Tennessee Injury Attorney Blog

Published on: July 31, 2013

Tire Maintenance & Summertime Traffic Accidents in Tennessee

The hot weather is doing more than just making us sweat. It’s also putting us at some serious risks for a traffic accident. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), hot weather and under-inflated tires pose some serious threats to motorists. When driving at highway speeds, the heat and the hot pavement can contribute to the wear and breakdown of your tires, and increases the risk for tire failure.

Many drivers are aware of the importance of their vehicle’s performance and crash-test ratings. But are we as familiar with one of the most important features of our vehicle in avoiding a crash?

Our Knoxville car accident attorneys understand that there are more than 10,000 accidents each and every year because of tire failure. The most common cause of these kinds of accidents include under-inflated tires, bald tires, blowouts and tread separations. When your tires are under-inflated or extremely worn, not only are you at higher risks for an accident, but you’re also going to get poor fuel economy, worse handling, a longer distance to stop and increased stress on tire components.

Keeping your tires properly inflated is critical when it comes to maximizing performance. With properly maintained tires, you’re going to be able to improve your steering, your stopping distance, your traction and your ability to carry heavy loads. As a matter of fact, properly-inflated tires can improve your gas mileage by close to 5 percent, and that means more money in your pocket.

Rubber begins to break down over time. Heat accelerates this process.

To help to prevent these kinds of accidents, consider these safety recommendations:

-Make sure that your tires are filled to the proper pounds-per-square-inch (PSI) for your car. You can find this information in the vehicle’s owner’s manual or on the vehicle’s door placard.

-Get your own tire pressure gauge, keep it in your vehicle and use it frequently. You can lose a significant amount of air in just a month. Make sure to check tire pressure often, at least monthly, if not more frequently.

-If there’s a tire pressure monitor on your dashboard, make sure you take immediate action if it alerts a warning.

-Take a look at the vehicle’s owner manual to know how often your tires should be replaced. Some cars require replacement every six years while others only once every 10 years. (This includes spare tires.) Some tires may need replaced in as little as 18 to 24 months.

-Keep an eye on the tread of your tires. When tread is worn, consider purchasing a new set.

-Don’t forget about your spare tire. Just because the tire hasn’t been used and the tread is not worn doesn’t mean the tire isn’t still too old to operate safely.

-Even after all that is done, remember that a seat belt is your best defense against injury and death in the event of a motor-vehicle collision.
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Published on: July 24, 2013

Tennessee Boating Accident Risks Skyrocket through Summer

By Mark Hartsoe

Boating season is in full swing. And while it’s time for some fun, it’s also a time for some important safety reminders. In recent weeks, several high-profile Tennessee boating accidents — one in Norris Lake and another in Cumberland River — have authorities preaching safety.

According to WBIR, a man from Andersonville was recently charged with boating under the influence (BUI) following an overnight boating accident. This one happened on Norris Lake in Union County. Near midnight, a runabout slammed right into the back-end of a pontoon boat. There were 11 people on these two boats. Two passengers on the pontoon were taken to Tennova-North Knoxville Medical Center and two passengers of the runabout were thrown into the water. Accident reports indicate that the runabouters were not wearing life jackets. While officials with the TWRA are still investigating, the captain of the runabout has been charged with BUI.

Our Tennessee boating accident attorneys understand that there was also a fatal accident that claimed the life of a woman from Clarksville. According to KnoxNews, the woman was tubing one evening when somehow she got caught in the boat’s propeller. Officials with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency report that the woman was dead when they arrived. An additional boater was also injured in this accident. Officials are still looking into whether alcohol was a factor in the incident.

According to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, there were close to 260,000 registered vessels in the state of Tennessee in 2011. That’s about 2,000 more than the previous year. With that being said, we also saw an increase in the number of reported boating accidents, from 162 in 2011 to more than 170 in 2012. Of all of the bodies of water in the state, Norris Lake and Chickamauga Lake were rated the most dangerous during the year, with close to 20 reported accidents each. Overall, Polk County was the county with the most reported boating accidents. The costs of boating accidents in Tennessee in 2013 totaled $2.3 million, also an increase from previous years.

When breaking down these kinds of accidents, it’s clear that a “collision with another vessel” was the most common type of accident reported, followed by fire. The most common operation during an accident was “cruising.”

