Georgia Injury Law Blog
Georgia State Troopers have kicked off their annual seatbelt enforcement campaign during the holiday season, aimed at making sure that motorists and children are safely restrained in their vehicles to prevent a personal injury in auto accidents.The campaign coincided with the start of the year’s biggest and most accident-prone holiday season.
One of the most frequent questions asked of personal injury lawyers is whether there is an increase in car accidents at any particular time of year. Well, the calls for help to attorneys certainly increase at holiday time. Over the holidays, more Americans travel than at any other time of the year.Largenumbers of motorists drove across Georgia to spend Thanksgiving with their families.Over the following few weeks, holiday traffic increased as people rush to stores to buy gifts, leading to a culmination of holiday travel plans between Christmas and New Years’.
Not only were there more motorists on the roads over the holiday season than during any other time, but many of them were in less than perfect condition for driving.The numbers of intoxicated motorists spikes around Christmas, reaching a peak during New Year’s.Additionally, most holiday drivers are less patient, and in a hurry.Besides, holiday shoppers are less focused on safety, and more focused on finding a parking spot.All of these factors severely increase the risk of car accidents.
Wearing a seat belt is one of the most basic steps that motorists can take to keep themselves safe in an accident.It’s not just front passengers and motorists who need to be safely restrained in seat belts, but also back seat passengers and all children in the car.Atlanta car accident attorneys often note that backseat passengers tend to skip wearing seat belts altogether because of a false sense of security.
Several states require front and backseat passengers to buckle up while driving.However, Georgia only requires motorists above the age of eighteen who are sitting in the front passenger seat or the driver’s seat to buckle up while driving.Under Georgia’s laws, children must be restrained in child safety seats or booster seats.Atlanta car accident lawyers would advise all occupants of a car to buckle up this holiday season.Additionally, children must be restrained safely, depending on their age and weight.
The Click It or Ticket campaign has been hugely successful nationwide in increasing seat belt usage rates.In Georgia, the campaign went through November 27.The campaign coincided with similar campaigns around the country.
Another advantage of the Click It or Ticket campaign is that during law enforcement activities, officers very often come across intoxicated or otherwise impaired drivers.Frequently, motorists who are pulled over by police officers are found to be driving with a suspended license, expired vehicle registrations or driving at high speeds.Therefore, the campaign helps crack down on other forms of undesirable behavior that increase the risks of an auto accident.
The Atlanta car accident lawyers at the Katz Personal Injury Lawyers represent persons injured in automobile and car accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across Georgia.