Articles Posted in Car Accidents

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.

As Georgia personal injury lawyers, we have been waiting for our state to set an example in terms of stronger cell phone-and-driving laws. While neither Georgia nor any other state has stepped up to the task, the National Transportation Safety Board has moved to issue a ban on its employees using cell phones while driving.

Under the ban, NTSB employees will be forbidden from using handheld or hands-free cell phones while driving. With this, the NTSB becomes the first federal agency to have a complete ban on employees using cell phones behind the wheel. According to the NTSB chairwoman Debbie Hersman, there’s enough evidence that cell phone use while driving significantly increases the risk of auto accidents.

However across the country, laws banning cell phone use while driving, have been meager at best. Seven states and the District of Columbia ban only handheld cell phone use for motorists. In Georgia, school bus drivers are banned from using cell phones, but that’s about it. Our state’s cell phone laws are skeletal, but across the country, many of those states that have bans on handheld devices have seen mixed results from their laws. This has mainly been because in these states, the ban comes as a secondary enforcement, which makes the law harder to enforce.

Car Accident Traced to Red Light Violation

A teacher in Cherokee County suffered critical injuries in a head-on car accident earlier this week.Debra Walton was on her way to school when a vehicle struck her car. According to Cherokee County Sheriff’s officials, the car that struck Walton’s vehicle was driven by a motorist who ran a red light just before she struck Walton’s car.

Red light violations are a major cause of accidents in Georgia. According to statistics from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, every year there are 260,000 auto accidents caused by motorists running a red light. Typically, people run red lights because they are inpatient, and would rather not have to wait for the light to turn green. Often, drivers may be distracted, and may fail to see a red light. For instance, a driver who takes his eyes for a few seconds because he is texting on the cell phone, or changing radio stations, may miss a red light with serious consequences. Motorists are more likely to run a red light during rush hour times, or in congested traffic.

A Public Service Announcement video created by a British police department features a dramatization of an accident caused by a teen motorist who’s texting while driving. The YouTube video has gone wildly popular with over a million hits, but has also generated plenty of controversy because of its graphic content.

The video was made by the Police Department of Gwent in Wales, in response to the growing number of accidents linked to drivers texting at the wheel. It is gripping, and very graphic. This isn’t a sanitized "Don’t Text While Driving" message – there’s plenty of blood everywhere, and the video does a great job of showing the consequences of texting at the wheel.

The video has gone viral, and has generated controversy for its graphic scenes. There have been concerns about whether teenagers, who the video targets, can handle the blood and gore that’s on the screen. News media in this country too have featured the story, but as we write this, not one television station has agreed to air the PSA for American audiences.

We Have Back to School Safety on Our Minds

Thousands of school children across Georgia will be heading back to school after the summer break, raising concerns about accidents involving kids.

As Georgia personal injury lawyers, we are concerned that the summer traffic lull might lead to a sense of complacency among motorists. As schools reopen, there are going to be a markedly higher number of students walking and bicycling to and from school. There will also be hundreds of school buses, as well as parents picking up and dropping off their kids at crucial times.

Covington Driver Released after Fatal Pedestrian Accident

Even as the family of 6-year-old Suk Maya Monger was holding a memorial service for the refugee girl who was struck and killed in a pedestrian accident, the motorist who struck her has been released from the DeKalb County Jail.

Suk Maya was killed last week. She and her mother had just got off a MARTA bus, and had walked round in front of the bus to cross the street. As they stepped into an open lane, motorist Gregory Armwood stuck the mother and daughter pair. According to police, he had just passed a stopped car and a MARTA bus. Suk Maya suffered serious head and internal injuries. She died on Wednesday. That day, tragically enough, was to have been her first day at a local Atlanta elementary school.

One Killed, Two Injured in DeKalb County Multi Vehicle Accident

DeKalb County police are investigating a multi vehicle accident on Monday, that has left one motorist dead and two injured.

According to the Atlanta Journal- Constitution, the driver of a pickup truck hit a Geo Metro, injuring at least one passenger. The impact caused the Geo to ram into another car, while the pickup truck driver fled the scene of the crash.The pickup collided with an SUV a few minutes later, and the SUV driver suffered injuries that required hospitalization. The pick up truck was found crashed in a ditch a few miles ahead, and the driver has been confirmed dead.

Atlanta Teens Get Crash Course in Accident Risks of Distracted Driving

The nationwide focus on distracted driving was also in place in Atlanta yesterday as teenage drivers got a crash course in the increased risk of accidents when they are distracted behind the wheel.

The distracted driving training course was organized by Allstate, and was one of 42 events organized across the country to prove the dangers of poor concentration while driving. Teenagers were encouraged to drive around the training course while experiencing several distractions in the form of fellow passengers and loud music. The teens were made to send text messages on their phones, snack while driving and indulge in other distracted behaviors. The results of the training program, as Atlanta personal injury lawyers, would have expected, were not too surprising. The teens found it hard to navigate the training course.