According to the 2012 reports, there was an decrease in the number of accidents involving alcohol and/or drugs — from roughly 5 percent to less than 3 percent.

But we’re not off the hook.

There were still close to 20 boating fatalities in 2012. In addition to these fatalities, there were nearly 100 injury boating accidents reported, totaling more than 105 injuries. While we’ve seen a decrease in the number of deaths, by one fatality, from the year before, it’s time to hone in on safe boating habits through the remainder of boating season.
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Published on: July 17, 2013

Tennessee Auto Insurance Myths and Misconceptions

By Mark Hartsoe

Buying auto insurance can be a confusing endeavor, and many people are not sure either about how to buy insurance or about what happens when they have to make a claim after an accident.

Unless you know your rights, you could find yourself not getting the coverage that you deserve, without coverage that you believe you have, or left with a big bill in the event that an accident happens. Our Knoxville accident lawyers help those who have been in crashes to make informed choices and to deal with the insurance company. But if you are just buying insurance, it is important to understand some of the common myths and misconceptions that could affect your purchase.

Misunderstandings About Auto Insurance

Recently, the Digital Journal discussed some of the most common myths that people believe when it comes to car insurance.

Trusting that an agent always gets the best price. If you shop around on your own for car insurance, you may be able to get quotes from more companies than your agent will, and potentially do better on price.
Swerving into a car to avoid hitting a deer. Many people veer out of the way to avoid hitting a deer and believe that the accident will not be considered their fault. This is not the case. If you hit someone else when you swerve to avoid a deer, they can make a claim against you and your insurance costs can go way up. You may actually be better off hitting the deer rather than potentially getting into an accident that injures someone else.
Believing that you always have rental car coverage. You may not have this coverage after an accident unless you have specifically opted to purchase a rental policy.
Not reporting an accident because you think that will stop your rates from going up. If you don’t report an accident, you jeopardize your rights with your insurer. Your rights also might go up anyway because other drivers involved in the accident might make claims or you might get a ticket due to the accident.
Thinking your car insurance will be enough to pay off your car loan if your vehicle is declared a total loss. Your insurance is not designed to cover the total balance on your car loan but is instead designed to cover the value of your car. You’ll be paid market value if your vehicle is totally destroyed in an accident and if you owe more on the car than it was worth, you will be stuck paying off the car loan even once the car is damaged. This can be avoided through the purchase of gap insurance.

These are just a few of the mistakes that people make when it comes to buying insurance. Mistakes made during the purchase process and mistakes made during accident claims can be costly and you could end up giving up some important rights if you are aren’t fully informed.
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Published on: July 10, 2013

Tennessee Tractor-Trailer Crashes & the Risk of Increasing Size and Weight Limits

By Mark Hartsoe

If big rigs get any bigger, as some Congressmen are apparently hoping will happen, we can all but guarantee a spike in the number of injuries and fatalities attributed to tractor-trailer accidents in Tennessee.

It’s simple physics, really.

We know that the bigger a vehicle is, the more damage it is liable to cause. This is especially true when vehicles are only designed to hold a certain threshold of weight and are then overloaded. This poses a danger not only to the driver, but to everyone else who shares the road.

As it stands now, the maximum weight limit threshold is 80,000 pounds. A bill currently moving through the U.S. House of Representatives would up that to 97,000 pounds.

Increasing this weight limit will not serve to reduce overloading vehicles. That will still happen. It’s just that with a measure like this, these massive trucks will have the power to inflict even more damage in collisions with motor vehicles.

The only ones who benefit from this are large shipping and trucking firms, which will be able to fatten their pockets by increasing the amount they can deliver at a time.

However, the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, a group of about 150,000 smaller trucking operations, is staunchly opposed to HR612, mostly for safety reasons but also because the vast majority of trucking firms won’t be able to afford to upgrade their fleet – usually consisting of 20 or fewer vehicles – to compete with the newer, larger models in states that choose to adopt the new federal standards, should they get approval.

It wasn’t long ago that Congress grappled with this same issue. Last year, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), which revamped federal highway safety standards, rejected a proposal to increase tractor-trailer truck weight and size limits. Instead, it ordered a comprehensive study on the impacts of larger trucks on the integrity of highway infrastructure, motor vehicle safety and the economy. We are still awaiting the results of this research, though the Federal Highway Administration conducted its mandated listening session as part of that study at the U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters in Washington D.C. in late May.

