Georgia Personal Injury Law Blog : Atlanta Georgia Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Jason R. Schultz Law Firm : Wrongful Death, Malpractice, Car Accidents : Georgia

As an Atlanta auto accident lawyer and the father of children who will soon join the ranks of young motorists on the road, I am particularly interested in issues of teen motorist safety. A new report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration assures me that my concerns are not unfounded.

According to the report released last month, young drivers are involved in fatal accidents at rates that are disproportionate to their share of the motorist population. While these drivers made up 9 percent of the national population as of 2007, they constituted 19 percent of traffic deaths in the country. Among the most important findings of the study was that fatalities in accidents involving young motorists aged between 15 and 20, make up one-fifth of all traffic accident deaths in the US.

Nationwide, about 2/3^rd of people killed in fatal accidents involving young drivers were either the motorists or their passengers. Out of these passengers, 67 percent were the same age group as the motorist.

As I drilled down into accident fatality data for Georgia, I found that:

• Young drivers accounted for 120 fatalities in 2007. Their passengers accounted for a total of 95 fatalities. Out of this, 7 were below 15 years of age, 70 were between 15 and 20 years, and 18 passengers were more than 20 years old.
• Occupants of the other vehicles made up 74 fatalities
• Non occupants accounted for 11 deaths in these accidents.
• Overall in Georgia, 300 people were killed in young driver related accidents in 2007.

I have blogged in the past about the high rates of accident deaths on Georgia’s rural roads compared to its urban areas.  The NHTSA report shows that this difference exists even where teen accidents are concerned. Nationwide, 56 percent of all fatal accidents involving young drivers occur on rural roads. These drivers accounted for 57 percent of nationwide fatality rates.  This statistic is likely due to poorly maintained and designed rural roads, as well as speeding and drunk driving.

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Atlanta motorcycle accident lawyers and motorcycle safety groups have lost one of the world’s pioneering authorities on motorcycle safety.  Harry Hurt, of the Hurt’s Report, died last week at the age of 81.

As an Atlanta motorcycle accident lawyer, I believe Hurt’s biggest professional achievement was the Hurt Report, which investigated 900 motorcycle accidents in Los Angeles between 1976 and 1977. The investigation led to a better understanding of the causes of motorcycle crashes. The findings were published in 1981, and the research has not been followed by another motorcycle crash study since. The findings of the Hurt Report have helped American regulators understand the causes of motorcycle crashes, leading to the development of safety procedures to reduce them.

Among the Hurt Report’s primary findings were some that were quite startling at the time.

• Speed was not a factor in most motorcycle accidents.
• Helmet use could prevent serious injuries, such as brain injuries and fatalities.
• Most accidents occurred when motorists violated the motorcyclist’s right of way.

Harry Hurt’s interest in motorcycle safety began early. As a graduate student, he participated in a project to develop a crash helmet, which is used as a prototype of sorts for modern helmets. However, it was only after he joined the University of Southern California as faculty, that he really developed an interest in motor vehicle safety.

In the years since the Hurt Report was published, there have been major enhancements made to motorcycle safety.  Helmet use is now considered the single biggest factor standing between a motorcyclist and traumatic brain injury. We also know now that motorcyclists are often injured because of a motorist’s failure to yield. Unfortunately, the time has come for new studies into motorcycle crash causation. Fatality rates in these accidents have increased by more than 100 percent over the past decade.  It would be the ultimate tribute to Harry Hurt if we follow up his 1981 ground breaking study with a new one that might provide some answers and solutions to the current high fatality rates in motorcycle wrecks.

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An Atlanta resident was killed in a hit and run car accident over the weekend. While his family mourns the death of Howard DePass, police are continuing their search for the two men in the SUV that struck him.  On Saturday night, DePass was driving home when he was struck head-on by a Ford Expedition. The two occupants of the Expedition got out of the SUV and fled on foot.

Police have determined that the Expedition was stolen. They are investigating leads, but so far, no one has been arrested. According to his family, DePass was a hardworking man who was looking forward to seeing his daughter graduate in May.

Every year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration releases statistics regarding traffic fatalities from the previous year. It includes details of people killed in drunk driving accidents, speeding-related car accidents, motorcycle crashes and pedestrian accidents. These statistics help law enforcement agencies understand how successful their accident prevention efforts have been, and what they need to focus on to prevent accidents in the future. In Georgia last year, there were a total of 1,493 deaths in traffic accidents. Behind each of those 1,493 fatalities is a shattered family, for whom the loss doesn’t end with a new year and a new set of statistics. The emotional loss for these husbands, wives, and children, is incalculable. Although Georgia's wrongful death laws can help these people hold the responsible party accountable for his/her negligence, there is no law that can help these families feel whole again or bring back a loved one lost due to carelessness.

Jason Schultz is a Georgia wrongful death attorney, helping families of victims of others' negligence recover their full and rightful compensation under Georgia law.

