I’m sure the 21-year-old Clarksville Tennessee man who crossed the centerline, almost hit a marked police car and slammed head-on into a pickup truck following directly behind the police car, will spend time thinking about whatever he was doing besides driving for many years to come. The driver of the pickup truck who died will never have a chance to consider anything ever again. Alcohol use has not yet been ruled out but if the trend holds, this driver was distracted by someone or something, as he drove down the street.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) distraction is anything that diverts the driver’s attention from the primary tasks of navigating the vehicle and responding to critical events. To put it another way, a distraction is anything that takes your eyes off the road (visual distraction), your mind off the road (cognitive distraction), or your hands off the wheel (manual distraction). So when you think about tasks that can be a driving distraction, you can see that they often fit into more than one category: eating is visual and manual, whereas using a navigation system is all three.

There are two basic components of the distraction safety problem: The attentional demands of the distracting task and the frequency with which drivers choose to multitask.  Task demands relate to the amount of resources (visual, cognitive, manual) required to perform the task.  The other issue is exposure, which is how often drivers engage in the task.  Putting those two concepts together, even an easy task can be a bigger safety problem if the person does the task 50% of their driving time.

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

Avoid Distractions

Tennessee Troopers Cracking Down On DUI Drivers

For those of you who regularly read my Blog, you know that in and around Johnson City, Tennessee is well known for automobile accidents caused by impaired drivers. It appears that the local and state authorities have finally come to realize the nature of the problem and have instituted a program to address the problem.

It appears that the Tennessee Highway Patrol is stepping up its efforts to stop those drivers. According to a press release by the Department of Safety, “Our troopers received additional training this year, not just on alcohol but drug-impaired,” said Lt. Jarrett Ramsey.

Statistics show that Troopers have arrested more than 100 people for driving under the influence from January to August in Washington County alone. Statewide that number is in the area of 95 percent, with DUI arrests up 39 percent. This is great news but only a start, the next step is keeping the drunk drivers from becoming repeat offenders. This moves the ball into the Judiciary and the prosecuting attorneys court. Tennessee’s new Ignition Interlock law is a step in the right direction.

Judges can require anyone convicted of DUI to place an ignition interlock on their cars to prevent them from driving impaired in the future. The men and women of Phillip Miller & Associates send a shout out to the law enforcement officers who are on the ground directly attacking this problem.

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.

Drunk Drivers Die And Kill

A 37-year-old Brighton, Tennessee man died when his pickup truck left the roadway and slammed into a tree. Police investigators say that the man was driving at a high rate of speed and failed to stop at a stop sign at a three-way intersection. Investigators say speed and alcohol were the cause of the crash. The man was dead when emergency responders arrived. My prayers go out to the family and friends of this unfortunate man.

What is the lesson for Tennessee Drivers? 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, a poll found.

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.

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.

Two DUIs In One Night

As an experienced Nashville personal injury lawyer I have seen all sorts of highway mayhem caused by drunk drivers. What always amazes me is the repeat DUI offender. They have gone to jail, served time under house arrest, lost their drivers licenses, their insurance and their right to drive, yet they still drink and drive.

By repeat offenders, I mean someone who on several occasions have driven drunk and been caught doing it. I thought I had seen just about everything but I was wrong. Police have charged a man in western Pennsylvania with driving drunk twice in the same night — the second time about 15 minutes after they released him into the custody of a friend.

Police charge that when the man was arrested his blood-alcohol limit was at least double what the law allows. Troopers released the man to the custody of a “responsible party” but say that person must have dropped the guy off at his vehicle because the same trooper who arrested him earlier that night saw him driving again.

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 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

Keep Drunks Off The Road

I learned a long time ago that people who can’t stop drinking will never be able to stop if they don’t first make the decision that they want to stop and will do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.

When it comes to stopping repeat drunk driving offenders there are things that a society can and should do. In the past we locked them up for reasonably long jail terms but without some kind of alcohol treatment we found that within a short period of time they are right back on the road with a snoot full of booze.

House arrest was another method that had some success but eventually when the person got drunk that gravitated to a seat behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Recent studies show that when the alternative is house arrest, though, convicted DWI offenders pick interlocks 7 out of 10 times.

Alcohol ignition interlocks are a proven method to reduce repeat offenses for driving while intoxicated (DWI), but given a choice most offenders don’t voluntarily put them in their vehicles.

