Beware The Big Yellow Bus

Quite often during the school year the experienced Nashville personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates remind our readers and clients to pay particular attention to driving around or near a school bus. In the last several weeks there have been two fatal vehicle/school bus crashes.

In the latest accident, one person was killed and 10 others were injured when a SUV and a Rutherford School bus collided head-on this past Saturday morning. According to local media reports an on bus video camera clearly showed that an SUV driver veered over the center line and collided with the school bus. The school bus crushed the SUV.

The driver of the SUV, a 60-year-old Pleasant Shade man, was pronounced dead at the scene. Our prayers go out to the family and friends of this man.

Nine students were transported to a local hospital for treatment of “minor” injuries. One student remained hospitalized. The bus driver was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

According to the media report the man’s sister cited a history of medical issues that led her to opine that the deceased man suffered a heart attack or other medical event while he was driving. An autopsy will shed some light on this cause.

If you or anyone you know has been injured or killed in a Tennessee car accident, please contact Nashville injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here.

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved.

Hit & Run

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I would bet you the ranch that the driver of a red truck that hit a Bradley County Tennessee school bus and fled the scene was driving drunk, or without a driver’s license. The bus was for special needs children and fortunately no one was injured.

Each day, some 480,000 school buses transport more than 26 million children to and from school and school related activities, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. An average of 19 school-age children die in school transportation-related traffic crashes each year – five occupants of school buses and 14 pedestrians. Most of those killed are children five to seven years old.

Hit & Run drivers are, in my consideration, the worst kind of human being. Most H&R drivers are under the influence of alcohol, others have already run afoul of the law and have lost their driving privileges, yet they continue to get behind the wheel and ignore the rules. Many H&R drivers are trying to avoid detection because they don’t have insurance and they don’t want to face the responsibility for their actions. No matter which category they fall into they are the very worst type of person, someone who will leave an injured or dying pedestrian lying in the street.

If you are the victim of a Nashville or Tennessee automobile accident we urge you to contact our Nashville car accident attorneys today for a free consultation. When you hire an auto accident attorney from Phillip Miller & Associates, you’re getting a qualified and dedicated lawyer. Details about our attorneys and staff can be found by viewing our website at www.seriousinjury.com where you can get to know the men and women who will be looking out for your best interest.

Distracted Driving Is Deadly

Earlier this Fall I blogged a warning to remind you all to pay particular attention to  school buses and children since school was back in session. Knoxville TV station WBIR reported earlier this week on a collision involving a school bus and a car. Citing a Tennessee Highway Patrol Accident Report the news item said that a West Greene County bus carrying 20 students from the Technology Center was driving along Highway 11E when a car driven Jennifer Baker, 21 pulled out from a convenience store parking lot into the path of the oncoming bus.

According to the article one student was transported to the hospital with minor injuries and others complained of back and neck injuries. The car was totaled and the school bus was heavily damaged. Troopers cited Ms. Baker for failure to yield. The school Transportation Director did say that the bus driver, Helen Fincher, did a great job handling the bus during the collision and her skill kept the bus from turning over. Our hats are off to Ms. Fincher and we here at Phillip Miller & Associates are grateful that no student was seriously injured.

According to The Tennessee Rules of the Road, drivers entering a roadway from a private parking lot must the yield the right of way to oncoming vehicles. My first thought when I read about this car/school bus collision was how could the driver of the vehicle entering the roadway from the convenience store parking lot not see a giant yellow bus approaching. My next thought was that either she wasn’t looking because she was not paying attention or she was distracted by something such as a cell phone or radio/CD player/iPod.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) the primary responsibility of the driver is to operate a motor vehicle in a safe manner. The task of driving requires full attention and focus. Cell phone use can distract drivers from this task, risking harm to themselves and others. Therefore, the safest course of action is to refrain from using a cell phone while driving. Research shows that driving while using a cell phone can pose a serious cognitive distraction and degrade driver performance. GHSA (Governor’s Highway Safety Association) Chairman Vernon F. Betkey, Jr., says “Education plays a key role in minimizing driver distraction, particularly with teen drivers, who constantly use cell phones and other electronic devices.”

If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville school bus car accident contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.