Category: Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

It is not uncommon for motorists in Tennessee to spend long hours on the road. Many drivers who do so are not aware that they are operating their vehicles while they are deprived of sleep. Drowsy driving is quickly becoming an epidemic. With the amount of traffic steadily increasing on the streets, many motorists are noticing that it takes them much longer to reach their destinations.

The impact of sleepy drivers

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year, sleepy drivers are responsible for up to 6,000 deaths. For every 25 motorists, one driver from that group drives while they are deprived of sleep. Many drivers are not able to accurately gauge when they are too tired to operate their vehicles safely. Others are simply trying to make it to where they need to go and may not care.

Many people used to perceive drowsy driving as a truck driver problem. However, people who have certain medical disorders like sleep apnea and those who work certain shifts also suffer from being too tired to drive, states Advanced Sleep Medicine Services, Inc. There may also be other factors that contribute to people operating vehicles when they lack rest. Driving while one is sleep deprived is so risky that it presents the same amount of dangers as drunk driving.

Sleep deprivation affects driving skills

Sleep deprived driving, also known as drowsy driving can result in some serious consequences for everyone on the roads. Motorists who are not fully rested while they are operating their vehicles have slower reaction times. They are not able to process the information their eyes are receiving well enough to make good driving judgments. They are also not as alert and attentive to the road as they should be. In the event that nearby motorists are not paying attention, driving recklessly or engaging in some type of improper traffic offense, sleepy drivers are not able to maneuver their vehicles safely out of harm’s way to prevent injury to themselves or others.

Drivers should pay close attention to how they feel at all times while they are on the roads. Motorists who recognize when they are driving while fatigued and take appropriate actions to keep themselves and other drivers safe.

As the number of motorists on the roads in Tennessee rise, so does the number of car accident situations. According to the NY Times, recent research shows that even when seatbelts are used, male drivers are less likely to be involved in car accidents than women are. Safety features play a role in how well protected women are when they are involved in collisions. The safety features on vehicles are not designed to offer women the same protections as men because of the difference in their physical characteristics, resulting in a higher incidence of injury.

In another study, it was determined that the risk of being involved in car accidents and dying from accident-related injuries for women declined as they got older. Male motorists who were in between the ages of 65-74 years of age had a 1.4 higher risk than women from the same age group of being fatally wounded in car wrecks, states USA Today. The risk for fatal car crashes was almost the same for both genders once they reached the age of 70. Female motorists who were age 35 and up had a disadvantage when compared to male drivers. However, this disadvantage declined with age.

There are several factors that can affect a driver’s ability to survive car crash-related injuries. Women drivers are not as strong or large as their male counterparts. Their age also plays a significant role. Female motorists are more likely to die from being in car crashes if they are in the 21-30 year-old age group. Males in the same age group had a 29.2 percent lower chance of dying from fatal motor vehicle crashes.

Women drivers may have a higher risk of car crashes. However, they can lower their risk for these incidents by paying attention to the road, extending proper road courtesies and using defensive driving tactics when appropriate.

As you leave your home and set out for the open road, the last thing on your mind is getting fatally injured in a serious car accident. No one really thinks that they are going to get hurt or killed in a collision, and as a result, many people fail to take certain precautions when it comes to protecting their lives, as well as the lives of others on the road. There are several factors that can increase your chances of becoming involved in a deadly auto accident in Tennessee. By knowing what these factors are, you may be able to avoid them and possibly save a life in the process.

One of the easiest ways to prevent a fatal car accident is to wear your seat belt. It’s not a fallacy that wearing a seat belt saves lives and can keep you from sustaining serious injuries or even being killed in an accident. According to eHow.com, speeding is another common cause of car accidents, and is one that drivers can easily control. It is especially important to slow down while driving in bad weather conditions, which is yet another factor in deadly accidents.

In addition to these factors, the following may also cause fatal car accidents:

•          Drug and alcohol use
•          Driving while distracted
•          Rollovers
•          Medical conditions
•          Debris in the road

As a driver, you should make sure that you fully aware of your surroundings and concentrating on the roads at all times. In a split second, an object in the road or an incoming email can cause a catastrophic collision that you may not walk away from. 

