Articles Posted in Pedestrian accidents

Published on:

Statistics  seem to show a slight drop in the number of people killed in car accidents across the country during the first 9 months of 2022, compared to the same period of time the previous year.   However, the number of people  killed in pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents increased over the same period of time.

New statistics released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show a very  slight drop in auto accident fatalities in the first 9 months of last year, compared to the same period of time in 2019. A  total of 31,785 people were killed in car accidents between January and September 2022, compared to the previous year.  That was a 0.2%  drop.  The  bad news, however, is that bicycle accident and pedestrian  accident wrongful deaths continued to rise over the first 9 months of 2022 as they have  for several years now.

Car  accident deaths across the country and in Georgia have been at elevated levels since 2020 when the pandemic struck and lock downs were imposed.  In  spite of a drop in traffic volumes with few people driving on the streets, the number of auto accidents began to spike, confounding experts.  Since  then, we have learned that auto accident numbers began to rise in 2020 because of reckless driving behaviors, including speeding.  With  lower traffic volumes on the road, motorists became  much more comfortable driving at high speeds, and those behaviors  have continued since then.  Additionally, the lack of enforcement campaigns during this time also meant  more numbers of people driving without wearing their seatbelts or driving under the influence of alcohol, contributing to those high statistics.

Published on:

Fears  for personal safety are widespread among motorists and pedestrians, a majority of whom in a recent survey admitted that they were very concerned about their risks of being involved in an auto accident while traveling.

The  results of the survey revealed that as many as 83% of motorists and 78% of pedestrians are concerned about their risks of being involved in an  auto accident while on the road.  Auto safety is definitely a priority and a major concern for most American motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. Respondents in the survey opined  that safe transport  should be the top most transportation safety concern for authorities,  and should be given more importance than efficient commutes, sustainable transport and other initiatives.

Those fears for safety are not entirely unfounded.  Americans have been treated to a variety of disquieting news articles about declining safety standards and increasing car accident deaths across the country over the past few months.  In  2021, for instance, there were more than 42,000 car accident wrongful deaths recorded across the country, the highest number on record in 16 years.  The number of pedestrians killed in car accidents  increased by close to 12% between 2019 and 2021, and there were  close to 7,500 wrongful deaths in these auto accidents last year.

Published on:

Concussions are some of the most common head injuries that occur in car accidents and motorcycle accidents, but are often ignored with sometimes serious consequences.  It is this mindset that the nation’s premier brain injury advocacy group will seek to change with a new initiative.

The Brain Injury Association of America in collaboration with Abbott recently launched a coalition of more than 20 brain injury advocacy groups.  The coalition called Concussion Awareness Now will conduct education campaigns across the country in order to raise awareness about the possibly serious consequences of concussions.

According to experts, concussions are often brushed aside as minor injuries.  These injuries sometimes can result in no loss of consciousness and no bleeding.  There may be no swelling or inflammation at the site of the injury.  The lack of any visible symptoms can sometimes spur people into a sense of complacency, and many victims who have suffered a concussion may not even seek medical treatment.

Published on:

With children back at school, the  federal administration is turning its attention to the critically important subject of school bus safety, starting off with a media campaign to specifically warn drivers about the most common mistakes that many of them make when encountering a stopped school bus. Unfortunately, these mistakes often result in the wrongful death from pedestrian accidents.

The  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched a school bus safety campaign that warns  motorists about the risk to child pedestrians when they illegally pass a stopped school bus.  The  campaign is expected to last through the entire month of October and also coincides with National Pedestrian Safety Month which is marked in the month of October.  It is child pedestrians, specifically school children getting on or off school buses, that the campaign wants to raise awareness about.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the greatest accident threat to school children is manifested not when they are riding on a school bus, but getting on or getting off the school bus.  Georgia, as every other state in the United States, has laws that specifically prohibit motorists from passing a stopped school bus.  Motorists are required to stop their car for as long as the school bus stop arm is extended.  However, many motorists fail to do so every year, and these failures have devastating results. They cause pedestrian accidents that cause serious injuries to children.

Published on:

Georgia recorded a staggering 45% increase in pedestrian wrongful deaths in car accidents  between 2019 and 2021. The state is one of the worst performing ones when it comes to controlling these fatality numbers.

Latest data by the Governors Highway Safety Association  shows a dramatic increase in the number of  pedestrian  fatalities recorded in Georgia between 2019 and 2020.  The  increase was approximately 45.6% or an increase of 106 fatalities in pedestrian auto accidents between 2019 and 2021.  In  2019, there were 239 pedestrian car accidents wrongful deaths in Georgia, and that number increased to 348 fatalities in 2021. That was a significant increase in 2021,  compared to 2019.

