Driving Wothout A License

If you live in Tennessee and want to drive a motor vehicle, you must have a valid Tennessee driver license. If you move to Tennessee from another state and have a valid drivers license from another state or country you must apply for a Tennessee drivers license if you;

So why is it that one fatal crash in five (20%) involves a driver who is unlicensed or whose license is suspended, canceled, or revoked. States differ dramatically in their incidence of crashes involving unlicensed and invalidly licensed drivers, from 6.1% in Maine to 23.4% in New Mexico. Unlicensed drivers are almost five times more likely to be in a fatal crash than are validly licensed drivers.  Nationally two-thirds of drivers continue to drive while under suspension.

Why do these people drive without licenses and what can we do to deter them from continuing this dangerous behavior. The obvious answer is that these are drivers who have at one time had licenses and because of prior traffic violations, had that license suspended or revoked. In just about every case of an unlicensed driver you are going to find an uninsured driver. Insurance companies pay particular attention to selling coverage to someone on a revoked or suspended license. These types of drivers are more than likely to run from an accident with another motor vehicle or a pedestrian.

What can we do with people who continue to ignore the law and driver a motor vehicle? There are any number of things we can do. We can put them in jail. In Tennessee any one in this category who has been charged and convicted of driving without a license on two or more occasions can be charged as an Habitual Traffic offender. In some cases the car they were driving can be confiscated and sold and there are new technological devices that are reaching the market as we speak that will make it virtually impossible for a driver to get behind the wheel.

This is a very tricky area of the law for those motorists who are involved in a Nashville automobile accident with people like these. As I mentioned, for the most part they do not have insurance and are unable to personally pay for any damage they might cause, but there are avenues to explore but they required an experienced lawyer. If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident with one of these people you really need to check in with one of the experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates to find out about your rights and remedies.

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Habitual Traffic Offenders In Handcuffs

One really has to be a complete fool to achieve the dubious distinction of being an Habitual Traffic Offender. Add to that a person with this designation who continues to drive and continues to drive badly and you have a guy who ought to pull some serious time in the penitentiary.

Section 55-10-600 of Tennessee’s law is known as the “Motor Vehicles Habitual Offenders Act” and, as its name suggest, is in place to “deny the privilege of operating motor vehicles on public highways to persons who by their conduct and record have demonstrated their indifference to the safety and welfare of others and their disrespect for the laws of the state.”

The act sets forth a process said offenders must follow, which includes a uniform “computation of convictions,” assembly of and serving with a court order and a jury trial to determine appropriate punishment.

A Johnson City, Tennessee man who carries the banner as an Habitual Traffic Offender was out driving when he showed his true colors and failed to stop at a stop sign. I mean, how hard is it, knowing you don’t have a driver’s license and could go to jail, to do something as simple as comply with a stop sign?

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a traffic accident with one of these people, recovering damages may prove to be difficult, but there are ways to succeed. Contact the experienced Tennessee automobile personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation. Call 615-356-2000.

You Can't Out Run The PoPo

A Kingsport man is now the top contender for the Tennessee driver of 2011 who should be taken off the road forever. The 40-year-old man, who is now in jail, where he should be, facing charges of five counts of reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, felony evading arrest and habitual motor offender. This bozo was previously convicted of being a habitual traffic offender, it appears he just doesn’t get the picture.

The incident leading to his present situation began when a police vehicle pulled up alongside of him at 1 AM on Saturday morning, at which time the vehicle fled at a high rate of speed. After a lengthy high-speed chase during which he nearly struck other vehicles, he swerved to hit a police pursuit vehicle.

The chase ended when he drove down a dead-end street and he fled on foot. Police captured him and he resisted and was maced.

When it comes to criminals, stupid is as stupid does. I wrote about this topic this past week but it appears that we have an epidemic of criminals who will do anything to keep from being caught and that includes fleeing the police at high speed. For whatever reason, they somehow think they can successfully flee the police.

