Tennessee Tractor-Trailer Fatality

Heavy fog and limited visibility may have been the cause of the tragic deaths of two people in Green County, Tennessee, but the death of the 4-month-old baby might well have been prevented if the parents had taken the time to secure the child in a safety seat. The same might apply had the adults buckled up.

The vehicle slammed into a tractor-trailer that was crossing the highway in front of them. The local media report doesn’t mention whether the car was exceeding the speed limit, or whether the driver was somehow distracted and didn’t have time to stop. The use of safety belts, child restraint safety seats and child booster seats are required by Tennessee law. These can help save you and your passengers’ lives in the event of a traffic crash.

There are several driving events that require intense concentration by the driver. A driver must always be on the defensive, thinking about what other drivers might do AND be prepared to respond with proper reactions. In addition, certain conditions, especially bad weather, trigger the need for special knowledge and skills. Avoid fog if possible. But if you must drive—never put your headlights on high beam because the light will be reflected into your eyes.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Tennessee tractor-trailer accident caused by a driver who is distracted or following too close, you owe it to yourself to immediately contact the experienced tractor-trailer attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates.

What does this mean to you if you or a family member are the victim of a Tennessee tractor-trailer accident and suffer a serious or life threatening injury?  It means that the trucking company has a huge advantage in investigating the cause of the accident and developing a strategy for its defense to any claim that arises. During one of these situations evidence can disappear and negligent drivers can be coached on what to say to police investigators. The trucking company has the benefit of an expert that was actually at the accident scene. This may not be possible for the victim since injuries are usually severe in nature. Needless to say it is important to act quickly so that an expert can examine the evidence on your behalf. Call 615-356-2000.

Interstates Are Dangerous

Something distracted the 77-year-old Loudon, Tennessee man who had stopped along I-40 to help his son who had been involved in an accident. Local media reports say the man parked his vehicle in the emergency lane, got out, waited on a tractor-trailer to pass, and then stepped out in front of another tractor-trailer following the other one. My prayers go out to the family and friends of this unfortunate man.

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Following To Closely

A recent Tennessee tractor-trailer rollover crash on I-24 in Rutherford County, and the subsequent ramming of the truck by another vehicle, brings to mind an important concept in driving safety. How far should you be from the vehicle in front of you? The Tennessee Rules Of The Road, give a good guidance on this issue.

There are several driving events that require intense concentration by the driver. A driver must always be on the defensive—thinking about what other drivers might do AND be prepared to respond with proper reactions. In addition, certain conditions, especially bad weather, trigger the need for special knowledge and skills.

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 federal highway 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.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee auto accident caused by a driver who was following too closely contact the experienced Tennessee auto accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

Wrong Way Head-On Crash

On the same day, at the exact time that the young couple were dying in a roadway departure crash, I wrote about in the previous blog, across the state on I-40 at Parker’s Crossroads a 70-year-old Lexington, Tennessee woman got onto the interstate going the wrong way. She was struck by a tractor-trailer.

After the collision the tractor-trailer crossed the median and hit another tractor-trailer before coming to a stop. The 70-year-old woman and the Mayfield, Kentucky truck driver were dead at the scene, head-on collisions between a tractor-trailer and a car, at speed, don’t usually come out well for anyone involved.

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Winter Weather Special Caution

I often write about the importance of paying attention to weather conditions, and applying your driving skills to match the conditions. There are several driving events that require intense concentration by the driver. A driver must always be on the defensive, thinking about what other drivers might do and be prepared to respond with proper reactions. In addition, certain conditions, especially bad weather, trigger the need for special knowledge and skills.

Severe weather in East Tennessee (5 inches of snow) this past week lead to a chain reaction collision on I-75. Local media sources reported that as many as 15 vehicles, including several tractor-trailers and a commercial bus. A juvenile was seriously injured and an unknown number of others were injured and treated at local hospitals. Our prayers go out to the injured so that they have a speedy and complete recovery.

The lesson here for Tennessee drivers is that when visibility reaches a critical level, get off the road. If possible stay home.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Tennessee car crash, contact the experienced Tennessee auto accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates, and take advantage of a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies. Call 615-356-2000.

Photo courtesy AAA Foundation For Traffic Safety

Truck Collision

Witnesses following a tractor-trailer on 1-155 told State Troopers that they watched as the truck weaved on and off the highway for a mile or so before it crashed into the tree line and rolled into a ditch. The man was seemingly uninjured but began to suffer some undisclosed medical symptoms and was transported to Dyersburg Regional Medical Center for observation.

Local media reports say that the 60-year-old Texas driver told Troopers that he did not fall asleep but that he was overcome by a coughing attack and blacked out. Incidences of drivers who had crashes precipitated by their medical emergencies while driving are relatively rare and account for only 1.3 percent of all road fatalities.

Older drivers have relatively higher incidences of crashes precipitated by drivers’ medical emergencies when compared to young and middle-age drivers. Drivers in crashes precipitated by medical emergencies were more likely than other drivers to be severely injured or to die as a result of the crash.

