It’s easy for people to point the finger at inexperience and recklessness whenever a young driver is killed in a car accident, but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes roads are designed poorly and are conducive to accidents happening. Knoxville residents are fighting to do something about an especially scary stretch of road.

Residents gathered at the exit ramp from the Pellissippi Parkway to Hardin Valley Road in Knoxville recently to remember a 21-year-old local college student who was killed in a car accident last year.

According to reports, the man’s car was exiting the parkway when his car ended up in the oncoming traffic lane of cars getting onto the parkway. His car was struck by a truck, killing him. According to people at the memorial gathering, the exit ramp has too sharp of a curve, which means cars on it could easily swerve into oncoming traffic.

Just recently, a three-car accident unfolded on the ramp. Six people were injured. Tennessee Department of Transportation officials told a local news station that the department is always looking at potential trouble spots, but there was no word on if any specific modifications were planned for the road. One person at the memorial gathering said there should be a stop light put in or the road should be widened.

Families who lose a loved one because a road is poorly maintained or designed may have recourse for getting damages to cover medical expenses or pain and suffering. Governments are supposed to serve and protect their citizens, and that includes making sure that roads are safe.

Source: WATE, “Memorial for Knoxville college student killed in car wreck prompts possible road changes,” Hayley Harmon, Feb. 24, 2013

One town’s proposal to help cover the cost of emergency responders heading to crash sites has many residents up in arms. Could you imagine being hit with the bill for first responders if someone hit your car? While this is unfolding in another southern state, that doesn’t mean a town in Tennessee won’t hear about the idea and pick up on it.

The fee is being called the “crash tax,” and starting March 1, residents of the town could be hit with a bill ranging from $500 to $2,000. The outcry from enraged citizens has public officials already going into damage control mode, saying that the bills will be sent to people’s insurance companies. But that is not satisfying many people, who worry that an insurance company may refuse to cover the cost.

Additionally, the people who cause car accidents will be the ones being billed, and not someone who wasn’t doing anything illegal or negligent. But what happens in the case of a hit-and-run accident? Should someone have to pay the bill because another driver was too irresponsible and cowardly to stop and admit fault?

But officials say the “crash tax” is needed to help the town close its budget gap. The new fee is projected to give the city about $50,000 each year. And with many local governments, including those in Tennessee, facing budget shortfalls, it’s not totally inconceivable that other towns will pick up on this idea, despite its unpopularity.

For someone who is injured in a car accident through no fault of their own, they may find themselves having to sue their own insurance company just to get the cost of emergency responders covered.

Source: KHOU, “‘Crash tax’ raising eyebrows in Missouri City,” Drew Karedes, Feb. 20, 2013

Many people in Tennessee and throughout the country are familiar with the ongoing legal troubles facing auto manufacturer Toyota over the last few years due to a number of wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits stemming from accidents caused by sudden acceleration.

The company recently settled another wrongful death lawsuit that was going to go to trial this month. The couple died in a car accident after the gas pedal in their Toyota Camry became stuck, causing their car to crash into a wall.

The company has already agreed to pay more than $1 billion in damages in lawsuits filed by Toyota owners due to the sudden acceleration problem. The company blames the problem on floor mats or gas pedals becoming stuck or even driver error, but many attorneys are blaming the problem on the car maker’s electronic throttle control system.

During the last four years, more than 14 million Toyota vehicles have been recalled. They were fined late last year by the federal government to the tune of $17.4 million for failing to address the problem quickly enough.

One attorney has speculated that Toyota will keep settling lawsuits because it does not want internal company evidence that it can’t defend being exposed in open court. If there are larger problems with Toyota’s manufacturing, it may not serve them well to take any lawsuits to trial.

Anyone who has been hurt because of a problem like this, however, has the right to take their lawsuit to trial if they are not satisfied with a settlement offer. Many large companies will try to buy silence with a quick settlement, but victims shouldn’t be intimidated if they want the issue to receive more attention.

Source: Associated Press, “Toyota settlement may signal future legal strategy,” Greg Risling, Jan. 18, 2013

When parents in Tennessee and any other state in the U.S. put their children on a bus, be it a school bus or a commercial passenger bus, they expect their loved ones to be transported safely by properly trained drivers. When drivers and bus companies violate that trust, they can be held accountable through lawsuits and federal safety regulators.

Another passenger bus injury, this one filled with 42 people, recently occurred in a state on the East Coast. One high school-aged student who was on the bus was heading back to her home city after visiting an Ivy League school. The accident occurred when the bus driver took his eyes off the road to check a GPS navigation device when the bus crashed into an overpass.

