Car Accidents

Published on: May 20, 2013

More Effort Needed to Reduce Georgia Bicycle Accidents and Fatalities

Bicyclists in the metro Atlanta region continue to remain at high risk for injuries and fatalities.New data released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates that there were 14 “pedalcyclist” accident fatalities reported in Georgia in the year 2011.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration puts bicycles, unicycles, and other non-motorized vehicles in a single group called “pedalcycles.”

Those figures account for approximately 1.1% of the 1,223 traffic accident fatalities reported in 2011.Overall, Georgia had a bicyclist fatality rate of approximately 1.43 fatalities for every 1 million population.

Statistics were not much better across the rest of the country.In fact, there was actually an increase of 9% in the national bicycle accident fatality total for 2011.Overall, there were 677 pedalcyclist fatalities in the United States in 2011.These accidents also contributed to more than 48,000 injuries.

Published on: April 24, 2013

High-Risk of Car Accidents with Hands-Free Communication Too

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

For some time now, supporters of hands-free texting and voice-activated texting technologies have insisted that these technologies help reduce the risk of accidents because they do not require the use of hands and fingers to type text messages.However, a new study debunks that fact.The study shows that persons who use hands-free tools are just as much at risk of being involved in a car accident as persons who manually type text messages.

The research was conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University recently.According to researchers, it does not matter whether you use a hands-free texting technology or voice-activated system to dictate text messages, or manually type a text the old-fashioned way using your fingers.The risk of distraction is just as strong in the former method as in the latter one.

It’s estimated that Americans exchange as many as 6.1 billion text messages every day.Our Atlanta car accident lawyers also believe that many millions of those texts are exchanged by people while driving.With those kinds of staggering numbers, it is very important that motorists not be lulled into the false assumption that they’re protected from accidents if they’re using a voice-activated texting system.That may not be true at all.

Published on: March 26, 2013

Research Recommends Drastic Measures to Prevent Distracted Driving Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The distracted driving problem in Georgia and across the country has resulted in federal and state transportation agencies, safety advocates, and Atlanta car accident lawyers pooling in their efforts to come up with ways to reduce the numbers of distracted motorists on the roads.A number of strategies are currently being used to reduce the effect of distracted driving on highway safety.However, a new report released by researchers at West Virginia University recommends some dramatic new ways to reduce the impact of distracted driving.

The report was released by scientists at West Virginia University, and is titled Keeping an Eye on Distracted Driving.The report has been published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

According to the report, there is no doubt that distracted driving is one of the key threats to motorist safety in the United States.Every year, distracted driving causes more than 300,000 injuries on our roads, and as many as 2,600 fatalities.According to the report, the numbers of injuries and fatalities linked to distracted driving increased significantly between 2005 and 2009.

Published on: March 18, 2013

Truck Underride Guards May Not Protect Against Accident Injuries

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The angle of a passenger vehicle that is involved in a rear ender accident with a tractor-trailer could mean the difference between life and death for the occupants of the vehicle.This is because the underride guards that are located at the back of the tractor-trailer to protect the occupants of the passenger vehicle from serious injuries when it hits a truck don’t perform so well in many situations.

The study was conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which found that the underride guards located on the back of tractor-trailers, don’t always perform as well as expected in reducing the risk to passenger car occupants.

In some situations, these underride guards did a fairly good job.In the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study, the researchers found that when the full width of the car hit the center of the trailer, the underride guards in all trucks prevented the front portion of the passenger vehicle from sliding under the tractor-trailer.A situation like this can mean almost instantaneous death for the occupants of a passenger vehicle, who may suffer serious head or neck injuries, or even decapitation.

Published on: February 27, 2013

Comparison Study Finds High US Traffic Fatality Rates

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Americans seem to spend more on road transportation, but don’t necessarily drive on the safest roads in the world.According to a new report by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, the United States has a per capita accident fatality rate that is approximately 3 times greater than the rates in The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Sweden.

Researchers analyzed fatality statistics, and tried to determine why there was such a huge disparity between the numbers in the United States as compared those in Europe.They found that there are a number of factors that contribute to a higher U.S. accident fatality rate.

These include much more relaxed laws regarding seatbelt use, speeding, and drunk driving enforcement.When researchers analyzed road safety laws in both the United States and European countries, they found that the U.S. was definitely behind in the types of laws most likely to help prevent accidents.