Patient education by health care providers on early warning signs of a health crisis, such as warning signs before seizure attacks, diabetic or hypoglycemic comas and potential side effects of medications are recommended as the most effective countermeasure.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile/tractor-trailer traffic accident contact the experienced Nashville tractor-trailer accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to determine your rights and remedies.

According to a recent study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, older drivers face substantially elevated risk of being involved in and responsible for crashes in which they themselves die, and they pose more risk to other road users than the lowest-risk drivers do.

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Truck Accident

We often talk about the danger distracted driving causes. Some source say that as many as 80% of accidents are caused by driver distractions. We often point, with good reason, to cell phone use as a major player in distracting drivers.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a sneezing driver as being distracted until I read about an accident near Murfreesboro Tennessee. It seems that a Megabus carrying passengers from Atlanta to Nashville was rammed from behind by a tractor-trailer on I-24 and the driver of the truck claimed that he was distracted because he was sneezing.

According to local media sources, the bus entered a construction zone and slowed as instructed, when it was hit by the truck. Fortunately, no one in the bus was injured but the driver of the tractor-trailer was transported to a local hospital. The extent of his injuries is not known at this time.

What does this mean to you if you or a family member are the victim of a Tennessee tractor-trailer accident and suffer a serious or life threatening injury?  It means that the trucking company has a huge advantage in investigating the cause of the accident and developing a strategy for its defense to any claim that arises. During one of these situations evidence can disappear and negligent drivers can be coached on what to say to police investigators. The trucking company has the benefit of an expert that was actually at the accident scene. This may not be possible for the victim since injuries are usually severe in nature. Needless to say it is important to act quickly so that an expert can examine the evidence on your behalf.

Time is of the essence in these type of  cases. Although most cases can be reconstructed at a later time it is important to have someone looking out for your best interests as soon as possible. That’s why it’s important to contact an experienced Tennessee tractor-trailer accident lawyer like those you will find at Phillip Miller & Associates. If you or a loved one is injured in a car tractor-trailer accident act quickly and take advantage of a no-cost no-obligation consultation and learn about your rights and put our crack team of lawyers and investigators on the case.

Dangerous Road Conditions

We have often talked about the responsibility of state and local officials to remedy known dangerous road conditions. I don’t have any specific statistics as to the number of serious accidents at a very sharp turn at an interstate intersection where I-440 enter I-40 just past Charlotte Blvd in downtown Nashville.

As one enters the turn there are rollover warning signs that, in my view, come far too late in the process to be very effective. There are two problems in my view that need to be addressed:

1. Speed enforcement – The speed limit is 55 MPH on the approach to this dangerous turn, but my experience is that few if any vehicle are going the speed limit. The reason for this is that speed enforcement on I-440 is sporadic and ineffective.

2. Warning Signs – There are not enough warning signs and they are positioned far to late for a driver to respond.

This dangerous situation, may or may not, have been the problem that lead to the death of a 23-year-old man early Saturday morning. The man lost control of his Tacoma pickup truck at this turn, rolled over into a tractor-trailer truck in the other lane, causing the truck to roll and catch fire. The truck driver was uninjured but the interstate was blocked for five hours.

An autopsy will tell investigators if the young man was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It might be time for the state to look to more efficient road signs and the Metro Government to review it’s speed enforcement policies.

If you or a loved one are injured or killed in a Nashville auto accident and the cause of the accident is a dangerous road condition, contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out your rights and remedies. Call 615-356-2000.

Tennessee Tractor-Trailer Accident Lawyer

An accident involving a commercial tractor-trailer and a car brought to mind some advice that I would like to share for the families of those who are injured or killed in Tennessee by a negligent tractor-trailer driver. For a trucking company whose vehicles travel millions of miles per year, accidents are an everyday occurrence. Trucking companies have gotten this process down to a science and in many cases have specialized accident investigators at the scene of an accident interviewing the truck driver even before he she talks to the police investigation.

According to local media sources the tractor-trailer, loaded with flour, was going too fast around the curve getting off of I-65 and hit a car as he was tipping over.

What does this mean to you if you or a family member are the victim of a Tennessee tractor-trailer accident and suffer a serious or life threatening injury?  It means that the trucking company has a huge advantage in investigating the cause of the accident and developing a strategy for its defense to any claim that arises. During one of these situations evidence can disappear and negligent drivers can be coached on what to say to police investigators. The trucking company has the benefit of an expert that was actually at the accident scene. This may not be possible for the victim since injuries are usually severe in nature. Needless to say it is important to act quickly so that an expert can examine the evidence on your behalf.

Time is of the essence in these kind of  cases. Although most cases can be reconstructed at a later time it is important to have someone looking out for your best interests as soon as possible. That’s why it’s important to contact an experienced Tennessee tractor-trailer accident lawyer like those you will find at Phillip Miller & Associates. If you or a loved one is injured in a car tractor-trailer accident act quickly and take advantage of a no-cost no-obligation consultation and learn about your rights and put our crack team of lawyers and investigators on the case.