Distracted Drivers Kill

When driving a motor vehicle you have to avoid distractions at all times. Just because one is in a parking lot entering a space doesn’t mean you can forget that you are driving a 3000 lb. deadly weapon. Reference an article on the website of Nashville TV station NewsChannel5, that relates the story of how five people were injured when a pickup truck crashed into a busy Waffle House restaurant.

The article, citing the Greeneville Sun, said that security cameras showed that the pickup truck entered the parking space and did not stop, instead it crashed into the restaurant.

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.

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. One can only guess what the driver of this vehicle was doing when he should have been paying attention. With the holiday season approaching there will be more distractions and it is critical that we make our best efforts to avoid them while driving.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville automobile accident by a distracted driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates for a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.