In addition to opposition from OOIDA, the Automobile Association of America has come out against efforts to increase size and weight limits on commercial trucks. With a membership some 50 million strong, this could be a powerful voice in talking down these efforts.

As it currently stands, there are some 28,000 motor carrier companies across the country that are actively violating federal safety standards, having a direct impact on safety for all those who travel the highways. Increasing truck size limits won’t help to reduce that number. It will however give these companies more room to push the limits, which in turn puts us all at even greater risk.

And as the OOIDA underscores, the change is in no way necessary to help improve the greater good.
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Published on: July 3, 2013

Knoxville Nursing Homes Liable for Fall Injuries to Patients

By Mark Hartsoe

Adult portable bed rails – the kind used in so many nursing homes, hospitals and home health care facilities throughout Tennessee – will soon be under an updated set of voluntary safety standards, per a joint directive from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.

Our Knoxville premise liability lawyers know that while the rails themselves have come under heightened scrutiny in recent years, it is ultimately the responsibility of administrators and staffers caring for the infirm to ensure the health and safety of their patients. Because the dangers of these devices have been well-established, particularly among individuals who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, nursing homes should already have safety measures in place to prevent serious injury or death resulting from the use of the devices.

Adult bed rails are typically made of metal and are set up along both sides of the bed with the intention of helping persons to either pull themselves up or prevent them from falling.

The latter is a particularly important goal, considering recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noting that while about 5 percent of those over the age of 65 reside in a nursing home, this group accounts for about 20 percent of all deaths from falls. Patients often fall more than once, with the average falling about 2.6 times per year and about 35 percent of those unable to walk.

About 20 percent of falls at nursing homes cause serious injuries and about 6 percent are fatal.

So yes, it’s important for facilities to do all they can to prevent falls from occurring among elderly residents. At the same time, these bed rails have been known to also cause serious injuries and deaths, since at least as far back as 1995. That’s when the FDA received an extensive report on the matter.

Unfortunately patients, especially those with forms of dementia, become confused and end up becoming trapped in between the bed rail and the mattress. Since 1995, there have been at least 550 bed-rail-related deaths in the country. Of those, about 155 occurred between January 2003 through September 2012. The vast majority of those who were killed were over the age of 60.

Additionally, there were about 37,000 people from 2003 through 2011 who were seriously injured in bed rail accidents and had to be rushed to a nearby hospital emergency room. That’s about 4,000 people each year.

In the past, the FDA and the CPSC attempted to pass the buck on regulations for these devices, as the agencies couldn’t agree whether they were a consumer product or a medical device. At one point, the FDA tried to require warning labels on the products, but received such backlash that agency officials back down.

In the end, the compromise was a list of voluntary manufacturing standards, introduced in 2006. However since then, we have continued to see people killed and seriously injured using these adult bed rails.

So now, both federal agencies say they are dedicated to updating that list of guidelines. But again, they will be voluntary, so it remains to be seen whether the new standards will have much impact.

Nursing homes should be vigilant in either finding alternatives to keep elderly patients safe or in checking on them frequently enough that if an incident were to occur, they would catch it in time to avert a serious or fatal accident.
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Published on: June 26, 2013

Tennessee Injury Attorneys: Enjoy Safe, Responsible Fourth of July

By Mark Hartsoe

With the Fourth of July weekend, most of us are looking for fun with friends and family. It’s a beautiful holiday, but it comes with some serious risks.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), roughly 200 people on average visit an emergency room every day with fireworks-related injuries in the month around the July 4th holiday.

“We would encourage you to enjoy the holiday at a public display presented by trained professionals, where compliance with state-of-the-art fire codes offers a safer way to celebrate our nation’s independence,” said Julie Mix McPeak, the State Fire Marshal and Commerce and Insurance Commissioner.

Our Maryville personal injury attorneys understand that one wrong move with a firework can result in serious injuries and painful memories. Children are actually the most at risk for these kinds of accidents. Children ages 5-19 are at higher risks than any other age group. Fireworks, if used improperly, can result in injury to the eyes of a child or adult as well as varying degrees of burns on the skin.

