Georgia Injury Law Blog
Even with the passing of recent laws such as the Hands-free law banning cell phone use while driving, Georgia could still do more to help prevent car accidents and protect motorists and passengers when they are involved in crashes according to national road safety advocates.
Advocates for Auto and Highway Safety is an alliance of groups that are invested in traffic and highway safety, including enforcement representatives, media personnel, public health advocates and insurance companies, all united in a common mission to reduce the rates of accidents that injure and kill so many every year. The group releases an annual road map for individual states to use as a set of guidelines to reduce the risk of accidents and save more lives ever year. This year too, the coalition has released the 2021 roadmap for traffic safety, and the report has recommendations for Georgia to implement as well. The coalition is dedicated to the reduction of accident and injury risks, and the road map is drafted with a view to helping keep all users of our roads safer.
The roadmap for Georgia kicks off with a call to instate primary enforcement of rear seat belt laws in Georgia. Currently, primary enforcement only applies to front seat passengers. The road map also addresses the protection of child passengers in traffic accidents by calling for a law requiring all children below the age of two to be restrained in rear-facing car seats. Too often, children below this age are moved to forward-facing seats or booster seats at great risk to their safety.
Advocates for Auto and Highway Safety is also calling for a strengthening of Georgia’s graduated driver license laws. For one, the guidelines call for the setting of 16 as the minimum age for a driver’s learner’s permit and a requirement of a minimum of 50 hours of supervised driving. The road map also calls for tougher restrictions on night-time driving as well as more stringent restrictions against passengers in a vehicle being driven by a novice driver. The road map recommends that an unrestricted license should only be granted when a novice driver who has met all qualifying criteria reaches 18 years of age.
Advocates for Auto and Highway Safety is also, however, commending Georgia on its many laws that do protect motorists. These include the state’s open container law, which prohibits any person from consuming alcohol or possessing an open container of alcohol in a car. The road map also mentions the law that bans all motorists in Georgia from texting while driving.
Overall, however, our state could be doing a much better job of preventing accidents and protecting motorists against injuries.
The Atlanta car accident attorneys at the Katz Personal Injury Lawyers represent persons injured as a result of car accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across Georgia. If your loved one has been injured in a car accident, talk to a lawyer at our firm, and determine your legal rights to a claim. You may qualify for a car accident claim that helps you recover compensation for medical costs, lost wages, diminished earning ampacity in the future, pain and suffering and other damages. Talk to an attorney at our firm, and discuss your eligibility for a claim.