Too Young To Die

A pair of fatal Tennessee roadway departure crashes this week have left family and friends of the victims in shock. As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney we define an 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.

In Sumner County, Tennessee two teen boys were killed when the vehicle in which they were riding failed to negotiate a curve in the road, crossed the centerline and crashed into an oncoming vehicle. A 25-year-old Union City man crossed the centerline and over corrected, sending his pickup rolling into a ditch. The man was not wearing his seatbelt and was partially ejected and was dead at the scene. My prayers go out to the family and friends of these young men.

The lessons to be learned from these accidents are simple, but often not learned. The first crash was obviously due to an inexperienced driver going well in excess of the speed limit. The second was caused by inattention to the task at hand. The driver was somehow distracted and failed to stay in his lane. Speed could well have been a cause in this accident also.

If you or someone you love has been hurt in a serious Tennessee car accident due to somebody else’s negligence, then you may be feeling angry, frightened, or even alone in your suffering.

There is no reason for you to bear your burden alone.  The experience of a Tennessee auto accident is traumatic enough and your recovery will bring its own challenges.  You don’t need the added stress of worrying about who will pay for the medical care you need, how your car will be repaired, and if the individuals responsible for your suffering will be brought to justice.  This is the time to call Phillip Miller & Associates, the law firm of local Tennessee attorneys and staff who for the past 25 years have dedicated their lives to protecting the rights of injured men, women, and children in Tennessee.

Teen Driving Accidents Kill Others

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I have handled more accidents involving teen drivers than a I care to think about. One of the things that I began to notice several years ago is that when teen drivers crash it seems that other parties are impacted more often than in adult accidents. A recent study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety supports my observation.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety analyzed data on fatal motor vehicle crashes from 1998 through 2007 and identified all fatal crashes involving a 15, 16, or 17-year-old drivers of a passenger vehicle. Over the 10 years from 1998 through 2007, there were 24,655 drivers ages 15 through 17 involved in fatal crashes. These crashes killed 28,138 people, of whom 10,388 (36.9%) were the 15, 16, and 17-year-old drivers themselves.

However, the majority of fatalities in those crashes (63.1%) were people other than those drivers, and included 8,829 of their passengers, 6,858 occupants of vehicles operated by drivers aged 18 or older, and 2,063 non-motorists and others. On a positive note, the number of young drivers involved in fatal crashes each year decreased substantially over the years analyzed, with 776 fewer drivers age 15 to 17 involved in fatal crashes in 2007 than in 1998, resulting in the deaths of 311 fewer young drivers and 540 fewer deaths of other people in 2007 than in 1998.

There was also a substantial decrease in the fatal crash involvement of adult drivers over the same period; however, the decrease in the fatal crash involvement of young drivers and people killed in those crashes was significantly larger than what would have been predicted from the decrease in the fatal crash involvement of adults.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a teen driver you owe it to yourself to retain the experienced Nashville car crash lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and maximize your recovery.

Avoid Distractions

Although this report is not about a Tennessee Teenage driver fatality I thought it important to being this situation to your attention. An 18-year-old Alabama woman attending Freshman orientation at LSU with her mother died in an automobile accident when the car she was driving pulled into traffic from a private driveway and was hit by a pickup driven by a 22-year-old man from Baton Rouge. The young woman’s mother was injured but is expected to recover. My prayers go out to her family and friends.

What could have distracted her from looking out for traffic before she pulled out into the path of the truck? When you are pulling out from a private driveway you must yield the right of way to oncoming traffic. Under Tennessee law intersections are places where traffic merges or crosses. They include:

• Cross streets,

• Side streets,

• Private Driveways,

• Shopping center and parking lot entrances.

More crashes happen at intersections than at any other place. Intersections constitute a very small part of rural and urban street/highway systems, yet they are implicated in 31.9 percent of all motor vehicle crashes and 15.5 percent of all fatal crashes (2004 NHTSA data). Be very careful when approaching any intersection or driveway. Never assume another driver will yield the right-of-way to you. Wait until the coast is clear and always be prepared to stop.

“Traffic checks” is the process of looking frequently and carefully for vehicle traffic approaching from each direction. “Traffic checks” is especially important when merging or changing lanes AND when approaching and crossing intersections. Look first to the left to make sure cross traffic is yielding the right-of-way. Then look for traffic from the right. If stopped, look both left and right just before you start moving. Look across the intersection before you start to move to make sure the path is clear through the intersection. Above all avoid distractions, if you have to use your cell phone wait until you are finished with your call and then focus on what you are about to do.

