Two Highway Workers Killed by Distracted Driver
Avoid Distrations
Monday, two young men working on a cable barrier along I-75, were killed by a distracted truck driver. The Knoxville News-Sentinel reported that a commercial truck veered off the highway in Anderson County and struck the two men, identified as Cheyenne Dakota Burke, 18, and Jeffrey Brian Thompson, 19. Although an investigation into the crash is ongoing, one must conclude that something caused the truck driver to be distracted and caused him to leave the road. My deepest sympathy goes out to the families and friend of these two young men.
These days, people are bombarded with devices that can help accomplish more in less time. With people spending an average of about one hour and 15 minutes in their vehicles every day, unfortunately, other activities –from talking to the kids to eating dinner, often take place behind the wheel. Experts estimate that drivers are doing something potentially distracting more than 15 percent of the time their vehicles are in motion. So little time, so many multi-taskers. If you’re driving your vehicle, you are already multitasking. At a minimum you are: operating a piece of heavy machinery at high speed; navigating across changing terrain; calculating speeds and distances; and responding to all the other drivers and obstacles around you. Putting one more activity in the mix –even talking to your passengers or changing a radio station, can be enough to make you lose control of your vehicle or fail to respond in an emergency.
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.
As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney we know that these crashes are referred to as “Roadway Departure Crashes” (RDCs). The Federal Highway Administration defines a RDC as a non-intersection crash that occurs when a vehicle crosses an edge line or a centerline, or otherwise leaves the traveled way.
According to the Federal Highway Administration roadway departure crashes are frequently severe and account for the majority of highway fatalities. In 2008, there were 19,794 fatal roadway departure crashes resulting in 22,080 fatalities, which was 53 percent of the fatal crashes in the United States. FHWA uses the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to compute statistics on roadway departure crashes.
Accidents like this require the families of the deceased to find an experienced automobile accident and workers compensation attorney. Both of these men were on the job when they were killed and should be compensated under the Tennessee Workers Compensation Law. Unfortunately workers comp might not pay for the complete loss. Civil claims will have to be pressed against the driver and the company for whom he was working. Both of these courses are complicated and if complete compensation is to be had, the families need experienced help.
If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville automobile accident by a distracted driver at least check out our website for information about the process of pressing your claim. The best law firms offer free consultations. At Phillip Miller & Associates we offer free consultation to the victims and families of injured parties.
Phillip Miller is a Tennessee Accident Attorney specializing in
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