Tennessee Drunk Driving Fatality

Several East Tennessee media sources reported on a tragic Tennessee automobile pickup truck collision that took the life on a 63-year-old Sequatchie man. For some reason Ms. Ruby Payne, 57, was, according to witnesses, swerving in and out of traffic on I-24. She lost control of her vehicle, left the roadway, overcorrected and crossed back into traffic and hit a Ford Pickup truck driven by John Taylor. The collision caused Mr. Taylor to leave the roadway, hit a ditch and roll several times.

Unfortunately, Mr. Taylor didn’t have his seatbelt on and was ejected from the vehicle and was dead at the scene. My prayers go out to the family and friends of Mr. Taylor for their terrible loss. My prayers also to Ms. Payne that she find peace and redemption for the tragedy she caused. I suspect that she will have plenty of time in jail to ponder that event.

Now I may be wrong, but from the facts set out in the media, which is all I have to go by, I would make the assumption that Ms. Payne was under the influence of either alcohol or drugs or that she was suffering some sort of medical emergency.

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.

On average, a human being is killed by a drunk driver every 45 minutes. In 2008, an estimated 11,773 people died in drunk driving related crashs a decline of 9.8 percent from the 13,041 drunk driving related fatalities of 2007.

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

Motorcycle Fatality

WSMV TV in Nashville reported on a tragic Tennessee motorcycle pickup truck fatality on Highway 31 just North of Nashville. Regina Hall, 36, of Bethpage, died when her motorcycle swerved suddenly into the path of an oncoming truck. The article goes on to say that Ms. Hall was an inexperienced rider and was riding her motorcycle for only the second time. Ms. Hall’s had a passenger on board and there is no mention of his outcome from the crash. My prayers go out to the family and friends of Ms. Hall.

Motorcycles made up nearly 3 percent of all registered vehicles in the United States in 2006 and accounted for only 0.4 percent of all vehicle miles traveled. Per vehicle mile traveled in 2006, motorcyclists were about 35 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a motor vehicle traffic crash and 8 times more likely to be injured.

In 2007, 2,641 (50%) of all motorcycles involved in fatal crashes collided with another type of motor vehicle in transport. In two-vehicle crashes, 78 percent of the motorcycles involved were struck in the front. Only 5 percent were struck in the rear. Motorcycles are more likely to be involved in a fatal collision with a fixed object than are other vehicles. In 2007, 25 percent of the motorcycles involved in fatal crashes collided with fixed objects, compared to 18 percent for passenger cars, 13 percent for light trucks, and 3 percent for large trucks.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I couldn’t help but think of the many factors that could have caused this fatal Tennessee motorcycle accident. She left her lane and crossed into the oncoming lane for no apparent reason. Was there a medical emergency, a vehicle malfunction such as a blown tire, was she distracted by something such as a cell phone, or was she drowsy and nodded off for just a second?  So many reasons and so many unanswered questions left for the family 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, or handbars, 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 that cause 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 Tennessee motorcycle accident contact our experienced Nashville accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and learn about your rights and remedies.

Distracted Drivers

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I’ve seen all sorts of odd things but a recent automobile accident in Lauderdale County Alabama is an interesting case in point. Usually when a drunk tractor-trailer driver and a mini-SUV get together  you can pretty well count on  the drunk driver being at fault. Not the case here. A man driving a mini-SUV heading was heading south on US 43 when he suddenly veered across the center=line and clipped a tractor-trailer carrying large coils of steel.

The tractor-trailer driver veered to avoid the collision, then lost control, left the road and plunged down a 150 foot embankment. What causes a man to suddenly veer across the road, out of control, and smack another vehicle? Witnesses told investigators that the SUV driver told them that he had spilled coffee and when he reached for the fallen cup, he took his eyes off the road and lost control. This driver took his eyes and his mind off of the road and nearly killed himself and another because he momentarily took his eyes and his mind off the road.

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.

Distraction from the primary task of driving could present a serious and potentially deadly danger. There has been increased attention on the danger of distracted driving recently, specifically on the dangers of cell phone use and texting while driving. Other secondary task involvement includes eating, drinking, conversing with passengers, as well as interaction with invehicle technologies and portable electronic devices. Greater sophistication in these technologies may present greater physical and cognitive challenges for drivers than traditional information sources. Less obvious forms of cognitive distractions such as daydreaming or dealing with strong emotions also present potentially dangerous situations for drivers.

