Distractions, along with alcohol and speeding, are now leading factors in fatal and serious injury crashes in the United States. Over the last few years, cell phones have become more common in our day-to-day lives. In 1995, cell phone subscriptions covered only 11 percent of the U.S. population; in 2010, that number grew to 93 percent.

This has led to a substantial increase in cell phone use while driving. According to the National Safety Council, 23 percent of all crashes each year involve cell phone use, resulting in 1.3 million crashes nationally.

Almost 70 percent of the respondents to a AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety survey reported talking on a cell phone while driving during the previous 30 days. Researchers observing more than 1,700 drivers found that three out of every four drivers using a cell phone committed a traffic violation.

Talking on a cell phone while driving makes you four times as likely to crash, and texting while driving increases your chances of a crash by up to 8 to 23 times. While a growing number of drivers are turning to hands-free devices, studies show hands-free devices provide no safety benefit. It’s the conversation, not the device, that creates the danger.

Put Down The Phone

In addition to taking their eyes and hands off the wheel, distracted drivers take their mind off the primary task of driving.

The lesson for Tennessee drivers is to put it down, turn it off, and live.

If you or one of your family is injured in a Nashville automobile accident caused by distracted driver talking on a cell phone you are going to need an experienced Nashville auto accident lawyer like those you will find at Phillip Miller & Associates. Contact us for a free consultation.

Roadway Departure Fatalities

The family and friends of two young people in Loudon County Tennessee will probably never know why, for no apparent reason, their car left the roadway on Sunnyside Road and struck a tree, taking both of their lives. Local media sources don’t give much information on the couple, other then their ages, he was 21 and she was 22, and that she was pregnant. they were wearing their seat belts.

Was it speed, or some distraction that caused the accident? We will probably never know. Police investigators will check his cell phone for evidence that he was talking or texting at or near the time of the collision. Tire and other marks on the roadway might give some indication of the drivers speed at the time he left the road, but that matters little to those left behind.

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. While these numbers are signi!cant, they may not state the true size of the problem, since the identification of distraction and its role in the crash by law enforcement can be very difficult.

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.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee car crash by a distracted driver or a case like the present one that will require an experienced Tennessee automobile accident lawyer contact the lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates for a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

Tractor-Trialer Roadway Departure Crash

Since we don’t know the Tennessee tractor-trailer driver’s condition at this time, it will be hard to determine what exactly it was that distracted him and caused him to leave the roadway and crash through the interstate fence, across a service road and into the woods running along the highway. I think it’s fair to say that, whatever happened to this driver, he did not slow down as he left the road.

It seems to me, that distracted drivers cause most Tennessee interstate highway accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes and near-crashes. Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event. In studies by the NHTSA the most common distraction for drivers is the use of cell phones.

However, the number of crashes and near-crashes attributable to dialing is nearly identical to the number associated with talking or listening.  Dialing is more dangerous but occurs less often than talking or listening.

Reaching for a moving object increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by 9 times; looking at an external object by 3.7 times; reading by 3 times; applying makeup by 3 times; dialing a hand-held device (typically a cell phone) by almost 3 times; and talking or listening on a hand-held device by 1.3 times. Drivers who engage frequently in distracting activities are more likely to be involved in an inattention-related crash or near crash

Another possibility in this crash is some sort of medical emergency, a stroke, heart attack or a reaction to medication.

I advise people that before putting the key in the ignition, stop for a moment and remind your self that you are getting behind the wheel of a potentially deadly weapon and that if you want to arrive at your destination alive or without killing others, use common sense and avoid distractions.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Tennessee car/tractor-trailer accident caused by a distracted driver, call one of our experienced Nashville tractor-trailer accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

Distracting Devices

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I am concerned about the roll of distracted drivers in the deadly roadway departure crashes that have become an epidemic on the roads of Tennessee.

I am also concerned about a new trend in which American automobile manufacturers are offering digital dashboard navigation systems, touch screen climate controls, hundreds of satellite radio channels and even computer devices that allow a driver to update their Facebook and Twitter pages.

Consumer Reports said this month that the touch-screen computer standard in many Ford models to control the radio, temperature and navigation was “overly complicated and distracting” and dropped its recommendation of models with it. Last fall, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood criticized General Motors’ OnStar communication system for allowing people to verbally update their Facebook or Twitter status while driving.

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 are involved in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a distracted driver you are going to need an experienced and sophisticated Nashville auto accident attorney like those you will find at Phillip Miller & Associates

Rainy Highway

A 22-year-old Union City man, and student from the University of Tennessee at Martin died in a single car accident just a few hours after the New Year on a rain slick Weakley County road. Police investigators told local news media that they didn’t think that alcohol was a factor. The young man was driving his Ford pickup truck when he went off the right side of the road, overcorrected and left the roadway and slammed into a tree.

In a case like this, as an experienced Tennessee auto accident attorney, one of three conditions are present that cause a rainy roadway departure crash. Either the driver was traveling too fast for the conditions, became distracted for a moment or the tires or other equipment on the vehicle were not up to best standards.

Wet pavement can be as treacherous as snow and ice. To drive under these conditions:

• Slow down. The pavement is particularly treacherous when it first begins to rain. Dirt and oil accumulations make a greasy film on the roadway, and it takes several minutes for it to wash away.

• Avoid hydroplaning. A lot of water standing on the road during a heavy rain causes tires to lose all contact with the road, even if driving under 50 m.p.h. If the vehicle starts to hydroplane, slow down by letting up on the gas. Never suddenly apply the brakes.