Even law enforcement officers in Tennessee must practice safe driving habits when traveling alongside other vehicles on the road. Just like other motorists, law officers run the risk of injuring and killing innocent people if they choose to drive recklessly or make negligent decisions while behind the wheel.

A Bartlett law officer was one who made a poor decision when he chose to speed through a major intersection in town. The speeding officer approached speeds of up 83 mph. Other motorists were not able to prepare for the speeding officer, as he did not have his siren lights on at the time the accident occurred.

The 34-year-old officer went on to hit a vehicle in the middle of a busy intersection and, as a result, two people lost their lives. The 49-year-old woman and 63-year-old man were killed in the tragic car accident. Although the officer was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, he was convicted of lesser charges. Rather than the felony charges, he was found guilty of a misdemeanor: two counts of reckless driving.

The officer argues that he was pursuing a fleeing car that he had tried to stop earlier, and that he was afraid the vehicle would go on to cause harm to others. Still, the officer did not have his emergency lights on during the chase, and two people were needlessly killed.

Car accidents can be extremely tragic, especially when innocent people lose their lives. It can be difficult to deal with the aftermath of a deadly auto collision. Victims and their families may want to seek legal counsel from a personal injury attorney.

Source: The Commercial Appeal, “Bartlett officer guilty of reckless driving in fatal crash,” Katie Fretland, Aug. 19, 2016. 

In this day and age of social media and smartphone technology, people are able to post status updates and pictures from anywhere. Snapchat has taken the idea of posting to a new level by adding a filter that indicates how fast the user is going while they are taking a picture or a short video. Cellphone use while driving in Tennessee is highly discouraged, as talking and texting on cellphone while behind the wheel is proven to lead to deadly car accidents. In fact, Distraction.gov reported that texting while driving in the state is against the law. Some believe that Snapchat’s feature encourages motorists to speed and may increase reckless driving.

According to The Verge, a man in Georgia now suffers from permanent brain damage and cannot walk without assistance after being involved in a horrific car accident. The 18-year-old girl who hit his car was attempting to take a Snapchat photo using the speed filter to show how fast she was going. Evidence shows that she even posted a picture to Snapchat after the accident occurred to show her followers that she was still alive.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated accident involving the social media platform. There are several other impending lawsuits involving people who have been seriously injured in car accidents caused by people using the speed filter on the app. Despite many attempts asking Snapchat developers to remove the filter, it still remains available to users. As long as it is on the application, people will continue to use it while driving.

Although many states in the nation have implemented stricter laws and penalties against negligent motorists, the number of people killed in devastating car accidents continues to rise. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that motor traffic fatalities jumped from 32,675 deaths in 2014 to approximately 35,200 deaths in 2015, which is a 7.7 percent increase. In Tennessee alone, 1,349 people were killed in car collisions in 2014.

Researchers have attributed this surge in fatalities to several factors, including the continued usage of cellphones while driving. As a way to combat distracted driving, several states have made it illegal to talk or text on hand-held cellphones while behind the wheel, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. In Tennessee, for example, texting and driving is prohibited. In addition to drivers not concentrating on the road, fatal auto accidents may be caused by the following:

•          Drunk and drowsy driving
•          Failure to use child safety seats
•          Speeding
•          Failure to use seat belts

An estimated 94 percent of deadly traffic accidents are thought to be caused by human behaviors, such as those listed above. However, other factors may contribute to this increase as well. As the American economy improves, more people are traveling and putting more miles on the nation’s highways. With a greater number of motorists on the road, the potential for danger also increases.

In order to stay safe while driving, motorists should be sure to always buckle up and follow the posted speed limit, especially in bad weather conditions. Furthermore, motorists should not use any type of cellphone, including hand-hand or hands free devices. If people are aware of the growing problem of car accident deaths, they may be able to help lower their risk of danger on the road. 

Motor vehicle accidents are listed as the number one cause of death for teens between the ages of 15 and 19 years old, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Researchers have studied many factors that contribute to these unfortunate teen fatalities, and have found that speed, seat belt use, distraction, inexperience and drunk driving are just some of the factors that may be involved in teen auto accidents. One study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, however, found a correlation between the number of passengers teen drivers have in the vehicle and their risk of being killed in an auto accident.

