Yield To Emergency Vehicles

Being a traffic patrol officer in Nashville is dangerous enough but when you add heavy rain and limited visibility the danger quotient goes off the charts. As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I have all the respect in the world for the men and women of the Metro PD and the Tennessee Highway Patrol who put their lives on the line daily to make the roadways safe for you and I.

Reference an article on the website of the Nashville Tennessean reporting on an accident in which a Traffic patrol officer 42, year-old, Frank Campbell, an 18-year veteran of the MPD. According to the article Officer Campbell stopped to assist two drivers whose vehicles had slid off a rain-slick entry ramp from I-440 to I-40.

It appears that Officer Campbell was sitting in his patrol car when a pickup truck driven by an Ashland City man went out of control and slammed into officer Campbell’s patrol car. Neither Officer Campbell nor the pickup truck driver was seriously injured. Police believe that the pickup driver was traveling too fast for the conditions.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I regularly remind people that even if they are driving within the posted speed limits they must also take into account the roadway conditions to determine their speed at any given time. Wet pavement can be just as treacherous as snow and ice. When driving under such conditions you must slow down, dirt and oil accumulations make the roadway slippery. Another problem one faces in rainy conditions is hydroplaning. Water accumulates or pools on the road and your tires can lose contact leaving you to become a physics problem.

Tennessee law requires that motorists coming on to an emergency vehicle along a highway immediately reduce their speed and yield the lane closest to the emergency vehicle. If possible the driver must yield the right-of–way by making a lane change into a lane that is not adjacent to the emergency vehicle.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident by a driver who was going too fast for the conditions you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Nashville automobile crash lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates to learn about your rights and remedies.

Winter Weather Collision

Two people killed in a head-on collision in Greeneville Tennessee. According to the Greeneville-Times a pickup driven by Andrew Pierce, 25, skidded on slush in a curve, crossed the centerline and crashed head-on into a small Toytoa Tercel driven by Bronson A. Ricker, 36. Both Ricker and his passenger Melody Gosnell, 28, were killed at the scene. At the tie of the accident it was snowing and approximately 2 inches of snow covered the roadway. There are several driving events that require intense concentration by the driver. A driver must always be on the defensive, thinking about what other drivers might do AND be prepared to respond with proper reactions. In addition, certain conditions, especially bad weather, trigger the need for special knowledge and skills.

Winter Driving: Several steps should be taken to lessen the effects of snow, sleet or ice.  They include:

• Keep the windshield clear as possible: (a) keep a quality ice scraper in the car, (b) be sure the heater-defroster is in good condition, (c) have wiper blades in excellent condition, (d) have the outside mirrors clear and ice free.

• Be alert to poor traction: start slowly and never over-power and spin the wheels.

• Keep speed steady and slow (but not too slow). In deeper snow, you have to use the vehicle’s momentum to keep moving.

• Never over-brake and slide the wheels.  DO NOT pump the brake pedal. Instead, APPLY steady pressure.

• Never over-steer and skid the front wheels.  The front tires should have good treads.

•   If your car starts to skid, always turn into the direction of the skid. In summary, continuous hard braking on snow and ice can result in the locking of the front brakes, causing a loss of steering.  Always maintain a safe speed for these conditions to avoid excessive breaking.

The Basic Speed Rule:

The speed at which you drive determines how much time you have to act or react and how long it takes to stop. The higher the speed, the less time drivers have to spot hazards.   Judge the speed of other traffic, and react to avoid the mistakes of other drivers. The Basic Speed Rule (BSR) is not a Tennessee law, but it is a general safety principle. The BSR does not set an exact speed limit; instead, it teaches that the speed you may drive is limited by current conditions. For example, if the posted speed limit is 65 m.p.h., and you are driving at night on a two-lane state highway and it’s raining or foggy, 65 m.p.h. is too fast for those conditions.

To obey the BSR, think about your speed in relation to other traffic (including pedestrians and bicycles), the surface and width of the road, hazards at intersections, weather, visibility and any other conditions that could affect safety.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville car accident during winter weather by a driver who is violating the Basic Speed Rule contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates for a free consultation to determine your rights and remedies.

Rural Drivers

Last week as I was driving on I-40 coming back to Nashville from a meeting with clients in Cookeville, a news report came on one of the local stations telling a man who was injured in a one-car accidentthe crash was alcohol related during which his vehicle flipped and rolled over ejecting him from the vehicle. A bottle of Vodka was found at the scene and the police were investigation whether . My first thought was speed, rollover, no seatbelt and alcohol, what is it with rural people and their driving habits and what can we do to change them.

Statistics gather by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that in 2006, there were 38,588 fatal crashes resulting in 42,642 deaths. Rural areas accounted for 55 percent of the fatal crashes and 56 percent of the fatalities. Urban areas accounted for 45 percent of the fatal crashes and 44 percent of the fatalities.

