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Statistics by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that more than 3500 people were killed in car accidents caused by distracted drivers in 2021.  This  April, the federal administration  plans to raise awareness about the dangers of driving while distracted.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is making the month of April — Distracted Driving Awareness Month.  As  part of its campaign, the agency released statistics which show that a total of 3,522 people were killed in auto accidents caused by  distracted drivers in 2021. The statistics show that  an ongoing effort against distracted driving is absolutely necessary.  As  part of the campaign, there will be increased enforcement on Georgia roads as law enforcement officers look out for persons using cell phones while driving.

The campaign will also focus on friends and families of drivers  and their role in helping prevent distracted driving.  If  you are driving and need to answer a phone call or have to respond to a text message, get your passenger to do so for you. If you are driving alone and need to respond to a text, pull over somewhere safe and return the call or the text message.  Under no circumstances should you be typing a message or making a phone call as you drive.

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Georgia gets a mention in a new list of some of the worst driving states in the country, thanks to a new study which considered a number of factors including car accident rates while assigning rankings.

The rankings come from research conducted by Quote Wizard.  The Quote Wizard team analyzed more than ten million insurance quotes before arriving at these findings. The company releases its list of the worst driving states in the country every year and this year, Georgia is mentioned in the top 25 worst driving states in the United States. The state ranks at number 17 on the list.

The research team used several parameters, including the number of auto accidents, DUI violations,  number of speeding tickets issued in each state and the citations for violations for running a red light or using a cell phone while driving.  According to the research team, states that were ranked in the top 25 worst driving states had high auto accident rates compared to the states that were ranked at the bottom of the list which had lower car accident rates in comparison.

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Traumatic personal injuries can be devastating for pregnant women, and auto accidents are some of the leading causes of these types of injuries involving pregnant women.  A  new study finds that even a minor car accident can significantly raise the risk of complications for an expectant mother.

The results of a new Taiwanese study were published in the journal Injury Prevention recently. The researchers analyzed auto accident injury data involving more than 20,000 pregnant women over a 10 year period, and found that women who suffered even minor injuries in an auto accident while pregnant suffered significantly increased risks of complications, including placental disruption and excessive bleeding.   Many  of these women were at a much higher risk of  requiring emergency C-sections.

Based on the data, the researchers believe that women who have been involved in a car accident during pregnancy are more than 50% likely to experience a placental disruption and more than 30% likely to suffer from prolonged contractions. They also had a risk of excessive bleeding that was 19% higher and a 5% higher risk of  C-sections. Women who suffered even minor injuries were found to have an even higher risk of complications.  For  example, among women who had suffered even minor personal injuries in a car accident, there was a 70% higher risk of placental disruption and 54% higher risk of induced labor.

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With an increasing senior population in Georgia, public spaces should be re- evaluating fall accident risks, especially those involving elderly citizens. Whenever a person falls, they are at significant risk of personal injury and even wrongful death. While often overlooked, improving protections against fall is an important step in preventing slip and fall accidents.

A new report finds that just 5 simple and basic steps can help reduce the risk of slip and falls involving the elderly. The results of the study published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews says that as many as a third of elderly people suffer slip and fall accidents every year and many of these falls occur in the person’s own home.  However, the basic risks involved remain the same, whether it is a home or a public property. Cluttered floors, lack of illumination, and lack of adequate handrail systems contribute to a large number of all slip and fall accidents involving senior citizens every year. In addition, guardrails are important to preventing slip and falls on stairs which often result in catastrophic personal injury.

According to the report, the five basic steps that can help reduce the risk of slip and fall accidents include decluttering floors, lowering slip and trip threats, installing appropriate hand- rail systems wherever necessary, improving lighting in corridors and stairwells and installing non – slip material on staircases.  Taking these five simple measures, according to the report, can lead to a 38% reduced drop in the risk of slip and fall accidents involving the elderly.

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When motorists drive cars that have been ranked highly by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, they are less likely to suffer fatal personal injuries in a car accident.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is one of several organizations that publishes safety rankings for automobiles.  Thousands of Americans who buy new cars every year depend on ratings by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety,  Consumer Reports and other organizations.  For  them, these rankings form a critical component of the buying decision.

A  new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety finds that when motorists are driving cars that have been highly ranked,  their  risks of suffering fatal personal injuries in an auto accident fall by 12% compared to vehicles that are ranked poorly. The  Insurance Institute for Highway Safety  focused on motorists driving cars that performed well on small overlap tests.  The  study found that  motorists  driving cars that performed better on small overlap tests in frontal car accidents  were less likely to suffer personal injuries in an auto accident.

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Sedentary lifestyles and bad eating habits are placing millions of Americans at risk of  poor sleep patterns,  increasing their chances of being involved in an  auto accident.

