Traffic Fatalities Decline in Tennessee
For the second year in a row, traffic fatalities have declined in Tennessee, according to WBIR.com. The site reports that in 2008, Tennessee saw 1,043 traffic fatalities, down 14% from the 1,211 such fatalities that occurred in the state in 2007. So far this year, Tennessee has seen 829 traffic-related deaths, which is down from 928 at this point last year.
The article cites seatbelts as the primary safety measure responsible for saving lives in traffic accidents, but seatbelts have another important purpose in the context of personal injury law: negligence avoidance. Implicit in the duty to drive in the manner that a reasonable person would is the duty to wear a seatbelt, because a reasonable person would do the two following things:
- Follow the law, which now requires that seatbelts be worn while in a vehicle
- Choose to use a potentially life-saving device regardless of the small amount of discomfort one might feel while wearing it.
Thus, drivers in Tennessee should make certain that everyone in the vehicle is wearing their seatbelt before putting the car into motion in order to avoid potential injury should an automobile accident occur and to avoid being sued for negligence for operating a vehicle while passengers were not safely restrained.
Passengers in automobiles may also be affected in a negligence context by the decision not to wear a seatbelt. Tennessee is a comparative fault state, meaning a passenger in an automobile who is injured as a result of an auto accident will not be allowed to recover damages for any injuries they sustain as a result of their own negligence. For example, if it is clear from the evidence that a passenger would have sustained no injuries if she would have been wearing a seatbelt but that the failure to do so caused her to be thrown from the car and suffer serious injuries, the passenger herself, not the driver, will be held responsible for the injuries that she suffered.
Negligence determinations can be tricky because whether someone has been negligent is often based on the circumstances surrounding the car accident in Knoxville. Also, whether the defendant was negligent and to what extent is usually a determination made by a jury. Drivers should thus be careful not to operate a vehicle while passengers are not properly restrained in order to minimize the driver’s potential liability should an accident occur. Passengers should also be sure to buckle up so as to prevent serious injury for which they may be responsible.
Source: http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=105816&catid=2
