Its technical title is HB 1416/SB 1608, but the charmingly named “Slow Poke Law” is looking to change the way we drive here in Tennessee. Legislators are looking to help ease congestion while making our interstates a little safer to drive on, and they’re using a plan that’s worked in other states to do it. The “Slow Poke Law” is essentially this: if you’re driving on a roadway with three or more lanes, you’d better stay [...]
Banks & Jones is thrilled to announce that firm founder, T. Scott Jones, has just been named one to the Million Dollar Advocates and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums! This prestigious forum is made up of trail attorneys throughout the country who have won jury verdicts or settlements for at least $2 million. There are currently about 4000 members of the Forums, which means fewer than 1% of all trial attorneys in America are part of the [...]
We are a mobile people; we are constantly on the go. Therefore, we rely on our cars to take us places and to see faces. But we cannot always rely on the roads we drive on, and some roads are safer than others. The federal government has compiled a list of the top ten states whose roads are the most dangerous nationwide. Our great state of Tennessee ranks number ten on this list. Ranking number ten [...]
It’s a nightmare scenario: you’re driving along when all of a sudden your vehicle is hit by another car, or a car stops short in front of you, or you swerve to avoid a deer and you hit a tree. Your car is a wreck, you’re completely shaken up, and you’ve no idea what to do next. At Banks & Jones, we’ve heard stories like these (and so many more) time and time again from drivers [...]
Motorcycles and motorbikes are fun to ride. They are easy to maneuver in heavy traffic. They up your “cool” status. But they also are dangerous, especially when you are out on a busy road with other drivers who may or may not be paying attention to you or to the road. Therefore, Tennessee and other states have laws requiring motorcycle riders to wear helmets. The law states that both motorcycle drivers and passengers, regardless of age, [...]
But the most important question might be, “Where’s the evidence?” If you live in Knoxville (or indeed, anywhere in this country), you’ve heard about the Zaevion Dobson case. President Obama himself pointed out the heroics of the young man, who was killed during his attempts to shield three young women from gunfire. Today’s preliminary hearing shows us once again that there is no concrete evidence that links the accused to the death of Zaevion Dobson. The [...]
Mountain Dew is a popular soft drink, especially with teenagers. The company’s website sports a very cool looking advertisement for its “backwoods original” recipe – which calls for real sugar, as opposed to artificial sweeteners, and offers a not-so-subtle comparison to moonshine. In Tennessee, though, “dewshine” has a much more deadly connotation. In late January of 2016, the tragic deaths of two teenagers was linked to a mix of the soda with methanol-based racing fuel. In [...]
When you get into an accident with another car, you could be seriously injured, or you could walk away with no long-term effects. When you are involved in a truck crash with an 18 wheeler, however, your chances of sustaining a life-altering injury are far higher. The sheer size of big-rigs means there could be literally tons of force bearing down on you in a crash. You might not even realize until much later – after [...]
Whether you live or work in Tennessee, or are just passing through on your way to somewhere else, you’d better buckle up. As of January 1, 2016, anyone caught not wearing a seatbelt is in for a new fine. WBBJ Eyewitness News reported that first-time offenders caught without safety restraints are now posed to get hit with a $25 fine. Repeat offenders will see double that amount, as the new fines for them are $50. The [...]
2015 was a pretty terrible year when it came to auto recalls. We saw some truly mind-blowing accounts of defects in hardware and software that car and truck manufacturers pushed forward in the name of the almighty dollar. The silver lining, of course is that the US auto-safety advocates and regulatory committees finally said “Enough is enough!” You might say that 2015 was the year that we all struck back in the name of accountability. Now, [...]
It is no secret that insurance companies prioritize their bottom line over the health and safety of their patients. What many non-medical personnel don’t realize, however, is that they do it to doctors, too. One of the more popular ways to accomplish this involves the delicate, complex and often-overwhelming world of CPT codes and billing. Because of changes in Obamacare and TennCare, specifically, more and more doctors are being accused of billing for unnecessary services in [...]
In September of 2015, Volkswagen admitted to circumventing emissions tests on up to 11 million vehicles across the globe, spurring one of the largest – and most costly – recalls in history. This latest recall, however, involves a far more frightening part of the car: the braking system. According to Automotive News, the German auto manufacturer will recall 91,867 vehicles because “’The camshaft lobe has the potential unexpectedly shear off from the camshaft,’ leading to a [...]
