Stop Cell Phone Distraction

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I try to find relevant information that will educate my clients and Blog readers about Tennessee highway safety issues. A recent article from the website of the National Safety Council reviews studies done on the public attitude about distracted drivers. I reprint it here for your review. After you read it feel free to pass it on to your friends and family members.

The public strongly supports legislation to curb distracted driving, according to 20 public opinion surveys from 2001 – 2009 compiled by the National Safety Council. The surveys looked at behavior, attitudes about risk and support for legislation banning driver activities, such as talking on a cell phone.

The surveys are from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety (AAAFTS), Harris Interactive, Liberty Mutual Group, Nationwide Insurance, New York Times/CBS, Pew Research Center and Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

The survey results are summarized below.

Legislative Support Summary

• Current public support for laws banning texting is very high at 80 to 97 percent, according to three surveys conducted in 2009 by Nationwide Insurance, New York Times/CBS and Quinnipiac University.

• Public support for laws banning handheld phones has been consistently high since 2001, with support levels of 73 to 86 percent. Most polls report at least 80 percent support, according to 10 national and state public opinion polls conducted from 2001-2009.

• Nearly 43 percent of the public supports a total cell phone ban, which includes banning handheld, hands-free and texting, according to the AAAFTS in 2009.

• Nationwide Insurance’s 2009 survey found 57 percent of respondents strongly or somewhat support total bans on cell phone use while driving, including banning hands-free.

• The public is quickly understanding the risks of texting while driving. According to a 2009 AAAFTS survey, 95 percent of respondents rated texting while driving as completely or somewhat unacceptable and 87 percent said texting or e-mailing while driving is a very serious threat to safety.

• Public support for legislation banning texting and/or e-mailing while driving is very high, ranging 80 to 97 percent (Nationwide, New York Times/CBS and Quinnipiac).

Risk Perception

• National and state surveys since 2001 show the majority of voters believe laws banning cell phone use while driving would increase safety.

• Public risk perception has in recent years shifted from “slightly or not dangerous” to “very dangerous.” Surveys in 2009 showed 71 percent of the public rated talking while driving on a handheld phone as “unacceptable” (AAAFTS). And 64 percent agreed talking on cell phones while driving is “dangerous” or “very dangerous” (Harris).

• In recent years, the public is rating cell phone use as more serious than other driver distractions (Nationwide).

• Despite public belief in the danger, nearly three out of 10 participants in a 2009 AAAFTS survey admitted to talking on a cell phone while driving fairly often or regularly in the preceding 30 days.

Handheld vs. Hands-Free

• The following has remained consistently high throughout the decade:

Support for legislation banning handheld phones

Belief that banning handheld phones will increase safety

Belief that talking on handheld phones while driving is a threat

• Public risk perception has been lower for hands-free devices than handheld phones, but support is growing for bans on both, according to recent findings of several organizations.

• Public knowledge and opinion about the risk associated with hands-free phone conversations do not yet reflect scientific evidence. In December 2009, NSC compiled 30 studies that compared talking on handheld and hands-free phones while driving. The studies found no increase in safety from using hands-free phones.

Texting

• According to CTIA-The Wireless Association, the recent increase in text messages sent per minute is dramatic:

2000 — 319

2005 — 223,595

2007 — 1,095,163

2008 — 2,509,750

• Despite majority public belief that texting is a serious threat to safety, the percentage of teens and adult drivers who report texting while driving is shown in multiple polls to be increasing (Nationwide, AAAFTS, Harris and Pew Research Center).

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

Technoogy Distractions

As a Nashville automobile accident attorney I am always skeptical of anything that causes a distraction to a driver operating a motor vehicle on the highways of Tennessee. As a technology wog I am always interested in the new technologies that seem to come out daily. The good news is that technological advances have allowed us to keep in direct communication with any one in the world at any time of the day. GPS advances can allow us to find our way to whatever destination we choose, some even give us almost real graphics and voice prompts. The bad news is that these same advances in technology are the direct cause of the majority of traffic deaths and injuries. Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event.

