US Lags behind Other Countries in Fatal Accident Prevention
A study by the National Research Council indicates that in spite of record lows in accident fatalities in 2009, the US continues to fare very poorly in preventing accidental deaths, compared to other countries.
The NRC specifically compared the US and other countries, including Britain, France, Japan and Australia. The study had some very disturbing facts for Atlanta car accident lawyers. Although it does seem like we have made great advancements in minimizing fatal traffic accidents in our country, progress has been slow. For instance, since 1995, France has been able to reduce its traffic accident fatality numbers by 52%, while in the US, those numbers have declined by just 19%. Countries like Japan, Australia and Britain also fared much better than the US when it comes to progress in reducing accident fatalities.
According to the NRC, we could make more progress in saving lives if we implemented tougher drunk driving laws and enforced them. For instance, sobriety checkpoints are almost a fact of life in many European countries. In the US, the beverage industry and other vested interests have been successful in lobbying for restricted use of sobriety checkpoints. This in spite of the fact that these checkpoints have been found to reduce the number of drunk driving accidents in Georgia and around the country.
The NRC also credits widespread use of speeding cameras in other developed countries for their lower fatality rates. In this country however, the use of speeding cameras has been a matter of controversy and debate.
