Tennessee Automobile Accident Lawyer Reveals That Fatal Centerline Crossing Accident Caused By Driver Chatting On Cell Phone
Dead Because The other Driver Was Chatting
On February 11, I published a blog entitled “Tennessee Automobile Accident Lawyer Comments On a Centerline Crossing Tennessee Highway Fatality”, in which I asked the question, “What causes a driver to leave their lane, cross over the centerline and crash head-on into an oncoming vehicle killing the occupant?”
Now we have the answer. Police investigators determined that the distracted driver Carol Anne Starnes was using her cell phone at the time of the crash and was not paying attention. 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.
Drivers who use a cell phone, either handheld or hands-free, are four times more likely to be involved in a crash, according to a 1997 New England Journal of Medicine examination of hospital records, and a 2005 study funded by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety linking injury crashes to cell phone records. About 30 research studies conclude that there is an increased crash risk when using a cell phone while driving. Many of these studies further conclude that using a hands-free phone while driving is just as risky as talking on a handheld phone.
Not only will Ms. Starnes be held liable for civil damages for the wrongful death of Patricia Menzel she may well face criminally negligent homicide charges as well, and for what, so she could chat with her friends?
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 Tennessee car accident caused by a distracted driver, call one of our experienced Nashville car accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.
Phillip Miller is a Tennessee Accident Attorney specializing in
Phillip has an AVVO rating of 10.0 (Superb), has been designated as a “Superlawyer”, and is the President Elect of the Tennessee Association for Justice.
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