Jacksonville Car Accident Attorney

Sheriff's driving policy under review

The fatal crash on June 11 that involved a speeding sheriff’s deputy has Sheriff Jerry Monette reviewing his department’s policy on high-speed driving.

“We’re going to take a look at the policy and fine tune it,” Monette said. County attorney Scott Hart, who handles law enforcement matters, is assisting in the review, Monette said.

The review of the 2000 policy comes after then-deputy sheriff Bradley Tabor’s patrol car slammed into a 15-passenger van driven by Mildred “Millie” Worley, 48, of Bridgeton, at around 4 a.m. on June 11. Worley was killed and Tabor lost his job and faces criminal charges.

Tabor reportedly told the N.C. Highway Patrol trooper who investigated the crash that Worley’s van was stopped in the westbound lane without its lights on.

But a reconstruction unit from the N.C. Highway Patrol determined that the van was traveling about 50 mph with its lights on and that the deputy’s patrol car was traveling at least 100 mph. Tabor was not responding to a call at the time, and his lights and siren were turned off.

According to policy, in some emergencies such as a “crime in progress,” an officer may respond without a blue light and siren, but must comply with the posted speed limits and all other rules of the road.

A witness who called 911 after seeing the wreck did not report seeing emergency lights or a siren.

The Sheriff’s Office policy states that vehicles may be operated at high speed, but only with blue lights and sirens, and only when officers are responding to calls where immediate arrival and intervention are necessary to avert personal injury or property damage. Examples include in-progress robberies or assaults or burglaries where the residents are home.

Tabor was en route to give backup to another deputy answering a call from a homeowner concerned about a garage door being open. The dispatcher then told Tabor to disregard the call, but Tabor didn’t slow his speed and crashed into Worley’s van a short time later.

The policy also states that personnel should never drive at speeds that are unreasonable and imprudent under existing conditions.

“Officers should weigh the present danger to themselves and the public,” the policy states. “No personnel shall operate a vehicle at a rate of speed that would cause him to lose control of a vehicle or put the public in any danger.

Many Florida teen drivers experience near miss car accidents ...

Think about how often you see drivers slam on their brakes to avoid a car accident in the Jacksonville area. You more than likely see other drivers take evasive maneuvers or slam on their brakes every week to miss car accidents . When these incidents occur they are referred to as near miss accidents. Since many experienced adult drivers experience near miss accidents, it is likely that inexperienced teen drivers also experience the same type of near miss occurrences. One survey was conducted to find out.

According to a recent survey of about 2,300 teenage drivers, a majority of teenage drivers have experienced at least one near miss accident within the last year of driving. Specifically, almost 70 percent of teen drivers have experienced one near miss car accident over the last year, and almost half have experienced more than one near miss car accident.

Though inexperience and distraction likely played a role in many of the teenage near miss accidents, a significant number of the surveyed teen drivers assessed blame elsewhere. Over one-third of the surveyed teen drivers said that another driver had caused the near miss car accident. Many less admitted that distraction was a cause. Only 13 percent of the teen drivers said their near miss crash was caused by texting and driving and fewer attributed the near miss to talking on the phone.

Parents be warned, the vast majority of the teen drivers in the survey considered themselves to be safe drivers. Unfortunately, the same group said it would take a car accident before they would change their driving habits. Summer can be a particularly dangerous time for teen drivers and passengers to be on the road since there is more unsupervised free time for teenagers over the summer months.

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