Drinking and Driving In Nashville Will Cost You

The attorney’s and staff at Phillip Miller & Associates are happy to report great news this week in Nashville’s effort to reduce drunk driving injuries and fatalities. Officers paid through a Governor’s Highway Safety Office grant charged 18 persons with DUI last weekend in the police department’s continuing DUI initiative using extra duty officers.

These officers target impaired drivers Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. in areas with a propensity for fatal crashes, crime and DUI arrests. Additionally, the DUI Unit, the front line in this righteous crusade, charged 49 persons last week with driving under the influence.

Public education, enhanced visibility on Nashville’s roadways and zero tolerance for impaired drivers are the cornerstones of the police department’s DUI initiative. So far this year, extra duty officers working under the grant have arrested 32 suspected drunk drivers, a 45% increase over this time last year. The DUI Unit has arrested 98 suspected drunk drivers, an 88% increase over this time last year.

We here at Phillip Miller & Associates send out a big “Thank You” shout-out to the brave members of the Metro Police. Thank You.

Drive Drunk Lose Your Car

We often talk about modern technology and the good and bad things that come from them. It’s well known and a constant topic of my Blogs that cell phone and texting are the leading cause of distracted driving and highway fatalities. GPS and related programs can help drivers find their way but can also cause a driver to take his eyes off the road long enough to leave the road, hit something hard and die.

A new technology that will soon be employed, a database and let county clerks check it to see if drivers meet financial responsibility requirements (insurance) before registering or renewing their vehicle registrations, will now be available to police and highway patrol officers. In Tennessee there is a serious problem with drivers on the road who ignore the requirement that they must have a statutory minimum car insurance policy.

Drivers who fail to have insurance cause the policy costs of other drivers who do to cost much more then if all drivers were covered. The cost of uninsured motorist policies has skyrocketed in recent years.

What this means is that when a driver is stopped for an infraction, the officer would have access to the clerks records to determine on the spot whether there is insurance on the car. If not, the car would be impounded and the driver ticketed and required to walk home. This technology would help police and highway safety departments get these selfish drivers off the road and save lives and lower insurance rates.

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.

A Clarksville man finally finds out that he has to pay for his irresponsibility. The lesson not to drink and drive didn’t stick when he was first convicted of DUI. As the result of his failure to learn he left a 5-year-old girl with a torn trachea, torn colon and permanent damage to her spinal cord that has left her paralyzed from the chest down. I mean, 5-years-old and her life is irreparably changed.

The 25-year-old man was out with friends took drunk and ignored the pleading of friends for him not to drive. He convinced them that he could drive and took them up on the offer to follow him home. To the horror of his friends, he began to speed up and they dropped off when he reached speeds over 100-miles-per-hour. Moments later they were stunned as he crossed the centerline and slammed head-on into the vehicle carrying the child and her 20-year-old aunt. Our prayers go out to these two young women and their family and friends.

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. At a sentencing hearing this past week the man pleaded guilty to numerous charges and was sentenced to serve eight years in the Tennessee Department of Corrections.

If you or a loved one is involved in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a drunk driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies. Call 615-356-2000.

Prison For Drunk Driver

Driving while drinking and not wearing your seatbelts is a recipe for disaster. I’m sure that the 49-year-old Dandridge Tennessee man who died in a one-vehicle roadway departure crash on Interstate 40 (mile marker 433) would agree if he had the opportunity to do it all over again, but in life, there are no do-overs. The passenger was not injured.

The four-door Honda was traveling eastbound on I-40 when the driver lost control, it crossed lanes and then went onto the shoulder before it went into an embankment and rolled several times. Both men were ejected from the car.

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

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a drunk driver you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates for a free consultation to determine your rights and remedies.

Drunk, Drugged or Both?

It was 2 AM this past Saturday and a 38-year-old Lebanon, Tennessee man was driving the wrong way on State Route 840, an interstate like highway. Those facts alone tell this experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney that something was wrong with this driver and my first thought is that he was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.

Unfortunately for two innocent human beings, a 39-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man, this jerk slammed head-on into their vehicle and killed them both. Authorities will autopsy the man to determine if drugs or alcohol were present. I suspect that the tests will run to the positive side.

The principal concern regarding drugged driving is that driving under the influence of any drug that acts on the brain will impair one’s motor skills, reaction time, and judgment. Drugged driving is a public health concern because it puts not only the driver at risk, but also passengers and others who share the road.

Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. Alcohol was a factor in 10,839 highway deaths in 2009. In the past two decades, it accounted for 268,442 deaths. And 10 percent of people in the United States recently admitted to being drunk behind the wheel in the past year.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a drunk driver, contact the experienced Nashville personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation.

Drinking And Driving Don't Mix

The off-duty Nashville firefighter who led police on a high-speed chase from Lebanon to Hendersonville on Friday night told arresting officers that he failed to stop because he was afraid of getting a DUI. It is widely understood that getting a DUI would have a negative effect on this man’s job, but add to that a list of charges, including 23 counts of reckless endangerment, one count of leaving the scene of an accident and one count of evading arrest. He also faces two misdemeanor charges in Wilson County and was cited for 21 other traffic offenses in Gallatin, so I think it’s fair to say that this guy’s career is toast. Fortunately he didn’t kill anyone to save is job.

According to local media reports, the guy actually did get away from the pursuing officers who broke off the chase when the man reached speed of 110 MPH and began running stop signs. From my point of view they did the right thing because the man showed a reckless indifference to human life. Well stupid is as stupid does, the pursuing officers were able to identify the man from his license plate and he was arrested in Nashville about 4 AM.

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 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. This careless disregard for human life must stop.

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. Over the 2008 Labor Day holiday, 12 people were killed in 10 fatal crashes on Tennessee roadways, down from 17 people killed on Tennessee roadways in 2007.

If you are a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee car accident caused by a drunk driver you owe it to yourself to contact an experienced Nashville auto accident lawyer like those at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.

Practice Christmas Season Driving Safety

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney, I approach the Christmas holiday season with mixed emotions. It’s a time for family and friends, a time of hope and joy, the ending of another year, and on the other hand it’s the high season for drunk drivers. This morning I thought I might make a list of drunk driving facts to show you how this problem manifests itself.

* Most drunk drivers are males but statistics show that the number of women driving under the influence is definitely on the rise. Between 2004 and 2008 in Tennessee, impaired women drivers involved in fatal crashes increased by 4.7 percent.

* The group most likely to be involved in an alcohol related fatal crash will be men and women in the 21-24-year-old range. During the 2006 holiday season, alcohol was a factor in almost 37 percent of the fatal crashes with drivers this age. Compare that to drivers 44-54, where 20 percent of the fatal accidents involved alcohol

* While drivers 21-24 constituted 11 percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2007, they made up 18 percent of all alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes.

* In 2008, about one-third of all fatal crashes involved alcohol-impaired drivers.

* Nationwide in 2008 there were 37,261 total highway fatalities with 11,773 of them involved alcohol-impaired drivers.

* In Tennessee there were 1035 fatalities during this same period with 327 involving alcohol-impaired drivers

December is National Drunk & Drugged Driving Prevention Month and the Tennessee Highway Patrol, with assistance from other agencies, will staff more than 100 sobriety and driver’s license checkpoints through New Year’s Day. Don’t be a statistic, if you drive, don’t drink and if you drink don’t drive. If you see a or suspect a driver of being under the influence take action and call the police, you may save a life. In an urban are dial 911 and in a rural area dial *847 for the State Troopers.

If you are the victim of a Nashville or Tennessee automobile accident we urge you to contact our car accident attorneys today for a free consultation. When you hire an auto accident attorney from Phillip Miller & Associates, you’re getting a qualified and dedicated lawyer. Details about our attorneys and staff can be found by viewing our website at www.seriousinjury.com where you can get to know the men and women who will be looking out for your best interest. Call 615-356-2000.

Photo courtesy of the AAA Foundation For Traffic Safety

What Caused This Tennessee Roadway Departure Crash?

It was a short life, 20 plus years, or so, and I’m sure the young man left family and friends who loved him. I really hate to read an article reporting the death of a person with so few facts to rely on to understand what really happened leading up to his death.

The staff and lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates send out deepest regrets to the family and friends of Gordon Anito of Knoxville. According to local media reports he was driving his 2005 Subaru Impreza northbound on Andersonville Pike near the intersection with Hill Road at approximately 3:29 a.m., when he went over a hill crest and struck a tree off the right side of the roadway,

I hope that the investigation will shed some light on the facts surrounding this death so that the family will make some sense of their loss and gain some closure. We know that the wreck took place very early in the morning, but we don’t yet know whether the man was coming home or heading to work.

