Car Accidents

Published on: March 6, 2015

The Safest and Most Dangerous Automobiles

Auto accident fatality rates are at their lowest levels in decades, and the average Atlanta motorist now has a much higher likelihood of walking away relatively unharmed from an accident, compared to the past. However, motorists in some cars remain at a much higher risk of dying in accidents, compared to motorists in other cars.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently confirmed that improved auto design has contributed significantly to the reduction in traffic accident fatalities in the United States over the past decade. In fact, according to IIHS, the chances of a fatality occurring in an accident involving late model automobiles dropped by more than one- third over the past decade.

The good news is that if you are driving a newer automobile that comes with advanced safety features, your chances of surviving an accident are extremely high. However, the bad news is that there is a wide gap between fatality rates involving newer automobiles and the most dangerous automobiles. According to the data, among model year 2011 model automobiles, nine vehicles had a fatality rate of zero. In the other list, there are at least three cars that have fatality rates that are higher than 100 per million registered vehicle years.

Published on: March 3, 2015

Highway Safety Group Recommends Stronger GDL Laws, Primary Enforcement Seat Belt Laws for Georgia

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Highway accident fatalities in Georgia have been on the decline over the past few years, but the state could make more progress towards keeping more motorists safer on its roads. That is the opinion of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, an organization that rates all 50 states each year on their highway safety performance.

The report ranks states in three color-coded categories – green, yellow and red. Green signifies the best performance and indicates that the state has complied with most of the group’s recommended highway safety laws, and yellow signifies that while the state has made some progress in complying with these laws, there still remains a lot more work to be done. Red is the worst rating on the scale and is only given to those states that have failed to enact important safety laws.

This year, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety gave Georgia a Yellow rating for its performance in complying with critical safety laws that help prevent accidents.The group ranked states based on the state’s compliance with laws related to child restraint use, seat belt use, drunk driving prevention, distracted driving prevention, graduated driver licensing laws, motorcycle helmet laws and others.

Published on: January 28, 2015

Company Introduces Inflatable Motorcycle Vest to Prevent Injuries

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Motorcyclists are often seriously injured when involved in a crash. The most deadly of those injuries are head injuries. However, other injuries, including those that affect the person’s neck and back may also leave a rider or passenger severely injured. One company has introduced an inflatable vest that will help reduce the risk of motorcycle injuries in an accident.

The inflatable vest has been developed by Spidi, and the vest is called the Neck DPS Airbag Tex Vest.According to Spidi, wearing the lightweight vest provides additional protection to riders and passengers who may be involved in a fall or collision.

The vest has a double cushion that wraps itself around the neck region, reducing the risk of serious or fatal injuries in an accident. Wearing the vest also allows the motorcyclist to roll on the ground after impact, thereby reducing the potential for serious injuries when the person lands on asphalt. The vessel inflates in .2 seconds after a rider is thrown from their bike, and inflates with carbon dioxide from a canister. It is fairly lightweight at 420 grams. The vest can simply be remove after use, and recharged.

Published on: January 21, 2015

Drowsy Driving Is More Dangerous Than Many Believe

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Sleep deprivation is far more common in the American population than many people realize.Unfortunately, far too many sleep-deprived American adults and teenagers don’t think twice about getting behind the wheel when they’re completely fatigued. According to statistics, 50% of adult drivers say that they have operated a motor vehicle in the past year while completely exhausted.

Many motorists who would never dream of driving after consuming alcoholic beverages fail to recognize the potential for disaster when reflexes slow due to drowsiness.According to one study recently published in the journal Sleep, people who suffer from sleep difficulties or sleep disorders are twice as likely to die in a car accident.One of the more common sleep disorders is insomnia, but people who have trouble falling or staying asleep may also suffer from another disorder called sleep apnea.

In addition to failing to recognize how serious drowsy driving is, many drivers do not understand how to prevent it. According to one recent study, most motorists who want to remain awake roll-down the window, splash water on their faces, or turn music volume up to prevent themselves from falling asleep. According to the study, those tactics are ineffective, and the only method that really works to prevent drowsy driving is taking a nap. It makes sense to pull over somewhere safe, and take a break for at least 30 minutes to feel refreshed. It should be noted that caffeine is a stop gap measure which can help a person remain alert, but its effectiveness tends to be short term.

Published on: January 13, 2015

Riding an Adult-Sized ATV Can Be Deadly for a Child

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Pediatricians and child safety advocates have long known of the dangers involving children and adult all-terrain vehicles (ATV). However, according to a new study, children who ride adult-sized ATVs may have the highest risk of suffering fatal injuries in an accident.

According to the study, which was conducted by researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, fatal accidents were most likely to involve children riding adult-sized ATVs, or not wearing a helmet while riding. In 95% of the fatal ATV accidents analyzed in the study, the victims were riding large vehicles at the time. In spite of all the media attention on the dangers of these vehicles, far too many parents allow their children to drive adult-sized ATVs. Your child should not ride in an adult-sized ATV, even as a passenger.

Here’s a fact many parents may not know; in the United States, more children die in ATV accidents than in bicycle accidents. That’s partly because the dangers of riding on such vehicles isn’t fully appreciated by parents.In addition, the great majority of children do not have the kind of physical or cognitive maturity that is needed to operate an adult-sized ATV.

