Ten Year Old Killed

According to local media reports a medical emergency was the cause of a crash that claimed the life of two people, one of them a 10-year-old girl.

The reports said that a man and two children were driving in a Ford Expedition when they were struck by on the passenger side by a Honda Accord. Apparently, the Honda driver didn’t have a history of medical problems but something caused him to lose consciousness. The report went on to say that the man had just spoken to his wife by cell phone and told her he wasn’t feeling well.

After passing out, his car accelerated through the parking lot of a market, and according to several witnesses went airborne before slamming into the SUV. My prayers go out to the family and friends of the deceased and the two other passenger who were injured.

Incidences of drivers who had crashes precipitated by medical emergencies while driving are relatively rare and account for only 1.3 percent of all road fatalities. Older drivers have relatively higher incidences of crashes precipitated by drivers’ medical emergencies when compared to young and middle-age drivers. Drivers in crashes precipitated by medical emergencies were more likely than other drivers to be severely injured or to die as a result of the crash.

Patient education by health care providers on early warning signs of a health crisis, such as warning signs before seizure attacks, diabetic or hypoglycemic comas and potential side effects of medications are recommended as the most effective countermeasure.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile traffic accident contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to determine your rights and remedies.

Friends Don't Let Friends Drink And Drive

Making an effort to stop a drunk from getting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle is a good thing and we all ought to do what we can to avert a highway tragedy.   Sometimes the effort to prevent the driver can turn deadly as shown in a recent incident in Knoxville.

According to local media reports, A couple of local men had been drinking at a private residence, when one guy decides to leave at around 3 A.M. the other fellow argues with the man and warns him that he is drunk and doesn’t need to get a DUI. The argument escalated and the homeowner ended up being stabbed.

As police arrived they observed a car fleeing from the home and a short pursuit lead to the arrest of the suspect. Instead of sleeping it off at his friends house, he is now in jail facing charges of aggravated assault, DUI, driving on a suspended license and felony fleeing.

Whether it’s referred to as drunk driving, driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence, impaired driving simply means a person’s ability to safely operate a motor vehicle is compromised by alcohol and other drugs that change the function of the brain and body.

The experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates have handled hundreds of cases involving drunk drivers and can help you if you are unfortunate enough to be involved in such an accident. Contact us for the free consultation and find out about your rights by calling 615-356-2000.

Red Means Stop

A Johnson City, Tennessee driver of the Jeep Cherokee said he was unable to stop in time for a red light. The driver blamed wet streets for the fact that he ran a red light and caused a three-car collision. Luckily, no one was seriously injured.

Each year crashes involving red light running claim the lives of more than 800 people and injure another 200,000 people. More than half of the deaths in red light running crashes are other motorists and pedestrians, so there should be no debate about the fact that red light runners are dangerous drivers who put other road users at risk.

More than 100,000 crashes a year are caused by drivers running red lights, killing some 950 people and injuring 90,000 others, making it a leading cause of fatal crashes in metropolitan areas, according to the Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Worse, the numbers are on the rise: Fatal motor vehicle crashes at traffic signals increased 19 percent nationally between 1992 and 1998 (the last year for which FHWA had statistics); over the same period, all other types of fatal crashes increased just 6 percent. This is a situation where people are dying from something that’s 100 percent preventable.”

If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville Automobile accident caused by a red light runner contact the experienced Nashville auto attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

Elderly Drivers

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney, I try to keep my readers up on important issues. The other day I wrote about having “The Conversation” with our elderly parents. Studies have shown that older drivers have high death rates and lower rates of involvement in crashes that kill others. Relative to other age groups, drivers aged 85 and older face the highest risk of their own death, whereas teens pose the greatest risk to passengers, occupants of other vehicles, and non-motorists.

Reference a recent auto accident in which an 84-year-old woman drove her vehicle into a thrift store and ran over toddlers. Witnesses pulled the toddlers out from under the vehicle and they are both going to survive this ordeal. The woman refused to say what caused the accident.

In hindsight there were probably a number of signs that her family might have noticed that might have warned them that it was time to consider the possibility that she might need to relinquish her car keys. My prayers go out to the family and friends of this lady and the two children..

