Georgia recorded a staggering 45% increase in pedestrian wrongful deaths in car accidents between 2019 and 2021. The state is one of the worst performing ones when it comes to controlling these fatality numbers.
Latest data by the Governors Highway Safety Association shows a dramatic increase in the number of pedestrian fatalities recorded in Georgia between 2019 and 2020. The increase was approximately 45.6% or an increase of 106 fatalities in pedestrian auto accidents between 2019 and 2021. In 2019, there were 239 pedestrian car accidents wrongful deaths in Georgia, and that number increased to 348 fatalities in 2021. That was a significant increase in 2021, compared to 2019.
In 2020, Georgia recorded 281 deaths in pedestrian car accidents, an increase of 67 from 2019, and a percentage point increase of 23.8 percent. The state performs poorly on a number of parameters. Georgia’s tally of pedestrian wrongful deaths in 2021 was the third highest increase in pedestrian car accident death numbers. Georgia had a rate of 2.62 deaths for every 100,000 pedestrians in 2020 and a rate of 3.22 deaths for every 100,000 pedestrians in 2021.
The analysis by the Governors Highway Safety Association Highway also finds a disturbing trend when it comes to speeding. The role of high speeds as a factor in pedestrian accident deaths actually increased in the case of pedestrians over the age of 18. The percentage of auto accidents involving pedestrians above the age of 15 years in which speeding was cited as a factor ballooned from 5.8% in 2018 to close to 12% in 2021. Clearly, high car speeds are a major factor in the increase in pedestrian auto accident fatalities in Georgia.
What’s even more disturbing about these statistics is that the increase in child pedestrian fatalities in car accidents involving speeding were recorded during a period in which most children were studying at home as a result of the lockdowns. The fact that auto accident deaths actually increased during a period when there were fewer children on the roads is ominous.
Also disturbing is the finding that alcohol plays a significant role in pedestrian fatalities. In 2020, more than 31 % of all car accidents that resulted in pedestrian deaths involved a driver with a blood alcohol concentration limit higher than .08 %.
The Atlanta car crash attorneys at Katz Personal Injury Lawyers are dedicated to the representation of persons injured in car accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across Georgia. If you or a loved one have suffered injuries in a car accident, talk to a lawyer at our firm and determine if you have legal options to a claim for damages. You may be eligible for compensation that includes medical expenses, lost income and other types of damages. Talk to an attorney at our firm and discuss your case.