Author: Anthony Proffitt

Knoxville is teeming with people at all hours. Whether you do most of your road travel during the daytime or overnight, you can bet you will not feel alone out on the roadways. 

Unfortunately, car accidents happen daily on the roads as well, especially in areas where the traffic clogs. If you have never experienced an accident firsthand, you may not know what to expect in the moment or the aftermath. Understanding what to expect after a crash can help you keep your senses about you when facing a scary and possibly traumatic experience. 

Managing the accident scene 

As soon as you are able after a crash, make sure that everyone else is safe. You may find yourself in a bad spot in the roadway where it is hazardous to remain. Before you move the vehicles out of the way, snap a few pictures of the scene. These photos may become an integral part of the accident investigation, especially if the driver at fault does not take responsibility. After moving the vehicles to safety, make sure you get copies of the other driver’s insurance information and license. 

Calling your insurance company 

Soon after you leave the scene, you ought to call your insurance company to report the accident. While this is a crucial step, it is important to know more about the process before you jump right to the phone. 

Your insurance company is your advocate, and if the collision is due to the other driver, your insurer will do what it can to collect. However, part of the claims process is speaking on a recorded line to both your insurance company and the other driver’s. If you have any doubts about what transpired, you may want to speak with an attorney before making that statement. You may report the accident to your insurer but defer the recorded statement until you find a representative to help. 

The damages suffered by you and your property may add up quickly. Going through the insurance claims process with an ally can help. 

Across Tennessee, there has been a push to lessen distracted driving. People are trying to combat these risks with hands-free technology. But just how much does this technology actually do to improve safety?

The National Safety Council itself has stated that hands-free is not risk-free. This campaign slogan implies that hands-free technology does improve driver safety. In fact, there has not been a significant reduction in distracted driving incidents. This is in spite of claims that hands-free technology makes driving much safer.

Hands-free technology is risky because it is still a form of distracted driving. To drive safely, you must have your eyes and mind on the road and your hands on the wheel. Hands-free driving only addresses one of these concerns. Even with your hands on the wheel, your eyes may be on the screen. Even if your eyes are on the road, your mind may be on the conversation.

Other studies showed that conversation reduces a driver’s field of vision. Sometimes, the reduction can be drastic. When engaged in conversation, drivers reportedly missed up to 50 percent of what they drove by. This is like driving with half of your windshield or rear-view mirror covered. Needless to say, this is not the safest way to be driving.

The best way to avoid distracted driving crashes is to limit in-vehicle distractions. This includes keeping devices out of the vehicle or turning them off when driving. Unfortunately, hands-free devices are not a cure for the distracted driving epidemic. While they may help in some instances, you should not rely on them.

It is no secret that driving or riding in a vehicle is a dangerous activity. However, it is something most people do every single day. For the majority of people in Tennessee, driving or riding in a vehicle is a necessary activity because they need to commute to work, take the children to and from school, visit the doctor’s office, go grocery shopping or do other things they must do. What this means is there is a very high number of vehicles on the roadways every day, and accidents happen all the time. While most are minor and do not result in serious injuries, there are some that end up being fatal. It is everyone’s responsibility to try to figure out how to prevent and stop fatal accidents.

This duty starts with understanding why so many people die from motor vehicle accidents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explain the U.S. has an incredibly high rate of death from motor vehicle accidents that other high-income countries do not. The two leading causes of fatal accidents are drunk driving and speeding.

There are also a lot of risk factors in the U.S. that lead to serious accidents. Behind drunk driving and speeding is not wearing seat belts. These safety devices save lives as shown time and again by statistics. Yet, many people do not use them.

There is also an increasing number of people who drive distracted. When driving, you should focus only on that task. You should not look at your cell phone or even fiddle with the radio. You need your whole mind on driving and your eyes on the road.

Every cause of a fatal car accident is preventable. This makes it so frustrating when these accidents happen. It is why every driver must take responsibility, follow the laws and be a safe driver. This information is for education and is not legal advice.

Tennessee residents have certainly heard and read a lot about distracted driving over the last decade or so. A lot of the focus in this discussion has centered around the use of cell phones while driving. However, there are numerous things that may distract drivers including built-in infotainment systems, children and other passengers, eating and drinking in the car, even personal grooming and more. Just how serious is distracted driving in America?

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, distracted drivers claimed the lives of 3,450 people in 2016. In the prior year, almost 395,000 people were either injured or killed in distracted driving accidents. Today, it is believed that nine people die every day on U.S. roads in these crashes.

Records from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that in 2017, distracted drivers were responsible for the deaths of 3,166 people. The use of cell phones was reported to be involved in 434 of those, highlighting the reality that distractions extend far beyond the phone.

The insurance comparison site, The Zebra, conducted a survey earlier this year to gauge the opinions of drivers across the country. It seems that job pressures may contribute to some distracted driving as 25% of people said they felt strongly compelled to respond to messages or calls when in the car if they were related to work. This pressure was felt even more by drivers between 18 and 34 years of age as 37% of those drivers indicated a strong urge to respond while driving. It seems many drivers still watch videos, take photos and more when they should be focused on the road.

Winning the state championship is an accomplishment that many high school football teams aspire to. However, one Tennessee team has made it a mission to take home the championship trophy in honor of one of their teammates who died approximately a week and a half ago in a motor vehicle accident involving another vehicle with what appears to have been an improperly secured load.

On a Saturday afternoon, the high school student was following a truck hauling bales of hay on a Tennessee highway. For reasons that are still under investigation, one of the hay bales fell out of the back of the truck. Details as to what, precisely, happened next are a bit vague, but authorities report a head-on collision between the errant bale of hay and the teenager’s vehicle in which the high school student lost his life.

The young man who died was a senior in high school, active in athletics. His football coach describes him as universally beloved. His teammates have reportedly taken the loss very hard, perhaps more so because it occurred the day after a significant gridiron victory which the deceased had been enthusiastic in celebrating at its conclusion.

Charges are pending against the 21-year-old driver of the truck that lost part of its load. Once the investigation reaches its formal conclusion, the district attorney will make a decision in regard to moving forward.

Nothing can replace the loss of a loved one, but family members have the right to seek damages against a negligent party that caused an accident. Hiring an attorney may be helpful in this endeavor.