The lesson here is that families need to be proactive and avoid the inclination to bring up the topic with the ones we love. If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by an elderly driver contact the experienced Nashville auto accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

Booze It And Lose It

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today kicked off a nationwide crackdown on drunk driving coinciding with the 2011 winter holiday season. New data show drunk-driving deaths declined in 2010 in many parts of the country. However, the data also show that fatalities from alcohol-impaired driving crashes continue to account for one in three deaths on American roadways each year.

“Safety is our focus year round at DOT. But this holiday season, we’re stepping up our efforts to get drunk drivers off our roads and reminding Americans ‘drive sober, or get pulled over,’ ” said Secretary LaHood. “We’re making gains in our fight against drunk driving, but we cannot and will not let up.”

New state-by-state data for 2010 released by the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show a decline in drunk driving fatalities in 32 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Compared with 2009, California and Florida saw the largest reductions — with each declining by more than 100 fatalities last year.

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have outlawed driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. Yet NHTSA data show that last year, 10,228 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, including 415 during the second half of December alone.

The education and enforcement effort is the latest push in the Department’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign involving thousands of law enforcement agencies across the country. The winter holiday enforcement crackdown is supported by a $7 million national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over advertisement campaign that runs from December 16 through January 2. The ads, which first premiered this past summer, feature “invisible” law enforcement officers observing alcohol-impaired individuals and then apprehending them when they attempt to drive their vehicles. The ads are designed to raise awareness and support law enforcement activities in every state. They convey the message that law enforcement officers are vigilant in deterring drunk drivers.

“Thanks to the hard work of law enforcement and safety advocates and the incredible commitment of organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, we are making real progress in reducing drunk driving deaths,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. “Our message to drivers is clear: if you decide to drink, find a safe and sober ride home or you will be pulled over.”

Secretary LaHood and NHTSA Administrator Strickland were joined for today’s announcement by Virginia law enforcement officials and Jan Withers, National President of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

“The data clearly show that while drunk driving remains the primary threat to American families on our roadways, we have a path to progress,” said Withers. “Increased enforcement efforts around the holidays are a vital part of MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving®, which relies on proven drunk driving countermeasures to eliminate the leading cause of highway fatalities.”

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident during this holiday season by a drunk driver, contact the experienced Nashville personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation. Call 615-356-2000.

Avoid Distracted Driving

During the holiday season I can’t say enough about avoiding driving distractions. Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event. The only way we are going to change the culture of distracted driving is for each one of us to commit to making a conscious effort to avoid multi-tasking when we drive.

Multi-tasking is a fact of life – we all face constant demands for our time, and we all have to juggle more than ever before. Unfortunately, many people try to multi-task while driving, which is NEVER a good idea. In fact, a recent study by the University of Utah has reconfirmed that our brains are simply not wired to multi-task. Being distracted behind the wheel for even just a few seconds greatly increases your chance of a crash. Distracted driving contributes to up to 8,000 crashes every single day – the facts speak for themselves.

Distraction from the primary task of driving could present a serious and potentially deadly danger. In 2008, 5,870 people lost their lives and an estimated 515,000 people were injured in police-reported crashes in which at least one form of driver distraction was reported on the crash report. While these numbers are signi!cant, they may not state the true size of the problem, since the identification of distraction and its role in the crash by law enforcement can be very difficult.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident caused by a distracted driver you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies. Call 615-356-2000.

Drunk Driving Kills

The local media report summed up a Nashville man’s death in three simple sentences, but they tell the whole story, and the lesson to be learned by other drivers.

A 25-year-old Nashville man was killed early Sunday morning in a rollover accident after drinking at a party. The man’s brother told investigating officers that he had been drinking at a party that night.

The man was driving a 1997 Ford Taurus at 2:45 a.m. on Ocala Drive in South Nashville when Metro police say he lost control of the car, it struck a tree and rolled over. There is no information as to whether the man was wearing his seatbelt.

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.

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.

For this and other Tennessee automobile safety tips visit the web site of the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find lot’s of good information to help you remain a safe driver.