In the case of a 34-year-old Lewisburg woman now being held in the Lawrence County Tennessee jail the courts may have to try a little bit of all three of the these methods. She reportedly crashed into Lewisburg Electric System utility pole No. 7167 on L & N Avenue and fled the scene on foot on Sept. 19. She is charged with; DUI, violation of the implied consent law, no insurance, leaving the scene of an accident, and failure to give immediate notice of an accident.

As a society we have to act because the next time, and there will probably be a next time, she just might kill herself or another person. If you or a loved one are involved in a Nashville automobile accident with a driver like this lady, contact the experienced Nashville personal injury attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates. Call 615-356-2000.

When police find you in your crashed truck with a cooler with an open fifth of Jose Quervo, some beer, a pot pipe, some pot, it might not be a good idea to suggest that your blood sugar was a problem. This is the lesson learned by a Tennessee man driving drunk in Ohio.

Police produced a blood sugar tester and determined that the man’s sugar was within normal range. Ooops. Stupid is as stupid does, and getting loaded and then getting behind the wheel of your car requires a whole lot of stupid.

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. Call 615-356-2000.

Don't Drink and Drive

Enjoy The Game And The Ride Home

With football season beginning over the Memorial Day holiday it’s a good time to remind fans of the dangers of drinking and driving. As and experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney, I have reviewed a number of studies and witnessed the facts first hand, that the drinking and driving that goes on during and after college games poses a very dangerous public health threat.

If you plan to drink alcohol while rooting for their team, whether it’s a tailgate event, bar or party, you need to see that they have a sober designated driver or else face some serious criminal and civil consequences. Also keep in mind that if you throw a pre or post game party and you serve alcohol to your guests, and the guests are drunk and drive and crash and hurt or kill someone you will certainly find yourself on the receiving end of a personal injury lawsuit.

Studies show:

A 2009 University of Colorado study found that college football home games were associated with a 13 percent increase in DUI arrests in areas surrounding the stadiums.

A University of Minnesota study that involved the results of breathalyzer exams of adults after baseball and football games, found that eight percent of the fans recorded blood-alcohol content (BAC) levels above the legal limit of .08 percent, while fans under the age of 35 were nine times more likely to be legally drunk after the game than others.

These and other studies make clear that if you are going to drink you ought not get behind the wheel. 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 and county police 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.

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.

Don't Drink and Drive

Whenever you read about a drunk driver crashing and being arrested it seems to me that they always tell the police they only had one beer. I wonder what that’s about. Reference a recent report that Metro Nashville police charged a Nashville maid with driving under the influence after she crashed her car into another vehicle and her breathalyzer registered more than four times the legal limit.

The breathalyzer proved she was lying and, in addition to the scientific evidence, her cleaning partner told police that the woman had been getting into a client’s liquor cabinet and been drinking hard liquor. Neither the driver nor her passenger were seriously injured, but the driver is cooling her heals in the Metro jail on a $2000.00 bond.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I can tell you for a certainty that when it comes to drinking and driving  that stupid is as stupid does. First of all, for people who haven’t been paying attention, it’s really stupid to get behind the wheel when you have been consuming alcohol.

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.

Drink and Drive and Pay The Price

A 45-year-old Gainesboro, Tennessee woman who was allegedly intoxicated when she ran a stop sign and caused a traffic crash, in November of 2010, that left one dead and several others injured has been indicted by the Putnam grand jury. She is charged with vehicular homicide and six counts of aggravated assault in the case, according to local media reports

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 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.

Booze It And Lose It

The bad news is that 440 people have been killed on Tennessee highways in the first six months of 2011. The good news is that the number of people killed in Tennessee accidents is down 15 percent in the first six months of 2011 compared to last year. That number is down 77 over last year.

According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol says there has been a drop in deadly crashes on the roads because more drunk drivers have been arrested. At the same time the number of DUI arrests has increased by more than 30 percent. More than 2,100 DUI arrests have been made since January.

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.

Add speeding to the mix and the outcome is usually not a pretty sight. Speeding is one of the most prevalent factors contributing to traffic crashes. Speeding was a contributing factor in 31 percent of all fatal crashes, and 13,040 lives were lost in speeding-related crashes

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. Call 615-356-2000.