Published on:

by

Commercial delivery trucks have been working overtime to fulfill the large volume of online orders and commercial business.  More commercial trucks on the roads usually brings with them more risks of trucking accidents, especially as more drivers take to the roads in the upcoming holiday season.  Georgia authorities recently took steps to ensure safe driving practices by commercial truckers to keep everyone on the roads safe.

The SafeDRIVE (Drive Distracted Reckless Impaired Visibility Enforcement) is an initiative by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and is carried out on a quarterly basis in collaboration with state and local law enforcement partners.  In Georgia, the SafeDRIVE enforcement blitz was carried out between October 5 and 7 this year. As part of the Georgia initiative, the Motor Carrier Compliance Division of the Georgia Department of Public Safety conducted enforcement initiatives along popular trucking routes, including I- 75, I -95 and I- 85.  More than 400 citations were issued to truck drivers across Georgia as part of a law enforcement initiative in collaboration with the federal administration in order to keep our highways safe and prevent truck accidents.

It was a three-day campaign, and hundreds of truck drivers and their commercial trucks were pulled over during the campaign. The campaign resulted in extensive monitoring of common truck driver errors, including following too closely, distracted driving and driving under the influence of alcohol. As part of the initiative, truck drivers were also cited for rash and aggressive driving and driving beyond the speed limits. These are common trucking driver mistakes that can increase the risk of the truck being involved in an accident that endangers not just the truck driver, but also occupants of passenger vehicles involved in the accident. In any accident involving a large commercial truck and a passenger vehicle, it is the occupants of the smaller vehicle who may be at a higher risk of suffering injuries, and therefore, it is important for law enforcement to conduct such regular enforcement campaigns to weed out bad drivers and keep the highways safer for all.

Continue reading
Published on:

by

It’s been heartening to see a stronger emphasis on minimizing traffic accident fatalities, not just by auto safety organizations, but also by lawmakers. In recent weeks, a number of non-profit advocacy organizations have come together to support advocacy efforts as well as initiatives by lawmakers to minimize the number of Americans killed in traffic accidents.

Advocacy organizations like the Governor’s Highway Safety Association and Advocates for Highway and Highway Safety have spent months calling attention to the higher numbers of accident fatalities that occurred last year in spite of a 10% drop in the number of vehicle miles travelled. Those statistics indicate that we have a very serious problem with traffic safety in the United States. For one thing, too many U.S. cities are designed to make it easier to drive rather than walk or bike. Our transportation system, unfortunately, makes it easier to get from point A to point B using a car, as opposed to using mass transit or walking. Those are unacceptable realities, and simply add to the problem of our congested streets.

For our streets to be less congested and safer, we need to add bicycling and walking safely to the list of viable transport options. Safety advocates are calling for the installation of more dedicated and exclusive bicycle lanes in metropolitan areas, including the metro Atlanta region. Exclusive bike lanes are lanes that are meant solely for the use of bicyclists, and are separated from car lanes by a physical barrier that prevents them from coming into direct contact with cars. Experts at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute say that for bicycle lanes to be considered safe, they must be separated from car lanes by more than a slap of paint. Our roads need to be designed with the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists in mind. An overwhelming majority of metropolitan areas in the country are not designed to make it safer to bike or walk compared to drive.

Continue reading
Published on:

by

The head of the National Transportation Safety Board says that focusing only on individual driver behavior or actions may not be sufficient to helping reduce the number of people killed in traffic accidents in Georgia and across the United States every year.   She instead is calling for an approach that takes into account all of the different factors that contribute to the various driver behaviors resulting in accidents.

The National Transportation Safety Board is primarily an investigative authority which conducts investigations into air, road, land, and water accidents that involve mass fatalities or casualties. The Board advises or provides recommendations based on those investigations, and is not a regulatory authority. It cannot pass regulations based on its own recommendations. However, the Board’s recommendations are taken very seriously by state administrations, especially those that are looking at making their roads safer.

