Recently there have been a couple of topics concerning how fast you drive your rig or how you handle a blowout, etc. Last year there was an accident in Nashville where the driver of the Class A killed a Nashville police officer. It was discussed on this forum and some agreed it was the driver's fault and some did not. Basically it isleft for the courts to decide. This post is to show you the possible consequences of your actions while on the road and how it can affect others. In the case of the accident in Nashville, the driver has been charged with reckless homicide and should be going to court soon to hear the results of that charge. The family of the officer that was killed have filed a civil suit against BOTH the driver, and his wife for wrongful death and are asking for $5,000,000. Here are links to the articles concerning this accident and perhaps it will provide a little bit of information to help us all make better decisions while we are behind the wheel of our large RV's.RV accident kills officer in NashvilleRV driver indicted after fatal accident Family files lawsuit

I remember this discussion. I hope the family of the Officer receives a fair settlement.After reading the article, there's no doubt in my mind this death could have been avoided if the MH driver was paying attention.But, that's for the courts to decide.Sadly, this could happen to any one of us if we're not watching traffic and road conditions. (or if we're driving like an idiot)Thanks for the update.

I agree with gbopp, it would appear that this guy was not in control of an awfully large vehicle. I couldn't imagine losing a son at 25 yo. Lots of families destroyed, including the driver's.

There is much,much more to the consequences for many people (Sadly not all).This is not my field. (Psychology) but I do have some experience.But most folks..They run over someone.. Gonna need several thousands of dollars worth of therapy as well.

What I could never understand/figure out is why were they blocking two of the four lanes at the same spot on I-65 so people could get on more easily at the exit in front of them. Best I remember is that there was not an accident on I-65. If the Response Unit had blocked one lane at the beginning of the curve with his sign saying "two right lanes closed ahead" I doubt this accident would have happened. Still terrible for all involved.The situation that worries me the most is going into dense fog (all of a sudden) and slowing way down so maybe you can see what's in front in time, but not so much that the guy behind does not hit you. If the traffic stops in this situation I'm going to park as far off the shoulder as I can get... even if I get stuck. Safe travels.

This incident has been heavily reported in the Nashville press, as you can imagine. Recently an article reported that there was video of the the traffic preceeding the accident; it shows that traffic was moving slowly but smoothly in the 2 open lanes. All 4 lanes were not at a standstill, as the RV driver claimed.There are NO blind curves in that area. You can see traffic for at least 1/2 mile ahead at that point; I've driven it many times.Of course if you are doing 70 mph, 1/2 mile is less than 30 seconds, which is NOT long enough to stop a RV at that speed.The RV driver was going too fast and not paying attention to the traffic around him.Video evidence found

Accident consequences | Good Sam Community

tropical36
Explorer
Jun 14, 2015
rgatijnet1 wrote:
Recently there have been a couple of topics concerning how fast you drive your rig or how you handle a blowout, etc. Last year there was an accident in Nashville where the driver of the Class A killed a Nashville police officer. It was discussed on this forum and some agreed it was the driver's fault and some did not. Basically it is
left for the courts to decide.
This post is to show you the possible consequences of your actions while on the road and how it can affect others.
In the case of the accident in Nashville, the driver has been charged with reckless homicide and should be going to court soon to hear the results of that charge.
The family of the officer that was killed have filed a civil suit against BOTH the driver, and his wife for wrongful death and are asking for $5,000,000.
Here are links to the articles concerning this accident and perhaps it will provide a little bit of information to help us all make better decisions while we are behind the wheel of our large RV's.

RV accident kills officer in Nashville

RV driver indicted after fatal accident

Family files lawsuit

With whatever might have taken place here, I'm betting that it wasn't a result of going too slow and especially with the first sign of possible trouble ahead.
rgatijnet1
Explorer III
Jun 14, 2015
mike brez wrote:
The way the court system works and the way things can be dragged out he will probably die from natural causes due to old age before he is sentenced.

Or the lawyers will have drained his assets to the point where they decide to end it. No more money, no more defense.
mike_brez
Explorer
Jun 14, 2015
The way the court system works and the way things can be dragged out he will probably die from natural causes due to old age before he is sentenced.
rgatijnet1
Explorer III
Jun 14, 2015
wallynm wrote:
It has been my sad experience in life to come to an understanding that many times we do not want to suffer the consequences of our actions. Courts in theory were created to be blind and dispense justice. It will be interesting to see or hear the final decision.

This has progressed for over a year now with legal fees mounting. His next criminal court review is in July and that is just for "discussion" so the final court date has not been established yet.
wallynm
Explorer
Jun 14, 2015
It has been my sad experience in life to come to an understanding that many times we do not want to suffer the consequences of our actions. Courts in theory were created to be blind and dispense justice. It will be interesting to see or hear the final decision.
rgatijnet1
Explorer III
Jun 14, 2015
msmith1199 wrote:
The RV driver admitted to seeing the warning signs. He claims at the time he saw the sign it only said "one lane" closed ahead. He tried to claim it was the fault of the sign because had it said "two lanes" closed he would have moved over. So he admits to knowing there is a lane closure ahead, and yet he still doesn't pay attention to his driving. There are no blind curves on freeways as he also claimed. He should have seen the stopped police car in plenty of time to slow down and stop if he had to.

That's right. He made several comments to the press about what happened. He would have been better off saying nothing. As you said he admitted to seeing the sign a mile before the accident that said one lane was closed but, as the outcome shows, he did not even move out of that one lane.
msmith1199
Explorer II
Jun 14, 2015
The RV driver admitted to seeing the warning signs. He claims at the time he saw the sign it only said "one lane" closed ahead. He tried to claim it was the fault of the sign because had it said "two lanes" closed he would have moved over. So he admits to knowing there is a lane closure ahead, and yet he still doesn't pay attention to his driving. There are no blind curves on freeways as he also claimed. He should have seen the stopped police car in plenty of time to slow down and stop if he had to.
fla-gypsy
Explorer
Jun 14, 2015
Having seen the video there is no doubt the MH driver is in big trouble
rgatijnet1
Explorer III
Jun 13, 2015
He was in the right lane and there were warning signs a mile or so before the accident about the lane blockage. He said that he had no time to merge with the other traffic to his left so he tried to squeeze between the parked police vehicle and emergency truck, where the officer was standing.
The police did a re-enactment of the accident with another RV and video camera showing the driver's view before they decided on a reckless homicide charge, as well as reviewing a video taken by another driver.
OutdoorPhotogra
Explorer
Jun 13, 2015
So was the RV driving in the left lane with traffic already merged and slow in the right lane? I still can't figure out how you get up to the closed lane without knowing there is a closed lane ahead.

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