A tragic tractor-trailer fatality occurred yesterday morning near Caryville Tennessee when the trucker was unable to bring his truck to a stop as he encountered traffic stopped for another accident. The tractor-trailer clipped a pickup truck, ran through a guardrail and plunged 1000 feet over a cliff. The driver was ejected even though he had on his seat belt.

In Tennessee a driver must always be on the defensive, always thinking about what other drivers might do and be prepared to respond with proper reactions. Drivers must know and understand safe and proper braking procedures for the vehicles they drive. This includes the principles of adequate following distances.

Tennessee law states: “The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon and the condition of the highway.” When another driver makes a mistake, you need time to react. Give yourself this time by keeping a “space cushion” around your vehicle. This space cushion will give you room to brake and avoid hazards when needed.

Good drivers keep this safe following distance or space cushion to have a better view of the road. The more space you allow between your car and the car ahead, the more time you will have to see and react to traffic hazards or crashes down the road.

I have only read the media reports of this accident but under most circumstances a trucker should be able to see far enough ahead to see the problems ahead, unless he was distracted by something. Cell phones and texting are the number one offenders when it comes to distracted driving. Investigators will most probably find phone records that will indicate that he was on the phone when he should have been keeping a lookout ahead.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile tractor-trailer accident accident caused by a negligent Trucker, contact the experienced Nashville tractor-trailer accident attorneys at the Nashville law firm of Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

Safe Driving Saves Lives

In light of the recent spate of tractor-trailer accidents in Tennessee and Kentucky I thought I would introduce my readers to the Smith System for driving safety. In 1952, Harold Smith established the Smith System Driver Improvement Institute, the nation’s first professional driver training company. He understood that most collisions are preventable if the right driving habits are learned, practiced and applied consistently. Since then, hundreds of thousands of drivers throughout the world have benefited from the program he developed.

As an experienced Tennessee tractor-trailer accident attorney I can tell you that the Smith System training program has saved no telling how many thousands of lives on the highways and byways of the United States, and for that matter across the world. I highly recommend that you go to their website and check out this system and apply what you learn in your driving lives.

The “Five Seeing Habits” of the system are:

1. Aim High In Steering – This means look down the road at least 12-15 seconds instead of right in front of your vehicle. This lets you plan an out for any hazard that might be in front of you.

2. Get the Big Picture – Maintain the proper following distance (at least one car length for every 10MPH) and scan to the front, sides, and rear constantly. Mr Morali stated he checked his mirrors every 2 seconds.

3. Keep Your Eyes Moving – Scan don’t stare. Don’t keep your eyes focused on an object for more than 2 seconds. Eliminate eye holding patterns.

4. Leave Yourself An Out – Surround yourself with space and always leave yourself an escape route in case the unexpected happens.

5. Make Sure They See You – Communicate in traffic with your horn, turn signals, and brake lights. Watch traffic to make sure they see you. Use you signals and tap your brakes to make sure those drivers following you know what you are doing.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee tractor-trailer accident caused by a distracted trucker time is of the essence. Contact the experienced Nashville trucking accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates immediately and let them get started protecting your interests. The trucking company investigators are on the scene, sometimes before the police. Don’t let them get control of your case.

The United States Department of Transportation announced today new measures to restrict the use of cellphones and banning texting by operators of commercial motor vehicles. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood pointed out that there is convincing and compelling research that wireless electronic devices dramatically increase the risk of truck and bus crashes.  The Secretary said that this action action to stop the dangerous practice of truck and motorcoach drivers texting while driving as well as restricting cell phone use will reduce crashes, save lives, and avoid thousands of injuries to commercial operators and motorists sharing the same roads.

This past week Secretary LaHood and senior transportation officials, elected officials, safety advocates, law enforcement representatives and academics convened in Washington, DC to discuss ideas about how to combat distracted driving. Driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes and near-crashes, according report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). 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.

Over the last several months I have blogged about this problem on a number of occasions, the worst tractor-trailer/car collision is addressed in my August 7, 2009 Blog where a distracted trucker was texting and ran into stopped interstate traffic killing 4 and seriously injuring eighteen people. I think that this is a big step that eventually will lead to a reduction of deaths and serious injuries but it will take time and a strong educational and enforcement effort by federal state and local law enforcement, with the cooperation of the trucking companies, to make it happen.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Tennessee tractor-trailer collision contact our experienced accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates

DWT Driving While Texting Banned

and find out about your rights and remedies.