Articles Posted in Accident Prevention

Driving at night is typically the least favorite time to drive for most people.  Reduced visibility and glare are just some of the dangers of driving at night that can cause accidents.  Better headlights that have a high safety rating, however, are much more likely to help reduce the risk of night time accidents. According to a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, headlight systems that have a good rating by the Institute can significantly help reduce the risk of accidents that occur in the night time.

In 2016, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety developed a safety rating system for headlights. Until then, there was no real way of measuring how headlights fared when compared with each other and when they were actually used in the real world. The federal standard for headlights was outdated, and under these standards, most headlights were more or less considered equal. However in 2016, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety established a headlight ratings program that measured headlight fitness as “good”, “acceptable”, “marginal” or “poor.”

Five years later, a new study finds that since the ratings went into effect, there has been a 19% reduction in the accident rate involving cars with headlights that have a “good” rating, compared to those that have a “poor” headlights rating. When headlights were rated “acceptable” or “marginal,” there was a 15% reduction in the number of accidents that involved these cars. Additionally the study also found that good headlights specifically helped reduce certain types of accidents. For instance, when headlights had a “good” rating there was a 29 percent drop in the number of accidents involving injuries to the driver.  These headlights also contributed to a 25% drop in the number of accidents involving pedestrians.

Even with the passing of recent laws such as the Hands-free law banning cell phone use while driving, Georgia could still do more to help prevent car accidents and protect motorists and passengers when they are involved in crashes according to national road safety advocates.

Advocates for Auto and Highway Safety is an alliance of groups that are invested in traffic and highway safety, including enforcement representatives, media personnel, public health advocates and insurance companies, all united in a common mission to reduce the rates of accidents that injure and kill so many every year. The group releases an annual road map for individual states to use as a set of guidelines to reduce the risk of accidents and save more lives ever year. This year too, the coalition has released the 2021 roadmap for traffic safety, and the report has recommendations for Georgia to implement as well. The coalition is dedicated to the reduction of accident and injury risks, and the road map is drafted with a view to helping keep all users of our roads safer.

The roadmap for Georgia kicks off with a call to instate primary enforcement of rear seat belt laws in Georgia. Currently, primary enforcement only applies to front seat passengers. The road map also addresses the protection of child passengers in traffic accidents by calling for a law requiring all children below the age of two to be restrained in rear-facing car seats. Too often, children below this age are moved to forward-facing seats or booster seats at great risk to their safety.

Every year, over 36,000 people are killed in motor vehicle accidents on our nation’s roadways.  On top of that, 3 million people are injured every year as a result of a car crash.  Lawmakers are introducing a system approach to help reduce these injury statistics.  A set of 4 new bills that have been introduced in the US Congress tackle serious problems facing American motorists, and cover a range of subjects including auto safety and distracted driving.

The set of bills has been introduced by Senator Richard Blumenthal (Democrat-Connecticut) and Senator Edward Markey (Democrat -Massachusetts) who both sit on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.  All 4 bills are specifically focused on improvements in traffic safety strategies and infrastructure. The bills cover issues that significantly impact the safety of Georgia motorists, including distracted driving, the speed with which auto recalls are initiated in the United States as well as the safety and stability of car technology.

The first bill aims to understand more about the problems of distracted driving and solutions that can help resolve this menace. The bill is called the Stay Aware For Everyone Act, or the SAFE Act, and it will require the Department of Transportation to conduct studies into how auto technologies like driver monitoring technology can reduce the incidence of distracted driving by reducing driver distractions. The bill requires the DOT to specifically study driver disengagement as well as the possible irresponsible use of auto technology that could cause distractions.

Summer driving season will be upon us soon, and with more people out and taking road trips this summer, the number of automobile accidents is bound to increase.  The National Transportation Safety Board last month released its list of transportation safety recommendations for 2021, and tackled critical areas like distracted driving, speeding and drunk driving.

Every year, the National Transportation Safety Board releases its much awaited Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements. In the recent 2021- 2022 list, the National Transportation Safety Board gave its recommendations on a number of critical traffic safety areas that are responsible for causing thousands of accidents every year.

As expected, and as on most of its annual lists, the National Transportation Safety Board calls on state and federal authorities to invest in the prevention of accidents caused by the use of alcohol and drugs.  Accidents involving alcohol and drug- impaired driving are far too common, even in 2021.  The Board has drastic recommendations for the prevention of drunk driving accidents and recommends that states, like Georgia, roll back their minimum blood alcohol concentration limits to 0.05%, and require all motorists convicted of drunk driving to have ignition interlock devices installed in their vehicles.

Summer vacation season is fast approaching, and many Atlanta families are preparing to make trips out of town.  Many of these trips will involve long drives to faraway destinations.  These long drives, unfortunately, can come with an increased risk of fatigued or drowsy driving.

The Better Sleep Council is marking the month of May as Better Sleep Month, and is encouraging Americans to practice the good sleeping habits in order to avoid feeling the effects that fatigue and lack of sleep deprivation can cause. For motorists, sleep deprivation is just as dangerous as drunk driving. Several studies have indicated that a motorist who is driving after having had little sleep in the previous 24 hours, is as much at risk of being involved in a car accident as a person who’s driving under the influence of alcohol.

Maintaining consistent sleep patterns is key to getting sufficient sleep every day.  Ideally, you should be sleeping at the same time every day. Avoid scrolling through your mobile phone or exercising before you sleep.  Relaxing activities like reading will help put you in a better mood for sleep. The Better Sleep Council also recommends that you avoid alcohol and smoking before bed.