The study looked at fatal motor vehicle accidents involving 16 and 17-year-old teens across the U.S. Researchers measured the number of passengers that were in the car at the time of the collision, as well as the time of day the accident took place, the driver’s age and the sex of the driver. Surprisingly, the data concluded that the risk of becoming involved in a fatal car accident increased in proportion to the number of passengers teenagers had in the vehicle while driving.

As a result, many states, including Tennessee, require teens to transition through a graduated driver’s license program before they are allowed full access to the road. The program regulates when teens can drive, how many people they can drive with as well as the ages of the passengers. Researchers believe that limiting the number of passengers that teens are able to have in the car while driving can help to reduce the risk of teenage car accidents, injuries and deaths. 

Although many people over the age of 65 are able to operate a vehicle safely, there are a number of senior drivers who are not fit to drive. Not only do these drivers threaten their own lives, but they threaten the lives of everyone else on the road. According to crash data provided by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, 958 people were killed on state roadways in 2015. Of those fatalities, a surprising 209 were senior drivers. While this number was lower than the previous two years, it still represents nearly 22 percent of all traffic accident fatalities that year.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that in 2014, 2,745 people between the ages of 65 and 74 were killed in car accidents across the U.S., and 2,964 deaths occurred to people over the age of 74. This national average accounted for approximately 8 and 9 percent of all traffic accident deaths, which is significantly lower than the Tennessee car accident fatality rate for seniors.

Despite this high number of deaths, Tennessee does not require any special licensing requirements for elderly drivers. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, 33 states in the country have special requirements for senior drivers, including vision tests, road tests and mandating a more frequent renewal period. All drivers in the state, however, are required to renew their driver’s licenses every five years regardless of age, and are asked to complete a basic vision test.

Some believe that more stringent driver’s license renewal policies for seniors could help to reduce the number of elderly people involved in fatal car accidents throughout the state. 

Although setting speed limits has been a somewhat controversial topic in Tennessee and across the nation, many states have decided to increase the speed limit on highways and freeways. In Texas, for example, state officials increased the speed limit to 85 mph on one stretch of road in 2012. Despite these speed limit changes, some believe that increasing the speed limit could lead to a significant rise in motor vehicle accidents, injuries and deaths on state roadways. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speed-related car accidents led to 10,219 deaths in 2012. A number of studies also support the fact that increases in speed have a direct link to vehicular accidents and deaths.

One study conducted in Washington took a look at how speed limit changes in the state affected the motorist death rate, according to Vox.com. When the speed limit rose in 1987, the number of people killed in vehicle accidents also increased. Furthermore, the motor vehicle accident fatality rate in urban areas where the speed limit stayed the same did not see an increase in deaths. Another study showed a rise in accident deaths by an average of 35 percent for every 2 mph that the speed limit increased.

A number of states have different speed limits for cars, trucks and motorcycles, as reported by the Governors Highway Safety Association. In addition, speed limits can change depending on whether the roadway is in or outside of the city. In Tennessee, however, the state has a set speed limit of 70 mph across rural and urban interstates. 

Whether you are driving through Knoxville, Tennessee or anywhere else across the country, there is the threat of becoming involved in a catastrophic car accident. In 2015, the rate of motor vehicle accident fatalities increased by more than 8 percent when compared to the number of car accident deaths in 2014, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While you may not be able to control the negligent and reckless actions of other drivers, there are some things you can do to avoid a deadly car accident.

One of the most obvious ways to stay safe on the road is to follow the posted speed limit, according to Consumer Reports. However, many drivers exceed this limit on a regular basis. It is important that you are able to respond to slowing traffic, objects in the road, pedestrians and bad weather conditions. Speeding vehicles may be unable to react in time.

It is crucial that your vehicle is equipped with advanced safety systems, such as electronic stability control. This technology is able to detect when your car is skidding or losing traction with the road and reacts by automatically steering the vehicle and applying the brakes as necessary. The brakes are applied to each wheel, which helps the vehicle to maintain control on the road.

Be sure to drive defensively, especially when traveling through parking lots. With cars backing up and people walking amongst parked cars, it is essential that you keep your eyes open. It is also important to drive defensively in traffic, as you may be driving next to a drunk or distracted motorist.

This information is intended to educate and should not be taken as legal advice.