Over the last several days I have been writing a lot about teen drivers and parental responsibility. Yesterday I wrote about how easily distracted teens become when they have a myriad of electronic devices at hand while they are driving. Cell phones are the number one offender.

On Wednesday this problem played itself out when a 16-year-old Franklin, Tennessee driver slammed into a police car at an intersection. The officer was on patrol and as he crossed through an intersection the teen girl, going in the opposite direction, made a left turn directly into the patrol car at the driver’s door. Both drivers received minor injuries.

The accident is being investigated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol and I can assure you that the first thing they are going to look at is the teen’s cell phone to determine whether she was using it at the time of the impact. From the facts it appears that the young woman couldn’t have been paying attention to what she was doing, I mean I doubt she hit the patrol car on purpose, and if she had been on the lookout, she should, in the exercise of due care, seen the police vehicle and avoided hitting it.

This situation again brings up the question; is a 16-year-old mature enough to be driving a motor vehicle, and the studies and incidents like this indicate that the time has come to raise the age.

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

Reduce Intersection Crashes

My experience as a Nashville automobile accident lawyer and my study on the subject of intersection crashes tells me that Red Light Cameras (RLCs) reduce the number of fatalities, personal injuries and property damages to a huge extent.

A recent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study in Oxnard, California, showed that red light running violations dropped a total of 42 percent after well publicized photo enforcement was introduced. Another study in Fairfax, Virginia, showed that violations declined about 40 percent after one year of photo enforcement. A key to all effective traffic law enforcement is publicity; without it there is no deterrent effect, and the purpose of red light cameras is deterrence.

In a recent national survey of voters, Public Opinion Strategies found that fully 69% of Americans support the use of “red-light cameras” at the most dangerous intersections in their states, while just 29% oppose them. Those voters “strongly” supporting red-light cameras outnumber those who strongly oppose them by a wide 45%-18% margin.  The study showed support for these red-light cameras is not only very strong nationally, but cuts across all demographic and attitudinal groups, including men and women, young and old, Republicans and Democrats, and conservatives and liberals.

In Tennessee a number of cities and towns use the cameras and the results are positive. There is a move from some political persons to ban the use of RLCs statewide, claiming that they are a violation of our Constitution. I suggest that these political people, for whatever their reasons, leave the job of traffic enforcement to the local governments. Despite the fact that the statistics show a decrease in accident and injury, they simply deny the facts. It’s time for some leadership from our elected officials. To those “flat world politicians”, I suggest that we embrace technology in the spirit of saving lives.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee intersection accident you are going to need an experienced Tennessee automobile accident lawyer, one who understand the myriad avenues of seeking just compensation for victims. Intersection accidents may well be the fault of the designers of the roadway as well as the speeding or negligent driver who hits you. At Phillip Miller & Associates we have just the kind of experience tht you need to assure you are adequately compensated.

Any Nashville car accident lawyer worth his/her salt will tell you that cities and counties all over Tennessee are serious about reducing car accidents. Many towns are going hi-tech and using traffic cameras to enforce the law. A recent report from Oak Ridge points out that in the first month of operation more than 4000 traffic violations have been issued through using the traffic safety cameras. That’s alot of points going on peoples’ records, and those points can cause a suspension of driving privileges (to see Tennessee’s point system, click here).

The hot spot was at the intersection of Illinois Ave. and Robertsville Rd. that accounted for 3,942 of the violations. The majority of the violations were for speeding with red-light violations coming in second. Chief of Police David Beams warned the public that the police are serious about preventing car accidents and that the cameras will soon be installed at school zones.

As an experienced Nashville car accident attorney I can tell you that these communities are serious about reducing car crashes in Tennessee and that these hi-tech devices are a good way to start.

As a Nashville and Tennessee car accident lawyer I have been paying particular attention to attempts by the state and municipal governments in Tennessee to promote and insure public safety in the area of car accidents. As more and more cities in Tennessee are installing what has become known as “red light cameras” recent statistics are starting to show that the program, originally touted as a safety measure, might well be less about traffic safety then it is about filling the coffers of the government. The Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro and the Tennessee Center for Policy Research reported that after twelve months of operation side-impact car crashes decreased from seventy-one to sixty-three while the number of rear-end car crashes actually increased by 24%.

During this same period a total of 19,995 citations were issued resulting in a total of $1.3 million in fines and penalties. Tennessee car accident lawyers are well aware of the fact that if all drivers followed the rules of the road and practiced a modicum of courtesy that car accidents in Tennessee would decline dramatically.