Investigators will have to determine from evidence at the scene as to whether he was speeding, under the influence, was distracted, of had some type of medical emergency. If you or a loved one are injured or killed in a Tennessee car crash you owe it to your family to contact an experienced Nashville auto accident lawyer like those you will find at Phillip Miller & Associates. Call 615-356-2000.

Practice Winter Weather Safety

About this time every year I try to focus my blog on specific things a Tennessee driver can do to stay safe during the holiday season. I think that you might want to focus on three things: 1. Road Safety 2. Parking Lot Safety and 3. Weather conditions.

Road Safety- The Winter holidays are very busy times for the average American. It gets darker sooner in the day, holiday shopping makes everyone a bit on edge and many drivers become downright aggressive, and holiday parties can lead to drunk drivers.

Aggressive Driving

In Tennessee and throughout the country, the public’s concern over aggressive driving continues to grow. Some studies indicate the public is actually more fearful of aggressive drivers than it is of impaired drivers. Aggressive driving is truly dangerous and cannot be tolerated. Several states are considering legislation to deal specifically with the aggressive driving issue.

Traditionally, the traffic safety community has defined and attempted to measure aggressive driving in a variety of ways. Some studies of aggressive driving have focused on specific driving behaviors, such as speeding, tailgating, or violating traffic control devices, which are commonly thought of as behaviors typically associated with aggressive driving.

Drunk Driving

Alcohol played a factor in a significant number of crashes during last year’s holiday season. Forty-two percent of the fatalities that occurred during last year’s Christmas holiday were alcohol related. The number of alcohol-related crashes grew to 57 percent during the New Year’s holiday.

December is National Drunk & Drugged Driving Prevention Month and the Tennessee Highway Patrol, with assistance from other agencies, will staff more than 100 sobriety and driver’s license checkpoints through New Year’s Day. Don’t be a statistic, if you drive, don’t drink and if you drink don’t drive. If you see or suspect a driver of being under the influence, or driving in a dangerous aggressive manner, take action and call the police, you may save a life. In an urban are dial 911 and in a rural area dial *847 for the State Troopers.

Parking Lot and Shopping Safety

The number one rule when you are in big box store parking lots is to keep your eyes open for trouble. Do not get out of your vehicle unless you have carefully studied the area for people who don’t belong there.

Don’t shop at night if avoidable, and always shop with friends or family. A single person is always a target. Always trust your instincts. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Report suspicious activity to mall security or call the police. Be careful in parking lots. Some people are in such a rush that they back out of a parking spot without paying attention to other cars or pedestrians.

Weather –

Be aware of hazardous conditions. There are several driving events that require intense concentration on the part of the driver. A driver must always be on the defensive, thinking about what other drivers might do AND be prepared to respond with proper reactions. In addition, certain conditions, especially bad weather, trigger the need for special knowledge and skills.

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, (c) use the defroster/air conditioner to keep windows/mirrors clear.

If you are the victim of a Nashville or Tennessee automobile accident we urge you to contact our car accident attorneys today for a free consultation. When you hire an auto accident attorney from Phillip Miller & Associates, you’re getting a qualified and dedicated lawyer. Details about our attorneys and staff can be found by viewing our website at www.seriousinjury.com where you can get to know the men and women who will be looking out for your best interest. Call 615-356-2000.

Photo Courtesy of the AAA Foundation For Traffic Safety

A 31-year-old Knoxville woman is in serious condition and serious trouble with the law. The woman was behind the wheel when her vehicle left the road and struck a culvert. Two passengers were killed and the driver and another woman are in serious condition in a local hospital. Police say charges are pending. My prayers go out to each of these unfortunate people.

Police reports indicate speed and alcohol played a part in the crash and no one was wearing a seat belt. Whether it’s referred to as drunk driving, driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence, impaired driving simply means a person’s ability to safely operate a motor vehicle is compromised by alcohol and other drugs that change the function of the brain and body.

Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes, add speeding and the chances of something really ugly happening, increase greatly. Add the fact that none of the people in the car had taken the time to secure their seat belts and death becomes a forgone conclusion.

The experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates have handled hundreds of cases involving drunk drivers and can help you if you are unfortunate enough to be involved in such an accident. Contact us for the free consultation and find out about your rights. Call 615-356-2000.