Nashville Automobile Accident Lawyer Takes A Look At Two Tennessee Roadway Departure Accidents
Roadway Departure Crash
Two Tennessee automobile accidents this past week caught my attention and brought to mind a subject I have been wanting to write about. The Jackson Sun from Jackson Tennessee reported on these accidents. They are both single car accidents, the first one involved a driver on US 412 who, according to witnesses, simply drove off of the right shoulder of the road, rolled over down an embankment. The driver was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown free of the vehicle and was killed.
The second accident happened on I-40 when the vehicle simply drove off the North side of the Westbound lane traveling 350 feet before hitting a tree, killing the driver.
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.
What causes a driver to simply drive off of the road and crash their vehicle? The two main causes are drowsy and distracted driving. 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.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes. 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 Tennessee automobile accident caused by a drowsy or distracted Tennessee driver you owe it to your self to contact the experienced Nashville accident and injury lawyers at Philip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.
Phillip Miller is a Tennessee Accident Attorney specializing in
Phillip has an AVVO rating of 10.0 (Superb), has been designated as a “Superlawyer”, and is the President Elect of the Tennessee Association for Justice.
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