Nelson Andrews is a local Nashville businessman. This morning I had the opportunity to read an article he wrote for a local media outlet. The subject of the article is timely and so important that I would like to share it with you in it’s entirety.

I recently read a story in The Tennessean about a child who was run over by her father as he backed out of the driveway. As a father of four, I can tell you that it is the often preventable dangers, such as these, that keep me up at night. My thoughts are with the child’s family. Unfortunately, accidents like the one in Chattanooga happen too often. In the United States, at least 50 children are backed over by vehicles every week — 48 of whom are treated in hospital emergency rooms — and at least two children are fatally injured, according to KidsAndCars.org, a national nonprofit child safety organization dedicated to preventing injuries and death to children in or around motor vehicles.

According to statistics provided by the Tennessee Department of Health’s Division of Health Statistics, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 18, with motor-vehicle traffic being the leading cause of death for children 5-18 and the second-leading cause of hospitalized injuries for children 5-14 years old.

Working with the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the local Safe Kids chapter, I have learned that educating families and children about the dangers of vehicles in driveways and parking lots is the best way to prevent these accidents. Many safety organizations offer resources and events on motor-vehicle safety where children and families participate in activities that include front- and back-over awareness.

Safe Kids provides the following tips that may prevent these tragedies from occurring:

Walk all the way around your parked vehicle to check for children and items that attract children, like pets and toys. Be sure to look under your vehicle before you get in and start your engine.

Accompany young children when they get in and out of vehicles.

Identify safe play areas for children that are away from parked or moving vehicles.

Designate a safe spot within a driver’s sight for children to wait when nearby vehicles are about to move.

Hold the hand of each child when walking near moving vehicles and when in driveways, in parking lots or on sidewalks.

The prevalence of back-over injuries has the attention of the U.S. government. Legislation was recently passed that requires new vehicles to have rear-view cameras, allowing drivers to see areas not visible by rear-view and side mirrors, by 2014. But car buyers do not need to wait. Many automobile dealers now offer the option of purchasing rear-view camera packages, and some vehicles, marketed to families, include the cameras as a standard feature.

Accidents do happen, but hopefully the combination of education, community vigilance and technology will help protect families from injuries and deaths related to back-over incidents.

Nelson Andrews is the general manager at Andrews Cadillac and Land Rover Nashville. Every fall, Andrews partners with advocates to host Child Safety Day, a public service event.

To keep up with Tennessee highway safety issues visit the website of the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates or call 615.356.2000.

Teaching Highway Safety With Chuggington

Over the years I have blogged about Tennessee highway traffic safety issues I have often written about teaching children how to be safe around motor vehicles. Recently I read a press release from the National Highway Traffic Administration and I thought I would share it with you.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and popular animated series Chuggington today announced a new partnership to teach children how to be safe in and around cars. The nationwide traffic safety campaign is geared specifically towards children from the ages of 2 to 7 and includes a public service announcement featuring characters from the show, a kid-focused safety pledge and downloadable tips and activities for parents and caregivers to use with children.

“This exciting partnership with Chuggington will help us bring our traffic safety message to young children and parents alike,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Educating children at an early age about the importance of wearing bicycle helmets, looking both ways when crossing the street and buckling up leads to a lifetime of good traffic safety habits.”

Motor vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of death for children, with 1,314 fatalities and 179,000 injuries to those 14 and younger in 2009. In 2007, an estimated 262 fatalities and 115,000 injuries to children 14 and younger occurred from pedestrian incidents involving children playing in or around motor vehicles. The new partnership unveiled today combines NHTSA’s safety guidelines for pedestrians, school buses, bikes and car seat use with Chuggington’s characters to reach parents and children.

“Chuggington’s characters learn important life lessons in every episode of the show and often earn badges as rewards for appropriate behavior,” said Dick Rothkopf, chairman of Ludorum, the creators of the show. “The ‘Think Safe, Ride Safe, Be Safe!’ traffic safety pledge and badge is based on this concept. We hope that children will be excited to learn the rules of the road while they interact with Chuggington’s characters and earn their ‘official’ Chuggington Traffic Safety badges.”

Today’s announcement at Harriet Tubman Elementary School coincides with National Child Passenger Safety Week and comes on the heels of a recent survey by Safe Kids USA showing there’s still room for improvement for parents installing child safety seats. Earlier this year, NHTSA released revised guidelines encouraging parents to keep their children in rear-facing child seats as long as possible up to the height and weight specifications of the seat.