Drunk Teen Driver

An 18-year-old Johnson City teen driver will have to stand trial as an adult on charges that he injured two passengers in a crash while driving drunk. The teen was charged with two counts of vehicular assault, DUI, underage consumption of alcohol, and failure to show proof of insurance.

The crash, according to local media reports, occurred about 4 a.m. Sunday. The teen driver was injured in the crash and taken to Johnson City Medical Center, so police were unable to perform field sobriety tests. Police reported a strong odor of alcohol on the man at the crash scene, found a half empty bottle of Vodka in the vehicle and a nurse at the emergency room found a half empty bottle in his pants pocket.

The teen consented to a blood alcohol test and the results are pending. Impaired driving is a serious issue, and it affects many more than only those involved in drunk driving crashes. The misuse or abuse of alcohol greatly increases the chance of injuries in the workplace and beyond, and American businesses bear much of the costs in higher insurance premiums for employer-based health insurance tied to alcohol problems.

Whether it’s referred to as drunk driving, driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence, impaired driving simply means a person’s ability to safely operate a motor vehicle is compromised by alcohol and other drugs that change the function of the brain and body.

The experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates have handled hundreds of cases involving drunk drivers and can help you if you are unfortunate enough to be involved in such an accident. Contact us for the free consultation and find out about your rights. Call 615-356-2000.

Deter Repeat DUI Offenders

I’m not sure what makes them do it, I’m referring to the propensity of some folks to get drunk and then get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. At lunch the other day I posed this question to a good friend who has been sober for many years and who regularly works with alcoholics trying to call it quits.

His reply, “They don’t want to miss anything”, caught me off guard, but he went on to explain that alcoholics have a disease that is characterized by self centered fear and self will run riot. Following up on the puzzled look on my face he went on, “ they are so afraid that they are going to miss out on the fun, although for the chronic alcoholic the fun has ceased long ago.”

Reference an article in the local Johnson City, Tennessee media in which a 50-year-old woman with a previous DUI conviction, driving on a suspended license, got drunk, got into a vehicle and headed out onto the road. She lost control of her car, jumped a curb, ran through some bushes, went through a busy parking lot at a local murder mart and slammed into the building. Using her best thinking, she then attempted to flee the scene.

How can society protect itself from these repeat DUI offenders? My first thought is that the authorities ought to confiscate the vehicle and let the owner, if other then the offender, come to court and explain why they should get their car back and what they intend to do in the future to keep the offender from driving it.

Alcohol ignition interlocks are a proven tactic to reduce repeat offenses for driving while intoxicated (DWI), but given a choice most offenders don’t voluntarily put them in their vehicles. Even when installation is mandatory, some offenders may sidestep the requirement by agreeing not to drive at all or claiming not to have a vehicle.

When the alternative is house arrest, though, convicted DWI offenders pick interlocks 7 out of 10 times. This is the main finding of a Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation study of one New Mexico counties experience with interlocks. The study looks at Santa Fe, where four judges agreed to a 2-year pilot to sentence all DWI offenders, including first-timers, to home confinement via electronic monitoring as an alternative to interlocks if they claimed to have no car or no intention to drive. The aim was to boost DWI offenders’ use of interlocks.

In May 2010, Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen signed into law a tougher interlock law requiring the use of ignition interlock devices if the offender has a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.15 percent or higher; is accompanied by a person under 18 years of age; or violates the present implied consent laws. The legislation also provides that those convicted of drunk driving with a BAC under 0.15 have the option to install an ignition interlock device instead of being geographically restricted by a court.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee auto accident caused by a drunk driver contact the experienced Nashville auto accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out all you need to know about obtaining a full and complete financial recovery.

Drunk Drivers Kill

Nashville police suspect a driver who roared through a service station parking lot, drove along a sidewalk almost hitting a pedestrian before slamming into several parked cars and then a tree, was drunk and passed out behind the wheel. According to media reports the police found no sign that the man had tried to stop his vehicle. The driver is in critical condition and if he survives he faces charges of DUI and Felony Vehicular Assault. Thankfully no one else was injured.

In support of their drunk driving theory of the case, police pointed out that they found a mostly empty liquor bottle on the floorboard of the car. Our prayers go out to the man for a speedy and complete recovery.

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.

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.

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.