Winter Weather Comes to Southeast, Bringing Increased Vehicle Crash Risks

By Grant Law Office on February 21, 2012

The winter has been record-breakingly mild in many parts of the United States this year, grounding snowplow drivers and reducing the number of weather-related accidents nationwide. However, recent snows in Georgia and surrounding areas have caused some serious accidents, and meteorologists predict that more dangerous winter weather is on its way, according to a recent article in USA Today.

Throughout last weekend, snowplow crews worked in northeastern Georgia to clear roads, and rescue teams worked to pull drivers from accidents. Although most accidents were slide-offs, a few serious collisions caused auto accident injuries in various parts of the state, mostly in the northeast.Read more…

Super Bowl Parties May Mean More Drunk Drivers – Protect Yourself

By Grant Law Office on February 3, 2012

Super Bowl parties will be taking place all over Georgia this weekend, as people gather together to enjoy food, drinks, and the big game. While you can make smart choices to prevent yourself from driving while impaired by alcohol, you can’t make all other drivers make the same smart choices.

To raise awareness of drunk driving and the serious auto accidents it can cause, the NFL (National Football League) offers the following facts:Read more…

U.S. DOT Announces Lowest Number of Annual Traffic Deaths in Over 60 Years

By Grant Law Office on December 15, 2011

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), traffic accidents are the leading cause of fatalities in the U.S. among those between the ages of 5 and 34, but, according to a recent announcement by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), traffic fatalities have dropped to the lowest level in the last six decades.

Updated injury and fatality data from 2010 found the total number of traffic-related deaths that year to have dropped to 32,885, the lowest level since 1949, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This decline occurred despite the increase in the number of miles traveled. In 2010, U.S. motorists travelled almost 46 billion miles more than the previous year. Furthermore:Read more…

AAA Study: Teenage Driving Safety Starts At Home

By Grant Law Office on October 31, 2011

A study by the AAA Automobile Club, under their Foundation for Traffic Safety initiative, found that teenage drivers were significantly more susceptible to accidents than those on the road with more experience. As reported by the Delaware County Daily Times, teenagers who are driving by themselves during their first month on the road were observed to be 50 percent more probable to be involved in a crash, as compared to those driving with a year of experience under their belts. And the trend continues exponentially, as those first month drivers were almost two times as likely to have a car accident than those who had been driving for two years time.

In the research, teenagers had particular problems with decreasing speed properly, distracted driving, and neglecting to yield. Those kinds of situations produced errors that caused 57 percent of crashes observed in the research. The data also confirmed that the occurrence of specific kinds of crashes (such as accidents resulting from left hand turns) dropped in relation to driver experience.Read more…

Preventing Intersection Accidents in Georgia

By Grant Law Office on September 19, 2011

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 2009 Traffic Safety Facts, there were 2,210,000 intersection and intersection-related accidents across the nation that year. This is an alarming number considering many intersections have some type of traffic control device, whether it is a traffic signal or stop sign. In fact, 1,158,000 of these accidents occurred in the presence of a traffic signal. Why, when there are laws and devices in place to facilitate an organized flow of traffic, are so many people involved in intersection accidents? The answer to this question is a simple, yet disheartening one: negligence and disregard for traffic laws and the safety of others.

Every state, including Georgia, experiences a large number of intersection accidents. Unfortunately, because intersections involve multiple lanes of traffic that are traveling in multiple directions as well as crosswalks for pedestrians, these crashes tend to be more severe. Even though you can’t control the actions of others on the road, there are a few safety tips that you can follow to help minimize the risk that you will be involved in a Georgia intersection accident:Read more…

Georgia Sees Fewer Labor Day Weekend Traffic Fatalities This Year

By Grant Law Office on September 8, 2011

Holiday weekends, like Labor Day, have traditionally been some of the most dangerous and deadly for motorists. There is not only an increase in the amount of traffic on the roads, but also an increased number of drunk drivers. This year, fortunately, did not live up to last year’s Labor Day reputation, however.

According to the Alpharetta-Milton Patch, the Georgia Department of Public Safety (DPS) counted seven traffic fatalities, across all agencies, this last Labor Day weekend. This number is half of the number of fatalities in 2010. During the 78-hour Labor Day time period, there were 435 accidents and 225 injuries across the state of Georgia, based solely on data from the Georgia State Patrol (GSP). The Georgia State Patrol attributes the decrease in fatalities, in part, to tropical storm Lee, which seems to have kept people off Georgia roads during the holiday weekend.Read more…

GHSA Summer Safety Tips for Parents with Teen Drivers

By Grant Law Office on June 29, 2011

Summertime brings many more teen drivers on Georgia roads, and with more teen drivers comes a higher risk of traffic accidents. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the deadliest time of year for teen drivers ages 15 to 20-years-old is the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The GHSA encourages parents to take charge in keeping their teen drivers safe this summer and have provided some useful tips to promote teen driving safety:

1. Remind your teen of the importance of properly fastening their seat belt. According to statistics, teenagers are the least likely to wear their seat belt, even though doing so has been proven effective in preventing car crash fatalities in Georgia.
2. Even if your teen knows the law, make sure they understand that they should never drink and drive, or get into a vehicle with someone who has been drinking.Read more…

Georgia “Death Trap” Intersection Finally Has Traffic Signal

By Grant Law Office on May 20, 2011

The traffic signal project for the intersection of Georgia Highway 212 and Oak Hill Road has finally been completed as of this month. However, according to CovNewsj, the traffic light is not expected to be fully operational until the morning of May 24. Work on the project began in February of this year.

In October of 2010, the Newton County Board of commissioners approved a $106,548 bid from Moye Electric of Dublin to take on the project. The installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of GA Highway 212 and Oak Hill Road is expected to decrease the alarming number of fatal Georgia auto accidents at that intersection. It is a high traffic thoroughfare and the amount of traffic has only increased since the addition of a public library and a park in the area. There have been several fatal accidents at the site, prompting the former District 2 Commissioner to call it a “death trap.”Read more…

Johns Creek Roundabout Planned to Relieve Traffic Congestion

By Grant Law Office on May 10, 2011

The city of Johns Creek and the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) have planned construction of a modern roundabout at the intersection of Bell Road and Boles Road to begin in spring 2013. According to the Johns Creek Patch, traffic congestion has worsened in recent years, increasing motorist frustration over long wait times as well as increasing Georgia traffic accidents. An informational meeting about the project was met with support from many of its attendees.

The roundabout will be the first for the city but not for Georgia. GDOT has been encouraging the implementation of roundabouts in appropriate intersections as they have been shown to relieve congestion, improve safety, increase traffic capacity, decrease auto accidents, and improve aesthetics.Read more…

Proposed Stricter Laws for Cell Phone Use while Driving in Georgia

By Grant Law Office on April 28, 2011

Currently, Georgia law bans all cell phone use while driving, including texting, for school bus drivers and teenagers that are less than 18 years of age. Drivers that are over 18 are banned from texting while driving, but are not banned from using a handheld cell phone or other device to talk while driving. The increase in Georgia traffic accident injuries and fatalities involving distracted driving has prompted the proposal of new legislation.

If the proposed legislation becomes Georgia law, all handheld cell phones will be banned, allowing only hands-free use of cell phones for motorists 18 years or older. School bus drivers and teenagers, or novice drivers, less than 18 years old will still abide by the all cell phone use ban initiated in 2010.Read more…