“We already know that child seats save lives and help keep our kids safe, but parents and caregivers need to know how to properly install and use them,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. “That’s why, together with our safety partners, we encourage parents to choose the right seat for their child’s size and weight and to have it checked at one of the thousands of free safety seat inspection stations set up across the country for National Seat Check Saturday.”

It is the responsibility of parents to teach their children how to live a safe and happy life, and that instruction covers of whole lot of ground. When dealing with a crash involving children and cars, the children never come out on top. Use every opportunity to teach your children all sort of traffic safety rules, and the best way to do that is to practice safe driving techniques at all times.

If you need further information on this or any other highway safety issues visit my website at Phillip Miller & Associates, or call 615-356-2000.

Over the years I have blogged about Tennessee highway traffic safety issues I have often written about teaching children how to be safe around motor vehicles. Recently I read a press release from the National Highway Traffic Administration and I thought I would share it with you.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and popular animated series Chuggington today announced a new partnership to teach children how to be safe in and around cars. The nationwide traffic safety campaign is geared specifically towards children from the ages of 2 to 7 and includes a public service announcement featuring characters from the show, a kid-focused safety pledge and downloadable tips and activities for parents and caregivers to use with children.

“This exciting partnership with Chuggington will help us bring our traffic safety message to young children and parents alike,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Educating children at an early age about the importance of wearing bicycle helmets, looking both ways when crossing the street and buckling up leads to a lifetime of good traffic safety habits.”

Motor vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of death for children, with 1,314 fatalities and 179,000 injuries to those 14 and younger in 2009. In 2007, an estimated 262 fatalities and 115,000 injuries to children 14 and younger occurred from pedestrian incidents involving children playing in or around motor vehicles. The new partnership unveiled today combines NHTSA’s safety guidelines for pedestrians, school buses, bikes and car seat use with Chuggington’s characters to reach parents and children.

“Chuggington’s characters learn important life lessons in every episode of the show and often earn badges as rewards for appropriate behavior,” said Dick Rothkopf, chairman of Ludorum, the creators of the show. “The ‘Think Safe, Ride Safe, Be Safe!’ traffic safety pledge and badge is based on this concept. We hope that children will be excited to learn the rules of the road while they interact with Chuggington’s characters and earn their ‘official’ Chuggington Traffic Safety badges.”

Today’s announcement at Harriet Tubman Elementary School coincides with National Child Passenger Safety Week and comes on the heels of a recent survey by Safe Kids USA showing there’s still room for improvement for parents installing child safety seats. Earlier this year, NHTSA released revised guidelines encouraging parents to keep their children in rear-facing child seats as long as possible up to the height and weight specifications of the seat.

“We already know that child seats save lives and help keep our kids safe, but parents and caregivers need to know how to properly install and use them,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. “That’s why, together with our safety partners, we encourage parents to choose the right seat for their child’s size and weight and to have it checked at one of the thousands of free safety seat inspection stations set up across the country for National Seat Check Saturday.”

It is the responsibility of parents to teach there children how to live a safe and happy life and that instruction cover of whole lot of ground. When dealing with children and cars, the children never come out on top. Use every opportunity to teach your children all sort of traffic safety rules, and the best way to do that is to practice safe driving techniques at all times.

If you need further information on this or any other highway safety issues visit my website at Phillip Miller & Associates

Teach Your Children Well

, or call 615-356-2000.

Protect Child Passengers

On this the first day of Fall we must remain alert to protect children from heat related death. With record high temperatures nationwide and reports of 21 hyperthermia-related child deaths this summer we must remain vigilant. Children left alone in vehicles during hot weather are at risk of a serious injury or death from hyperthermia. According to NHTSA research, hyperthermia is the leading cause of non-crash vehicle deaths for children under the age of fourteen.

“These twenty-one deaths were tragic and preventable – not one of those children should have lost their lives in this horrible way,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We need to do everything we can to remind people to be vigilant and never leave a child alone in or around a motor vehicle.”

Reports by the San Francisco State University Department of Geosciences show 49 children under the age of 14 years died in 2010 due to hyperthermia, with 21 deaths so far in 2011. Several states have witnessed especially high incidences of fatalities for children aged 3 and under – including Texas, Florida, California, Nevada, and North Carolina.

