Tractro-Trailer Fatality

We will probably never know what caused a Tennessee tractor-trailer driver to lose control of his blue International tractor on a busy Houston highway, the dead tell no tales. According to HPD Traffic Investigators the driver failed to control his speed and rammed into the rear end of another tractor-trailer. The second truck lost control after being hit and flipped over and caught fire. The second driver was treated at the scene and released.

As an experienced Tennessee tractor-trailer accident lawyer I can tell you there is nothing more dangerous on the highways of Tennessee as a speeding tractor-trailer. Speeding reduces a driver’s ability to steer safely around curves or objects in the roadway, extends the distance necessary to stop a vehicle, and increases the distance a vehicle travels while the driver reacts to a dangerous situation.

Speeding is one of the most prevalent factors contributing to traffic crashes. The economic cost of speeding-related crashes is estimated to be in excess of 40.4 billion dollars per year. In 2007, speeding was a contributing factor in 31 percent of all fatal crashes, and 13,040 lives were lost in speeding-related crashes.

Another distinct possibility is that the driver was somehow distracted by one or more of the usual suspects, cell phones, texting, GPS, radios and in more and more cases, television and videos. 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.

If you or someone you love has been hurt in a serious Tennessee tractor-trailer 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 tractor-trailer 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 personal injury 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.

Tractor-Trailer Bus Collision

As an experienced Tennessee tractor-trailer accident attorney when I read a news article reporting that a Greyhund bus is driving along an interstate highway just north of Nashville at 2 AM and is rammed from the rear by a tractor-trailer truck, I have to ask myself what in the world was going on with the driver of the tractor-trailer.

The investigation is ongoing, but from my experience, one of several things was happening here. The tractor-trailer driver was somehow distracted, maybe by one or more of the electronic devices that are all to common in motor vehicles these days. These devices include cell phone, CB radios, GPS devices and even satellite television systems.

Another possibility here is that the driver suffered a medical emergency which made it impossible for him to maintain control of the vehicle and last, but surely not least, the tractor-trailer driver fell asleep and was piloting the big rig down the highway in sudden death mode.

Investigators will look into the electronic device issue to determine if he was talking or texting on his cell phone or fooling with one or more of the other devices and a medical exam will rule in or out a medical emergency. The hard one will be the drowsiness issue. His driver’s log may show that he had over-extended his drive time.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee tractor-trailer accident you might want to take advantage of a free consultation with the experienced Nashville tractor-trailer accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.