Don't Stop On Interstate

Traffic on interstates usually moves more safely and efficiently because access is controlled. There are no stop signs, no railroad crossings and no traffic lights. Interstates usually have few steep hills or sharp curves to limit the view of the road ahead. Limited access or controlled access means that drivers enter or leave the roadway only at entrances and exits, called interchanges, without ever crossing the path of other traffic.

In most driving situations, you slow down or stop before you enter a busy road, but when entering an interstate, you do the opposite. You must use the merging or acceleration lane to speed up and merge with fast-moving traffic already on the interstate. Good judgment and good timing are necessary to merge smoothly with fast-moving traffic.

Upon entering the interstate on-ramp, stay to the right and increase your speed in the acceleration lane/entrance ramp. Use the ramp to reach interstate speed so you can merge smoothly into the travel lane when the way is clear. Be sure to give the proper left turn signal to indicate your need to enter the traffic lane.

Drivers already on the interstate should, for their own safety, make allowance for vehicles attempting to enter. It is your responsibility to yield the right-of-way to other cars on the interstate.

An elderly driver was injured after their car apparently stopped on the entrance ramp going from Briley Parkway onto Interstate-40 eastbound, and was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer. Fortunately, neither of the elderly people in the vehicle were seriously injured.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident involving an elderly driver you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Tennessee car accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

Speeding and Distractions Kill

Speeding and distractions for tractor-trailer drivers is a dangerous cocktail. A Nashville based truck rental firm, Diamond Rental has been made party, along with trucking company KDXExpress, the driver Brian DeAngelis, to a lawsuit by the estate of a Wood River man killed in a tractor-trailer car crash on I-57 in Illinois.

A local Edwardsville, Illinois newspaper, The Telegraph, says the suit claims that the decedent was driving along on the Interstate when DeAngelis, driving a 2007 International Harvester tractor-trailer ran into the rear of his vehicle causing him to lose control, cross the median into the path of two other vehicle and killing the Wood River man. The Telegraph reports that the suit claims that DeAngelis negligently failed to keep a proper lookout, failed to reduce his speed to avoid the collision and traveling at a speed in excess of what was prudent, given the conditions of the road.

As an experienced Tennessee tractor-trailer car accident attorney, when I first read this article two things cam to mind. Either the Tractor-trailer driver intentionally ran into the rear of the car, or the driver was somehow distracted and was not watching the road. If I were the attorney for the estate I’d certainly want to look at the cell-phone records for the truck driver. Cell-phones are the number one reason for distraction accidents.

According to a landmark research report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) Driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes and near 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.

As an experienced Nashville tractor-trailer lawyer I recommend that if you are driving and see a tractor-trailer driving in a dangerous manner, swerving, speeding, tailgating or any other activity that puts other in danger, that you get the identification of the truck, pull over at the first safe place and call the local law enforcement agency and report the driver. A call just might save a life somewhere down the line.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Tennessee tractor-trailer car accident contact our experienced Tennessee accident attorneys and find out about your rights and remedies.