Tennessee Teen’s Death Sparks Highway Safety Concerns
January 9, 2012
The family of an 18-year-old Covington, Tennessee, teen is asking state transportation officials to make changes to the intersection on Highway 51 where he was hit and killed last Friday night. According to WMCTV 5 News, the young man was crossing the street after leaving a store at around 6:30 PM Friday when he was hit by a truck.
Numerous residents and business owners in the area testified to how dangerous the area can be because of heavy traffic from a nearby residential area and a blind spot in the highway. Many area residents can attest to the traffic increase that has occurred because of the development of a 50-60 home residential area nearby. The heavy traffic is only complicated by a hill in the road that can cause drivers to be blinded to what may be in the road on the other side. On-sight tests confirmed just how difficult it would be for a speeding driver to stop for an object in the road by showing it took an average of only eight seconds for a car to reach the accident sight after cresting the hill.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation has vowed to do a traffic study of the intersection to determine what could be done to make it safer.
The Tennessee personal injury attorneys with John Michael Bailey Injury Lawyers say the best way to ensure your safety when crossing the street is to always use a crosswalk, look both ways twice before crossing, and wear light colored or reflective clothing after dark.
