Alcohol & Speed A Toxic Mix

The news photos of the wrecked car were horrifying. The 1999 Saab 93 had been speeding and weaving through interstate traffic when it was forced to go to one lane in a construction zone and was unable to keep control of his vehicle and slammed at high speed in the rear-end of a tractor-trailer.

What is there to say? The 47-year-old man was airlifted to a Memphis hospital and is critical condition. What caused the driver to act like this? You guessed it, alcohol. Police investigators say that the scene and the inside of the vehicle were strewn with alcohol containers. My prayers for a speedy recovery go out to this guy. My prayers of thanks that this guy didn’t kill anyone else.

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. To help ensure that happens, the Tennessee Highway Patrol press release makes clear that it is 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. 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 or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee car crash caused by a drunk driver you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.