He Was Alive, He Drank, He sped, He Died

It was a small article, the end of a young man’s life should take more words, more things should be said, but it was all neatly summed up in a seven-word headline on the web site of a local media outlet. “Drinking and Driving Leads to Teen Death”. The Tennessee Trooper who investigated the wreck said that the 18-year-old was drinking and driving too fast when he tried to exit I-24, lost control, left the road and crashed. His passenger was injured. My prayers go out to the family and friends of this young

Younger drivers, according to the Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), have the highest crash risk of any age group. I also share some sobering statistics. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of teen fatalities, accounting for 38% of all teen deaths in the United States.

In 2008, about 3,500 teens in the United States aged 15–19 were killed and more than 350,000 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor-vehicle crashes. Young people ages 15-24 represent only 14% of the U.S. population. However, they account for 30% ($19 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among males and 28% ($7 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among females.

Most Americans typically learn to drive during the teen years, when the brain is not fully mature yet. Recent research is beginning to give us insight why many teens have difficulty regulating risk-taking behavior:

* The area of the brain that weighs consequences, suppresses impulses and organizes thoughts does not fully mature until about age 25.

* Hormones are more active in teens, which influence the brain’s neuro-chemicals that regulate excitability and mood. The result can be thrill-seeking behavior and experiences that create intense feelings. Add alcohol to this mix and the odds of an accident rise exponentially.

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

Driving Under The Influence

Knox County Tennessee Assistant District Attorney Kevin Allen posted $5,000 bond and was released from the Anderson County, Tennessee jail after his arrest for Driving Under The Influence and violation of the state Implied Consent Act. As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I can tell you that in my experience Tennessee law enforcement authorities don’t play favorites when it comes to drinking and driving.

Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. Here 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. That is down from 377 people killed in 2007 with a BAC of .08 or higher.

On average, a human being is killed by a drunk driver every 45 minutes. In 2008, an estimated 11,773 people died in drunk driving related crashs a decline of 9.8 percent from the 13,041 drunk driving related fatalities of 2007.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident by a drunk driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation so that you can get a complete picture of your rights and remedies.

Great news just in from the website of NewsChannel5 and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Fatality rates from drunk driving accidents have fallen in 40 states, which is a sign that educational and enforcement actions are having the desired result. Several states saw declines of over 20%. The good news for us is that the efforts of the Bredesen Administration, under stewardship of Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely have paid of. In Tennessee the fatality rates from drunk driving accidents are down 11.3% over last year.

“Drinking and driving do not ever mix. The message bears repeating especially this time of year,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who announced plans for a $7 million holiday advertising campaign to combat drunken driving. LaHood said states that made the most progress on impaired driving fatalities had been the most aggressive in arresting and prosecuting offenders and using patrols and checkpoints to keep their roads safe.

I say hat’s off to the leadership in Tennessee who made this happen. I encourage each of you to take a minute and give a shout out of thank you to the Governor at 615-741-2001, the Commissioner of Transportation at 615-741-2848 and the Tennessee Highway Patrol at 615-741 5175.

It’s up to you and I to keep this deadly statistic on the decline. This holiday season and for all of 2010 I challenge you to practice safe driving basics by:

1. Planning ahead – Whenever you plan on consuming alcohol, designate your sober driver before going out and give that person your keys;

2. If you are impaired, call a taxi, use mass transit or call a sober friend or family member to get you home safely;

3. Promptly report drunk drivers you see on the roadways to law enforcement by calling 911 or *847;

4. Wearing your seat belt or using protective gear on your motorcycle is the best defense against an impaired driver;

And remember, Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk . If you know someone who is about to drive while impaired, take that person’s keys and make other arrangements to get him/her home safely.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident by a drinking driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

Rural Drivers

Last week as I was driving on I-40 coming back to Nashville from a meeting with clients in Cookeville, a news report came on one of the local stations telling a man who was injured in a one-car accidentthe crash was alcohol related during which his vehicle flipped and rolled over ejecting him from the vehicle. A bottle of Vodka was found at the scene and the police were investigation whether . My first thought was speed, rollover, no seatbelt and alcohol, what is it with rural people and their driving habits and what can we do to change them.

Statistics gather by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that in 2006, there were 38,588 fatal crashes resulting in 42,642 deaths. Rural areas accounted for 55 percent of the fatal crashes and 56 percent of the fatalities. Urban areas accounted for 45 percent of the fatal crashes and 44 percent of the fatalities.

According to the 2006 Census, 23 percent of the U.S. population lived in rural areas however, rural fatalities accounted for 56 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2006. In 2006, 14,840 drivers involved in fatal crashes had been drinking (blood alcohol concentration [BAC] = .01+ g/dL) and of these drivers 39 percent were cited for speeding. Rural drivers involved in fatal crashes represented 56 percent of drivers speeding and drinking.  The 2007 National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) shows that the seatbelt use rate among occupants of vehicles in urban areas was 84 percent and rural occupants were observed to have a rate of 78 percent.

If you or a loved on is involved in a Tennessee automobile accident with a drunk, speeding or un-seat belted driver contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.

Click It Or Ticket

Highway travel during the 2009 Thanksgiving Holiday week is expected to be heavy in the State of Tennessee as families pile into their cars and head off for holiday destinations. But there’s one sure recipe that can turn a joyful holiday into a tragedy, failure to buckle up.   State Troopers will be patrolling Tennessee Interstates and highways looking for drivers and passengers who are not wearing their seat belt. The message to travelers: “Click it or Ticket”.   The 2009 Thanksgiving Holiday period begins tonight at 6:00 p.m., and runs through midnight Sunday, November 29th.

