Speed = Teen Fatalities

Nashville TV station WSMV reports that two Nashville teen girls are hospitalized in critical condition and an adult is dead after he lost control of his speeding vehicle and crashed his car into a commercial building.

Speeding is one of the most common contributing factors of traffic crashes. Data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) show that the driver-level attribute “driving too fast for conditions or in excess of posted speed limit” is the critical contributing factor in more than 99 percent of all speeding-related fatal crashes, as defined by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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 2008, nine teens ages 16 to 19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries. Per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash. Fortunately, teen motor vehicle crashes are preventable, and proven strategies can improve the safety of young drivers on the road.

How big is the problem?

In 2008, about 3,500 teens in the United States aged 15–19 were killed and  more than 350,000 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor-vehicle crashes. Young people ages 15-24 represent only 14% of the U.S. population. However, they account for 30% ($19 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among males and 28% ($7 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among females.

Parents cannot count on others to teach their teens the dangers they face when they were on the highways and byways of Tennessee. Teens don’t learn to drive in driver’s education classes, they learn to drive when Mom and Dad give them the car keys to the family car and send them out on their own. Some say experience is the best teacher but the problem with experience as a teacher is that you get the test before you get the lesson.

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

Teen Driver Education

Good news from Chattanooga. Recognizing the critical nature of accidents and fatalities  involving young people, forward thinking member of the Chattanooga City Council approved a contract leading to the implementation of a city-wide Drivers Education Program. The contract with Hamans New Drivers is set to begin next week.

According to an article on the web page of  Chattanooga TV station WRBC money from the proceeds of the Red Light Runner cameras will help defray to $400.00 cost of the program and bring it down to a more manageable $50.00 per student. The initial program is a pilot project that city officials hope will be copied all over the State of Tennessee which at this time does not have a state-wide drivers education program.

Younger drivers, according to the Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), agree that teen drivers have the highest crash risk of any age group. Per mile, the crash rate for 16 year-old drivers is 10 times the rte for drivers between 30 and 59. The basic reasons behind this statistic are obvious. Teen drivers have little or no experience facing the myriad issues required by driving experience, furthermore they are immature and often takes risks, most often speeding, which contribute to the increased death rate.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident caused by a teen driver you owe it to yourself and your family to take advantage of a free consultation with an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney at Phillip Miller & Associates to find out about your rights and remedies.