Jennifer Homendy, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board, was speaking in remarks to a conference of the Governors Highway Safety Association, and says that an overall approach to increasing traffic safety must take into consideration the fact that so many states have enforced higher speed limits than recommended. Speeding, for instance, continues to be a major killer on American roads, and we must evaluate whether the systems in place to date actually encourages drivers to speed. She points to states that have prohibited local authorities from setting their own lower speed limits for motorists. She also points to the responsibility of manufacturers who frequently design automobiles that are made to travel at more than 100 mph, or sell cars that have no installed speed limiters to prevent excessive speeds. Road design that encourages speeding could be just as much to blame as individuals who take advantage of these roads that are built for excessive speeds.

Continue reading
Published on:

by

Driving at night is typically the least favorite time to drive for most people.  Reduced visibility and glare are just some of the dangers of driving at night that can cause accidents.  Better headlights that have a high safety rating, however, are much more likely to help reduce the risk of night time accidents. According to a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, headlight systems that have a good rating by the Institute can significantly help reduce the risk of accidents that occur in the night time.

In 2016, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety developed a safety rating system for headlights. Until then, there was no real way of measuring how headlights fared when compared with each other and when they were actually used in the real world. The federal standard for headlights was outdated, and under these standards, most headlights were more or less considered equal. However in 2016, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety established a headlight ratings program that measured headlight fitness as “good”, “acceptable”, “marginal” or “poor.”

Five years later, a new study finds that since the ratings went into effect, there has been a 19% reduction in the accident rate involving cars with headlights that have a “good” rating, compared to those that have a “poor” headlights rating. When headlights were rated “acceptable” or “marginal,” there was a 15% reduction in the number of accidents that involved these cars. Additionally the study also found that good headlights specifically helped reduce certain types of accidents. For instance, when headlights had a “good” rating there was a 29 percent drop in the number of accidents involving injuries to the driver.  These headlights also contributed to a 25% drop in the number of accidents involving pedestrians.

Continue reading
Published on:

by

Auto accidents caused by road rage are on the rise.   Traffic in the metro Atlanta area is notorious and surely the source of many road rage incidents.  According to some estimates, as many as 1,700 people suffer severe or fatal injuries in accidents caused directly by road rage every year.

Road rage goes beyond being angry or aggressive. Driving a car, especially while alone, can be a stressful situation, and a person driving under stress can make for a dangerous driver. Some people are more like to suffer from road rage. According to experts, persons with a Type A personality who are more competitive and aggressive in their daily lives are also more likely to show aggressive tendencies while driving. These tendencies could actually place them at risk of an accident.

If you are curious about whether you have the makings of an angry driver, ask yourself these questions. Do you often leave home late, and then find yourself irritable that other motorists aren’t giving way for you like they should so you can reach your destination on time? Do you often found yourself cursing at other motorists or making rude gestures? Do you feel like all other motorists around you are bad drivers, and therefore need to be taught a lesson so that they don’t repeat such poor driving behaviors? If you’ve answered “yes” to all of these questions, you may be at risk of road rage and not even know it.

Continue reading
Published on:

by

Older persons may have a high risk of suffering injuries in a slip and fall accident. Fortunately, we now have devices and technology that can significantly help reduce those risks.

Over the past decade, an entire array of gadgets and devices has been introduced primarily with the goal of helping prevent fall-related injuries involving seniors and other vulnerable populations. From sensors and alarms, to watches and hip-protecting devices, there are a number of technologies that have been introduced to help reduce the risk of injuries in fall accidents involving older people. These technologies range from systems that are in place in facilities like nursing homes to wearable devices that prevent fall risks.

One study by the American Journal of Managed Care found that a camera system powered by artificial intelligence and installed in nursing homes can help reduce the risk of injurious fall accidents involving seniors by a staggering 75 percent. The system can help reduce the number of ER visits after a fall by 80 percent. The study found that the use of the system combined with staff reviews of footage of falls and near-falls involving residents, greatly helped minimize risks.

Continue reading
Published on:

by

The federal administration is marking the month of October as Pedestrian Safety Month, drawing attention to the need for motorists to make more efforts to look out for pedestrians while driving.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has marked the month of October as Pedestrian Safety Month with a singular goal in mind which is to raise awareness of the need to ensure that people can walk safely without the fear of accidents and to keep the safety of pedestrians in mind when they are out at all times. The National Highway Traffic Safety administration is dedicating each week in October to different safety themes.