The lesson for Tennessee teens here is perfectly clear. Keep your mind and you eyes on the road and avoid doing things that distract you from focusing on this task.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee auto accident caused by a distracted teen driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation.

Teen Drivers

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I’m not often able to blog about good news, but a recent article on the website www.insurancenewsnet.com contains a ray of hope for teenage drivers.

Nashville Tennessee - A state official says Tennessee has made some headway in reducing traffic fatalities among teens. Phillip Doss, director of the state’s Offices of Research and Educational Accountability, commented as a national campaign pushes for 16 as the minimum driving age. In Tennessee, teens can apply for a learner’s permit six months after their 15th birthday. They can be licensed at 16 with restrictions. Statistics show that the state ranked sixth in the nation for fatal crashes involving teen drivers in a national study by Allstate Insurance in 2008.

A recent state study of the effectiveness of Tennessee’s graduated driver’s license law concluded that states with higher minimum driving ages have lower rates of teen driving-related accidents and deaths. “This is a major public health problem,” said Jacqueline Gillan, vice president of the nonprofit Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety group, which is lobbying for a higher minimum driving age. “Teens are dying on our roads. This happens every day, in every community in the country.”

In an effort to keep young drivers safer, Tennessee introduced a graduated driver’s license law in 2000 to ease teens into the responsibilities of driving and to limit the number of unsupervised hours they can spend on the road. After getting a learner’s permit, drivers at age 16 can move up to an intermediate license that allows them to drive unsupervised, with no more than one passenger, between the hours of 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.

In the decade since the graduated licensing law took effect, it has had some success in reducing the number of accidents, according to a study released this month by the state comptroller’s office. There has been a drop in the number of traffic crashes involving young drivers. In 2005, there were 136 accidents for every 1,000 drivers ages 15 to 24 on the road. By 2009, the number had dropped to 111 crashes for every thousand young drivers. “We’ve been aware for some time that automobile accidents were the leading cause of death for young people,” said Phillip Doss, director of the state’s Offices of Research and Educational Accountability, which studied the effect of the graduated driver licensing law. “On paper, you’d have to say it looks pretty good,” he said, noting that the number of fatal accidents involving teen drivers has generally been trending down over the past decade, although the most recent statistics show fatalities still tragically high.

In 2000, the year graduated driver’s licenses became law, there were 189 fatal crashes involving teen drivers in Tennessee. In 2008, the death toll was 184, according to the most recent data available from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

If you or a loved on is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident contact the experienced Nashville auto accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and get a clear understanding of your rights and remedies.

http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=198047

Tennessee Teen Fatality

The Jackson Tennessee Police Department reported that a 17-year-old driver was killed in a one-car crash this past Saturday. It appears that the young man either lost control of the vehicle or became distracted and crossed the centerline, left the roadway and crashed into a tree. My prayers go out to the family and friends of this young man.

Among experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorneys, the Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), it is generally agreed that teen drivers have the highest crash risk of any age group. Per mile, the crash rate for 16 year-old drivers is 10 times the rate for drivers between 30 and 59. The basic reasons behind this statistic are obvious, teen drivers have no experience with the myriad issues faced by drivers with experience, furthermore, they are immature and often takes risks, most often speeding, and are easily distracted which contribute to the increased death rate.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyer I have seen far too many teen deaths and I strongly encourage parents to be realistic about the skills and propensities of their children. It’s a time of excitement and dread for every parent, the time when their precious little Bobby or Betty reaches the age when they can drive. Excitement because their child is growing up and the parents can relinquish to job of being the chauffeur for their busy teens and dread because the know in their heart of hearts the dangers that teen drivers face as they take to the highways and byways.

In addition to laws, safety experts agree that parents play a key role in helping teens become good drivers. Parents should not rely solely on drivers education classes to teach good driving habits and should restrict night driving, restrict the numbers of passengers riding with their teen, supervise practice driving, always require use of seat belts and choose vehicles for safety, not image. Parents can also set a good example by practicing safe driving techniques themselves.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a teen driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

Texting While Driving

As an experienced Nashville auto accident lawyer I have come to dread one of the downsides of the Spring season. No, it’s not the pollen and the allergies, the April showers that bring May flowers, it’s the rash of fatal automobile accidents that involve teen drivers. Prom weekends begin the season of death.