This just in from the Business Week Magazine: Headline, “Ford Adding Social Networking to Cars.” Ford intends to provide a new system that features thumb-wheel controls on the steering wheel and an 8-inch touch screen in the dashboard for audio, navigation, and climate control. Ford plans to bring social networking, Web browsing and iPod-style thumb controls into 80 percent of its models by 2015 as automakers woo consumers with communications features.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) distraction is anything that diverts the driver’s attention from the primary tasks of navigating the vehicle and responding to critical events. To put it another way, a distraction is anything that takes your eyes off the road (visual distraction), your mind off the road (cognitive distraction), or your hands off the wheel (manual distraction). So when you think about tasks that can be a driving distraction, you can see that they often fit into more than one category: eating is visual and manual, whereas using a navigation system is all three.

There are two basic components of the distraction safety problem: The attentional demands of the distracting task and the frequency with which drivers choose to multitask.  Task demands relate to the amount of resources (visual, cognitive, manual) required to perform the task.  The other issue is exposure, which is how often drivers engage in the task.  Putting those two concepts together, even an easy task can be a bigger safety problem if the person does the task 50% of their driving time.

In this fast paced world of high-tech communication devices taking to the highways and byways of Tennessee it is more important now than ever to protect yourself in the event you are involved in a Tennessee car crash. An experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney is essential to protecting your rights if you are in a Tennessee car wreck caused by a distracted driver. At Phillip Miller & Associates we are experienced and nationally certified at the highest level of trial practice. Call for a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.

Distracted Drivers Kill

As readers of my blog, The Tennessee Auto Accident Attorney, you know that I regularly write about the dangers posed by distracted drivers. In fact, 80% of fatal automobile accidents are caused by distracted drivers. Every single time you take your eyes off the road or talk on the phone while you’re driving, even for just a few seconds, you put your life in danger. And you put others in danger too. This kind of behavior is irresponsible and the consequences are devastating.

There are three main types of distraction:

* Visual — taking your eyes off the road

* Manual — taking you hands of the wheel

* Cognitive — taking your mind off what you’re doing

Distracted driving is any non-driving activity a person engages in that has the potential to distract him or her from the primary task of driving and increase the risk of crashing. While all distractions can endanger drivers’ safety, texting is the most alarming because it involves all three types of distraction. Other distracting activities include, using a cell phone, eating and drinking, talking to passengers, grooming, reading, including maps, using a PDA or GPS device and changing the radio station, CD or Mp3 player.

As an experienced Nashville auto automobile accident attorney I see every day the results of distracted driving. When a Tennessee driver is traveling 55 mph it takes less than 2 seconds of distraction to cause a driver to leave the roadway, and after that there’s no getting back control and then other things come into play, like seatbelt use, airbags, ditches, ravines, water and trees. These aren’t good options.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident caused by a distracted driver you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

Nashville School Bus Collision

Two Nashville area automobile school bus collisions leave three children hospitalized with injuries. The Nashville accident occurred when a pickup truck slammed into the rear of a school bus stopped at a railroad crossing. The second school bus automobile accident occurred in Lebanon when a teen aged driver slammed into the back of the bus.

Since 1996, 1,536 people have died in school transportation-related crashes an average of 140 fatalities per year. Most of the people who lost their lives in those crashes (72%) were occupants of other vehicles involved. Non occupants (pedestrians, bicyclists, etc.) accounted for 20 percent of the deaths, and occupants of school transportation vehicles accounted for 7 percent.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I’m trying to visualize how these accidents could have taken place. School buses, if you haven’t noticed, are large and yellow and the rear end of the bus is adorned with an array of warning lights and signs that remind the drivers following them that the school bus always stops at rail road crossings. If you are looking out through your windshields they are hard to miss.

Analyzing these case from only the information in the articles is difficult, but it’s obvious that both of the drivers who hit the busses were somehow distracted by something not related to their driving and not paying attention to the road in front of them. 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.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident you owe it to yourself to consult with an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

Distracted Drivers

Whenever you see an accident, usually involving one car that leaves the road, an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney starts thinking about driver distractions. Just what was the driver doing moments before the crash that caused his/her vehicle to go off the highway? What caused the driver to change focus from driving to other things?

I’ve noticed several accidents like this in East Tennessee this past week and I thought I might use them as examples to my readers of why it is so important to keep your focus on your driving and ignore distractions.

Item One – A man and his 7-month old baby were injured when their SUV left the road and rolled over;

Item Two – A Lenoir man was driving along I-75 when he lost control of his car and ran off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree killing one of his passengers and injuring himself and his teenage daughter. None of the people were wearing a seat belt.

