Two Tennessee Motorcycle Fatalities Linked to Alcohol
A pair of recent unrelated, fatal motorcycle accidents in Tennessee illustrates how alcohol can pose a danger to motorcycle riders in a couple of different ways. It is well established that combining alcohol consumption with driving a motor vehicle is dangerous and often deadly. Unfortunately, some drivers and some motorcycle riders choose to mix the two, and the results can be devastating.
On July 21 of this year, a forty one year old man died when he crashed his motorcycle on Halls Hill Pike in Murfreesboro. According to the law enforcement officers who investigated the accident, the man had been drinking alcohol prior to the crash. Riding a motorcycle requires a great deal of skill and precision, not to mention attentiveness. All of these things are compromised by alcohol. When riders have even a small amount of alcohol in their systems, they can make errors in judgment that can prove to be dangerous, and in some cases, even fatal. The more alcohol a rider drinks, the more unaware they become of the degree to which their reflexes, skills, and attention span have been affected.
On July 20, a drunk driver in a truck hit a motorcycle rider head on while she was driving the wrong way down Route 213 South in Christiana. The rider died instantly. Drunk drivers pose a danger to all other drivers on the road, and especially to motorcycle riders, who are even more vulnerable than passengers in other vehicles because they are out in the open. In this particular accident, the driver of the truck was doing something that posed an extreme danger to everyone on the road – she was traveling in the wrong direction. However, fatal motorcycle accidents can just as easily be caused by drunk drivers who are not going the wrong way. Motorcycle riders are more difficult for motorists to see, and during the summer months it is important that all drivers watch out for motorcycles and double check their blind spots before changing lanes or turning so that they can be sure that there are no motorcycles nearby. Unfortunately, when drivers consume alcohol, the degree of care with which they operate their vehicles decreases as the amount of alcohol that they drink increases. This increases the risk to everyone who is driving on the road near drunk drivers, including motorcycle riders.
While alcohol consumption by a rider is an issue in some motorcycle accidents, alcohol consumption by the driver of a motor vehicle is the issue in others. Either way, alcohol is a factor in many fatal motorcycle accidents. If you have been injured or someone that you love has been killed in a motorcycle accident, it is important that you speak with an attorney right away. The skilled Tennessee Motorcycle Accident Attorneys at Bailey & Greer, PLLC would like to hear about your case. We can answer your questions and explain your options. Once you decide how you will proceed with your motorcycle accident case, our attorneys will dedicate their energy to pursuing the results that you deserve. To learn more, call us at 901-680-9777 to schedule a time to discuss your case. At Bailey & Greer, PLLC, we are small enough to care, big enough to fight, and experienced enough to win.
Since graduating magna cum laude in 2005 from the University of Memphis School of Law, Thomas has helped make a difference in the lives of victims of serious personal injury, wrongful death, and professional negligence. Thomas has extensive trial experience in both state and federal court. Among other victories in the courtroom, Thomas obtained several impressive jury verdicts and settlements
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