In 2020, Georgia recorded 281 deaths  in  pedestrian car accidents,  an increase of 67 from 2019,  and a percentage point increase of 23.8 percent.  The state performs poorly on a number of parameters.  Georgia’s tally of pedestrian wrongful deaths in 2021  was the third highest increase in pedestrian car accident death numbers.  Georgia had a rate of 2.62 deaths for every 100,000 pedestrians in 2020 and a rate of 3.22 deaths for every 100,000 pedestrians in 2021.

Published on:

A new report commissioned by the National Safety Council has a number of auto safety predictions for the next couple of decades,  including the prediction that even with new technology, cars and trucks will continue to remain the biggest source of auto accidents for the foreseeable future.

In 2021, the National Safety Council commissioned a report on transportation and auto safety for the next 20 years.  The report titled Mobility, Technology and Safety:  The Next 20 Years has now been released.  The report has a total of 10 predictions, all related to auto and motor vehicle safety.

The number one prediction on the list is that in spite of moves towards reducing the number of automobiles on our roads and increasing access to alternate modes of transportation, motor vehicles, including cars and trucks will continue to remain the primary source of auto accidents over the next few decades. These vehicles are involved in an overwhelming majority of the total number of motorcycle, bicycle and pedestrian accidents every year.

Published on:

Senior pedestrians are at a higher risk of being involved in auto accidents  when they are out walking.  However, a new study finds that simple improvements to road design can help significantly reduce the risk for older pedestrians.

Seniors between the age of 65 and 74 have some of the highest pedestrian accident rates.  In 2021, more than 700 pedestrian accidents involved persons in this age group.

In the study, researchers specifically focused on walking safety for seniors above the age of 65.  They thoroughly reviewed four years worth of crash data involving elderly pedestrians involved in car accidents, and found in their analysis that specific changes made to road design could help lower the risk for senior pedestrians.

Published on:

A new report ranks Georgia in the top 10 in a list of states ranked based on  pedestrian accident deaths. It is very likely that the majority of these pedestrian accidents resulted in wrongful death lawsuits.

The number of people being killed while walking has increased significantly over the last few years, especially during the pandemic.  Even as there was  a dip in driving across Georgia during March 2020,  there was no corresponding drop in the number of fatal car accidents, especially those involving  pedestrians.  If anything, the number of people dying in these car accidents actually increased.

Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition recently released a new report titled Dangerous by Design.  The report evaluates the performance of all 50 states in ensuring the safety of pedestrians, and ranks metropolitan areas as well as all 50 states based on the number of pedestrian deaths occurring in the states.  Georgia is ranked at a dismal 9.  There is more bad news.  None of the states that are listed in the top 20 have seen any success in reducing the number of pedestrian accident deaths, compared to the previous report.

Published on:

Faulty car brakes can cause horrific accidents usually resulting in serious injuries.  Federal regulators are working on new laws in the next couple of years that would require auto manufacturers to install automatic emergency braking systems in their cars. Safety advocates, however, are calling on regulators to require manufacturers to install systems that work in all light conditions, including at night.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has made it clear that it will be working on completing rulemaking by 2024, requiring auto manufacturers to install pedestrian automatic emergency braking systems in all their automobiles. These systems work at detecting pedestrians in the path of the car. There is significant research that shows the efficacy of these systems in helping protect pedestrians against accidents. For instance, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has conducted research that clearly shows the benefits of pedestrian automatic emergency braking systems in helping motorists to avoid pedestrians. Collisions with motor vehicles are a major cause of injuries and fatalities in pedestrian accidents every year.

The researchers found that the systems significantly help prevent collisions in the daytime. There isn’t significant data pointing to the effectiveness of the systems at night, however.  The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is calling on federal regulators to pressure automakers to install pedestrian automatic emergency braking systems that work both in the daytime as well as at night. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, it has found in its studies that these systems can be enhanced to make them very effective during low visibility conditions like night-time as well.

Published on:

The Governors Highway Safety Association says that pedestrian accident fatalities increased significantly in 2020 and the months after. Seven states, including the state of Georgia, contributed to more than 50% of those pedestrian accident deaths.

Previous data has shown that the number of motor vehicle crash–related deaths across the country overall has increased since 2020, and pedestrian accident fatalities seem to have constituted a significant percentage of the total. In 2020, according to data by the Governors Highway Safety Association, a total of 6,700 pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents across the country. That was a statistically significant increase of 5% over the 6,412 pedestrians who were killed in accidents in 2019.

The pedestrian accident fatality rate in 2020 actually rose to 21% in spite of the fact that there were fewer vehicles on the road as a result of the pandemic. The fact that there were fewer vehicles on the road does not seem to have had any kind of negative impact on the number of accidents on our roads, and this is a matter of huge concern.

Contact Information