Week 1 is dedicated to educating the public about the fact that at some point in the day, every person is a pedestrian. Whether you are walking into your office building from the parking lot, or walking home from work, you are still a pedestrian for a certain amount of time. Accidents can occur even in parking areas when motorists fail to look out for pedestrians who may be in the area.

Continue reading
Published on:

by

Teen drivers have some of the highest accident risks. When a teenager is driving a car that is equipped with the latest safety tech, however, those accident risks reduce significantly.  

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted a study on the effectiveness of crash avoidance technologies and other safety systems on the accident risks of teen motorists. The study found that these technologies, if mandated on all automobiles, could prevent as many as 75% of all accidents involving teen motorists. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study results show that while it is not possible to reduce teen accident rates by 100%, it is possible to significantly reduce the risks of teen motorists being involved in accidents by getting them cars that are equipped with lane departure warning systems, forward collision avoidance systems and other car safety technologies. 

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that teen motorists have a risk of being involved in accidents that is as much as four times higher than for adult drivers. There are several reasons for those higher accident risks.  Teen motorists have fewer years of experience successfully navigating traffic and crash risks. Additionally, teen motorists are more likely to be impulsive and may lack the critical judgment and reasoning skills that are necessary to avoid accidents. Teens are also more likely to be susceptible to crashes involving drunk driving and speeding. Passengers in the car also constitute a huge distraction for a teen motorist. All these factors combined significantly increase teen motorist crash risks. 

Continue reading
Published on:

by

Motorcyclists in Georgia form a small percentage of the total number of registered motor vehicles in the state, but account for a significantly higher number of fatalities every year.  This unfortunately should not come as a surprise as a collision between a motorcycle and another vehicle usually results in serious or fatal injuries to the motorcyclist given the lack of outer vehicle protection. 

In July, the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety released new data for motorcycle accidents across the state. The data is based on traffic accident statistics in Georgia in 2019. The data finds that motorcyclists form just a small percentage of motor vehicle accidents in the state, accounting for just 1 percent of all motor vehicle crashes.  However, they form 11 percent of traffic accident deaths and 21 percent of all driver deaths. 

According to the data, the North Georgia area, which encompasses the metropolitan Atlanta region, accounts for the majority of all motorcycle crashes in Georgia. The metro Atlanta region specifically accounts for the highest share of all motorcycle accidents in the state. 

Continue reading
Published on:

by

Many accidents that occur in parking lots involve distracted motorists. The National Safety Council says that a focus on avoiding distractions in these areas as well as technology that can prevent such crashes could help reduce those accident numbers.

Parking lot accidents can involve two cars or a car and pedestrian. The latter are very common, and get a lot of attention because the pedestrians in these cases may suffer serious injuries as a result of these accidents. According to a National Safety Nonoil poll, 66 percent of motorists admit that they use their phone calls for various activities while driving in a parking lot. About 63 percent would fiddle with their GPS systems while at the wheel of a moving car, 56 percent would text at the wheel and more than half would scroll through social media on the phone or send and receive emails while driving in a parking lot. Close to half would take photos or watch videos while driving in these areas.

Motorists tend to have a false sense of complacency when they are driving through a parking lot. Speeds are lower, and there is minimal traffic in a parking lot.  The idea that nothing could possibly happen when you are driving at low speeds or backing out of your spot while distracted is very strong in many motorists’ minds. Those crash risks increase during busy shopping times, like the holiday season when traffic is even higher.  The risks are compounded by the fact that holiday shoppers are usually in a hurry to back out or get home.

Continue reading
Contact Information
945 East Paces Ferry Rd # 2230
Atlanta, GA 30326
Phone: (404) 460-0101 Fax: (404) 240-0401 Toll Free: (888) 426-2100
508 E Howard Ave
Decatur, GA 30030
Phone: (404) 460-0101

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2016 – 2026, Katz Personal Injury Lawyers
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design