Before beginning any firework celebrations, make sure you’re aware of the state and local laws. Once you’ve done that, you want to make sure that you’re as safe as can be. Consider following these safety tips:

-Never allow children to play with or ignite fireworks.

-If you ever purchase fireworks that are in a brown paper bag, discard them. The brown bag oftentimes means that they were intended for professionals and can be very dangerous.

-Make sure that an adult is supervising all firework activities.

-Be sure that no body part is ever placed directly over a firework device when it’s being lit. The safest way to light a firework is to back up a safe distance as soon as it’s lit.

-Never point a firework at another person.

-Make sure that there is a bucket of water or a hose nearby for emergency use.

-Don’t put fireworks in your pocket.

-Don’t light fireworks and ignite them on a metal surface or on grass. Ignite all fireworks on a flat, hard surface.

-One light of fireworks one at a time.

-Never alter the use of fireworks of produce your own homemade fireworks.

-If you come across a “dud,” don’t attempt to relight it. Simply place it in a bucket of water or hose it down.

-Alcohol and fireworks do not mix. Have a “designated shooter.”

-Be cautious of lighting any aerial firework during strong wind conditions. The firework should be lit with the prevailing wind blowing away from the spectators. If there is a significant wind shift during the time you are lighting the firework, the shooting site should be rearranged.

-Remember that sparklers are not toys and cause hundreds of injuries every year. They burn hot, reaching temperatures as high as 1,200 degrees, and they stay hot long after they’ve burned out.

Your best bet when it comes to staying safe during your Fourth of July holiday this year is to attend your local celebration and leave the fireworks to the professionals.
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Published on: June 19, 2013

Tennessee Premise Liability Lawsuit Goes to High Court

By Mark Hartsoe

Could businesses be responsible for removing intoxicated patrons from a facility if that patron then harms someone else on the premises?

Our Knoxville injury attorneys understand that is the question before the Tennessee Supreme Court in Jolyn Cullum v. Jan McCool. If the high court sides with the plaintiff in this case, that could mean we could see an influx of negligence cases against businesses that fail to protect customers from the actions of a person expelled from their property.

Lower courts have come down on different sides of this issue, and now the state high court has agreed to take it on.

To understand more about the issue, let’s explore a bit of background regarding the case at hand.

In February 2011, the plaintiff went to a Wal-Mart store to buy groceries. She finished her grocery shopping, went to the parking lot, located her vehicle and began to place her purchased items into the trunk of her car.

What she didn’t know was around this same time, another woman had also just left the store and was entering her vehicle in that same parking lot. The other woman had attempted to purchase prescription medications at the pharmacy department of the store. However, she was denied service by workers who deemed her to be intoxicated. Infuriated with her inability to obtain her medicine, this woman reportedly became belligerent with store workers. The employees responded by ordering her to leave the store.

She complied. She also located her vehicle and got inside.

It was at this point that the two women’s lives intersected. The allegedly intoxicated woman backed out of her parking space without locking behind her. In doing so, the suit says, she backed directly into the plaintiff. The plaintiff was knocked to the grown, crushed by the shopping cart and pinned between the two cars. The plaintiff screamed, but the intoxicated woman reportedly did not hear her. It was not until bystanders stopped her. She then got out of her vehicle and, in apparent attempt to help the injured women, moved her and caused her further pain and injury.

In addition to filing a negligence claim against the inebriated driver, the plaintiff filed suit against Wal-Mart, alleging negligence and gross negligence on the part of Wal-Mart staffers. The reason was that the staffers failed to call police, despite the woman’s clearly intoxicated state and the fact that they knew she was alone and would have to drive herself off the premises in order to comply with employee requests to leave. Employees were reportedly familiar with the intoxicated woman, as this was not the first time this sort of thing had occurred. This failure to take further steps to protect other patrons, the plaintiff alleges, was negligent.

Initially, a country trial court dismissed the claim against Wal-Mart, saying the store couldn’t be held responsible for the actions of a drunk patron. However, the Tennessee Court of Appeals found that because the intoxicated woman was invited onto the property as a customer, the store had a responsibility to protect other customers from harm.