According to the 2006 Census, 23 percent of the U.S. population lived in rural areas however, rural fatalities accounted for 56 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2006. In 2006, 14,840 drivers involved in fatal crashes had been drinking (blood alcohol concentration [BAC] = .01+ g/dL) and of these drivers 39 percent were cited for speeding. Rural drivers involved in fatal crashes represented 56 percent of drivers speeding and drinking.  The 2007 National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) shows that the seatbelt use rate among occupants of vehicles in urban areas was 84 percent and rural occupants were observed to have a rate of 78 percent.

If you or a loved on is involved in a Tennessee automobile accident with a drunk, speeding or un-seat belted driver contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.

Education And Enforcement Reduce Fatalities

An article on Channel 2, WKRN Nashville caught my attention this morning and I’m happy to report the news is positive. Following an interview with a Spokesperson for the Tennessee Highway Patrol Channel 2 reports that Since 2005 Tennessee roadway fatalities have decreased on a consistent basis. According to the article by last October (2008) there had been 805 fatalities on Tennessee roads and this year (2009) there has been a reduction with only 707 fatalities. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not in any way saying that 707 fatalities is a good thing, but a decrease of this size means that someone is doing something right.

I regularly advise my readers that they can do their parts by following the Rules of The Road by not speeding, tailgating, running red lights or any other thing that puts others in jeopardy. THP officials said they attribute the decrease largely in part to people paying more attention to the law. They go on to say that education and enforcement are getting the people’s attention. Recent educational programs by the State include, DUI, aggressive driving and seatbelt enforcement.

The Staff and automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates encourage everyone who gets behind the wheel of a motor vehicle in Tennessee to focus on the fact that you are behind the wheel of a weapon that can take your life and the lives of others and you should act accordingly.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Tennessee automobile accident contact the Nashville car accident lawyers at Philip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/

As an experienced Tennessee Automobile accident attorney I often find myself discussing different aspects of highway safety and the problems that drivers face and cause as they cruise the highways and byways of our fair state. One of the most important problems of our time most often confuses people. Many times I hear people mix up aggressive driving with road rage when in fact they are two very different things although they have common elements. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines road rage as “an assault with a motor vehicle or other dangerous weapon by the operator or passenger of another motor vehicle precipitated by an incident that occurred on a roadway.”

Feel The Heat. One of the most important problems of our time most often confuses people. Many times I hear people mix up aggressive driving with road rage when in fact they are two very different things although they have common elements. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines road rage as “an assault with a motor vehicle or other dangerous weapon by the operator or passenger of another motor vehicle precipitated by an incident that occurred on a roadway.”

Aggressive driving on the other hand includes behavior such as speeding, tailgating, running red lights or stop signs, and weaving in and out of traffic. It is estimated that aggressive driving costs the economy more than $40.4 billion a year, not to mention thousands of fatalities. We have all seen them, these aggressive drivers, they ride on people’s bumpers to force them out of the way, they weave in and out of traffic, their sense of self-importance worn on their sleeves for the world to see.

Today I’ll address the problem of aggressive driving. Aggressive driving behavior typically increases during the summer months, and the only way to put the bakes on it is to use a multi-pronged approach. Three states have been using this multi-pronged approach for several years now and have shown significant results. Maryland alone issued 205,062 tickets during the 2008 campaign, and the number of fatalities for aggressive driving was reduced. In Virginia, 98,474 tickets were issued and in Pennsylvania, 88,302. These states used technology to identify those areas where aggressive driving was a particular problem and they then enlisted the cooperation of local and county law enforcement agencies and stepped up a concerted enforcement policy that followed a creative public education program.

This summer the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) is intensified its enforcement efforts aimed at aggressive drivers with the launch of the “100 Days of Summer HEAT” enforcement campaign. All summer long Troopers and local police statewide were very aggressive with speeding motorists, impaired drivers and those not buckled up properly. ”100 Days of Summer HEAT” took place June 18-20, July 2-4 and August 5-7. The THP have been compiling the results of this effort and I’ll report the findings as they are published.

If you witness aggressive driving identify the vehicle (color, make and plate number if possible) and then pull over at the next safe place and call the THP or your local police and report them. Taking a minute to make the call might mean that someone down the line will live on the make it home to see their families. If you are injured, or know someone who is, call out experienced Tennessee accident lawyers and find out 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.