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A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that there is a need for greater enforcement of laws that prevent bars and other drinking establishments from serving customers who are too intoxicated to drive. Binge drinking is a problem, and a factor in most of the 11,000 fatalities that occur every year in drunk driving accidents.

The CDC study focused on 14,000 binge drinkers - people who admitted that at least once a month to drinking more than 5 alcoholic beverages on a single occasion. 12 percent of the respondents in the survey said that they had driven a car within two hours of their last binge. That is one in 8 binge drinkers who saw no problem getting behind the wheel while intoxicated. The study also showed that half of the drove off after drinking at a bar or club had consumed 7 or more alcoholic drinks, while 25 percent of those had at least 10 drinks.

CDC researchers are calling for stronger enforcement of laws that prevent establishments from serving drunk customers. Georgia’s dram shop liability laws hold restaurants, bars and nightclubs liable for providing alcohol to a patron who later causes injury to others, who was noticeably intoxicated and the establishment knew or should have known they were about to drive. Proving those elements can be very difficult unless the drunk driver has receipts and there are eyewitnesses who corroborate that the person was drunk and about to drive. 

However, as Fulton County car accident lawyers often see, such dram shop laws are some of the most under enforced laws in the country. It obviously suits the restaurant or bar to continue to serve alcohol to its customers, even when they have had too much to drink. Unfortunately, enforcement of these laws are difficult and far too little consideration given by those establishments serving alcohol as to what will likely happen once the drunk driver gets behind the wheel.

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It seems that neither the promise of federal funds nor the prospect of being able to save precious lives every year are enticing enough for Georgia’s lawmakers to pass a seatbelt law that would require all pickup truck drivers to buckle up, thus reducing the number of accident fatalities. The House Consumer Affairs subcommittee has voted 4-3 against a bill that would require pickup truck drivers above the age of 18 to fasten their seatbelts. The Senate had earlier approved the bill, like it has done over the last 3 years. Each year, the House has blocked the bill, ensuring that pickup truck drivers continue to be able to drive without buckling up, and increasing their chances of being killed or seriously injured in an accident.

With the rejection of the bill, Georgia continues to be the only state that does not require adult pickup drivers to compulsorily wear seatbelts. In January this year, I had listed out a series of benefits that could motivate lawmakers to pass the bill including a $4 million grant that the state could receive if it would bring pickup drivers under mandatory seatbelt laws. There had been expectations this year that the $4 million grant would be enough incentive for lawmakers to pass the bill. After all, Georgia is currently battling a budget deficit, and federal funds could have been used to kick start road safety improvement programs that have been stagnant for a while due to lack of funding. Proponents of the seatbelt law, including Atlanta car accident lawyers had hoped that the grant would result in funding for the expansion of Georgia’s trauma care network. The House however, has chosen to reject the bill, although supporters have moved to have the measure reconsidered another day.

The measure to make seatbelts mandatory for all pickup drivers has had huge support within the state, with a majority of Georgians supporting such measures. Critics of the bill argue that pickup drivers don’t need a law to be motivated to wear seatbelts, and that the prospect of walking away with minor injuries after an accident should be sufficient incentive for drivers to buckle up. It’s a fact that people are more likely to obey cold, hard laws. After all, most motorists are aware of the dangers of drunk driving, and yet thousands of people are killed or seriously injured in alcohol-related crashes every year. Those numbers would have been far greater if weren't for the presence of strong DUI laws that prevent so many from getting behind the wheel in an intoxicated state.

The seatbelt law could result in approximately 24 lives saved per year and more than 400 injuries prevented.  That alone should be enough motivation to pass the bill.

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Across the country, most states reported some dramatic declines in accident related fatalities last year, including our very own Georgia, which saw a decline of 12 percent in the accident fatality rate.

That welcome news comes to us via a survey by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) which has just released the findings of a survey of 44 states. 40 of those states, including Georgia, reported a decline in their accident death rates last year. Leading the list was Massachusetts, which had an admirable 29 percent drop in the death rate. Georgia's death rate drop was marked at 12 percent. These findings only corroborate what other auto safety agencies have been reporting for a while now. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)has also reported nationwide declines in accident rates, and the reasons being attributed to the decline are many. The most common theme however seems to be the increase in gas prices last summer, and the economic recession that quickly followed. When people are worried about job safety, they tend to take fewer unnecessary road trips, and also seem to drive slower in order to save on fuel. Slower driving leads to fewer of those devastating high speed crashes that often involve fatalities. 

In 2008, many states also instituted efficient and well executed traffic enforcement programs to crack down on drunken drivers and speeding motorists. Seatbelt use in 2008 also rose to more than 80 percent. Automakers have also made safer cars due to increased customer demand for better safety features. All this has meant that you are less likely to become a statistic if you are involved in a car wreck.

As a Peachtree City and Atlanta accident lawyer, I have been a passionate advocate of enhanced efforts to reduce the possibility of accidents and deaths. This Georgia Wrongful Death lawyer can help victims of other motorist's negligence obtain compensation for their injuries.

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