Keep A Lookout For motorcycles

With more and more people taking to the roads in motorcycles it has become urgent that Tennessee automobile and truck drivers exercise due care when making driving decisions. Keep on the lookout for motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians.

Reference a recent pickup truck motorcycle crash near Lawrenceburg, Tennessee was directly related to the pickup driver’s failure to keep a look out when he made an illegal u-turn and pulled directly into the path of an oncoming Harley-Davidson rider who was airlifted to Vanderbilt University in serious condition. The truck driver was cited for an improper turn and failure to exercise due care.

Have you or a loved one been injured in a Nashville motorcycle accident or auto accident as a result of distracted driving or other negligent driving?  If so, you should call the experienced Nashville personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates, a Nashville motorcycle accident lawyer from our law firm will fight to help you win. We will treat you with the utmost compassion and respect. Call us today and speak with an experienced Nashville personal injury lawyer to discuss the details of your case. Call (615) 356-2000.

Intersetion Fatality

A 57-year-old Columbia, Tennessee woman was killed in a crash at the intersection of Chestnut Ridge Road and U.S. Highway 31. According to local media reports the woman was attempting to cross the South bound lanes of Highway 61 to turn left to go northbound, when she pulled out into the path of a southbound cargo van that slammed into her at highway speed at the drivers door.

More crashes happen at intersections than at any other place. Intersections constitute a very small part of rural and urban street/highway systems, yet they are implicated in 31.9 percent of all motor vehicle crashes and 15.5 percent of all fatal crashes. Be very careful when approaching any intersection or driveway. Never assume another driver will yield the right-of-way to you. Wait until the coast is clear and always be prepared to stop.

“Traffic checks” is the process of looking frequently and carefully for vehicle traffic approaching from each direction. “Traffic checks” is especially important when merging or changing lanes AND when approaching and crossing intersections. Look first to the left to make sure cross traffic is yielding the right-of-way. Then look for traffic from the right. If stopped, look both left and right just before you start moving. Look across the intersection before you start to move to make sure the path is clear through the intersection. Above all avoid distractions, if you have to use your cell phone wait until you are finished with your call and then focus on what you are about to do.

The lesson for Tennessee Teens here is perfectly clear. Keep your mind and you eyes on the road and avoid doing things that distract you from focusing on this task.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee auto accident caused by a distracted teen driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation.

Watch Out for Motorcycles

In traffic following the NASCAR race at Bristol a motorcyclist was injured when a pickyp ruck made an unexpected left turn directly in front of him at the intersection of U.S. Highway 19E and U.S. Highway 321.

The 70-year-old pickup driver made a left turn from Highway 321 into the path of the motorcycle, he was charged with failure to yield. The injured motorcyclist was transported by the Carter County Rescue Squad to the Johnson City Medical Center for treatment.

More crashes happen at intersections than at any other place. Intersections constitute a very small part of rural and urban street/highway systems, yet they are implicated in 31.9 percent of all motor vehicle crashes and 15.5 percent of all fatal crashes (2004 NHTSA data). Be very careful when approaching any intersection or driveway. Never assume another driver will yield the right-of-way to you. Always be prepared to stop.

“Traffic checks” is the process of looking frequently and carefully for vehicle traffic approaching from each direction. “Traffic checks” is especially important when merging or changing lanes AND when approaching and crossing intersections.

If you or anyone you know has been injured or killed in a Tennessee car accident, please contact Nashville injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here.

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved.

Don't Pull Out Until Clear

When you are turning on to a highway from a side road it is absolutely necessary that you are giving all of your attention to vehicle on the highway. Don’t be in a hurry, wait until you are absolutely clear and it is safe to pull out. Anticipate the speed of the oncoming vehicles and don’t take chances.

It’s hard to say what a 51-year-old Virginia woman was thinking when she tried to enter a rural section of US Highway 61, near Mound Bayou. She didn’t make it. She pulled into the path of an oncoming tractor-trailer that smashed into the left side of her car. She died at the scene.

Was she distracted? She most certainly was, finding the cause of the distraction will be up to police investigators, but most distractions are caused by cell phone use, talking to other passengers, (she was alone) or just plain garden variety not paying attention.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes. 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.

If you are involved in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a distracted driver you are going to need an experienced and sophisticated Nashville auto accident attorney like those you will find at Phillip Miller & Associates. Call 615-356-2000.

Who Was At Fault?

In my last Blog I wrote about a woman who turned in front of a fast moving SUV and paid for her mistake with her life and the life of her son. This past Friday, the same day as this accident, a UPS tractor-trailer turned into the UPS depot on Whites Creek Pike, directly in the path of a 35-year-old Nashville woman driving a motorcycle in the oncoming lane.

The woman died enroute to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. My prayers go out to this woman and her family and friends for their loss. Investigators have several questions to ask. Did the tractor-trailer driver fail to yield? Was the woman on the motorcycle driving in excess of the speed limit?

If you or a loved one is injured in a Tennessee tractor-trailer accident caused by a driver who is distracted or following too close, you owe it to yourself to immediately contact the experienced Tennessee tractor-trailer attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates.

What does this mean to you if you or a family member are the victim of a Tennessee tractor-trailer accident and suffer a serious or life threatening injury?  It means that the trucking company has a huge advantage in investigating the cause of the accident and developing a strategy for its defense to any claim that arises.

During one of these situations evidence can disappear and negligent drivers can be coached on what to say to police investigators. The trucking company has the benefit of an expert that was actually at the accident scene. This may not be possible for the victim since injuries are usually severe in nature. Needless to say it is important to act quickly so that an expert can examine the evidence on your behalf.

