Drunk Driving

Although it may not seem like it today, a Nashville woman who crashed into the rear-end of a parked police car with it’s lights flashing might look back on this early morning event as a turning point in her life. Metro Police Captain Terrance Graves was sitting in his patrol vehicle with the blue lights flashing as he provided security at a construction zone on I-24.  The woman simply smashed into the patrol car injuring herself and Captain Graves.

At the scene police investigators charged the lady with reckless driving and said they suspected she was driving under the influence of alcohol. The police have requested blood-alcohol tests be conducted while she is hospitalized. As I said earlier It is my hope that this lady will use this incident to admit and address her drinking problem and seek a solution.

As my goal with this blog is to educate my readers in the hope that you all will practice safe driving and instill in your family and friends the need to do the same. Today I thought I would share some specific information about drunk driving compiled by Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD) using statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

On average a human being loses their life at the hands of a  drunk driver every 45 minutes. In 2008, an estimated 11,773 people died in drunk driving related crashes, a decline of 9.8 percent from the 13,041 drunk driving related fatalities of 2007. About three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives. Over 1.46 million drivers were arrested in 2006 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. This is an arrest rate of 1 for every 139 licensed drivers in the United States. In 2001, more than half a million people were injured in crashes where police reported that alcohol was present an average of one person injured almost every minute.

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

Drunken Driving Fatality

A Nashville man decided to drive drunk.  Little did he know that that decision would forever alter his life and end the life of another man. An article on the website of WSMV TV reports that Timothy Rush, 34, has been charged with vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment and DUI following a fatal crash. According to the article Rush ran a stop sign and T-boned a car driven by Calvin Miller, Jr., 29, who was rushed to Vanderbilt Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. My prayers go out to the family and friends of Mr. Miller. A witness said that after the collision Rush tried to drive away but he hit a power pole. A third vehicle was involved but neither the driver nor the passenger were injured.

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 and you hope to recover all of the damages the law allows you need to consult with an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney like those at Phillip Miller & Associates. We offer a free consultation so that you can gain the information you will need to face this odyssey through the legal system.

www.wsmv.com/news/24109729/detail.html

Drink Drive Jail

Why do you suppose alcoholics get drunk and then get into their cars and take to the roads? I posited this question to a friend who has used the program of AA to stay sober for a dozen or more years. His answer was simple, if not somewhat shocking, “ We don’t want to miss anything. We think there’s something going on out there and we don’t want to miss out.”

I told him about a recent case out of Memphis reported on the website of the Commercial Appeal in which a woman was arrested while passed out in the front seat of her car which was parked in front of a middle school. Police found that the woman was drunk on vanilla extract that contains an alcohol level of 35% by volume. To my surprise he told me that in his years in the program he’s met dozens of people whose drink of choice was vanilla extract.

As my goal with this blog is to educate my readers in the hope that you all will practice safe driving and instill in your family and friends the need to do the same. Today I thought I would share some specific information about drunk driving compiled by Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD) using statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

On average a human being loses their life at the hands of a  drunk driver every 45 minutes. In 2008, an estimated 11,773 people died in drunk driving related crashes, a decline of 9.8 percent from the 13,041 drunk driving related fatalities of 2007.

About three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives.  Over 1.46 million drivers were arrested in 2006 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. This is an arrest rate of 1 for every 139 licensed drivers in the United States.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee auto accident by a drunk driver don’t hesitate, contact the experienced Tennessee auto accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates.

Roadway Departure Crash

Without knowing more about the facts, but as an experienced Nashville auto accident attorney, I can tell you that when a roadway departure crash occurs at 3AM one of two things is going on. Either the driver was sleeping at the wheel or she was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Reference an accident last night in which a 29-year-old woman was driving along on Murfreesboro Road in South Nashville near the airport when, for no apparent reason, her car left the road and hit a telephone poll and split her car in half. The driver was wearing her seat belt but for some reason she was ejected from the vehicle and was dead at the scene.

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. 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.

If you or a loved one are involved in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a distracted driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associatesw and find out about your rights and remedies.

Drunk and Speeding

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident lawyer I tell you for certain that speeding is one of the most prevalent factors contributing to traffic crashes. The economic costs of speed-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.

Adding alcohol to a speeding driver and the death and destruction levels rise exponentially. A Nashville woman was lucky that she avoided being one of these fatality statistics. The facts are simple and all too often repeated, she was speeding on a two-lane highway, lost control, left the road and hit a power pole. The pole caught afire as did her car, yet she escaped unharmed.

Drinking and driving do not ever mix. Every day, 36 people in the United States die, and approximately 700 more are injured, in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. The annual cost of alcohol-related crashes totals more than 51 billion dollars. But there are effective measures that can help prevent injuries and deaths from alcohol-impaired driving, education is an important tool and enforcement with stiff penalties is critical to changing the drinking driving culture that has developed in our country.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a drunk, or otherwise impaired driver, contact the experienced Nashville automobile attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates.

Keep Stupid Drivers Off The Raod

This morning in this blog I nominated the first candidate for the award for “The Dumbest Tennessee Driver of 2010”, a Johnson City man who attempted to deliver drugs in a vehicle with expired tags.  The second nominee is from neighboring Kinsgsport  Tennessee. There must have been a full moon that brought out the single helix mutoids in Washington and Sullivan Counties this past weekend.

Reference several local media reports of a man found passed out in the parking lot of a fast food taco joint. Restaurant management alerted police and when officer arrived they found the guy behind the wheel in an unconscious state with Mexican food in his lap and a taco and sour cream all over his face. The man was unresponsive and when searched produced a bag of pot. While he was being questioned he was continuously grabbing his crouch and genitals and when authorities conducted a body search they found a roll of money where the sun doesn’t shine.