Should the state supreme court side with the plaintiff, many businesses across the state – bars in particular – should pay close attention and adjust their policies accordingly.
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Published on: June 14, 2013

Fatal Tennessee Tractor-Trailer Crash Precedes New Federal Safety Rules

By Mark Hartsoe

Two Bonnaroo music festival goers were killed in a Tennessee tractor-trailer crash before ever reaching the concert.

The crash happened just two weeks ahead of implementation of federal rules designed to reduce the number of fatal tractor-trailer accidents here and across the country.

According to investigators’ accounts from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the accident occurred shortly after midnight on a Thursday, as cars were slowing due to heavy traffic from an earlier accident near I-24 near Murfreesboro.

The driver of the truck was reportedly unable to halt in time. Eight other vehicles were struck. Two of those vehicles burst into flames. One of those vehicles became fully engulfed, causing the deaths of two people from Indiana, a 25-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man. Five other people suffered serious injuries. Seven others, including the trucker, were not injured.

The truck driver, from Kentucky, was cited for failure to exercise due care, and additional charges are pending.

Our Knoxville injury lawyers can’t say for certain that driver fatigue played a role in this crash, but it does seem to fit the mold: The crash occurred after midnight and involved the trucker’s delayed reaction time. By many accounts, drowsy driving affects reflex times just as much as alcohol consumption.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association reports that nearly 15 percent of all fatal trucking crashes are the result of drivers who were overworked and fatigued. It’s for this reason that over the past five years, the agency has been battling to enact a series of hours of service rules that would limit the amount of time a trucker could remain behind the wheel at any given stretch.

Now, those rules will be formalized July 1, 2013.

It should come as no surprise that the industry has put up a fierce fight on this issue, arguing that the changes will deliver a devastating blow not only to the trucking industry but to small businesses nationwide that depend on timely delivery of goods to provide their services. There is no question that the new rules will have some impact on the industry, but we believe the problems stated have been overblown.

What’s more, industry advocates’ assertions that current rules are doing more than enough to tamp down the number of fatal crashes simply doesn’t hold water when you consider crashes like the recent one that happened in Murfreesboro. In no other industry would it be acceptable to allow thousands of innocent people to die and become seriously injured every year, and then chalk it up to merely being a cost of doing business.

That’s why the FMCSA has pressed forward on these rules. They include limiting drivers to a maximum of 11 hours on the road at any given stretch. Drivers are also expected to take at least a 30-minute rest break every eight hours (so at least once a shift) and they have to be off-duty at least 10 hours before getting back on the road after a full shift. Drivers will go from being allowed to work a maximum of 82 hours in a seven-day week to being allowed to work only 70 in a work week. This will ensure that drivers have more time to rest and recharge so that when they do get back to the road, they will be refreshed – and less likely to fatal mistakes, like the one that senselessly claimed those two young lives in Tennessee.
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Published on: June 7, 2013

Knoxville Crash Risk Heightened During Summer Travel

By Mark Hartsoe

The summer travel season is upon us, and with it, our Knoxville car accident attorneys expect to see a spike in crashes related to long-distance travel.

Last month saw a spate of serious crashes throughout Tennessee, and we fear the trend shows no signs of abating.

One of the more serious incidents involved a three-car crash on Highway 96 in Williamson County, resulting in 13 injuries. Victims included seven 16-year-old girls, a 1-year-old child and a 2-year-old child. Authorities say four people had to be flown by helicopter to a hospital, as they were in critical condition.

One of the vehicles involved in that crash was a van transporting two adult coaches and seven athletes from an out-of-state girls’ basketball team.

None of the children were wearing proper safety restraints.

This is troubling when we consider that 30 percent of all road trips taken in the U.S. involve children under the age of 12. It’s critical that these children be put in the proper safety restraints – every single time and for the duration of the trip. It can be tempting on long trips to allow young children out of their seats, even if just for a few minutes. But an accident can unfold in a matter of seconds; taking the risk simply isn’t worth it.

Another recent crash involved a Knoxville motorcyclist who had to be flown by helicopter to a nearby hospital after an accident on Highway 14 in Knoxville. A vehicle pulling out of an establishment apparently did not see the motorcyclist approaching and struck him, causing the rider to be thrown many feet in the air.

