Car Crashes-A Rural Epidemic

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) highway fatalities are a major epidemic in this country; and most occur on rural roads involving rural residents. Only one-fifth of the Nation’s population lives in rural areas, yet two-fifths of the vehicle miles traveled and three-fifths of all fatal crashes occur there. In 2004, 59 percent (24,975) of the 42,636 people who died in motor vehicle crashes were traveling on rural roads. This includes drivers, occupants, pedestrians, motorcyclists, and pedalcyclists. The percentage rises to 65 percent when looking only at rural passenger vehicle fatalities: 20,302 occupants killed in passenger cars, pickup trucks, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) on rural roads. Of these, 54 percent (11,043) were unrestrained – not using a seat belt or child safety seat at the time of the crash.

A recent article on the website of Knoxville TV station WBIR, reported the death of a 48-year old Petros, Tennessee man killed when the dump truck he was driving left the road and crashed in Anderson County.  Reporting from Tennessee Highway Patrol reports the victim was traveling south on Red Oak Mountain Road, too fast for road conditions. When he began to slow down, the 1982 Mack DM8 dump truck went into a slide and left the road. It struck a tree and landed off the roadway on its side.

Speeding is one of the most common contributing factors of traffic crashes. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 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% of all fatal crashes. In fatal crashes, about 55% of all speeding related crashes were due to exceeding the posted speed limit.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville car accident involving a speeding driver contact the experienced Nashville car accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.