Articles Posted in Car Accidents

Study Reveals Teen Texting While Driving is Dangerously High

A new study that included teens from Atlanta, has revealed some frightening statistics that should cause great concern to Georgia personal injury lawyers. The study included 800 teens between 12 and 17, and 74 more in 9 focus groups in Atlanta, New York, Denver and Ann Arbor. According to the study, about a quarter of teens aged between 16 to 17 years admit to having texted while at the wheel.

However, it’s not that fact – scary as it is – that worries us the most. Almost half of the respondents between 12 and 17 years old in the Pew survey, admitted that they frequently see their parents texting while driving.

Student Injured in DeKalb County School Bus Accident

News of a school bus accident is enough to cause concern to any Georgian. These vehicles carry some of the most precious cargo, and children may be at serious risk of injuries in these accidents. At least one student has been hospitalized with injuries after an accident involving two DeKalb County school buses this week.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the accident occurred on Monday, when bus number 1794 of the McClendon Elementary School struck bus number 1282 at the Lawrenceville Highway and Interstate 285 intersection. One of the children suffered cuts, and was taken to a hospital. Fortunately, there were no other injuries in the accident. The accident seems to have been caused when bus number 1794 backed up into the other bus.

I came across this interesting report by the Chicago Tribune which elaborated on how one bus manufacturer neglected to inform customers about its defective vehicles for 8 years, while the NHTSA failed to speed up this process.

The bus manufacturer in question is New York-based Transportation Collaborative Inc (TCI). The company recently agreed to inform its customers there are defective parts in its buses that have been recalled. These parts include

· Unstable seatbacks that could collapse in the event of a crash causing serious injuries

A group of Morehouse College band members were injured on Saturday morning when the bus that was carrying them to a football game in Albany, flipped over on I-75 south in Henry County.

According to Fox News, there were 42 members of the Morehouse College marching band in the bus, which hydroplaned on the wet roads, skidded off the highway and rolled into a ditch. At least 13 of the band members had to be taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries that are not reported to be life threatening. Twenty nine other passengers also had to be taken to hospitals to check on other less serious injuries.

According to Henry County police, the road was slick from recent rains in the area, and that could have played a part in the crash.

Safety Experts Warn of Bridge Collapse Risks

Experts are unanimous – many of the country’s bridges are old, and in severe need of repairs.As Georgia personal injury lawyers, we are concerned about the fact that so many of our bridges are considered “structurally deficient “or “functionally obsolete.”.

The warning about our bridges comes after an incident on the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, in which pieces of steel and a cross beam snapped off the bridge, and fell on to the upper deck. The incident resulted in minor injuries to one motorist. However, the potential for serious injuries was great, considering that the incident happened during rush hour on the bridge. The pieces of steel were part of repairs that had been conducted on the bridge over the Labor Day weekend. Questions are being asked about how the repair job fell apart so soon.

Volvo Announces Safety Goal for 2020 – Accident-Free Cars

Swedish automaker Volvo is based in a country where the transportation department boasts of the lofty goal that no person should be killed or injured using its road transport system. Volvo has now taken that one step further and announced its goal for 2020 – No one should be seriously injured or killed in a Volvo.

As the New York Times Wheels Blog reports, Volvo’s announcement comes just in time for the release of its Volvo S60 in the country in 2009. The car features a new accident prevention system that includes crash warnings with full auto braking and pedestrian detection. According to the automaker, the car is configured to monitor the road using radar and a camera placed inside next to the rear view mirror. The radar detects objects and measures how far the car is from the object, while the camera simultaneously determines what kind of objects these are. If there is a high likelihood of an accident, the driver will see a flashing warning light, and hear an audible warning. However, if the driver fails to slam on the brakes, the computerized braking system will automatically apply the brakes to bring the car to a stop and prevent an accident. While the Volvo XC60, now on the roads, also comes with a collision warning system, it comes with about half of the braking power that the new S-60 has. Volvo has made use of sensor technologies to engage complete braking power.

MARTA to Crack Down on Distracted Driving

A series of safety incidents in the past few months that have involved MARTA drivers distracted at the wheel, has had Atlanta personal injury lawyers as well as the agency concerned about the increased risk of accidents from such behaviors. MARTA now plans to stress the safety message to encourage drivers and operators to keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel while driving.

· Recent footage revealed a MARTA bus driver reading a magazine while stopped at a red light.

Automakers Support Texting Ban to Minimize Risk of Car Accidents

Some of the country’s biggest automakers have announced that they support a ban on texting and the use of handheld cell phone devices while driving, to prevent the thousands of auto accidents that are caused every year by these behaviors. The announcement comes just days before a summit on distracted driving begins in Washington.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers which includes General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, says that it supports a ban on texting while driving, and also supports the use of voice-activated proprietary communication systems in place of cell phone use. For instance, Ford’s Sync system allows drivers to make phone calls using voice activation systems. Sync also plays back text messages that you receive, thereby allowing you to have a conversation and “read” a text message without using your hands, or more importantly, taking your eyes off the road. General Motors has its proprietary OnStar system, which includes the Hands Free Calling feature.

Last week, we reported on a Gwinnett County police officer who resigned after his involvement in a drunk driving accident. In a similar crash, another off-duty Gwinnett County cop caused a multi vehicle accident in DeKalb on Saturday.

The accident which occurred early Saturday morning involved a Ford Explorer, a Mazda and a Chevrolet van. The three vehicles were stopped at a signal light when off-duty officer Kevin Sipple struck the Ford truck. The impact sent the Ford spinning, hitting the two other vehicles. Sipple and the Ford driver suffered non-life threatening injuries, and were taken to the hospital.

Police say the accident could have been the result of a “medical issue,” but they have not disclosed the nature of the condition.

Holiday weekends typically see more numbers of accident- related fatalities, and this year’s Labor Day weekend was no exception. Across Georgia, there were a total of 2,231 traffic accidents over the holiday weekend. These accidents ended in 8 fatalities and 614 injuries. Currently, there is no breakdown available of the fatality rate by casual factors, like failure to wear seat belts, drunk driving etc.

Throughout the holiday period, Georgia State Patrol cracked down on drunk drivers, and stepped up checks on speeding drivers and seatbelt law enforcement. The drunk driving crackdown was called Operation Zero Tolerance, and targeted intoxicated motorists through sobriety checkpoints, and concentrated patrols. Also, there were education and awareness campaigns conducted around the state. Georgia police also participated in the "Hands Across the Borders" initative to partner with enforcement officers from neighboring states, to crack down on drunk driving. Across the country, most states had their own version of Labor Day enforcement, to keep drunk drivers and speeders off the road, and prevent accidents.

The days leading up to, and just after a major holiday, are some of the busiest times on the highways and also some of the most dangerous. Thanksgiving Day counts as the single deadliest day of the US calendar.More accident fatalities occur on this day than any other day. Typically, alcohol-heavy holidays like New Years Eve and St. Patrick’s Day tend to see higher numbers of alcohol-related car accidents.