This year the Tennessee Department of Safety joins the Governor’s Highway Safety Office, National Organizations for Youth Safety, U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Governors Highway Safety Association, and Students Against Destructive Decisions to promote National Youth Traffic Safety Month. To kick off the month, the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) encourages students to pledge not to drink and drive or text and drive.

“You can have a good time and do it in a smart way,” said Safety Commissioner Dave Mitchell. “Prom, graduation and the beginning of summer are times to celebrate, but don’t let a good time be the last time; pledge not to drink and drive. Not only is it the law, the consequences can be deadly.”

In 2008, 19 people were killed in Tennessee in 18 fatal crashes involving drivers (age 13-19) who had been drinking. A national survey of 11th and 12th grade students finds 90 percent believe their peers are more likely to drink and drive on prom night, but few think that the behavior carries a high degree of risk. The Department of Safety encourages Tennessee youth to join the campaign and speak up for alcohol and drug free proms.

“Texting or talking on cell phones while driving is dangerous to the driver and all those on the roadway around them,” said THP Colonel Mike Walker. “Teens must understand that texting and talking on the phone while driving is against the law and every time a driver takes his or her eyes or focus off the road, even for just a few seconds, they put their lives and the lives of others in danger.” According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving kills nearly 6,000 Americans a year.

In Tennessee, TCA 55-50-311 stipulates: “Any driver possessing a learner permit or intermediate driver license is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle on any highway while using a handheld cellular telephone.” The teen driver is subject to a $50 fine and a 90 day delay in eligibility for an intermediate restricted or intermediate unrestricted driver license.  TCA 55-8-19 stipulates that texting while driving and reading a text while driving are against the law for all drivers. The driver is subject to a $50 fine. Since January 3, THP Troopers have issued 51 citations for texting while driving.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car crashes are the leading cause of fatalities among teens in the United States. Nationally, teen drivers (ages 13-19) are at a four times greater risk for crashes than older adults and are involved in 15 percent of fatal crashes, but make up 6.7 percent of the total driving population.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a teen driver you owe it to yourself and your family to consult with an experienced Tennessee car crash lawyer like those you will find at Phillip Miller & Associates. Take advantage of a free consultation to determine your rights and remedies.

Friends and family joined together to remember an 18-year-old Dickson County Tennessee high schooler who was killed in a roadway departure crash over the weekend. As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney it seems to me that this time of year, just prior to high school graduation, that we see more fatal accidents involving teen drivers thqn during any other time of the year.

What caught my attention in the numerous media reports about the crash and the memorial was the notation that this young man was the 13^th student of Creek Wood HS to die in an automobile accident since the school opened in 2002. Putting the math to it, that’s over one and a half teenager per year dying on the highways of Dickson County every year just from this one high school. That seems like a lot to me.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, accounting for more than one in three deaths in this age group. In 2008, about 3,500 teens in the United States aged 15–19 were killed and more than 350,000 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor-vehicle crashes. Young people ages 15-24 represent only 14% of the U.S. population. However, they account for 30% ($19 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among males and 28% ($7 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among females.

It seems to me that the leadership of Dickson County, including the school Board, ought to consider this terrible toll and maybe add a bit of education about the hazards of driving. It is my understanding that the majority of the fatal accidents involving teens are related to distracted driving, including the use of cell phones, texting and music players. The other main cause is speeding.

How many more teen drivers are going to have to die before the political, educational and law enforcement leaders get on the stick?

If you or a loved one is injured in a Tennessee auto accident caused by a teen driver, you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Nashville auto accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out where you stand.

Teach Teen Driving Safety

Over the last several Blogs at “The Tennessee Auto Accident Attorney” we have talked about younger drivers and the hazards they face as the travel the highways and byways of Tennessee. As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney, I regularly speak to parents of teen drivers, and on every occasion I remind them that simply telling their children to act in a safe manner when they are behind the wheel won’t be much help to them, it is the duty of the parents to teach them by example.

I also share some sobering statistics. In Tennessee and across the nation traffic crashes are the leading cause of teen fatalities, accounting for 38% of all teen deaths. In 2008, about 3,500 teens in the United States aged 15–19 were killed and  more than 350,000 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor-vehicle crashes. Young people ages 15-24 represent only 14% of the U.S. population. However, they account for 30% ($19 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among males and 28% ($7 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among females.