Law enforcement officers often have to enter into a high speed  pursuit of criminal suspects. Other times, police are required to respond quickly to a crime in progress. Many times, innocent bystanders are injured as a result of a police chase or accident with a police car.

Cases like this a hard and require an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney to analyze the facts. Many times these car chases can be more dangerous to innocent citizens when balanced against the law enforcement necessity.

An experienced Tennessee Civil trial lawyer will be able to review the facts of the accident and the policies of the department to determine if the officers acted negligently, thereby causing the crash. If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a police chase you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys a Phillip Miller & Associates and have a thorough case review to determine your rights.

Stupid is as Stupid Does

Last November a Blountville man was ruled by the court to be an Habitual Traffic Offender for having 5 DUI convictions. He didn’t get the picture and was arrested in April for driving drunk on the wrong side of the road on a riding lawnmower for his 6^th DUI.

Last week the 36-year-old man was sentenced to six years in the penitentiary and ordered to serve at least 35% before he is eligible for parole.

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.

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. In cases like this it appears the only way to keep people like this off of the road is to take them off of the street.

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.

Unlicensed Drivers Involved In 20% Of Accidents

If you live in Tennessee and want to drive a motor vehicle, you must have a valid Tennessee driver license. If you move to Tennessee from another state and have a valid drivers license from another state or country you must apply for a Tennessee driver license if you;

* live in the state longer than 30 days

* are working in Tennessee

* would otherwise qualify as a registered voter.

So why is it that one fatal Tennessee crash in five (20%) involves a driver who is unlicensed or whose license is suspended, canceled, or revoked. States differ dramatically in their incidence of crashes involving unlicensed and invalidly licensed drivers, from 6.1% in Maine to 23.4% in New Mexico. Unlicensed drivers are almost five times more likely to be in a fatal crash than are validly licensed drivers. Nationally two-thirds of drivers continue to drive while under suspension.

Why do these people drive without licenses and what can we do to deter them from continuing this dangerous behavior. The obvious answer is that these are drivers who have at one time had licenses and because of prior traffic violations, had that license suspended or revoked. In just about every case of an unlicensed driver you are going to find an uninsured driver.

Insurance companies pay particular attention to selling coverage to someone on a revoked or suspended license. These types of drivers are more than likely to run from an accident with another motor vehicle or a pedestrian.

What can we do with people who continue to ignore the law and drive a motor vehicle? There are any number of things we can do. We can put them in jail. In Tennessee any one in this category who has been charged and convicted of driving without a license on two or more occasions can be charged as an Habitual Traffic offender. In some cases the car they were driving can be confiscated and sold and there are new technological devices that are reaching the market as we speak that will make it virtually impossible for a driver to get behind the wheel.

This is a very tricky area of the law for those motorists who are involved in a Nashville automobile accident with people like these. As I mentioned, for the most part they do not have insurance and are unable to personally pay for any damage they might cause, but there are avenues to explore but they required an experienced lawyer. If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident with one of these people you really need to check in with one of the experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates to find out about your rights and remedies.

Tennessee Habitual Traffic Offender

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident lawyer I can tell you that when you have achieved the status of an habitual traffic offender for having multiple DUI convictions you might want to pay attention and accept the possibility that you have a problem with alcohol and drugs. At the very least you ought to consider not driving until you ahave your license reinstated some years down the line.

That lesson was apparently not learned by a Johnson City Tennessee woman, who chose to continue to drive. The action started when she was involved in a fender bender in the parking lot of a Methodist church. When police arrived to do an accident report the jig was up for the 45-year-old woman.

In Tennessee we are serious about keeping people like this lady off of the road. The legislature has made legal consequences for multiple DUI severe and can make for a serious change in your lifestyle.

Penalties can be:

* Fines range from $600 to $10,000

* Minimum jail time ranges from 48 days to 120 days

* Maximum jail time can extend to almost one year

* License revocation ranges from two to ten years

The statute also provides for vehicle confiscation and there will be no opportunity to get a temporary drivers license for school, work, hospital, doctor’s visits or church. 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 crashe 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.