Travelers should take special care to watch for motorcyclists. They tend to be out and about more in the summer, for obvious reasons, but we’re not always as used to checking for them. Motorcyclists risk greater potential injury than those on four wheels, and crashes are frequently caused by other motorists who simply aren’t paying attention.

In yet another May crash, a 19-year-old Knoxville woman was killed when the vehicle in which she was a passenger careened off the road around 12:30 a.m. on a Tuesday. Two young men in their 20s, survived, but were badly injured. One of those two, who had been driving the vehicle, had already had his license revoked. Authorities believe alcohol may have been a factor in the crash.

While vacations are undoubtedly about indulging, drivers must be careful not to get behind the wheel while intoxicated. Sometimes, it’s hard to be a good judge of when you’ve crossed the line, so the best rule is that if you’ve consumed any alcohol, wait to continue your trip until at least the next day. Better to get there late than never at all.

In addition to following all applicable traffic laws, anyone planning a road trip to or from Tennessee should bear in mind the following:

Have your vehicle checked out before you go. Get the oil changed, have the tires rotated and checked for proper inflation, ensure belts and hoses are in good shape, get a tune-up, have your battery checked, make sure your lights are working, your windshield wipers are sharp, your cooling system is flushed and refilled and your fluid levels are adequate.
Get plenty of rest. Driving drowsy can be as dangerous as driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Take frequent breaks and take turns driving.
Plan your trip well in advance. At the very least, plug in the GPS or have your route mapped out before you start driving. If you get lost, pull over so you aren’t trying to fiddle with the GPS or map while you’re still driving.
Allow yourself plenty of time to get there. Factor in time for extra traffic and other unexpected delays. You don’t want to feel pressured into speeding or aggressive driving or anything else that could potentially jeopardize your life or the lives of your passengers.

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Published on: May 29, 2013

Tennessee Van Accidents a Summer Risk for Teens

By Mark Hartsoe

Critical injuries were reported following the Tennessee crash of a passenger van carrying 11 people, seven of those being 16-year-old members of a girls basketball team. Two other passengers were under the age of 2.

Our Knoxville injury lawyers understand that the minivan driver, one of the coaches, clipped another vehicle, causing the vehicle to cross over the yellow line into oncoming traffic. At that point, the van smashed nearly head-on into a Camaro.

The incident happened about 20 miles south of Nashville.

The girls were in Tennessee to compete in a basketball tournament. The children were hurt, but were released from the hospital. However, the adult coaches as well as the two adults in the Camaro were critically injured.

In many cases, such accidents involving school travel occur in 15-passenger vans, which are so dangerous the federal government outlaws their use for school transportation. Even though they are frequently used to transport school sports teams, students, day care children, the elderly and church groups. When loaded with more than 10 people, these vans are three times more likely to roll over.

There were more than 1,500 fatal crashes involving 15 passenger vans between 1994 and 2004. A third of those involved a rollover.

One of the biggest problems with these vehicles is that the tires are frequently under-inflated. That in turn leads to higher tire temperatures, which results in faster tire deterioration and stability is significantly diminished. The more passengers you add, the more the center of gravity shifts higher further to the rear. That is going to increase the tendency for a rollover, and it’s also going to up the chances that the driver is going to lose control if he or she needs to enact an emergency maneuver.

Another recent passenger van crash this month in Illinois resulted in five deaths and six injuries. The van, which belonged to a church group, reportedly smashed into a median, crossed into oncoming traffic and then rolled over several times. Nine of the 11 individuals were tossed from the vehicle.

Horrific crashes like this are a large part of the reason why the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued numerous cautionary advisories pertaining to the use of 15-passenger vans. Among those warnings are those that state the vehicles should not be used to transport school children, as they don’t provide the same level of safety as a larger school bus. In fact, federal law forbids schools from purchasing new 15-passenger vans for the purpose of transporting students.

If you or your organization regularly uses a 15-passenger van, take the time to read the following:

Make sure the vehicle is properly maintained;
Owners should ensure that any drivers are fully-trained and experienced in operating one of these vehicles and also that he or she is properly licensed;
Overloading should not be done under ANY circumstances;
Make sure that the tires are properly sized and also inflated;
Prior to every trip, drivers should check tire inflation and ensure there are no significant signs of wear;
Passengers should buckle up each and every time.

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