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

Distractions Kill

In my Blog “The Tennessee Auto Accident Attorney” I focus a lot of attention on car accidents in Tennessee and contiguous states. My purpose is to illustrate the kinds of things that cause these accidents so that my readers can be made aware and practice safe driving. One of the main topics of discussion by Tennessee automobile accident attorney’s and other transportation professionals is the growing danger of distracted driving.

A recent article on the web site of WVLT TV in Knoxville reports that a Roane County man was killed in an automobile accident in Morgan County. The Tennessee Highway Patrol report says that Glenn D. Miller was driving along the roadway when his car suddenly veered off the right side of the road. Apparently, in an effort to avoid a wreck, Mr. Miller overcorrected and crossed both lanes of traffic, left the road, hit a pole and ended up in a ditch. My sympathies go out to his family and friends.

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. We will probably never know the cause of the distraction in this situation, but this case illustrates that a distraction can cause an accident even if it takes just one or two seconds.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I can tell you that these crashes are referred to as “Roadway Departure Crashes” (RDCs). The Federal Highway Administration defines a RDC as a non-intersection crash that occurs when a vehicle crosses an edge line or a centerline, or otherwise leaves the traveled way.

According to the Federal Highway Administration roadway departure crashes are frequently severe and account for the majority of highway fatalities. In 2008, there were 19,794 fatal roadway departure crashes resulting in 22,080 fatalities, which was 53 percent of the fatal crashes in the United States.

The Nashville automobile accident, personal injury law firm of Phillip Miller & Associates is not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time the article was posted. Our information source is cited in the article. If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions as to your rights and options, call us or another reputable law firm. Do not act solely upon the information provided herein. Get a consultation. The best law firms will provide a free consultation. We provide a free, confidential consultation to not at fault persons named in this article. The free consultation offer extends to family members as well.

Roadway Departure Crashes

A tragic Tennessee one-car accident on I-75 took the life of a respected Cleveland Tennessee minister on New Years Day. According to an article on the website of Chattanooga TV station WRCB, 81-year-old Rev. Franklln Hyberger was a passenger in a car driven by his wife when she lost control of the vehicle, left the road and struck a tree. Like many of his friends and family in Cleveland, my prayers go out to Mrs. Hyberger and her family.

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,  drowsiness ot maybe, in the case of an elderly driver, a medical emergency. We will probably never know what lead to the driver losing control in this situation.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney we know that these crashes are referred to as “Roadway Departure Crashes” (RDCs). The Federal Highway Administration defines an RDC as a non-intersection crash that occurs when a vehicle crosses an edge line or a centerline, or otherwise leaves the traveled way.

According to the Federal Highway Administration roadway departure crashes are frequently severe and account for the majority of highway fatalities. In 2008, there were 19,794 fatal roadway departure crashes resulting in 22,080 fatalities, which was 53 percent of the fatal crashes in the United States.

A recent study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, shows that older drivers face a substantially elevated risk of being involved in and responsible for crashes in which they themselves die, and they pose more risk to other road users than the lowest-risk drivers do; however, the degree to which older drivers’ risk to other road users is elevated depends strongly upon whether risk is being measured on a per-driver, per-trip, or per-mile basis.

For example, the results of this study suggest that if a randomly-selected driver in his or thirties and a randomly-selected driver aged 85 or older were to drive equal numbers of miles, the older driver would be over 1500% more likely than the younger driver to be responsible for and die as a result of a crash, and about 220% more likely than the younger driver to kill an occupant of another vehicle or a non-motorist.

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.

Roadway Departure Crash

A tragic loss for the family and friends of Barbara A. Krantz and her 18-year-old son Clifford, who were killed yesterday when their automobile driven by Ms. Krantz, departed the roadway and hit a tree. My sympathies and prayers go out to the family. For more information about the accident check out The Nashville Tennessean. 

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney we know that these types of crashes are referred to as “Roadway Departure Crashes” (RDCs). The Federal Highway Administration defines a RDC as a non-intersection crash that occurs when a vehicle crosses an edge line or a centerline, or otherwise leaves the traveled way. According to the Federal Highway Administration roadway departure crashes are frequently severe and account for the majority of highway fatalities. In 2008, there were 19,794 fatal roadway departure crashes resulting in 22,080 fatalities, which was 53 percent of the fatal crashes in the United States.

In crashes of this sort investigators will be focusing on two areas of interest. They will focus first on the possibility of  some sort of medical emergency that might have incapacitated Ms. Krantz, a finding that will be made by the coroner. The second area of interest is whether she was distracted and the distraction caused her to leave the road. Distraction investigations are very difficult because the only people that were there at the time are unable to tell investigators what happened.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville automobile accident contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates for a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies