- Car Accidents, Motorcycle Accidents, Truck Accident
Founder of Wade Law and expert trial attorney with experience in the courts and in the classroom, lecturing in several courses. Admitted to all of Georgia’s courts and the United States Supreme Court
Driving always comes with dangers, but with a bit of knowledge about vehicle safety, you can reduce a lot of that risk. By simply being the safe driver on the road, you can take some comfort in knowing that you can reduce the risk of causing an accident.
Every few years the leaders in vehicle safety, insurance, and transportation look at the statistics that layout vehicle dangers. The dangers of driving, of vehicular malfunction, and a general risk on the road are always present. But, knowing those risks and being up on the latest statistics can help you know what to keep an eye out for when you are on the road.
How Many Accidents Happen Each Year?
The most recent reports from the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is that in 2017 there were over 390,000 accidents on Georgia roads. Most of these accidents involved alcohol, speeding, or other factors impacting vehicle safety. However, these are not the only leading factors in accidents.
Accidents often happen because of distractions behind the wheel, impairment, and breaking moving traffic laws such as speeding. Less frequent violations such as running through a stoplight or not stopping at a stop sign intersection also contribute to these accidents. If drivers followed basic vehicle safety, many of these could have been avoided.
Avoidable Georgia Accidents and Fatalities
The National Highway Transportation Safety Association (NHTSA) along with the Georgia Department of Transportation closely monitor fatalities and injuries reported along with accidents. Because of the NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System, we know that Georgia experienced over 1,500 deaths in 2018. Of these fatalities about 44% of the deaths involved drivers or passengers who were not using or not properly using a safety restraint.
Georgia does have one of the highest rates of seatbelt use, which goes to show how important it is to buckle up. Even with a 97% seat belt used across the state, 44% of traffic fatality victims were not wearing a seatbelt.
Saving Lives with New Laws?
Georgia’s hands-free law kicked into effect in July of 2018, and since then there has been a drastic decrease in passenger fatalities. Current estimates put the degrees at about 6% from what the state has seen with passenger fatalities associated with distracted driving in previous years.
Unfortunately, there is an old law that is not drastically changing how many people are hurt or died as a result of accidents. George’s helmet law went into effect in 1969, and it has not changed. It is possible that updating this outdated law could compel motorcyclists to wear helmets more often. In 2018, 154 motorcyclists died in traffic crashes, which was a 10% jump from reported motorcycle fatalities in 2017. Most of these fatalities happen in Fulton County, DeKalb County, and Gwinnett County.
Injury Statistics
How many serious injuries are we seeing about per year? Georgia can regularly expect to have over 25,000 serious injuries associated with traffic accidents each year. That number only includes serious injuries, it does not include the minor injuries such as sprains, whiplash, soft tissue damage, and other bodily harm.
Because of advancements and vehicle technology and in awareness on the impact of distracted driving, fatalities are going down. While a decrease in fatalities is a good thing, there has been a drastic increase in serious injury. People are surviving more accidents, however, the number of accidents aren’t decreasing, which leaves many people with serious injuries and hefty medical debt after a crash. Simply learning and following vehicle safety suggestions could prevent many of these.
Finding Support from A Georgia Accident Attorney
Everyone knows that driving comes with dangers, but many people feel that they follow all vehicle safety rules and will not get into an accident. Being a safe driver does not guarantee that you will never be in a crash. In fact, many safe drivers feel the double whammy of being the victim of an accident where they were driving safely, and the other driver put them at risk. This is frequently the case, and these victims often are re-victimized through the crash resolution process.
When it comes to finding support and actually having somebody fighting in your corner during the crash resolution process, it is important to talk with a Fayetteville accident attorney. Georgia car accident lawyers often work to represent victims and protect them from many of the underhanded tactics in the insurance industry. All too often people find that they are given very small settlements, and it does not cover the very big medical bills. Contact Wade Law to have someone fight for what you need to get out of this crash resolution process.
