Georgia Injury Law Blog

Published on: October 24, 2022

Highway Safety Group Gives Georgia Good Ranking

Auto safety group Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety has released its annual report on performance and highway safety measures. This year, Georgia has been ranked well, notching up a Green ranking, the highest on the list, a finding that is encouraging to the Atlanta car accident attorneys at our firm.

The 9th annual Roadmap to State Highway Safety Laws compares all 50 states and grades them based on their adoption of 15 basic traffic safety laws. The 15 laws include everything from seatbelt and motorcycle safety to graduated driver’s licensing programs and distracted driving measures.

Georgia received a Green ranking, and the report found that the state performed well by implementing at least 11 of the laws the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety recommends. However, many feel Georgia could do better. One of the ways that the state could improve its highway safety record is by raising the minimum age for getting a learner’s permit, and enacting stricter nighttime and passenger restrictions on graduated driver’s licensing programs for teen drivers. Sadly, teenage drivers are some of the biggest victims of auto accidents every year. Stronger graduated driver’s licensing laws in Georgia may help save more teen lives in accidents every year.

Published on: October 19, 2022

Seat Belt Reminders Work, but only When Audible Signal is Long Lasting

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Laws requiring drivers and passengers to wear seat belts have been around for decades. This is beYour car’s seat belts are the front line defense in protecting you from injury if you are a victim of a car accident. Seat belt reminders that emit an audible alert when a driver is not buckled up are useful tools that can help increase seat belt usage rates and reduce the number of injuries and fatalities in auto accidents every year. A new study, however, shows that many seat belt reminders are not that effective. Auto manufacturers must be made aware of how beneficial this tool can be.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has developed a new rating program that aims to encourage car manufacturers to improve their seat belt reminder technologies. According to federal standards, a seat belt reminder system should emit an audible signal that lasts for a minimum of 4 to 6 seconds. In the case of a visual signal, the alert must continue for a period of at least 60 seconds. However, the Insurance Institute for Highway safety has conducted earlier research that indicates that alerts that continue for much longer can be more effective in encouraging motorists to buckle up before they begin driving. In fact, the research found that seat belt usage increases by as much as 34% when audible alerts last much longer than just 4 to 6 seconds. The research indicates that increased seatbelt usage can save as many as 1,500 lives in auto accidents every year.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, audible signals must not only be long-lasting, but must also be loud enough to allow the motorist to hear the signal. Some of the systems that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety studied as part of its research, had alerts that were barely audible above the cabin noise and other vehicle noise. In others, there was a 25 -second gap between intermittent audible signals, and this could be too long a gap to prove effective in encouraging a motorist to buckle up.

Published on: October 11, 2022

Report Finds Widespread Drugged – Drunk Driving

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A new study finds that a significantly high number of people who consume alcohol and drugs go ahead and operate a motor vehicle after doing the same, raising their risks of being involved in an auto accident.

According to the study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, as many as two-thirds of persons who consumed alcohol and imbibed marijuana also admitted to driving within 2 hours after the fact. The results of the study are disturbing because each of these behaviors is dangerous on its own. Your risk of being involved in a car accident increases substantially even if you are only under the influence of alcohol or only under the influence of drugs. A combination of the two, however, would be lethal behind the wheel.

As many as 7 out of 10 drivers in the study admitted to driving after consuming alcohol. Only about one in 10 drivers admitted to driving after having ingested both alcohol and drugs. However, among these, 33% admitted to operating a motor vehicle within 2 hours after ingesting alcohol and marijuana.

Published on: October 6, 2022

Georgia Recorded 45% Increase in Pedestrian Car Accident Deaths Since 2019

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

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: September 23, 2022

Georgia’s High Speed Limits Likely A Factor in Rural Auto Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Motorists in rural areas in states like Georgia that have higher speed limits in these communities are likely to be at a much higher risk of car accidents compared to motorists in those states where the speed limits in rural communities are lower. However, speed is not the only factor in the high rate of auto accidents in rural areas.

More insight about the risks of travelling on rural roads is contained in a new report by the Governors’ Highway Safety Association and State Farm. The report titled “America’s Rural Roads : Beautiful and Deadly” focuses on the high rate of car accidents in rural roads and analyses the factors in these auto accidents.

Motorists in rural Georgia may drive at a speed limit of 70 mph on most roads. That speed limit is on the higher end as the report suggests. Out of the 12 states with the lowest per capita rate of car accidents on rural roads, 7 were states with a maximum speed limit of 65 mph or less. Only two states had a maximum speed limit of 75 mph. This seems to be a clear indication that high speeds – which are very easy to achieve on low trafficked rural roads – can be a factor in these auto accidents.