• Improve your vision: (a) keep windshield wipers in good condition, (b) wait a few minutes after the rain starts so the rain/wipers can remove dust and grime.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a negligent driver contact the experienced Nashville auto accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates.

Although distracted driving is of great concern to traffic safety professionals and has received a great deal of media attention in recent years, rigorous research on this issue is extremely difficult to conduct.

Distraction can be difficult to define and, especially, to measure adequately. Studies estimate distraction is involved in 10 to 15 percent of all crashes. However, the true role of distraction in crashes may be much higher because distracted driving behaviors often leave little evidence at the crash scene for law enforcement officers to observe.

Distracted driving is believed to be more prevalent among teenagers than adults. Two particular concerns with teenagers are the distracting effects of cell phone use, especially for text messaging, and multiple teen passengers.

A new study being conducted by the Highway Safety Research Center will use video data that has already collected in an ongoing study to investigate the frequency and nature of distracted driving among newly-licensed teen drivers. The study will review and code 8,000 video clips to identify the frequency and prevalence of distracting behaviors like cell phone use, eating, grooming, loud music and interacting with passengers.

With the highly unique and rich data set available for this research, the HSRC expects to provide the first quantitative estimates of the prevalence of the many distracted/distracting driving behaviors thought to be problematic for 16- and 17- year olds. I will keep you informed as to the findings when they are available.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident caused by a distracted teen driver contact the experienced Nashville personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and protect your rights.

Drinking And Driving

An Anderson County Tennessee man died this past Saturday after being on life support for a week. According to Tennessee State Trooper reports on the accident that lead to this death, the 24-year-old man lost control of his vehicle as he rounded a curve. His vehicle left the road, ran up a bank into a cemetery, hit several headstones and flipped several times before coming to rest. The man was not wearing his seatbelt and was ejected from the car as it flipped. Investigators believe that alcohol, distraction and speed combined to cause the crash. My prayers go out to the family and friends of this young man.

Drinking, speeding and not wearing a seatbelt is a strong and deadly cocktail which almost always results in an unhappy ending. Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. In Tennessee in 2008, 327 people were killed in crashes where the driver or motorcyclist had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher.

As an experienced Tennessee car accident lawyer I want to remind you that driving with a BAC of .08 or higher is illegal in every state. If you follow my blog you will see that in Tennessee we continue to see a tragic number of people with debilitating injuries and deaths as a result of impaired driving.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a drunk or speeding driver, contact the experienced Nashville auto accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.

Distracted Driving Epidemic

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I regularly write about the growing epidemic of of distracted driving fatalities. As our society develops more and more electronic devices to ostensibly make our lives easier we actually make our lives and others on the roadway more dangerous by two to three times. The following are some recently updated statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that shed light on this topic:

In 2009, 5,474 people were killed on U.S. roadways and an estimated additional 448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that were reported to have involved distracted driving;

Of those people killed in distracted-driving-related crashes, 995 involved reports of a cell phone as a distraction (18% of fatalities in distraction-related crashes);

Of those injured in distracted-driving-related crashes, 24,000 involved reports of a cell phone as a distraction (5% of injured people in distraction-related crashes);

Sixteen percent of fatal crashes in 2009 involved reports of distracted driving;

Twenty percent of injury crashes in 2009 involved reports of distracted driving;

The age group with the greatest proportion of distracted drivers was the under-20 age group – 16 percent of all drivers younger than 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted while driving.

Of those drivers involved in fatal crashes who were reportedly distracted, the 30- to 39-year-olds had the highest proportion of cell phone involvement;

If you or a loved one are injured or killed by a distracted driver contact the experienced Nashville auto accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.

Three Separate Accidents

It was a bad weekend for three Dickson County, Tennessee families. The deaths caused by vehicular accidents included a 69-year-old man, a 52-year-old woman and an , as of yet identified victim. The article in the local media didn’t provide much information about the multi-vehicle accident that ended in the death of the 69-year-old male.

The unnamed person was the driver of an SUV that was carrying 4 passengers just after midnight when it veered off of the road into a ditch and flipped several times before coming to a stop. This driver was pronounced at the scene, The third fatality was killed in a wreck on I-40 near Charlotte Pike. Witnesses said that her vehicle swerved into the right lane and struck another car causing her to lose control, leave the roadway and strike a concrete retaining wall. The other driver was injured and taken for medical care.

Although the media reports were short on causation facts, it appears that the SUV was either speeding or the driver became distracted and lost control. The same seems to be the cause of the interstate fatality. What makes a person simply veer into another lane when there is another vehicle right there?

The lesson to be learned here is that you can never take driving for granted. You might be doing everything by the book but then along comes a distracted driver or someone who suffers a medical emergency and before you know it you are wrapped up in a highway incident.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed by a negligent Tennessee driver contact the experienced Nashville auto accident attorneys at  Phillip Miller & Associates.

Too Young To Die

A pair of fatal Tennessee roadway departure crashes this week have left family and friends of the victims in shock. As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney we define an 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.

In Sumner County, Tennessee two teen boys were killed when the vehicle in which they were riding failed to negotiate a curve in the road, crossed the centerline and crashed into an oncoming vehicle. A 25-year-old Union City man crossed the centerline and over corrected, sending his pickup rolling into a ditch. The man was not wearing his seatbelt and was partially ejected and was dead at the scene. My prayers go out to the family and friends of these young men.

The lessons to be learned from these accidents are simple, but often not learned. The first crash was obviously due to an inexperienced driver going well in excess of the speed limit. The second was caused by inattention to the task at hand. The driver was somehow distracted and failed to stay in his lane. Speed could well have been a cause in this accident also.

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.