In all, 35 people were injured in the accident. A handful of those injured had to be hospitalized. According to police, the road that the bus was on had a 10-foot height restriction, meaning that the bus shouldn’t have been on the road in the first place.

Police have said the driver will be cited for violating height restrictions on the road, and that a further investigation could lead to more charges. Police will likely try to determine whether the driver had been behind the wheel for too long.

Federal safety regulators have been cracking down on bus companies that haven’t been taking safety as seriously as they should have. One parent recalled the horror of the phone call she received from her injured daughter in the aftermath of the crash. No parent should have to go through that. In addition to the driver, the bus company could also be brought to justice for the driver’s actions.

Source: Associated Press, “After visiting Harvard, dozens in Pa. high school group injured when bus hits overpass,” Feb. 4, 2013

It cannot be overstated how important it is to wear a seat belt whenever you are riding in a car. Seat belts are a primary method of protection during an accident. Without a seat belt, you could be ejected from the car and killed. A recent accident to the northeast of Memphis in rural Tennessee illustrates how important seat belt usage is.

A fatal car accident took the lives of three young Tennessee men recently, and Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers believe that seat belts could have saved lives. There are not many details available about the car accident other than a car that was traveling on state Route 76 left the road and went flying down a hill into a tree.

Killed in the accident were a 24-year-old man and two 23-year-old men. According to the accident report, none of the men were wearing their seat belts, and the report notes that wearing the belts could have changed the outcome of the accident.

Now this is where it gets tricky. When grown adults are in a car, is it their responsibility to put their own seat belt on and assume the risk if they choose not to? Does the driver have a responsibility to make sure that everyone in his or her car is buckled up in order to escape liability in an accident such as the one that happened above?

According to Tennessee law, every passenger in a vehicle is required to wear their seat belt. But is it the driver’s responsibility? This is what the families of the dead passengers may want to consider if they are thinking about filing wrongful death lawsuits against the driver’s estate.

Source: News Channel 5, “Three Killed In Single Car Crash In West Tennessee,” Jan. 22, 2013

You have to be pretty hammered to try and flee an accident that you caused in front of your own home. Even if you just go outside to move your car, getting behind the wheel after drinking is extremely dangerous and can put more than just your own safety at risk.

A recent drunk driving car accident in Tennessee should serve notice to all drivers that no matter how in control you think you are, you can get into an accident in front of your own home and face criminal charges.

A man, from Nashville, was arrested recently for committing a hit-and-run accident that took place in his own driveway of his apartment complex. According to police, another person saw the drunk driver back into her car. It’s unknown if she was in the car at the time of the accident.

According to police, the man was later discovered, sleeping, in his apartment. He is now charged with driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident. There are no details of any breath, blood or field sobriety tests that were conducted on the man to determine his level of drunkenness.

It’s also not known why the man felt it would be a good idea to get behind the wheel of his car after he had been drinking. But it should be a reminder that no matter how insignificant the task may be, you shouldn’t get behind the wheel after drinking, because mistakes can always happen. Fortunately no one was killed in this instance, but the results could have been much worse.

Source: News Channel 5, “Man Charged With DUI Hit & Run In Own Driveway,” Feb. 4, 2013

It’s important to always follow the rules of the road, including knowing when each car has the right of way. A recent fatal car accident in Knoxville illustrates the importance of knowing when it’s your turn to go and always being vigilant for other vehicles.

According to police, the car accident, which occurred at the intersection of Dutch Valley Drive and Plummer Road, happened when a car that was stopped at a stop sign pulled out into traffic. A Nissan Altima, being driven by a 76-year-old woman, correctly stopped at a stop sign at the intersection but then pulled onto Dutch Valley Drive in front of a Dodge Durango.

The elderly woman was taken to a local hospital, where she died. According to reports, she was not wearing a seat belt.

Also injured in the accident was the 32-year-old female driver of the Durango and a 6-year-old boy and a 3-year-old, who were also in the SUV. It is not known if the kids were the woman’s children. No one in the Durango was wearing a seat belt, and charges will reportedly be filed against the woman for not having the children properly restrained.

But whether the children were restrained properly, it appears that the Durango was not at fault for the accident. Since the woman and the children were hospitalized, the woman may be able to file a lawsuit against the estate of the driver of the Altima to help cover medical expenses. People need to follow the rules of the road when they are driving, and that means learning when each vehicle has the right of way.

Source: WBIR, “Police identify woman killed in Dutch Valley crash,” Jan. 30, 2013