Articles Posted in Automobile Accidents

Under Tennessee law, a first time DUI offender must spend 48 hours in jail. But a drunk driver convicted of vehicular homicide may receive probation and avoid jail time. Memphis’ Commercial Appeal newspaper has reported three such incidents in which someone under the influence of alcohol who caused a fatal accident spent less time in jail than a first time DUI offender. Under the current law, a judge has wide discretion in sentencing based on a list of 24 factors. Not surprisingly, many find this to be convoluted and are calling for the legislature to fix the apparent loophole. 

Regardless of what the drunk driver is charged with, drunk driving accidents continue to be a problem on Tennessee roadways. The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security publishes crash-statistics for alcohol-impaired driver crashes, and the counties with the top 5 crash rankings for 2008-2013 are:

1.       Trousdale County

Yesterday, we told you about the alarming increase in texting while driving amongst teens. Today, we want to share with you some new technology to help combat this dangerous and deadly behavior. Earlier this week, a new app was released in the Apple store. The app completely disables an iPhone while driving. The app is called No Text and Drive and it uses GPS to sense when a vehicle is traveling in excess of 10 mph. At that speed, the app disables the iPhone and prevents a user from texting or making phone calls. (And for those of you who are wondering, you can still listen to music.) The app also has an override feature for when the user is a passenger and a parental feature that alerts parents when the app has been turned off. This is the first app of its kind in the app store, and since a whopping 61% of American teens own an iPhone, it could be an important weapon in the campaign to end texting and driving. 

The good news: teen smoking is down. In fact, it is at a 22 year low. The bad news: texting while driving is on the rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently released a new report which shows that 41.4% of students admit to texting and emailing while driving a car. Two years ago, the number was 32%. 

Car crashes remain the number one cause of death for teenagers. Texting or emailing while driving and inexperience can make a deadly combination. According to research, drivers who text while driving are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash than a driver who is undistracted. 

Through education, as a society, we have made some headway on the risks of smoking. And now, we must turn our focus on distracted driving. Here are some tips to help avoid this dangerous behavior:

OK, I will admit it. I am a card-carrying member of AARP and I am proud of it – mostly because of the discounts I have enjoyed since qualifying for membership at age 51.   Earlier this week, while reading the AARP monthly magazine, I was alerted to the growing trend of on-call chauffeurs. Rather than using a taxi, the bus or Uber, etc., these on-call chauffeurs will drive you in your car.   While many of these companies are clearly trying to minimize drunk driving, they are certainly not limited to those situations. Over 600 such companies exist in over 46 states. In Nashville, our research revealed three on-call chauffeur companies: Guardian Angel Drivers, noDUIride and Scooter Squad.   Additional companies are located in Knoxville and Memphis. 

These on-call chauffeurs are fantastic to the extent that they prevent even one drunk driving accident. However, there are some things consumers should consider when using these services:

·       How are the drivers screened? Clearly, they should have a clean driving and criminal history?

It is not just U.S. taxi drivers who are upset over Uber. In some European cities yesterday, taxi drivers took to the streets without passengers yesterday to clog traffic in protest over the unregulated Uber.   The protests in Europe focus on the same issues raging in the United States: licensure, training, insurance, fare regulation and safety.   Uber is now valued in the $17 to $18 billion range, so this start-up is quickly turning into a giant.   Uber’s liability to injury victims is an issue we are following closely as this type of service becomes more popular. 

Views…News…And Reviews is keeping on close eye on Uber and similar companies.

For the reasons outlined in this prior post on the subject, we have been interested in  the tort implications associated with Uber and similar ride-sharing services.   Recently, we read some troubling comments from Uber’s CEO regarding an alleged assault perpetrated by an Uber driver. Apparently, an Uber driver allegedly choked a woman who was kissing her bi-racial husband in the back seat of the Uber car. The Uber driver denies this account and claims the woman was drunk and belligerent. To be sure, we do not know what happened and who is telling the truth about the incident. But, we do know this: following the incident Uber’s CEO emailed his press team telling them that “we need to make sure these writers (press) don’t come away thinking we are responsible even when things do go bad. . . these writers are starting to think we are somehow liable for these incidents that aren’t even real in the first place.“   

To be sure, Uber’s CEO may have been correct: this alleged assault may have been contrived. But since his email was sent the same day as the attack, it is unlikely that he had the benefit of a full investigation into the matter to know one way or the other. Instead, his approach appears to be: deny, deny, deny. The fact that Uber’s CEO thinks he has no responsibility to his customers “when things do go bad” is alarming. However, it is unfortunately not unique. As injury lawyers, we see this approach taken time and time again, which is why we do what we do. 

If you or a loved on has been injured and need to hold the at-fault party accountable and recover the damages you deserve, call our award-winning lawyers at either our Nashville or Murfreesboro office.   Nashville 615-742-4880 . Murfreesboro: 867-9900. Toll-free 866-812-8787.   We will review your case at no charge an we handle all accident cases on a contingency basis so we only get paid if we win.

Distracted driving is an epidemic and apparently no one is immune. According to a recent study, 90 percent of parent drivers have engaged in distracted driving with their child in the car with them. The distractions range from talking on the phone, texting while driving, handing a child food or a toy, interacting with the vehicle’s navigation system, etc.

The dangers of this type of behavior are two-fold: First, as any parent can attest, children tend to mirror their parent’s behavior. If parents engage in distracted driving, children are more likely to model that type of behavior when they begin driving. Second, distracted driving is dangerous and the cause of many avoidable accidents. In 2012, 421,000 people were injured in car wrecks involving distracted drivers, an increase of nine percent from the previous year. And each year, more than 130,000 children under the age of 13 seek emergency room treatment for injuries sustained in a car accident.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, contact us for a free, no obligation evaluation of your case. Call us any time at 615-742-4880 or toll-free at 866-812-8787.   We handle all accident cases on a contingency basis.