Most Americans typically learn to drive during the teen years, when the brain is not fully mature yet. Recent research is beginning to give us insight why many teens have difficulty regulating risk-taking behavior:

* The area of the brain that weighs consequences, suppresses impulses and organizes thoughts does not fully mature until about age 25.

* Hormones are more active in teens, which influence the brain’s neuro-chemicals that regulate excitability and mood. The result can be thrill-seeking behavior and experiences that create intense feelings.

Chances are, your community has been struck by a tragic accident involving a teenage friend, classmate or family member. Tennessee parents have an excellent resource available at the website of the National Safety Council. Check out http://teendriver.nsc.org/ for helpful tips and suggested study materials.

My experience investigating and trying Tennessee teen driver accident cases tells me that it is never too early to start training your child for the day he or she gets behind the wheel and you watch them drive off into the real world.

If you or a loved is injured in a Nashville or Tennessee automobile accident caused by a teen driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

Child Passengers Deserve Protection

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I find it difficult to believe that passengers in a vehicular crash were wearing their seatbelts when they are thrown from the vehicle. A recent crash in Cannon County leaves me wondering what the parent might have been thinking, when, while driving her children and a friend to school, crossed the centerline, over-corrected, lost control and flipped the vehicle, tossing three of the boys from the vehicle.

As a parent it is our duty to protect our children and those in our charge. Protecting them while driving means going the speed limit, avoiding distractions and insuring that they are wearing their seat belts. The mother and the guest passenger are in critical condition.

If you are a parent teach your children by example, and explain the dangers they face when they are on the roads of Tennessee. We teach by example, whether we have them in the car or not we should keep in mind that all adults are responsible for highway traffic safety.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee car crash by a negligent driver contact the experienced Tennessee car crash lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

Teen Driver Choices

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, accounting for more than one in three deaths in this age group. In 2008, about 3,500 teens in the United States aged 15–19 were killed and  more than 350,000 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor-vehicle crashes. Young people ages 15-24 represent only 14% of the U.S. population. However, they account for 30% ($19 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among males and 28% ($7 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among females.

Reference a recent Tennessee automobile crash in Dickson County. A Tennessee teen driver of a 1992 Mazda Miata was speeding when it skidded off of a two-lane rural road. It appears that the driver lost control, went into a side way skid, left the roadway and then struck a tree, at which point it exploded or caught on fire. One of the victims was not wearing his seat belt and was thrown from the car and killed. Information about the other was not available at the time of the article. My prayers go out to the families and friends of these two teens who perished in a totally avoidable crash.

Seat belts and child safety seats help prevent injury five different ways, by:

1. Preventing ejection: Ejection greatly increases the chance of death or serious injury.  The chance of being killed in a crash by being ejected from a vehicle is one in eight.  Safety belts virtually eliminate ejection.  The belted driver stays inside the car and is better protected from injury.

2. Shifting crash forces to the strongest parts of the body’s structure.  To get the most benefit from a seat belt, be aware of the following points:

• The lap belt should be worn low over the pelvis with the bottom edge touching the tops of the thighs snugly.

• The shoulder belt should be worn over the shoulder and across the chest, not under the arm and over the abdomen.  Make certain that the shoulder belt is not worn so loosely that it slides off the shoulder.

• Pregnant women should wear the lap belt below the abdomen and the shoulder belt above the belly.

3. Spreading crash forces overa wide area of the body.  Safety belts reduce the possibility of injury from “hostile” surfaces inside the car (steering wheel, dashboard, windshield, controls, etc.).  Even if the belted driver collides with some of these surfaces, it happens with much less force and often results in less serious injury.

4. Keeping the body more closely in the “properdriving posture.” The belt keeps the driver “in the driver’s seat.”  The belted driver is better able to deal with emergencies and often avoids more serious trouble.

5. Protecting the head and spinal cord. The belted driver is less likely to be stunned or made unconscious by the crash and is better able to cope with the situation. Research has found that proper use of lap/shoulder belts reduces the risk of fatal injury to front seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent (for occupants of light trucks, 60 percent and 65 percent respectively)

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile crash casused by a teen driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates for a free consultation.