Cell Phone Distraction

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyer I have tried to use my Blog “The Tennessee Auto Accident Attorney” to educate my readers on the many issues surrounding highway safety. Along with many other Tennessee highway safety professionals I have long known that cell phones created dangerous driving distractions and lead to death and serious injuries for thousands of people. The following study results are critical in the continuing discussion of cell phone use while driving.

The National Safety Council announced last week that it estimates at least 28% of all traffic crashes — or at least 1.6 million crashes each year — are caused by drivers using cell phones and texting. NSC estimates that 1.4 million crashes each year are caused by drivers using cell phones and a minimum of 200,000 additional crashes each year are caused by drivers who are texting. The announcement came on the one-year anniversary of NSC’s call for a ban on all cell phone use and texting while driving.

“We now know that at least 1.6 million crashes are caused by drivers using cell phones and texting,” said Janet Froetscher, president & CEO of the National Safety Council. “We know that cell phone use is a very risky distraction and texting is even higher risk. We now know that cell phone use causes many more crashes than texting. The main reason is that millions more drivers use cell phones than text,” she said. “That is why we need to address both texting and cell phone use on our roads.”

“This new estimate provides critical data for legislators, business leaders and individuals to evaluate the threat and need for legislation, business policies and personal actions to prevent cell phone use and texting while driving,” Froetscher said. “There was great progress made in 2009, particularly regarding a broad recognition that texting is dangerous. We now need the same broad consensus that recognizes cell phone use while driving causes even more crashes.”

Froetscher said public support for laws banning cell phone use while driving is gaining momentum. “Public opinion research conducted in 2009 by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and Nationwide Insurance show public support for total bans on cell phones at 43 and 57 percent respectively,” Froetscher said. “With public support now around 50 percent, we will continue to educate people about the risks of cell phone use while driving and the value of effectively-enforced laws in changing behavior and reducing crashes.”

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a driver who was distracted using a cell phone you owe it to yourself and your family to contact the experienced Tennessee automobile personal injury lawyers and learn about your rights and remedies.

It all started with a trip to Nashville, Tennessee for a funeral and it ended in four deaths, eighteen others injured including a 56 year-old man with two children confined for life to a nursing home, unable to walk or talk, when a tractor-trailer driver answered a cell-phone call and took his eyes off a suburban St. Louis Interstate highway and the traffic ahead. The Associated Press reported this week that a Federal Judge awarded the survivor confined to the nursing home a judgment of $13.8 million dollars against the driver and the Muscle Shoals Alabama trucking company that employed. His wife was also awarded $4.2 million.

The driver of the truck told authorities that he was distracted by a cell-phone call, causing him to ram his speeding tractor-trailer into stopped traffic. Authorities also determined during their investigation that the Driver was in violation of federal regulations by driving beyond the maximum hours allowed during an eight-day period. The driver has been charged with multiple counts of involuntary manslaughter.

As an experienced Nashville car tractor-trailer accident lawyer I have come to understand how the slightest distraction can lead to such a tragic ending. I have seen this same situation play out more times then I care to remember. In this accident so many lives were changed in just seconds because this tractor-trailer driver took his eyes and his attention off of the road ahead. The man in the man confined to a nursing home for life was 53 years old and had two children. He was a father, son, husband and a contributing member of society. His children will have to grow-up without his counsel and guidance.

If you are the victim of a Nashville or Tennessee automobile accident we urge you to contact our 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.