Published on: December 12, 2014

Young Males in Large, New Vehicles More Likely to Survive Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Being male, driving a large vehicle, or driving a new vehicle –these were some of the factors that are common to people who survive serious accidents. That data comes from a study that was conducted at the Indiana University School of Public Health.

The researchers reviewed more than 1,100 head-on accidents, and found that people between the ages of 15 and 24 were involved in more head-on accidents than drivers in other age groups. The researchers were able to identify those factors that were common to people who survived serious accidents. They found that while people in the 15 to 24 age category were involved in approximately 21% of all head-on accident, they had a fatality rate that was just 39%. That was the lowest fatality rate among all the other age groups that were involved in head-on accidents.

In addition, younger male drivers seemed to have the lowest risk of dying in a head-on accident. Women were much more likely to die in head-on accidents, although it isn’t exactly clear why this is so. Besides gender, the size of vehicle also impacted a person’s fatality risk. For years now, Atlanta car accident lawyers have been aware that driving larger vehicles like SUVs or pickup trucks is linked to a much higher chance of surviving a serious collision.These cars provide much greater protection against fatal injury, and have higher crashworthiness.The study also found that driving a new vehicle, seatbelt use, and airbag deployment increased a person’s chances of surviving an accident.

Published on: December 8, 2014

White House Names December National Impaired Driving Prevention Month

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

When most people think of the holiday season, they imagine cookies, presents, and parties. It is a time to spend with family and friends, celebrating love and togetherness. Unfortunately, the holiday season is also a time of increased danger on the roads. With inclement weather and more drivers on the roads, traffic accidents are common at this time of year. In addition, one of the major causes of accidents during the holidays is drugged and intoxicated drivers.

The White House is observing National Impaired Driving Prevention Month this December. While the perils of drunk driving are well known, drugged driving can be just as dangerous. Even prescription drugs can impair perception, reaction time, judgment, and motor skills. In an extensive survey done by the National Highway Traffic Safety in Administration in 2007, one in eight nighttime, weekend drivers tested positive for illicit drugs. In 2012, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 10.3 million adolescents and adults admitted to having driven under the influence of drugs within the past year. In 2009, one in three fatally injured drivers with known drug-test results tested positive for drugs.

Seventeen states, including Georgia, have adopted zero tolerance or “per se” statutes that make it a crime to operate a vehicle while having alcohol or a drug in the body. Law enforcement officials and researchers believe that this type of statute is the most effective in dealing with drugged drivers. Georgia’s law makes it illegal for a person to operate a motor vehicle “under the influence of any drug to the extent that it is less safe for the person to drive.”

Published on: November 17, 2014

Air Bag Recalls Continue to Expand

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

As we mentioned in a post back in September, 2014 has been a record year for auto recalls. And the year isn’t over yet. Approximately 14.3 million automobiles from ten different manufacturers have now been recalled for faulty air bags manufactured by Takata.

The air bags, which were installed in vehicles from 2000-2011, may explode when they inflate. The force of the explosion may shatter the air bag container, sending metal and plastic shrapnel into the driver and passenger. The problem has been linked to propellant chemicals in the air bag, and may be aggravated in high-humidity climates. As a result, there have been more widespread recalls in high-humidity areas, including Georgia. So far there have been five fatalities and over 100 injures attributed to the defective air bags. The most recent death, which sparked a new wave of recalls, was of a pregnant woman in Malaysia.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is urging owners of the affected vehicles, which include cars by Honda, Toyota, Mazda, BMW, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors, to act on the recalls. Car owners that have been contacted by their cars’ manufacturers should make repair arrangements with local dealerships. Consumers who have not been contacted and are concerned that their vehicles may be affected can check by their vehicle identification number (VIN) here.

Published on: October 23, 2014

National Teen Driver Safety Week 2014: Part 2

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

National Teen Driver Safety Week is going on now! In part one of this post, we talked about the disturbingly high rate of teenager traffic fatalities and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “5 to drive” rules to keep teen drivers safe. In today’s post we will examine graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws.

GDL laws have proved effective in reducing crash rates for young teenage drivers, particularly 16- and 17-year-olds. These laws put more restrictions on younger teenage drivers that gradually lift as they age and gain more driving experience. GDL programs permit new drivers to gain experience by limiting their exposure to risky situations, such as driving at night or with multiple passengers, before getting full driving privileges.

In general, GDL laws do not apply to teenagers who begin driving at age 18 or older. Today a significant number of teens are waiting to get their licenses, so they are not subject to the restrictions of the GDL laws. Two new studies by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety suggest that not only do GDL laws help reduce accidents for drivers under 18, but that they could be beneficial for new drivers 18 and older. Inexperience is a major cause of accidents, even more so than age, and while 18-year-old beginner drivers may be more mature, they are still inexperienced.

Published on: October 17, 2014

National Teen Driver Safety Week 2014: Part 1 of 2

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Despite what teenagers may believe, they are not the best drivers. Tragically, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers in the United States. In many cases, the teenagers who died were behind the wheel.

Since it was established by Congress in 2007, National Teen Driver Safety Week has been observed in the third week of October. This year it runs from October 19 to 26. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which sponsors the program, is emphasizing the importance of parents in taking a proactive role to keep their teens safe.

During last year’s campaign, the NHTSA introduced the “5 to drive” program–five key rules for teens to be safe drivers. The rules address the major causes of accidents for young drivers.