Item Three – In Chattanooga a mother and her child were driving on a County roadway when their car left the road and struck a railroad crossing sign, trapping the occupants in the vehicle.

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.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney we know that these crashes are referred to as “Roadway Departure Crashes” (RDCs). The Federal Highway Administration defines a 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. FHWA uses the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to compute statistics on roadway departure crashes.

Who Is Responsible for Roadway Safety?

Everyone. We all are responsible for driving, walking, and biking safely on our Nation’s roads. The engineers and planners have the responsibility to make sure that roads are designed and operating properly — with safety for all road users in mind. Drivers and pedestrians have the responsibility to always be alert and obey the traffic rules. Passengers should always buckle up and act responsibly. The police and the courts have the responsibility to make sure that the traffic and pedestrian laws are enforced. Public safety agencies have the responsibility of responding to and securing crash locations and enforcing traffic laws. Local communities and county and state governments need to allocate funding for safe roads and increase public awareness about road safety. Everyone should take responsibility for roadway safety.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident by a distracted driver contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and firnd out about your rights and remedies. There is no cost to you or your family for a consultation.

Avoid Distrations

Monday, two young men working on a cable barrier along I-75, were killed by a distracted truck driver. The Knoxville News-Sentinel reported that a commercial truck veered off the highway in Anderson County and struck the two men, identified as Cheyenne Dakota Burke, 18, and Jeffrey Brian Thompson, 19. Although an investigation into the crash is ongoing, one must conclude that something caused the truck driver to be distracted and caused him to leave the road. My deepest sympathy goes out to the families and friend of these two young men.

These days, people are bombarded with devices that can help accomplish more in less time. With people spending an average of about one hour and 15 minutes in their vehicles every day, unfortunately, other activities –from talking to the kids to eating dinner, often take place behind the wheel. Experts estimate that drivers are doing something potentially distracting more than 15 percent of the time their vehicles are in motion. So little time, so many multi-taskers. If you’re driving your vehicle, you are already multitasking. At a minimum you are: operating a piece of heavy machinery at high speed; navigating across changing terrain; calculating speeds and distances; and responding to all the other drivers and obstacles around you. Putting one more activity in the mix –even talking to your passengers or changing a radio station, can be enough to make you lose control of your vehicle or fail to respond in an emergency.

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.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney we know that these crashes are referred to as “Roadway Departure Crashes” (RDCs). The Federal Highway Administration defines a 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. FHWA uses the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to compute statistics on roadway departure crashes.

Accidents like this require the families of the deceased to find an experienced automobile accident and workers compensation attorney. Both of these men were on the job when they were killed and should be compensated under the Tennessee Workers Compensation Law. Unfortunately workers comp might not pay for the complete loss. Civil claims will have to be pressed against the driver and the company for whom he was working. Both of these courses are complicated and if complete compensation is to be had, the families need experienced help.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville automobile accident by a distracted driver at least check out our website for information about the process of pressing your claim. The best law firms offer free consultations. At Phillip Miller & Associates we offer free consultation to the victims and families of injured parties.

Young Distracted Driver No Seatbelt

According to the Springfield police officer investigating a three vehicle collision on the Tom Austin Highway that left one dead and eight injured, neither alcohol nor drugs appeared to be a contributing factor. An article in the Nashville Tennessean said that Joshua Wooten, 20, of Adams was driving a Chevrolet Cobalt when he unexplainably crossed the center-line and side-swiped a Ford Expedition driven by Silas Gardner, 51, of Nashville causing it to spin off the roadway.

Mr. Wooten’s vehicle then crossed the centerline and crashed head-on into a vehicle driven by Sherry Tubbs, 41 of Springfield. Ms. Tubbs had two adults and five children in the van with her. All eight people in Ms. Tubbs’ car were taken to Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. All but one passenger were released and Mr. Wooten was pronounced dead at the scene, he was not wearing his seatbelt.

My heart goes out to the family of Mr. Wooten for their tragic loss. I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who knew and loved this young man. Please keep them in your prayers. I also hope for a speedy recovery for Ms. Tubbs and her passengers, and thank god that no one in Mr.Gardner’s vehicle were injured in what could have been far more deadly than it was.

