The probability of a fatal crash rises significantly after 0.05 percent blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and even more rapidly after 0.08 percent. Drivers with very high BACs (at or above 0.15 percent) have a very high risk of dying in a crash or getting severely injured. All states have enacted a law defining impairment as driving with a BAC at or above 0.08 percent.

Progress has been made during the past 30 years to reduce the numbers and proportion of fatally injured drivers with BACs at or above 0.08 percent. Since 1982, there has been a 42 percent decline in the number of passenger vehicle drivers killed in crashes who had BACs at or above 0.08 percent. There also has been a substantial decline among those with very high BACs (at or above 0.15 percent), who often are assumed to be “hard-core” drinking drivers. However, little progress has been made since the mid-1990s and alcohol-impaired driving is still a major problem. In 2005, research estimated that 8,916 deaths would have been prevented if all drivers on the road had BACs below 0.08 percent. Applying the same methods yields an estimate of 7,440 preventable driver deaths if BACs were below 0.08 percent in 2009.

Drivers younger than 21 are more vulnerable than older drivers to the impairing effects of alcohol. At the same BAC, young drivers are far more likely to get into a fatal or nonfatal crash. The minimum drinking age is 21 throughout the United States. In addition, all states have “zero tolerance” laws that prohibit people younger than 21 from driving after drinking. Typically, these laws prohibit driving with a BAC of 0.02 percent or greater. In recent years, drivers younger than 21 killed in crashes are about half as likely as fatally injured drivers ages 21-30 to have a BAC of 0.08 percent or higher.

This information is based on analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) made by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

If you need more information about Tennessee traffic fatalities contact the experienced nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates for answers.

Wrong Way Driver

Nashville authorities have not yet announced their theory as to why a 40-year-old Nashville woman was driving on the wrong side of Myatt Dr. at a high rate of and rammed into a pickup truck killing herself. The young man driving the pickup is in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

It’s far too early for the results of the toxicology reports to determine whether she was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol and an autopsy will tell us whether she suffered some sort of medical emergency that prevented her from driving safely. Her cell phone information will tell us whether she was distracted by talking on the phone or texting. We do know that she was not wearing her seat belt and that the result might well have been different if she had been.

The message here for all Tennessee drivers is that you never know where danger lies and you must keep your eyes and your mind on the road. If you or someone you love has been hurt in a serious Tennessee car accident due to somebody else’s negligence, then you may be feeling angry, frightened, or even alone in your suffering.

There is no reason for you to bear your burden alone.  The experience of a Tennessee auto accident is traumatic enough and your recovery will bring its own challenges.  You don’t need the added stress of worrying about who will pay for the medical care you need, how your car will be repaired, and if the individuals responsible for your suffering will be brought to justice.  This is the time to call Phillip Miller & Associates, the law firm of local Tennessee attorneys and staff who for the past 25 years have dedicated their lives to protecting the rights of injured men, women, and children in Tennessee.

Drowsy Driving

As an experienced Tennessee tractor-trailer accident lawyer I am regularly called upon to look at the facts surrounding truck accidents in and around the Volunteer state. To actually determine the cause of an accident many factors have to be studied. There are some things that can be inferred from the circumstances leading up to a crash. Reference a recent Tennessee interstate highway accident involving two tractor-trailers.

Two trucks are traveling west on I-40 in Roane County in east Tennessee when the following truck simply rams into the rear-end of the leading truck. The following truck burst into flames and the driver was killed. The leading truck was damaged and it’s driver was injured. Her condition is not known at this time.

The first question the investigators will have to answer is, what was the following driver doing moments before and at the time of the collision? My experience tells me that the following driver had fallen asleep at the wheel, or had suffered some sort of medical emergency. An autopsy will possibly be able to tell whether the driver suffered a heart attack or stoke.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates conservatively that each year drowsy driving “is responsible for at least 100,000 automobile crashes, 71,000 injuries, and 1,550 fatalities.” But among all the major factors that cause or contribute to crashes, like speeding, alcohol use, and weather situations, drowsiness is the most difficult for police and other crash investigators to detect and quantify.

It’s nearly impossible to determine with certainty the cause of a fatal crash where drowsy driving is suspected. However, there are a number of clues at a crash scene that tell investigators that the person fell asleep at the wheel.

If you or someone you love has been hurt in a serious Tennessee highway accident due to someone’s negligence, then you may be feeling angry, frightened, or even alone in your suffering.

There is no reason for you to bear your burden alone.  The experience of a Tennessee highway accident is traumatic enough and your recovery will bring its own challenges.  You don’t need the added stress of worrying about who will pay for the medical care you need, how your car will be repaired, and if the individuals responsible for your suffering will be brought to justice.  This is the time to call Phillip Miller & Associates, the law firm of local Tennessee attorneys and staff who for the past 25 years have dedicated their lives to protecting the rights of injured men, women, and children in Tennessee.

Avoid Distractions While Driving

WTVC News Channel 9 in Chattanooga, Tennessee reported that Christopher L. Phillips age-35 was operating his 1999 Suzuki motorcycle and while negotiating a sharp curve, lost control and was thrown from the motorcycle and pronounced dead at the scene. That same day WTVC also reported that Robert Myers, age-53 while driving his 1993 Honda, swerved into the median and crossed into the oncoming lanes of traffic then hit a ditch and was ejected from the car and was pronounced dead at the scene.

On that same day WBIR TV in Knoxville reported that Mike Little, age unknown, who had been reported missing earlier in the week had been found dead in the remains of his pick-up truck which had been found crashed in a ditch. The Staff and Attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of these men. Their deaths leave so many questions, questions that may never be answered.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I couldn’t help but think of the many factors that could have caused these car and motorcycle accidents. Each of these men left the road for no apparent reason. Was there a medical emergency, a vehicle malfunction such as a blown tire, were they distracted by something such as a cell phone, or were they drowsy and nodded off for just a second?  So many reasons and so many unanswered questions left for the families of these men to process. The one thing they do know is that their loved ones are gone, and have become just another traffic fatality statistic.

Stories like these remind us that when we get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle we have to have our full attention on the task at hand. We must regularly check the condition of our tires and brakes, we must avoid doing things like texting and using our cell phones and any other action that causes us to take our eyes off the road, and if we begin to feel drowsy or ill we need to quickly and safely get off the road and address these issues.

If you or a loved one is injured in a car accident contact our experienced Nashville accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and learn about your rights and remedies. Do this before you deal with the other persons insurance company so that you are prepared and on an equal footing.