Avoid Distractions

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I’ve always thought that a particular kind of auto accident was, for lack of another description, difficult to understand. The accidents I’m referring are the ones where a vehicle races forward, out of control, and crashes into or through a building. The usual explanation is that the gas pedal stuck or that I meant to hit the brake and I hit the gas.

Many, but not all of these types of car crashes involve older drivers who are experiencing medical emergencies. Take for instance a recent Nashville car crash in which the driver of her brand new BMW was parking her car outside of her place of employment, when she thought she was applying the brake, she floored the gas pedal and crashed through the window and into the building.

The best idea that I can come up with is that the driver is simply not paying attention to what they are doing. They have allowed themselves to be distracted. 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.

The distraction can be just about anything, thinking about personal problems, applying makeup, talking to a passenger, drinking coffee or eating, the list is endless. Just think about it, if we could educate people on the danger of distraction while driving and they would make a serious attempt to maintain their focus on their driving, we could seriously reduce crashes.

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