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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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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The death rate from automobile accidents in Georgia over the New Year's holiday was exactly as the State Patrol expected. The Georgia State Patrol had estimated that there would be 20 deaths between the 20^th of December and 3rd of January, and that's exactly how many deaths have occurred. The numbers of people who have been injured in accidents across the state were significantly below what the Patrol had predicted, however – 870 injuries as against the prediction of 1350 by the State Patrol. There were a total of 3008 accidents that took place over the New Year's holiday week, and 17 of those involved fatalities. 

The accident and death rate statistics over the New Years' have also been more encouraging than the statistics over the Christmas weekend which were aggravated by the poor wet weather conditions plaguing much of the state. 24 people died as they traveled across Georgia to meet up with family and friends over the Christmas holiday, a count that was much higher than the State Patrol's projected estimate of 19 deaths. Many of the fatal accidents could be attributed to wet weather that had left roads slick and slippery. Several accidents, especially single vehicle ones could also be traced to alcohol use. These tend to be the most frequent types of accidents over any holiday season, and reach their peak during New Years' which is arguably the biggest drinking holiday of the year. Over Christmas this year, State Patrol says they cracked down on a large number of drunk drivers. This is in spite of the all the pre-holiday anti drunk driving education programs that are conducted in Georgia.

Many accidents were also traced to the mechanical failure of cars that simply couldn't cope with the slippery roads. Interestingly enough, the floundering economy seems to have had a part to play in this. With many people out of jobs or extremely anxious about the status of their current employment, motorists have been less inclined to spend money maintaining their cars, such as replacing old worn out tires. Safe driving in bad weather requires that your vehicle be in top shape to take on the additional challenges.

Drivng in bad weather or during a heavy traffic holdiay season soesn't have to be the nightmare it is for law enfircement agencies.  A little extra caution and care while driving in heavy traffic or in bad weather can prevent most accidents.  As a Peachtree City car accident lawyer, I see all too ofter how negligence behind the wheel can cause injury or death to another motorist who may have been following all the rules of the road.  If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, contact a personal injury lawyer at my office for a free consultation or download a FREE copy of my book entitled "The Ultimate Guide to Accidents in Georgia".

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