Published on: September 20, 2022

Report Predicts Motor Vehicles will Remain Main Source of Auto Accidents in Future Rather than bicycles and pedestrians

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

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: September 15, 2022

Broader, Strongly Worded Anti-distracted Driving Laws Can Help Prevent Auto Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

While many states like Georgia have enacted laws targeting the prevention of car accidents caused by distracted driving, some states have found more success in the use of these laws than others. A new study finds that the secret to the success of these laws lies in their nature as well as the words used to define them.

Georgia’s laws that ban the use of cell phones while driving specifically prohibit a motorist from using his or her hand to hold a cell phone or other device while driving a vehicle. A new study conducted by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety finds that laws that are specifically worded to prevent motorists from using their hands to hold a cell phone or other device might be more successful in preventing these behaviors and reducing the risk of car accidents caused by distracted driving, compared to laws that do not have such specifically designed language. The most successful laws, the study finds, are those that limit the use of hands to hold a cell phone for just the barest minimum possible interaction.

Many states have found it challenging to draft laws to reduce distracted driving. Part of the challenge has been the fact that over the past decade, cell phones have gone from being devices that people used to call people and have phone conversations with them and to send text messages, to mini personal computers. Cell phones now act as cameras and GPS systems, and most Americans use them as payment portals. Most of us check emails on cell phones rather than on computers. In an environment like this, it becomes challenging to define the kind of activities that are prohibited while using a cell phone.

Published on: September 13, 2022

These Three Road Design Changes Could help Prevent Senior Pedestrian Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

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: September 9, 2022

Driver Assistance Technologies Linked to 400 Car Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is reporting on close to 400 auto accidents involving cars equipped with driver assistance technologies.

Driver assistance technology is often touted as the way forward for motorist safety, and collecting data on any crashes involving these self-driving cars can be a means to help identify and prevent the kind of car accidents that result in serious injuries and wrongful deaths. As we move towards a world in which most vehicles on the road will be driverless or autonomous cars, it is important to track and identify data about auto accidents involving these cars.

In the first large -scale report of its kind released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the agency has confirmed that it has received data on close to 400 auto accidents involving driver assistance. A total of 392 car accidents involving self-driving cars have been reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Out of these, 273 involved Tesla’s Autopilot feature. Tesla was by far the most featured car in the accident data, but these car crashes also included vehicles with driver assistance technology from other automakers, including Honda, Toyota, BMW and General Motors. Honda cars were involved in 90 of the accidents, while Subaru vehicles were involved in approximately ten of the accidents that were reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Published on: September 7, 2022

Women are Not Big Believers in the Safety of Driverless Cars

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Women remain skeptical about the safety of driverless autonomous cars. A new study finds that while men are much more likely to be impressed by the car accident prevention features of autonomous auto technology, women are much more hesitant about adopting these vehicles. Many women believe there is an increased risk of auto accidents with these types of vehicles.

According to a new study conducted by Pew Research Centre, women on the whole are far more skeptical about the benefits of driverless cars as compared to men. Several studies have pointed to the benefits of such driverless technology on our roads, including the reduced risk of auto accidents. As these vehicles become more popular and as the possibility of sharing roads with more and more driverless cars becomes more of a reality and less a distant vision for the future, it becomes important to also understand why such a large section of the population remains skeptical about their safety.

According to the Pew Research Center study, as many as half of all men believe that driving an autonomous car can reduce the risk of being fatally injured in an auto accident. However, when it came to women, only 1 in 3 women shared that view. Men are enthusiastic evangelists for the autonomous car with 37% of them strongly believing that driverless car technology is good for society while only 17% of women seemed to believe so. When asked whether they would feel comfortable sharing the roads with driverless cars once these become more popular on the roads, more than half of the women or 54% of them admitted that they would not feel safe with these cars on the road, while 35% of men admitted to feeling unsafe sharing the roads with driverless cars. Close to half or 46% of the men said that they would be perfectly comfortable being a passenger in an autonomous car, but women were very hesitant to ride in a self-driving car, with over half of them admitting that they would not be fine travelling as a passenger in a self-driving car. When it comes to driverless trucks, however, the views of men and women are more aligned. Fifty-three (53%) of the men and 66% of the women admitted that they were not comfortable with having driverless trucks on our roads.