Rollover crashes look exciting on the TV set or on the big screen, so if you’ve never been in one, it’s easy to understand why you might think they’re a “safe” accident to have. Nothing could be further from the truth. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, rollovers are among the deadliest accidents there are. Up to 10,000 people a year die in rollovers, which account for around 2% of all crashes but 33% [...]
In 2015 so far, there have been more than 10,000 traffic crashes in Tennessee, and 605 of them have happened in Knox County. With so many cars, trucks, SUVs and commercial vehicles on the road, the chances are pretty high that you might be involved in a car crash around Knoxville at some point in your life. A head-on collision is the rarest type of car crash, but one of the most dangerous: the National Highway [...]
Now that fall is officially here, more and more riders will be out on the road to enjoy the cooler weather. That means an increased chance for a crash involving a motorcycle for people who drive cars, and an increased chance at a serious injury for the riders themselves. Nothing caps this point more than the tragic news of two separate motorcycle accidents in Nashville which occurred mere hours from each other. According to The Tennessean, [...]
It’s been a long, hot and dry summer, and those conditions can be pretty grueling on motorcycle riders. We get it if you’re raring and ready to go for a long ride now that the weather is starting to cool a bit. As riders ourselves, we know the pull you can feel to just take off down the road – but we also know that safety is paramount to an enjoyable ride today and in the [...]
Every month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) compiles a list of vehicle and auto part recalls that’s made available to the public. The most recent report was published on September 2nd, and it’s pretty extensive. The 20 page report covers everything from defective headlights to bad tires to the pieces that make up your vehicle’s engine, and some of these defects could cause a fatal crash. We looked through the report, and found some [...]
As of today, 386 people have died as the result of a car crash in Tennessee; 19 of them have occurred in Knox County. Based on the research out of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there is a chance that up to 25% of those deaths were the result of a broadside, or “T bone,” accident. A broadside collisions occurs when one car, truck or motorcycle, or any motor vehicle, crashes into the side of [...]
School is back in session here in Knoxville, which means we all need to be much more aware while we’re on the roads. The increased number of children walking to and from school, combined with the number of school buses now on the roads, can make it more dangerous for kids and for drivers all around the state. There have already been two school bus accidents in the last month: an overturned bus in Lincoln County [...]
On July 30, 2015, a local school suffered a tragic loss when a student lost control of his car after football practice and drove off the side of the road. According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the accident was a true accident: “the crash report said the vehicle traveled slightly off the right side of the road on a left-hand curve, and then came back across both lanes and traveled off the left shoulder into trees, [...]
An article published online in The Atlantic earlier this year discussed Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s statement that “243 people were arrested and charged with stealing $712 million from Medicare,” which she claimed was “the largest criminal healthcare fraud takedown in the history of the Department of Justice.” The article went on to cite statistics from NPR and ProPublica, as well as other sources, of Medicare fraud being performed by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals over [...]
It is difficult to know where to begin when talking about the potential dangers for teen drivers, but most people are aware of the alarming statistics. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death in 15 to 20-year olds in the United States. In 2012 (the most recent data available) 4,283 drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 died in motor vehicle crashes, and 184,000 [...]
Large commercial trucks were responsible for 3,964 deaths and 95,000 injuries in truck accidents in 2013 according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics. While driver error is the culprit in upwards of 90% of trucking accidents (that is either the driver of the commercial truck or the other vehicle involved), there are other factors that can contribute to truck accidents, and one of those is poor maintenance. Commercial trucks that weigh more than 10,000 pounds [...]
We recently wrote about self-driving trucks in Nevada. Now it appears that self-driving cars are also causing some problems. In California, there are 48 licensed self-driving cars being tested on the roadways. According to the Huffington Post, 4 of those cars have been involved in accidents since the testing started in September: two while the car was “driving,” and two while the driver (as mandated by law) was in control. The details of the accidents cannot [...]
The future is here, and it came in the form of a self-driving tractor-trailer built by Daimler and sold by Freightliner Trucks. The Freightliner Inspiration is the first road ready, mostly autonomous semi in the country, and it gave the world a view of what it could do in early May when it traveled across the Hoover Dam. The Inspiration trucks – there are two – are licensed to travel in Nevada, but still require a [...]
