In the many years I have been a Tennessee trial lawyer, one of the things I have learned is that when you are transporting drugs in your motor vehicle you might want to adhere to all Tennessee highway traffic rules and regulations. Something as simple as a violation for failing to wear a seat belt can bring down your whole criminal enterprise, as a Johnson City man learned this past week.

The 20-year-old man transporting 18 grams of crack and $1500.00 in cash when the police stopped his vehicle for a seat belt violation. He’s now in jail with a $10,000.00 bond and his money and car have been confiscated.

This situation brings new meaning to the term, “Buckle Up For Safety”. One could write this off to youthful ignorance, but whatever the cause, I truly hope he gets the message and grows up.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee motor vehicle crash by a driver on drugs, you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and learn about your rights and remedies.

Driving Drunk And No Seatbelt

It was 2 AM and he tried to do the right thing, turning his car keys over to another person when he realized that he had had too much to drink, but his good intentions cost him his life. You see, the 39-year-old Sevier County Tennessee man gave his keys to the woman he had been drinking with, and who was, according to local media reports, as drunk or drunker than he was.

His second, and probably his most fatal mistake, was that he failed to use his seatbelt, so when his friend veered off the road, overcorrected and hit a tree, he was killed.

As an experienced Nashville car accident lawyer I want to remind you that driving with a BAC of .08 or higher is illegal in every state. If you follow my blog you will see that in Tennessee we continue to see a tragic number of people with debilitating injuries and deaths as a result of impaired driving. This careless disregard for human life must stop.

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. Over the 2008 Labor Day holiday, 12 people were killed in 10 fatal crashes on Tennessee roadways, down from 17 people killed on Tennessee roadways in 2007.

If you are a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee car accident caused by a drunk driver you owe it to yourself to contact an experienced Nashville auto accident lawyer like those at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.

Teen Driver Drag Racing No Seat Belt

Chattanooga police suspect that two of the three vehicles involved in a Tennessee personal injury collision were drag racing at the time of the incident. One vehicle driven by 19-year-old William Furmon left the scene. The driver of the other vehicle police think was involved in the drag race was ejected from his vehicle after he was hit by a third vehicle. Obviously he was not wearing his seat belt. Where do I start?

Seat Belts

Seat belt use is required under Tennessee law. Research published by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that unbelted victims are at much higher risk for ejection than those with seatbelts. The actual data shows that more than 15,000 lives were saved by the use of seatbelts in 2007 alone. When the driver and passengers in a Tennessee car accident do not use their seatbelts, they are 17.7 times more likely to be ejected during a crash. Only 2% of belted passengers were ejected during a crash.

Teen Drivers

According to The Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, accounting for more than one in three deaths in this age group. In 2005, twelve teens ages 16 to 19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries.

The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group. In fact, per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash. In 2005, the motor vehicle death rate for male drivers and passengers ages 16 to 19 was more than one and a half times that of their female counterparts.

How do we change this culture of highway safety ignorance and change to way young people think when they get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle? As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney, I have discussed this question with a number of Tennessee highway safety professionals on a regular basis. The answer is education and enforcement. Educate these children (The Anvil) about the danger their unsafe driving poses, not only to themselves, but to others and enforce (The Hammer) the safety laws in a strict and swift manner.

If you are the victim of a Nashville or Tennessee automobile accident we urge you to contact our Tennessee car accident attorneys today for a free consultation. When you hire an auto accident attorney from Phillip Miller & Associates, you’re getting a qualified and dedicated lawyer. Details about our attorneys and staff can be found by viewing our website at www.seriousinjury.com where you can get to know the men and women who will be looking out for your best interest.