“We know hyperthermia is a serious threat that needs to be better addressed immediately,” said David Strickland, Administrator of NHTSA. “A coordinated, targeted approach to increase public awareness of this very serious safety danger should help prevent unnecessary tragedies and near-misses moving forward. We need to come together and give the best information to parents, caregivers, and our communities to protect children in vehicles.”

If you see children left in cars with the windows up act immediately by calling 911 in urban areas and *847 in rural areas. Taking a minute to call might well save the life of a child.

For more information on this and other Tennessee highway safety issues visit the website of the experienced Nashville auto accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates or call 615-356-2000.

As the new school year begins, the experienced Nashville personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates urge parents to discuss school bus safety with their children.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, each year, approximately 19 school-age children die in school transportation-related traffic crashes.

We offer parents the following tips:

* Children should arrive at the bus stop at least five minutes early, and should not engage in horseplay.

* While on the bus, children should remain seated and facing forward. Hands and arms should be inside the vehicle.

* When boarding the bus, children should line up single file and use the handrail.

* Parents should remove loose drawstrings or ties on clothing, as these can snag on bus handrails.

* Children should cross the street at least 10 feet – or five “giant steps” – in front of the bus.

* Children should always wait for the bus to come to a complete stop before exiting, and exit from the front of the bus.

* If anything is dropped while boarding or exiting, children should ask the bus driver for assistance.

For these and other helpful road safety tips visit the website of Phillip Miller & Associates or call us at 615-356-2000 if you have questions, or need to consult about an automobile accident.

Watch Out For Children

The Tennessee Highway Patrol will assist local law enforcement efforts with a “Back to School” enforcement and education campaign of their own, focusing on traffic safety in and around the school zones. State Troopers will target traffic violators, specifically those who speed in school zones and pass stopped school buses, as well as raise awareness on school safety in Tennessee.

“The ultimate goal of the Tennessee Highway Patrol is to protect children from motorists who disregard the law, especially around the school zones,” said Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons. “However, we must educate motorists, parents and children on the importance of safe pedestrian movement and accident prevention in order to ensure traffic safety. We all have a responsibility to make sure children travel to and from school safely.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), from 2000 to 2009, 1,386 people died in school transportation-related crashes – an average of 139 fatalities per year. One hundred and thirty (130) school-age pedestrians (younger than 19) have died in school transportation-related crashes during that same time period, and 56 (43 percent) school-age pedestrians killed in school transportation-related crashes were between five and seven years old. NHTSA states more school-age pedestrians are killed between the hours of 3:00pm and 4:00pm than any other time of day.

“We are urging motorists to exercise caution, be alert and to slow down in school zones and around school buses,” said THP Colonel Tracy Trott. “Our state troopers will not hesitate to hand out citations, but that is not our objective. This enforcement campaign was designed to encourage everyone to practice safe driving and pedestrian habits.”

Drivers who are found distracted, impatient and careless can expect to face stiff penalties. The speed limit is 15 miles per hour in school zones and the fine for speeding in a school zone is up to $500.00. It is also against the law to pass a school bus when it is stopped and loading or unloading passengers. The driver can be fined no less than $250.00 and up to $1,000.

In 2010, State Troopers issued 3,186 citations in school zones. That’s down from 5,445 citations issued in 2009. Of the 2010 citations, 739 were speeding violations, while two citations were handed out for passing a stopped school bus. Since 2006, there has been a 21.0 percent decrease in the number of crashes occurring in school zones between the hours of 6:00am and 9:00am and the hours of 2:00pm to 5:00pm. There was also a 20.3 percent decline in the number of school bus-related crashes between those same hours.

As part of the “Back to School” enforcement, the Tennessee Highway Patrol’s Special Programs unit recorded public service announcements at local radio stations across the state.

Each day, 26 million children in the United States ride school buses, including 600,000 in Tennessee, according to NHTSA. NHTSA reports approximately 21 students were killed while they were entering or exiting a bus in the U.S. last year. Close to 800 children are killed annually and many more injured going to and from school in a vehicle other than a school bus, according to the NSC.

If your child is injured or, God forbid, killed by a negligent driver at or near a school zone, contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation. Call 615-356-2000.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) urges you to register your child restraint with the manufacturer.

In the event of a safety recall all manufacturers are required to notify all registered owners by first class mail that their child restraint is included in the recall. Therefore, it is very important that the manufacturer of your child restraint has your current mailing address, and all of the information necessary to identify your child restraint. To register your child restraint you will need to provide the following information:

Your Name

Your current mailing address

Manufacturer’s Name (Example: Graco, Britax, Evenflo, Combi, etc.)

Date of Manufacture (Example: Label says “Manufactured in” )

Model Number (Example: 8643CDR2, 808688, 317147P1, etc.)

Model Name (if known) (Example: Snugride, Centre EX, Embrace, etc.)

All manufacturers are required to include the model number and date of manufacture on each restraint they produce. It can be found on a label attached to the restraint (look on the rear, the bottom, or the side of the restraint).

You can go to the website of the manufacturer where they are required to provide a registration portal. You can also visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to register your child safety seat.

For these and many other helpful Tennessee highway safety suggestions vist the web site of the experienced Nashville auto accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates.

Watch Out For Children

A 7-year-old Hixson Tennessee child is listed in seriously critical condition and is on life support after being hit by a car Saturday morning. From witness reports it appears the boy was trying to cross Gadd Road in Hixson and he failed to look both ways before crossing.

The car that struck him initially drove off by then returned to the scene. An interesting aspect from a legal perspective is that the two people in the vehicle are not cooperating with the police and investigators are unsure as to the identity of the driver.

In 2008, there were nearly 61 million children aged 14 and younger in the United States. This age group made up 20 percent of the total U.S. resident population in 2008. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for ages 3 to 14.

According to the research, in the last 15 years, more than 76,000 Americans have been killed while crossing or walking along a street in their community. More than 43,000 Americans – including 3,906 children under 16 have been killed this decade alone. This is the equivalent of a jumbo jet going down roughly every month, yet it receives nothing like the kind of attention that would surely follow such a disaster.

Child safety is a responsibility of parents. Teaching your child the rules for crossing streets should be one of the first things you teach your children. The articles in local media don’t say whether the boy was crossing at a corner or whether his parents were supervising him, something that investigators should look into.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee pedestrian collision, you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Nashville auto accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates to find out about your rights and remedies.

Family Decimated In Crockett County Crash

As an experienced Tennessee auto accident lawyer, I regularly write about child safety. The main topics are usually safety seats and school zone safety. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 3 to 14. Every day during 2007 in the United States an average of five children age 14 and younger were killed and another 548 injured in such accidents.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which studies all manner of highway safety issues says that using properly installed child safety seats reduces the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers in passenger cars. Placing children in age and size-appropriate car seats and booster seats also reduces serious injuries by more than half.

Reference a terribly sad case that happened on State Highway 152 in Crockett County Tennessee this past week. A family, the mother, father, infant son (age 2), grandmother and a friend were riding along when the driver (Mother) for some reason left the roadway, overcorrected trying to get back on the road and left the road into a deep ditch and then it hit a culvert.

The child was in a safety seat that was not properly installed, and he, along with his grandmother, who was not wearing her seatbelt, were killed.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee highway automobile accident contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident law firm of Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to determine your rights and remedies.

Don't Get Too Busy

I have been sitting on this story for a couple of days now and I can’t seem to get a handle on it. A woman was parked outside a South Nashville Laundromat waiting for her boyfriend to empty a couple of dryers. Apparently he was not progressing fast enough so she decided to help him. Trouble was, she had four children in the car, which she left running while she went inside.

You guessed it, a running car just sitting there, no adult in sight, and a guy comes along and sees a great opportunity to snag a new SUV, maybe make some money, or maybe he was just tired of walking. Did I mention she left her purse opened on the front seat? He quickly forced the two older kids out of the car and then he took off with two babies, a 3-year-old and an eleven-month-old in car seats.

Luckily for everyone involved, except the car thief, a stranger saw they event go down and followed the vehicle and found it three miles from the Laundromat. The kids were safe, her money from the purse was missing and the whole thing had a happy ending.

The lesson here is simple, always think of your children’s safety first. Leaving your children alone in a running vehicle can have all sorts of bad outcomes and car theft is not the worst of them. Over the several decades that I have been a personal injury lawyer I have seen cases where one of the older children got behind the wheel, changed gears and the vehicle lurched forward into an intersection where it was t-boned and the two children were killed.

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.