confusing adventure.

The Automobile accident personal injury firm of Phillip Miller & Associates is not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time the article was posted. Our information source is cited in the article. If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions as to your rights and options, call us or another reputable law firm. Do not act solely upon the information provided herein. Get a consultation. The best law firms will provide a free consultation. 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.

Commercial Vehicle Safety

The Tennessee Department of Safety (TDOS) joins the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in a week-long campaign to curb unsafe driving practices that lead to commercial vehicle crashes.

The effort, dubbed “Operation Safe Driver,” is intended to improve commercial and non-commercial driver behavior through effective enforcement, education and awareness strategies. The national public awareness and enforcement campaign runs November 18-24, 2009.

Department of Safety Commissioner Dave Mitchell stated, “Outreach efforts to commercial carriers and industry groups like the “Operation Safe Driver” campaign, along with improved enforcement of traffic around commercial vehicles, have contributed to a significant drop in Tennessee fatalities involving large trucks.”

The good news is that n 2008, the number of traffic fatalities in large truck related crashes in Tennessee fell 35 percent to 97 from 149 in 2007. The number of large truck occupants killed in crashes also plummeted, falling 46 percent to 19 in 2008 from 35 in 2007.

“The THP is a dedicated partner in efforts to take enforcement action against unsafe and fatigued commercial drivers and non-commercial drivers operating in an unsafe manner around commercial vehicles,” said Colonel Mike Walker. “During the week of November 18-24, State Troopers across Tennessee will emphasize enforcement activity of commercial vehicle traffic, as well as non-commercial vehicle traffic to include aggressive driving behavior by motorists around commercial vehicles. Safety belt usage enforcement and roadside inspections will also be utilized to reduce commercial vehicle crashes and injuries.”

“Drivers of passenger vehicles need to understand how commercial motor vehicles operate and know their limitations.” said Captain Dereck Stewart who oversees THP’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement. “Sharing the road responsibly will mean safer drivers and fewer deaths and injuries on our nation’s roadways.”

National statistics show about twelve percent of fatal crashes on highways involve trucks and buses. Research has shown that most fatal crashes stem from decisions or actions made by the driver—passenger vehicle drivers, as well as commercial operators.

The keyword here is that we should share the road. Commercial vehicles operate differently than smaller vehicle and every driver should recognize the needs and limitations of both types of vehicles.

If you or a loved one is involved in a Nashville vehiclular accident involving a commercial vehicle or an aggressive foolish car driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and learn about your rights and remedies.

Practice Construction Zone Safety

With the federal stimulus money coming into Tennessee aimed at improving the highway infrastructure of our state, motorists are faced with many more construction zones that require particular attention to speed, distance between vehicles and avoidance of outside distractions such as cell phone, iPods and other electronic devices.

Unfortunately many Tennessee motorists still don’t get it. Witness a report from TV station WBBJ out of Jackson Tennessee about a 50-year old Memphis woman died Thursday in a fiery crash in Henderson County when she ignored a worker flagging traffic and rammed into a TDOT truck parked on the side of the road in a construction zone. Another driver suffered minor injuries.

Once again, from the point of view of an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney, you have to wonder what this unfortunate lady was doing that kept her from seeing the worker flagging traffic. Our prayers go out to her family and friends. She either acted intentionally or she was somehow distracted and since most automobile fatalities occur when a driver is distracted, I would focus my investigation on her cell phone or other electronic devices and her autopsy on her blood alcohol count.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that highway and street construction workers are at risk of fatal and serious nonfatal injury when working in the vicinity of passing motorists, construction vehicles, and equipment. Each year, more than 100 workers are killed and over 20,000 are injured in the highway and street construction industry.

Historically, efforts to reduce vehicle-related worker injuries in this industry have focused on improving traffic control devices and work zone configurations to minimize confusion of motorists passing through the work zone and to limit collisions involving motorists.

The premise has been that by minimizing traffic collisions in work zones, worker injuries are minimized. But it appears that the real problem lies in the hands of the motorists who navigate these dangerous obstructions. It’s up to us, ladies and gentleman, we have to put aside the distractions and focus all of our Attention on the task at hand, and that task is piloting a deadly weapon through the normal obstacles we face everyday on the highways of Tennessee.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville automobile accident involving a distracted driver in a construction zone contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies. If you have been involved in an accident and are thinking of handling the negotiations with the other drivers insurance company on your own, you owe it to yourself to at least check out our website and educate yourself before undertaking this complicated and complex process.