Car Accidents

Published on: October 7, 2013

Highway Safety Expected to Be Affected by Government Shutdown

Certain highway safety initiatives across the country are likely to be affected by the federal government shutdown, which is currently in effect. While some agencies that are responsible for auto safety are likely to be negatively impacted, others that are responsible for trucking safety, fortunately, may escape unscathed.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is one of those agencies that is expected to be affected by the shutdown and resulting lack of funding. This is the federal agency that is responsible for highway safety activities across the country, and therefore, this is one shutdown that has the potential to affect the safety of motorists and passengers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration may be forced to cut several employees as part of the furloughs. That in turn, could also impact not only highway safety, but also trucking safety to a certain extent, because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also regulates trucking equipment.

Published on: September 23, 2013

Improper Tractor-Trailer Lane Possible Cause of Motorcycle Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

An improper lane change made by a commercial truck driver is being blamed for a recent fatal motorcycle accident on Interstate 75 in Henry County, GA.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the accident occurred when a motorcyclist traveling northbound was struck by a truck near exit 75 in Henry County.According to initial reports, a southbound truck crossed the median, and crashed into the motorcycle, killing the motorcyclist.So far, it appears that an improper lane change by the tractor-trailer may have started the fatal chain of events, although the investigation is still pending, and no charges have been filed against the tractor-trailer driver.

Every year, more than 4,000 motorcyclists are killed in accidents, and many of these motorcycle accidents are caused by motorists who are inebriated, driving recklessly, or driving while distracted.

Published on: September 4, 2013

Georgia DOT Releases New Safe Driving Videos

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Georgia highway officials have made a lot of progress in helping reduce the number of people killed in traffic accidents across the state. However, thousands of people continue to die, or are seriously injured in accidents across the state every year.In order to help reduce those numbers further, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has developed and released a new series of videos.

GDOT has launched a new video initiative that comes in response to a call by the Federal Highway Administration to reduce traffic accident fatalities across the country to 0.The Federal Highway Administration’s Towards Zero Deaths initiative is aimed at minimizing the number of traffic accident fatalities across the country.

In order to support this initiative, the Georgia Department of Transportation is promoting a new series of educational videos. These videos will appear GDOT’s YouTube Channel and website.

Published on: August 2, 2013

Georgia ATV Accidents and Off Road Vehicle Safety Concerns

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

There have been a number of ATV-related accidents reported in Georgia over the past few weeks, and unfortunately that number is expected to increase as the weather remains nice into the fall months.

In one accident, a man suffered injuries when the ATV he was riding with his wife tipped over.The husband was trapped underneath the ATV, and suffered serious injuries.In another more recent incident, a man was killed in an ATV accident when his machine collided with another vehicle.

Both of these accidents involve adult users of ATVs, but most injuries involving ATV accidents every year involve teenagers and children.This is in spite of the fact that ATV use by children is not encouraged.In fact, it is highly recommended that children below the age of 16 not be allowed to ride ATVs at all.

Published on: July 22, 2013

New Federal Rule Governing Trucker Hours of Service Goes into Effect

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

On July 1, a new federal law that modifies current hours-of-service rules went into effect, affecting thousands of truckers on U.S. highways.The law is meant to help keep our highways safer, and reduce the number of truck accidents caused by drivers who are driving while fatigued or drowsy.

Under the law, truck drivers will be required to take a break of at least a half hour in the first eight hours after they begin driving.The rule also sets a maximum work week of 70 hours, a reduction from the earlier 82-hour limit.

These are significant changes, and have come as a result of concern over the dangers from drowsy truckers on U.S. highways.There have been a number of serious accidents involving truck drivers who were fatigued and sleepy while driving.Drowsy driving is a major safety concern, and it affects not just commercial truckers and bus drivers, but also motorists.In fact, drowsy driving is believed to be one of the most neglected and underestimated safety issues impacting our roads.

Published on: June 28, 2013

Helmets Greatly Reduce the Risk of Serious Bicycle Accident Injuries

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

As many as 75% of all fatal bicycle accidents are believed to involve a head injury.There is no doubt that a traumatic brain injury is the single biggest safety risk for a bicyclist involved in a crash.A new analysis finds that sports-related bicycling injuries account for more head injuries every year than football or baseball.

In many states around the country, including Georgia, wearing a helmet is not mandatory.The reasons for this vary, but generally the safety aspect of this bicycling has been largely neglected because it is such a popular activity and a favorite pastime for so many Atlantans.This is in spite of the fact that there is enough research to suggest that wearing a bicycle helmet may be the only thing protecting a bicyclist from serious injuries in an accident.

In fact, recent Australian research focused on the kind of injuries suffered by bicyclist who were not helmeted at the time of an accident, and found that wearing a helmet can help protect bicyclists from all but the most severe impacts.

Published on: June 18, 2013

Three People Killed in Truck-Ambulance Accident in Georgia

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

An out-of-control truck is being blamed for a deadly accident in Irwin County in South Georgia recently that killed three people.The accident killed two paramedics and a patient who was being transported to the hospital.

According to reports, the accident occurred on GA 32 in Irwin County when the tractor-trailer and the ambulance were traveling on the highway.The tractor-trailer jackknifed and the trailer collided with the ambulance in a deadly head-on collision that proved devastating for the occupants of the ambulance.

The Georgia State Patrol’s Special Crash Reconstruction Team has begun investigating the accident.No charges have been filed yet, and charges will be filed only after the completion of the investigation.

Published on: June 3, 2013

Fatigued Driving Causes More Fatal Car Accidents Than Earlier Believed

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Drowsy driving is one of the most underestimated causes of accidents, especially since it’s difficult to determine exactly how many motorists dozed off at the wheel just before the car wreck.However, one fact is clear.These accidents are much more widespread and common than believed, and the number of people being killed in these crashes is much higher than the official estimates.A new study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute seems to confirm that fact.

The naturalistic study which focused on 100 cars involved in accidents, found that driving under the influence of fatigue contributed to as many as 20% of all accidents.Earlier estimates had pegged that number at just 2-3% of all accidents.

The naturalistic study is believed to be one of the first times that this major accident factor has been studied in depth, and in a naturalistic environment.The study found that drivers 18- 20 years of age had some of the highest risks of being involved in drowsy driving accidents, accounting for more accidents than any other age group.

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.