This  March, the National Sleep Foundation will mark Sleep Awareness Week.  The  special week will be commemorated   between March 12 and March 18.   The National Sleep Foundation wants Americans to understand that when they sleep less than the recommended number of hours a night, they place themselves at risk of tiredness and fatigue that increases their chances  of being involved in an auto accident while driving. In 2022,  the  National Sleep Foundation underscored the car accident risks that come with being in a state of sleep deprivation by partnering with the Drowsy Driving Prevention Project and the National Safety Council.

Last year, the National Sleep Foundation commissioned a poll that threw up interesting insights about the sleep patterns of Americans. The poll found that far too many Americans are not getting enough light exposure in the daytime.  Exposure  to light in the daytime can keep you awake while exposure to dim lighting in the evening can help you sleep.  When  people have very little light exposure in the daytime,  it can affect their ability  to sleep well at night.   Much of the night time light exposure for Americans is presently coming from smartphones.  For most  Americans, bedtime is preceded by at least an hour of scrolling through their smartphones.  The  blue light that is emitted from these screens actually inhibits your ability to sleep well.  When you spend far too much time staring at your cell phone before going to sleep, it makes it that much harder for you to sleep.  The result is fewer hours of sleep than you require,  and consequently, a state of fatigue and drowsiness.   The poll also found that many Americans follow irregular eating patterns, and these too can affect a person’s ability to fall asleep quickly.

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An estimated 2.8 million Americans suffer from a brain injury every year, and more than 5 million Americans currently live with a disability that has been caused by a brain injury. Since 2021 and right through 2023, the Brain injury Association of America has been commemorating Brain Injury Awareness Month in the month of March  with the theme “More Than My Brain Injury. “

According to the Brain injury Association of America, an overwhelming majority of all brain injuries are caused as a result of falls.  An  estimated 47% of all traumatic brain injuries every year are caused by falls, with car accidents accounting for the second highest number of brain injuries at 13%. Approximately 17% of traumatic brain injuries are caused when a person is struck by an object, while 8% are the result of violent assaults. Other causes of brain injury include medical malpractice.

Whatever the cause of the brain injury, these are some of the most common serious personal injuries in the United States, and also some of the most misunderstood.  The  Brain Injury Association of America estimates that as many as one in 60 people suffers from a disability resulting from a brain injury.  This  means that it is highly likely that you know someone who suffers from cognitive deficits,  memory problems,  difficulties in concentration  and a variety of other disabilities as a result of a traumatic brain injury.

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Auto Accident  prevention systems like front crash avoidance  technology and lane departure warning systems play a significant role in protecting motorists and passengers.  However,  when there is any malfunctioning or problems reported with these systems, repairs can be challenging to complete.

The  Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is reporting on a recent analysis of the repairs of auto crash prevention systems in automobiles.  Many of these systems including rear view camera systems and blind spot detection systems can play a tremendous role in helping keep motorists safe and preventing car accidents.  However,  when motorists take these cars in for repairs after the technology malfunctions or because the system is giving an error message, or  after an auto accident,  they find that repairs are not always satisfactory.  According to the study, many motorists continue to face problems with the technology even after repairs have apparently been completed.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study surveyed approximately 500 drivers.  Most  of the drivers in the study had taken in their car for repairs after experiencing problems with the safety technology in their automobile.  In  some cases, the problems appeared after an auto accident while in other cases, the repairs were the result of a recall or the result of a recommendation by the automobile repair shop. Repair issues were more likely to be seen when the car had been involved in a car accident.  Incomplete repairs were also much more likely to be seen in those cases in which the windshield replacement was required as part of auto repairs.

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More  lives could potentially be saved in  auto accidents involving minivans every year if these vehicles came with stronger and more efficient seat belt warning systems.

A  new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety highlights the fact that far too many minivan models simply do not have effective and efficient seatbelt reminder systems in place.  This  is even more alarming when you consider that these vehicles are mainly purchased by families with young children.

The  minivan is the ubiquitous symbol of the young American family.  For  decades,  Americans with young families have been buying minivans for their very specific travel needs.   However, failure to use proper restraint systems has disastrous consequences for America’s children.  In  2020,  more than one-third of children below the age of 12 killed in car accidents were not properly restrained at the time.

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There are a number of complications that are associated with suffering a head injury,  and one of these, according to a new study, is an increased chance of dying,  with the risk having doubled over a period of 3 decades.

We know of some of the more common consequences of head injury including memory loss, attention and concentration difficulties, and cognitive deficits.  Head injuries have also been linked to other long-term disabilities including Alzheimer’s disease,  Parkinson’s disease,  early onset dementia and stroke.  All of these are long term consequences can seriously impact the quality of a person’s life.

However, there is one serious consequence of a head injury that does not attract as much attention –  the effect of the brain injury on the person’s life expectancy. A new study probed the effects of a head injury on a person’s life expectancy, and found that a head injury could increase the risk of death over a period of 30 years.  In  some cases, the risk of death increased by two or even  three times the risk without a head injury.

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