Time is of the essence in these kinds of cases. Although most cases can be reconstructed at a later time it is important to have someone looking out for your best interests as soon as possible. That’s why it’s important to contact an experienced Tennessee tractor-trailer accident lawyer like those you will find at Phillip Miller & Associates. If you or a loved one is injured in a car tractor-trailer accident act quickly and take advantage of a no-cost no-obligation consultation and learn about your rights and put our crack team of lawyers and investigators on the case.

Failure to Yield

A 78-year-old man from Ten Mile, Tennessee was killed the other day when a tractor-trailer pulled out of a private driveway along State Highway 58, and his vehicle slid up underneath the trailer. Intersections include private driveways entering public streets. In Tennessee a driver leaving a private driveway to enter a public road must yield the right of way to drivers on the road.

More crashes happen at intersections than at any other place. Intersections constitute a very small part of rural and urban street/highway systems, yet they are implicated in 31.9 percent of all motor vehicle crashes and 15.5 percent of all fatal crashes. Be very careful when approaching any intersection or driveway. Never assume another driver will yield the right-of-way to you. Always be prepared to stop.

Time is of the essence in these kind of  cases. Although most cases can be reconstructed at a later time it is important to have someone looking out for your best interests as soon as possible. That’s why it’s important to contact an experienced Tennessee tractor-trailer accident lawyer like those you will find at Phillip Miller & Associates.

If you or a loved one is injured in a car tractor-trailer accident act quickly and take advantage of a no-cost no-obligation consultation and learn about your rights and put our crack team of lawyers and investigators on the case.

Twin Fatalities

Two Sweetwater, Tennessee residents, twin sisters, were killed in an accident at around 9:30 Saturday night on Old Highway 68 at the Sands Road intersection in Madisonville.

According to a report in local media sources, the 68-year-old woman was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Tracker and failed to stop at a stop sign. A pickup truck driven by a 60-year-old man from Madisonville, Tennessee, slammed into the passenger side of her Chevrolet Tracker, killing both women,

There are several driving events that require intense concentration by 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.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident, contact the experienced Nashville auto accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation.

In most driving situations, you slow down or stop before you enter a busy road, but when entering an interstate, you do the opposite. You must use the merging or acceleration lane to speed up and merge with fast-moving traffic already on the interstate.

Good judgment and good timing are necessary to merge smoothly with fast-moving traffic. Upon entering the interstate on-ramp, stay to the right and increase your speed in the acceleration lane/entrance ramp. Use the ramp to reach interstate speed so you can merge smoothly into the travel lane when the way is clear. Be sure to give the proper left turn signal to indicate your need to enter the traffic lane.

Drivers already on the interstate should, for their own safety, make allowance for vehicles attempting to enter. It is your responsibility to yield the right-of-way to other cars on the interstate.

A man driving a white Mustang was entering I-75 when he failed to maintain control of his car and slammed into a charter bus carrying Lincoln University college students. Twelve students were hospitalized and released. The Mustang left the roadway and went into a wooded area. The driver was arrested for not having a drivers license or insurance and several other traffic offenses.

If, god forbid, you ever need an experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyer contact us at Phillip Miller & Associates

Enter Interstate Cautiously

and let us help you through the process.

Motorcyclist Dies

Police are investigating the death of an, as of yet, unidentified motorcyclist who died in an intersection crash when a car driven by an 18-year-old driver entered a roadway from a private commercial driveway and failed to yield to the oncoming motorcycle. The 18-year-old driver and his 22-year-old passenger immediately fled the scene but police caught up with the passenger aster he was identified by a witness in a parking lot across the street from scene. The driver was found at his home hiding under a bed.

Do the facts tell you anything about the maturity level of the driver? He left the car which is registered in his name and went home, to the address on the registration, to hide under a bed. This guy is looking like a candidate for my worst driver of the year award. After charges are filed he is going to have plenty of time to ponder whatever it was that distracted him from seeing another human being driving along the highway.

More crashes happen at intersections than at any other place. Intersections constitute a very small part of rural and urban street/highway systems, yet they are implicated in 31.9 percent of all motor vehicle crashes and 15.5 percent of all fatal crashes (2004 NHTSA data). Be very careful when approaching any intersection or driveway. Never assume another driver will yield the right-of-way to you. Wait until the coast is clear and always be prepared to stop.

The lesson for Tennessee drivers here is perfectly clear. Keep your mind and you eyes on the road and avoid doing things that distract you from focusing on this task.

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

Intersection Crash

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I can tell for certain that more crashes happen at intersections than at any other place. Intersections constitute a very small part of rural and urban street/highway systems, yet they are implicated in 31.9 percent of all motor vehicle crashes and 15.5 percent of all fatal crashes. Be very careful when approaching any intersection or driveway. Never assume another driver will yield the right-of-way to you. Always be prepared to stop.

The most common faults when making turns are (A) failing to signal, (B) not signaling long enough, (C) failing to search for hazards, (D) turning from the wrong lane and (E) failing to turn properly. Rules for turning apply at all locations, even driveways and alleys, not just at intersections.

An 82-year-old Shelbyville man was turning into a medical center parking area and failed to yield the right-of-way to an oncoming vehicle and hit it head-on. Two of the three people in the other car are in critical condition and the third was treated and released. The 82-year-old driver appeared unharmed and initially refused treatment but later died at Vanderbilt Medical Center. His cause of death is unknown and will be determined by an autopsy.

It’s hard to tell what caused the accident. Did the elderly driver have some sort of a medical emergency? Did the driver become distracted by a cell phone or other electronic device, or was he simply not paying attention to the oncoming traffic? These and other like it will probably never be answered.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee auto accident contact the experienced and Certified Tennessee civil trial lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates for a free consultation.