Feds Push Safety Improvements to Reduce Risks Associated with Tennessee Car Accidents

The National Traffic Safety Board has updated its “most wanted” list of driver and traffic safety improvements, focusing again on vehicle safety issues also commonly discussed on our Tennessee Injury Attorney blog.

From seat belt enforcement to distracted driving among teen drivers, the NTSB recognizes that state governments are uniquely qualified to both pass and enforce legislation that reinforces Board safety recommendations. And that education and empowering drivers helps reduce incidence of Tennessee car accidents.

Among other concerns, the NTSB would like to see more motorists buckling-up and using age-and-size appropriate child restraints. Of course, avoiding distractions – such as using a cell phone, reading, applying makeup, or disciplining an ill-tempered child – while driving is something all drivers should do. With that said, young and inexperienced drivers are far more likely to be involved in a distraction-related fatal Knoxville car accident than older, more experienced drivers.

Young male drivers – aged 15 to 19 – are far more likely to be killed in a Tennessee car accident than females, although death rates for both sexes are on the decline since reaching a peak in 2004, the Tennessee Department of Safety reports. And, as is believed by the NTSB, TDOS knows that passenger restrictions for our younger drivers translates into lives saved. In a recent five-year study of Tennessee teen driving trends, the TDOS found that teen drivers with five or more passengers were almost two times more likely to be injured and almost 10 times more likely to be killed than teen drivers traveling alone.

What the NTSB “most wanted” list recognizes is both the advances and shortcomings of each state while urging legislators to enact laws that promote safe driving. The NTSB recognizes the efforts of the Tennessee legislature in the following areas:

~ distracted driving: Tennessee has enacted some of the strictest distracted driving laws in the country. The state Graduated Drivers License program, passenger restriction limits and interactive wireless communication law each meet Board safety standards.

~ child occupant protection: Tennessee joins 29 states requiring all child passengers age 8 and younger to wear seat belts, including using appropriate safety devices, be they a car or booster seat.

~ motorcycle safety: Tennessee joins 12 other states that have enacted a universal helmet law.

~ primary seat belt enforcement: Tennessee has enacted a partial primary seat belt law, requiring seat belt use for front-seat occupants only. It is NTSB’s recommendation that the law be extended to cover all vehicle occupants. “Primary” enforcement means a cop can stop a driver solely upon visual confirmation that front-seat occupants are unrestrained.

If you are injured or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee car accident, speaking with the Knoxville injury lawyers and Maryville accident attorneys with Hartsoe Law Firm, P.C. can help you better understand your rights. Call 865-804-1011 or contact us online to schedule a confidential appointment.