It seems to me, that distracted drivers cause most Tennessee car accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 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. In studies by the NHTSA the most common distraction for drivers is the use of cell phones. However, the number of crashes and near-crashes attributable to dialing is nearly identical to the number associated with talking or listening. Dialing is more dangerous but occurs less often than talking or listening. Reaching for a moving object increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by 9 times; looking at an external object by 3.7 times; reading by 3 times; applying makeup by 3 times; dialing a hand-held device (typically a cell phone) by almost 3 times; and talking or listening on a hand-held device by 1.3 times. Drivers who engage frequently in distracting activities are more likely to be involved in an inattention-related crash or near crash

If you have ever driven on I-65 coming into Nashville in the morning rush hour you will witness all sorts of idiocy being played out by commuters. Some of the major offenders are aggressive drivers who act like they are driving in a NASCAR race, speeding, sudden lane changes, tailgating, you know who I’m talking about. Another offender is the woman putting on her make-up as she travels in close traffic at 65mph or faster. And then we have the cell phone users and texters whose time is so important to them that they put their lives and the lives of others at risk so that they can keep in touch.

These ideas came to mind when I read an article in the Shelbyville Times-Gazette.  It appears from the article that a Shelbyville Tennessee woman was driving along U.S. 41 when she was distracted while trying to retrieve an unidentified item from her from seat. She undid her seatbelt and reached for the item and left the road, lost control and traveled down a steep embankment coming to rest after crashing into several large trees.

I advise people that before putting the key in the ignition, stop for a moment and remind your self that you are getting behind the wheel of a potentially deadly weapon and that if you want to arrive at your destination alive or without killing others, use common sense and avoid distractions. If you or a loved one is injured in a car accident caused by a distracted driver, call one of our experienced Nashville car accident attorney’s

Don't Be Distracted

and find out about your rights and remedies.

The JohnCityPress.com reported that a habitual motor vehicle offender, may finally have taken his last illegal drive for quite a while. As an experienced Nashville car accident lawyer when I read this story I had to shake my head in disbelief. I’m not sure if I want to know what was going through the mind of this Johnson City man who was drunk and under the influence of drugs, while speeding on a winding creek road in a stolen car. Under those conditions it was not surprising to read that he lost control of the car, left the road, and slammed the passenger side of the vehicle, and his passenger, into a utility pole.

Totally unconcerned about his severely injured companion, thinking only about himself, this guy leaves the scene and his critically injured passenger alone in the wrecked vehicle. It didn’t take long for the police to round up this guy several blocks away. He suffered only minor injuries and was released to the Washington County Sheriff. The passenger remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit with life threatening injuries. The driver has been charged with Aggravated Assault, DUI, driving on a revoked license, habitual motor vehicle offender and leaving the scene of an accident with injuries and car theft.

When someone like this bozo gets high and behind the wheel of a motor vehicle and sets off speeding through the community he puts the lives of hundreds of people in dire jeopardy. I urge every citizen of Tennessee and especially those good folks in Washington County to contact their District Attorney General and make it clear that you want this guy to go away for a long time. Please Mr. DA, no plea-bargains here. Let this guy go before a jury of citizens and explain why they should not throw the book at him.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported that speed was a factor in a fatal one-car crash in rural Karns Tennessee. Tennessee automobile accident lawyers see this situation far too often. The driver speeds and loses control and a passenger, possibly a family member or friend pays with his life. Nearly 1/3rd of accident fatalities involve speeding.

A 22 year old man was driving a 1994 Acura at a high rate of speed on a narrow two lane road when he lost control, left to road and hit a tree on the passenger side. His forty-four year old friend and neighbor was pinned in the car and died at the scene. The passenger was wearing his seatbelt but the driver was not. The driver was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center and released later.

There is no question that use of seat belts save lives, but instances like this tend to reinforce those who want to deny the science and statistics. There is no doubt that seat belts save lives. This was an unfortunate death where the passenger was trapped in the car. We can be glad that someone survived, nothing would have been proven by the death of the 22 year old driver. We can only hope that this lucky young man appreciates this gift of life, and lives the rest of his life paying back for what he has taken away from the family and friends of his passenger.

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Nashville car accident lawyers will tell you that high speed and sudden lane changes on any of our local Interstate highways can be a toxic mix. I-24, I-40, and I-65 are heavily travelled, in and outside of Nashville. Luckily for three Tennesseans this car crash left them with only minor injuries, but it could have been far more serious. Judy Baines of North Carolina was driving East on I-40 when she pulled into an adjacent lane to avoid being struck by another vehicle. Unfortunately for her and Dannisha Davis and her two children, the Davis vehicle was already in the lane. Obviously Baines failed to check her rearview mirror before she switched lanes. The Davis car was forced into the median and rolled several times. The children aged seven and eleven were taken to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital by helicopter while their mother was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center.

Wrecks in Nashville and throughout Tennessee occur every day, often with tragic circumstances. Speed and lane changes are the cause of many unnecessary wrecks.