This is the third time that the man was arrested and charge with drug related offenses in the parking lot of fast food restaurants. It makes me wonder whether the fast food caused this guys stupid or he brought it to the table with him.

If you or a loved one are injured or killed by a guy like this one you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about how to proceed.

Drive Drunk Pay The Price

What appeared to be a medical emergency turned into a righteous DUI arrest for an alert Kingsport Tennessee police officer. The officer was cruising on I-26 when he came upon a pickup truck stopped in the right lane, not the shoulder. As he approached the vehicle he observed a 47-year-old woman vomiting from the passenger door. When he engaged her it became obvious that she was “highly intoxicated”.

Every day, 36 people in the United States die, and approximately 700 more are injured, in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. The annual cost of alcohol-related crashes totals more than $51 billion. But there are effective measures that can help prevent injuries and deaths from alcohol-impaired driving.

How big is the problem

In 2006, 13,470 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (32%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.  In 2007, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. That’s less than one percent of the 159 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year. Drugs other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and cocaine) are involved in about 18% of motor vehicle driver deaths. These other drugs are generally used in combination with alcohol.

Half of the 306 child passengers ages 14 and younger who died in alcohol-related crashes in 2006 were riding with drivers who had a BAC level of .08 or higher. In 2006, 45 children age 14 years and younger who were killed as pedestrians or bicyclists were hit by alcohol-impaired drivers.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident you owe it to yourself to retain an experienced Tennessee auto accident lawyer. When you hire an attorney from Phillip Miller & Associates, you’re getting the whole package.  You don’t just get an extremely qualified and dedicated lawyer, you also get a loyal Tennessee resident who cares about the quality of life in their community and who puts their time and money into standing up for causes and charities they believe in.  You can read about some of the causes we support on our home page, along with a summary of our professional qualifications.  Additional details about our attorneys and staff can be found by viewing our personal profiles, where you can get to know the men and women who will be looking out for your best interest.

When Police light him up for speeding what does this genius do? He tries to flee, but you guessed it, he was too high to avoid the police and he then leads them on a foot pursuit, until he gave up in a local motel parking lot. Nothing makes police madder then having to chase some hop-head through the neighborhoods. Now, charged with  speeding, fleeing the police, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and, oh yeah, driving on a suspended license, he is where he should be, housed in the County jail awaiting a preliminary hearing on a bond he can’t make.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident by a driver like this, you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out aobut your rights and remedies.

Strictly Enforce DUI Laws

As an experienced Tennessee car accident lawyer I want to remind you that driving with a BAC of .08 or higher is illegal in Tennessee and every other state. If you follow my Blog, The Tennessee Auto Accident Attorney”, you will 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 law enforcement are dedicated to arresting impaired drivers wherever and whenever they find them, no matter whom they are.

Reference a recent report in several Montgomery County media outlets about a Clarksville, Tennessee police officer who was arrested in Henry County on charges of DUI and Implied Consent. The implied consent charge stemmed from his refusal to submit a breath test. While on administrative leave, and before a court appearance and departmental hearing the officer resigned his commission.

My experienced trying Tennessee automobile accident cases tells me that in order to send the right message to the driving public the enforcement of DUI laws has to cover everyone. Lives are at stake and DUI is a dangerous crime and should be treated as such.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident involving 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 learn about your rights and remedies.

Hit & Run

On December the 14^th my Tennessee auto accident attorney blog identified the chief contender for the most thoughtless Tennessee driver of 2009. She was drinking, texting and driving with her several day old baby unrestrained when she hit a sign and crashed her car injuring the baby. I thought that this late in the year I wouldn’t find a driver that even came close to this person, but then I read an article in several Nashville media outlets describing the arrest of Angela Marie Shenkle and I think I will be forced to reconsider.

It seems Ms. Shenkle has been charged following an incident in which she stuck and killed a Madison pedestrian as he walked along Gallatin Pike in Nashville. Investigators quoted in the articles believe that she was under the influence of alcohol and drugs. When they located her they found two syringes and two bottles of liquor in her vehicle. To take this tragic story to another level of madness, investigators believe she was involved in a Hit & Run on another pedestrian earlier that same evening. Ms. Shenkle was charged with unlawful use and possession of drug paraphernalia, drug possession without a prescription and DUI. I would expect that homicide charges will follow after the investigation is completed. The identity of the Madison man was not released but I have added him to my prayers along with Ms. Shenkle.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I’ve seen dozens of Hit & Run cases, but never have I seen one that makes me think at first glance that a driver was going around town trying to hit pedestrians. Now, don’t get me wrong, I only know about this what I read in the articles but this gal is cold-blooded. Imagine, hitting a human being with your car and leaving them to die alone in the street. After Ms. Shenkle is finished with whatever punishment she gets for this crime, she should permanently forfeit her privileges to operate a motor vehicle in Tennessee.

Hit & Run drivers are, in my consideration, the worst kind of human being. Most H&R drivers are under the influence of alcohol, others have already run afoul of the law and have lost their driving privileges, yet they continue to get behind the wheel and ignore the rules. Many H&R drivers are trying to avoid detection because they don’t have insurance and they don’t want to face the responsibility for their actions. No matter which category they fall into they are the very worst type of person, someone who will leave an injured or dying pedestrian lying in the street.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed by a drunk Hit & Run driver recovering damages for your loss can be a tricky propostition and you will need an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney to help you protect your rights. At Phillip Miller & Associates we can help you.