The Governors’ Highway Safety Association is predicting a 2% decline in motorcycle accident deaths for 2010, based on a slight decline in fatalities during the first nine months of the year.In Georgia, Atlanta motorcycle accident lawyers found slightly better news.The predicted decline in motorcycle accident fatalities in Georgia is a little more substantial than the national average.As an Atlanta injury lawyer, I welcome any decrease in the number of motorcycle accident deaths and hope this also indicates a reduction in the number of accidents involving serious personal injuries.
During the first nine months of 2009, there had been 112 motorcycle accident deaths in Georgia, and those numbers had decreased to 98 deaths during the same period in 2010.That was a decline of 14, and while it is not a bad performance, Georgia is way behind our neighbor Louisiana with a decline of 37, Oklahoma with a decline of 25 and Wisconsin with a decline of 24 fatalities. Georgia could do much better with saving motorcyclists lives every year, if it invested more in educating motorists about the specific dangers facing motorcyclists.
According to the report by the GHSA, motorcycle accident fatalities across the country decreased by approximately 2.4% during the first nine months of the year.The GHSA is predicting the total number of motorcycle accident fatalities for 2010 to be around 4, 376 or fewer.However, the agency is warning against any enthusiasm over this decline in motorcycle accident deaths.
In 2009, there was a decline of 16% in motorcycle accident fatalities.That decline had come after 11 years of continuous increases in motorcycle deaths.The fact that there has been a barely 2.4% decline in motorcycle accident fatalities this year seems to suggest that states around the countryneed to develop individual measures to increase safety for motorcyclists.This includes not only educating drivers about motorcyclists, but also modifying road design to make motorcyclists visible.
The Governors’ Highway Safety Association believes that over the next few years, we could actually see an increase in motorcycle accident fatalities unless states act fast.