Author: Anthony Proffitt

When teens get their driver’s licenses, they should expect that others they share the road with will be as diligent as they strive to be. That’s not always the case, however. A heartbreaking accident in Maryville recently took the life of a teenage driver and a man driving a separate vehicle.

The 16-year-old girl, who had recently gotten her license, was on her way to practice with the school dance team. As she drove on Highway 411, she unfortunately encountered a Chrysler Sebring that was driven by a 44-year-old man from Maryville.

That driver had apparently been clocked at high speeds above the 55 mph limit by a nearby trooper. However, before the officer could turn his car around to pursue the driver, that man crossed the center of a turn lane and crashed head-on with the teen’s vehicle. She was killed in the accident. The other driver later died at a hospital as well.

The trooper with the Tennessee Highway Patrol says that he didn’t even get a chance to pursue the driver. By the time he reached the top of a hill on the dry stretch of road, he came upon the crash wreckage.

According to media reports, at this point the authorities don’t know what happened to cause the crash.

Meanwhile, the teen’s dance team, for which she was the “spirit leader,” is in mourning. Counselors are apparently there to assist the girl’s team members, who are said to be “devastated.”

The teen’s mother described her daughter as “cheerful, bubbly, goofy.”

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, “Blount teen, 16, killed in wreck remembered for positive attitude, cheerfulness,” Robert Wilson, Aug. 16, 2012

•· Our firm handles similar situations to the one discussed in this post. If you would like to learn more about our practice, please visit our Knoxville car accident page.

We recently reported that fatal car accidents are increasing in Tennessee and across the country recently. Not surprisingly, fatal pedestrian accidents are on the rise, too.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in the U.S. on average a pedestrian was killed every two hours, and one was injured every eight minutes in 2010. That year, fatal pedestrian accidents were up 4 percent from a year before.

Overall, the NHTSA says, there were 4,280 pedestrian fatalities in 2010, as well as 70,000 pedestrian-related injuries. Despite the year-to-year increase, the number of fatalities was still down by 13 percent from 2001.

Interestingly, the majority of the fatal crashes – about 80 percent – happened when pedestrians were crossing streets at non-intersections. About half of the fatalities occurred on weekends, and nearly half involved alcohol, either by the driver or the pedestrian.

Other statistics: Over two-thirds of the fatal crashes happened at night, and about 90 percent of them happened during clear weather. More than two-thirds of the victims were males. Also, pedestrian deaths made up 13 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2010.

Although some drivers involved were drunk or distracted, the same can be said of pedestrians. Anyone who is driving or walking near traffic should be vigilant about not getting distracted by cellphones or other digital devices. Keeping a proper lookout is not only the responsible thing to do, but it can be life-saving as well.

Source: CNN, “Pedestrian fatalities up 4 percent in 2010; non-intersection crossings most deadly,” Jim Barnett, Aug. 7, 2012

We’ve posted recently about the rise in Tennessee traffic deaths this year. It turns out that we are not alone: The overall death rate from traffic crashes in the U.S. rose 13.5 percent in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same time last year.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 7,630 traffic deaths in the first quarter, compared to 6,720 during the same period in 2011.

The rise in fatal accidents is a bit puzzling since the numbers have been falling steadily over the last few years. As safety laws have been tweaked and robust technology has reduced car accident injuries, or prevented crashes outright, the number of deaths fell to a 60-year-low recently.

So, why the spike this year? Transportation officials say that it’s too early to point to a cause, but many people suspect the warmer than average winter might have something to do with it. It’s common knowledge that people travel on the roads more if the weather is nicer. Indeed, Americans reportedly drove 9.7 billion more miles in the first part of 2012 than last year, a 1.4 percent increase.

Hopefully the trend will reverse and we’ll see fewer deaths in the second half of the year. While the uptick in deaths is alarming to say the least, the total is far less than in some years past, particularly in the 1970s. In 1972, for example, there were 54,589 people killed in traffic crashes nationwide, the deadliest year on record.

Source: CNN, “U.S. traffic fatalities soar 13.5 percent in first quarter of 2012,” Jim Barnett, July 23, 2012

• Our firm handles similar situations to what was discussed in this post. If you would like to learn more about our practice, please visit our Knoxville car accident page.