If I was the lawyer for either Ms. Tubbs or Mr. Gardner I’d focus my investigation on just what was going on at the time Mr. Wooten crossed into the oncoming lane. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration approximately 80% of roadway crashes are caused by drivers who have been distracted just prior to the collision. The majority of distraction collisions over the past five years have been caused by cell phone use. Was Mr. Wooten using his cell phone? Was he texting? Something had to cause him to take his eyes off the road.

Young drivers, ages, 15- to 20-years old, are especially vulnerable to death and injury on our roadways, traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers in America. Mile for mile, teenagers are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers. Teens buckle up far less frequently than adults do. Despite efforts aimed at increasing belt use among teens, observed seat belt use among teens and young adults (16 to 24 years old) stood at 76 percent in 2006, the lowest of any age group. In fact, in 2006 the majority (58%) of young people 16 to 20 years old involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes were unbuckled.

The Nashville personal injury law firm of Phillip Miller & Associates,  is not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time the article was posted. Our information source is cited in the article. If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions as to your rights and options, call us or another reputable law firm. Do not act solely upon the information provided herein. Get a consultation. The best law firms will provide a free consultation. We provide a free, confidential consultation to not at fault persons named in this article. The free consultation offer extends to family members as well

Yield To Emergency Vehicles

A short but important article about an automobile accident in Bradley County appeared on the news website of Chattanooga TV station News Channel 9 the other day that offers us the opportunity to discuss an important Rule of The Road. The rule, simply stated, is that when an emergency vehicle with flashing lights and siren or just a siren, other motorists must yield the right of way. It sounds simple, an intuitive concept, but far too often it’s not practiced. I reference the article mentioned above, in which a police vehicle running with lights and siren collides with another car at an intersection.

When interviewed, the Sheriff said that it was unclear which vehicle had the green light. Under Tennessee law it matters not whether the Police vehicle had the green light or not. In Tennessee the “Move Over Law” (T.C.A. 55-8-132) is a part of the “Failure to Yield to Emergency Vehicles Law“.  In a “nut shell”, the law says, “The driver of every other vehicle shall yield the right-of-way and shall immediately drive to a position parallel to, and as close as possible to, the right-hand edge or curb of the roadway clear of any intersection, and shall stop and remain in such position until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed, except when otherwise directed by a police officer.”

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney my first thought was what distracted the other driver, what was he doing that prevented him from seeing or hearing the emergency vehicle. Was he using his cell phone? Was he talking to a passenger? Was he using his car radio or other music device that was eight too loud or had headphones? What about a GPS device. One thing is certain, the other driver was not paying attention to the road and what was going on in his path. We have spoken so many times about the distracted drivers and their responsibility for so many collisions, injuries and deaths.

I can’t say it enough, when you get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, remember that you are putting your life and the lives of others at risk. Pay attention and be in the now, if you do this you stand a much better chance of arriving to your destination alive and not looking to a future that includes taking responsibility for taking the life of another, jail and finacial ruin.

If you or a loved one are injured by a distracted driver contact the experienced Nashville accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies

Driving While Distracted Kills

where a man was entering I-24 from I-440 when he lost control of his vehicle and fell over the overpass and landed in it’s top in the middle of I-24. The Chattanooga Times-Free Press reported on a one car accident on I-40 in Henderson County where a vehicle left the roadway, over-corrected and crossed the median rolled over several times ejecting the driver and two passengers, who were not wearing seatbelts, before coming to a stop in the eastbound lane. Two people were killed and two others were seriously injured. Only one of the injured was wearing a seatbelt.

The Knoxville News-Sentinel reported on a rear-end collision near Sevierville that started a chain reaction and left 18 people injured. It appears that the errant driver was distracted and ran into the vehicle in front of him. He immediately left the scene and tried to hide out in the woods but was apprehended. As an experienced Nashville car accident attorney I immediately notice a common thread running through all of these Tennessee highway accidents. The drivers in each of these accidents were somehow distracted and failed to keep a lookout ahead of them as they drove along.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes. Nearly 80 percent of car 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. Each of these accidents had the potential to have taken numerous other lives but somehow that didn’t happen.

As a Nashville automobile accident attorney I beg of you to pay attention to what you are doing at all times as you drive along the highways and side streets of our state. Pay attention and save lives. If you or a loved on is injured in a Tennessee car accident call our experienced Tennessee car accident lawyers and find out about your rights and possible remedies.