From a Department of Safety press release; “Seat belts are the single most important safety device in your vehicle and they have saved countless lives and prevented untold numbers of injuries over the years,” said Department of Safety Commissioner Dave Mitchell. “TDOS urges everyone driving on our state’s roads this holiday to drive carefully, don’t drive impaired and, most important, buckle up each and every trip, night and day.”

Although safety belt usage climbed to 81.5 percent in 2008, more than 50 percent of people killed in Tennessee traffic crashes were not wearing a safety belt. Research shows that it’s almost nine times safer to wear your safety belt every time you get in the car.

“If you are planning to travel by car to celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday with family and friends, make sure you and everyone riding with you buckles your seat belts,” stressed THP Colonel Mike Walker. “Whether you’re traveling across town, or across the state, if you or anyone in your vehicle is unbelted you run the risk of getting a little holiday present from a State Trooper or local law enforcement officer.”

Ten people were killed in crashes on Tennessee roads during the 2008 Thanksgiving Holiday weekend (102-hour holiday period). That is a decrease from 2007 when 13 people died and 20 fatalities in 2006. But six of the eight vehicle occupants who were killed during the 2008 Thanksgiving Holiday weekend were not wearing safety restraints.

From the staff and attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates we wish you a safe and joyful holiday season.

Teach Your Children Well

In 2008, 125 families buried a teenager following a crash on a Tennessee roadway. October 26 – 31 is National Teen Driver Safety Week and the Governor’s Highway Safety Office is working to save the lives of teens by asking Tennesseans to step up and talk to teens about important issues like wearing a safety belt, avoiding distracted driving and discouraging underage drinking.

“Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in America and it is up to all of us to work to reverse this trend,” said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely. “TDOT and the Governor’s Highway Safety Office are out in schools talking to teens about safe driving practices and these efforts are working and saving lives, but we need parents and friends to do their part and talk with teens about safety behind the wheel.”

In 2006, 185 teens died on Tennessee roadways. In 2007, that number was reduced to 168 and dropped to 125 in 2008. Still, mile for mile, teenagers are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers.

Several initiatives have been forged to battle these senseless losses. Between the Barrels,Thinkfast® Alcohol Awareness Interactive Game Show, the ‘Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Associations (TSSAA) DUI Highway Safety Education Team presentations, the Blake McMeans’ Alive to Tell the Story, the Ford Motor Company Fund’s Driving Skills for Life, and an annual Lead and Live Youth Conference are all projects conducted in Tennessee to educate teens.

TDOT’s Between the Barrels delivers a powerful message about the importance of safe driving, especially in highway work zones, to thousands of Tennessee high school students each year. Thinkfast® combats underage drinking and drug abuse through hundreds of events annually for high school and college students. TSSAA’s Stephen Bargatze uses magic to get the attention of the students and discuss highway safety issues with them, while Blake McMeans travels the state sharing his story with high school and college students about how drinking and driving changed his life forever. Ford’s Driving Skills for Life teaches newly licensed teens about vehicle handling, speed management and space management and the Lead and Live Youth Conference is held annually to focus on numerous driver safety issues.

“It is the mission of the Governor’s Highway Safety Office to keep families safe on Tennessee’s roadways,” said Director Kendell Poole, GHSO. “It’s a big job and it’s going to take the entire community – parents, teachers, neighbors, friends and teens themselves – working together to drive the message home to ensure the health and safety of all Tennessee teens.”

Teens should avoid alcohol and parents should never promote underage drinking. Underage drinking is against the law and comes with adult consequences. Teens also need to remember whether driving across town or just around the corner, wearing a seat belt is the best protection from severe injury or even death in the event of a traffic crash. It’s also the law in Tennessee. Wearing a seat belt costs nothing, but not wearing one can cost a life. Also, TDOT reminds teens and all drivers that distracted driving, like texting while driving, is a dangerous practice. Texting may be a convenient way to communicate but it can be deadly when done from behind the wheel of a vehicle. Texting while driving is also against the law in Tennessee.

The Nashville staff and attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates urges all adults to be mentors and good examples to teens. Remember, they learn from us and that means the bad habits as well as the good.

If you or a loved one is involved in an Nashville automobile accident involving a teen driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out out about your rights and remedies.

As an experienced 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 know that in Tennessee we continue to see a tragic number of people with debilitating injuries and deaths as a result of impaired driving. This careless disregard for human life must stop. To help ensure that happens, the Tennessee Highway Patrol and local police agencies all over Tennessee have made it perfectly clear that they are dedicated to arresting impaired drivers wherever and whenever they find them.

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. That is down from 377 people killed in 2007 with a BAC of .08 or higher.

A good case in point regarding the downside of drinking and driving was reported by the Bowling Green Daily News today. A fellow named Randy Ostihan thought it would be a good idea to take drunk and get behind the wheel of his car. For some reason he didn’t see the two innocent souls sitting on a motorcycle stopped at a red light, before he rammed into them at a high rate of speed. The passenger died on the way to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. The motorcycle driver was seriously injured and is still struggling to recover.

When Mr. Ostrihan awoke from his drunk he found that his life as he knew it is over. He faces charges of murder and first-degree assault and DUI. His hangover has lasted since he was  jailed following the October 2008 incident on a $50,000.00 bond. He goes to trial and has to face a jury of his peers to see whether they will extend the hangover to include the rest of his life. The article reports that the District Attorney does not appear to be amenable to a plea bargain. He made a choice and his choice has ruined the lives of three people, don’t you make that same choice because this can happen to you if you drink and drive.

If you or a loved one are injured by a person driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs contact an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney at Phillip Miller & Associates

One Stupid Choice

to find out about your rights and remedies.