Published on: February 20, 2013

Investigations Continue into Fatal Cobb County Teen Driver Car Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Investigations into a fatal accident in Cobb County that killed 2 teenagers are still being conducted.Investigators are looking at whether vehicle speed played a role in this particular accident.

The accident occurred about 10 days ago, when the driver of a Volvo lost control of his car.The car crashed into a brick sign, and exploded into flames.In the car were the 19-year-old driver and his 18-year-old passenger.Both were killed instantly.

So far, Cobb County police do not believe that alcohol or drugs were factors in this accident.However, toxicology tests will be conducted on the deceased driver.

Published on: February 11, 2013

Increase in Georgia Car Accidents Linked to Icy Conditions

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Transportation officials across Georgia have been busy over the past few weeks as winter weather continues to create additional dangers for motorists.Over the past few weeks, icy weather conditions have been reported across several counties in Georgia. The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and its 1,500+ employees have been closely monitoring the weather as temperatures dip, and roads freeze.Our Atlanta vehicle accident attorneys have also been reminding people to stay safe on the slippery roads.

Transportation officials have already blamed icy weather for some accidents on Georgia highways this winter.None of these accidents resulted in fatalities, but they did lead to injuries and roads being shut down.Most of the accidents are being blamed on automobiles that hit a patch of ice, or vehicles that went out of control on roads made slippery by melting ice.

GDOT has increased travel warnings for Georgia motorists.Drivers are being asked to be very cautious while on the road, and to watch out for ice patches on interstate ramps and before and after bridges.

Published on: January 31, 2013

Investigations Rule Out Brake Failure in Newton School Bus Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Investigations into the recent school bus accident in Newton County are continuing.However, as of now, it does not appear that brake failure was a reason for the accident that injured more than 40 children.

The accident involved 2 school buses. According to the Georgia State Patrol, one of the school buses rear-ended the other, which had stopped to drop off children on Georgia Highway 162.Both of the buses were carrying students from Rocky Plains Elementary School.

Thirty four injured students and one of the bus drivers had to be rushed to the Newton Medical Center.Six other students were injured and taken to another hospital. Although the children had to be hospitalized, none of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening.

Published on: January 22, 2013

National Safety Organization Ranks Georgia Highways

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

National safety organization, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, recently released its 2013 Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws, which rates states on how they performed on the enactment of 15 basic traffic safety laws.The laws include everything from text messaging bans, to graduated driver’s licensing programs for teen drivers.While these types of reports don’t do much to help accident victims, our Atlanta car accident attorneys believe there is value in reviewing the results and how our state’s legislature is performing.

AHAS ranked all 50 states and the District of Colombia.The bad news seems to be that many states have regressed as far as passing important and effective highway safety laws are concerned.In 2011, 16 safety laws were passed by states, while 22 laws were passed in 2010.However, in 2012, states passed just 10 highway safety laws.

The report was based on whether states had enacted important traffic safety laws, including those related to seatbelts, booster seats, motorcycle helmets, driving requirements for teenage drivers, driving while impaired, and laws that ban texting while driving for all motorists.States were given 3 color-based ratings – green, yellow or red.Green denoted the best performance, and indicated that the state has significantly advanced towards adoption of all recommended highway safety laws.Yellow indicates a state that is working towards enacting many of these laws, but still has a lot of work to do.However, a classification of red indicates that a state is dangerously behind in the adoption of key traffic safety laws that can keep motorists safe.

Published on: December 29, 2012

National Seat Belt Usage Rates at Record Highs in 2012

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Across the country, approximately 86% of all motorists buckled up before driving in 2012.That was a record high for seat belt usage in the U.S., and marks a significant improvement over the past decades.

The data came from a new study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which found that national seat belt usage rates are at an all-time high of 86%.The National Occupant Protection Use Survey finds that the use of seat belts here has increased steadily since 1994.That has coincided with the fact that many states across the country, including Georgia, have enacted stricter seatbelt laws that require all motorists to buckle up.

In many states like Georgia, seat belt laws are primary enforcement laws, which means that a police officer who sees a motorist driving without wearing a seatbelt, can simply pull him over, without finding any other infraction.Primary enforcement laws are much more stringent, because they lead to stronger enforcement of the laws.Not surprisingly, the study found that states like Georgia that have primary enforcement laws have much higher seatbelt usage rates compared to states that have secondary enforcement laws.