Accident Prevention

Published on: January 28, 2021

Calls for New Administration to Prioritize Traffic Safety, Zero Accident Deaths

Traffic safety advocates are calling on the new Biden administration to prioritize road safety, especially the vision of zero traffic deaths by the year 2050.

Road accidents can have a tremendous human cost. The new administration has a personal link to the kind of tragedy and pain that result from a car accident. The President lost his first wife and daughter in a tragic car accident in 1972.

Road to Zero is the nation’s largest coalition of traffic safety organizations. The coalition along with a number of other organizations, including Vision Zero Network, and Toward Zero Deaths, has called on the Biden administration to prioritize the saving of American lives in traffic accidents and the strengthening of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Road to Zero and the other organizations are partnering with a single goal in mind – to reduce the number of preventable traffic accident fatalities to zero by the year 2050. The new Secretary-designate of Transportation as already begun meeting with lawmakers. There is hope that the new administration will prioritize road safety even as it grapples with other more pressing issues including the pandemic.

Published on: August 18, 2020

Auto Technology Alone may not be Sufficient to Prevent Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Self-driving cars are being held up as the way of the future, but may not be able to prevent all types of accidents, especially the majority of accidents that can be linked to driver error. Those findings came from a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

According to the researchers, auto safety design and advancements in technology will help self-driving vehicles identify and avoid many of the hazards that drivers are susceptible to, but this ability, by itself, would not be sufficient to prevent the majority of accidents that occur on American roads.

The data for the study came from the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey. The researchers identified accident factors that were specifically linked to driver error, and categorised these accidents into 5 types.

Published on: April 27, 2020

NTSB Calls on States to Act to Prevent Bicycle Accident Deaths

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The National Transportation Safety Board is calling on Georgia and other states to take stringent action to reduce the number of bicyclists killed in accidents every year.

The National Transportation Board recently released its first report on bicycle safety since 1972. The Board makes note of the fact that there has been a spike in bicycle accident deaths, specifically the 857 bicycle accident deaths that occurred in 2018. There was an increase in bicycle accident deaths in 2018, even as there was an overall drop in auto accidents that year. Those numbers were an increase of 6.3 percent from the previous year. In fact, the bicycle accident death toll in 2018 was the highest number on record since 1990.

The record fatality numbers in 2018 is likely the reason why the National Transportation Safety Board has decided to address the issue of bicycle safety for the first time since 1972. The Board makes note of the poor infrastructure that is often the cause of bicycle accidents. Too many cities in Georgia have seen an increase in their bicycle population, but oftentimes there is no safe infrastructure in place to support it. This situation has resulted in a staggering increase in bicycle accident deaths in urban areas. Since 2009, the number of bicycle accident deaths in urban areas has increased by a whopping 48 percent.

Published on: June 18, 2019

Audible Seatbelt Reminders Could Save 1500 Lives in Accidents Annually

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

We all know the campaign “Click It or Ticket” to encourage all people in passenger vehicles to wear their seatbelts.

The good news is that, nationwide, seatbelt use is at commendable highs. In 2018, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seat belt use across the country was as high as 89.6 percent. In 2017, Georgia’s seatbelt usage rate was an impressive 96 percent.

However, even with the high rate of seatbelt use, there were still more than 37,000 people killed in motor vehicle accidents in 201. Of this number, as many as 47 percent of these fatalities were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the accident. This goes to show that there is still room for improvement in seatbelt use among car riders.

Published on: March 26, 2019

Tips for Driving Safely around Large Commercial Trucks

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

There is never a shortage of tractor trailers or commercial trucks on Georgia roads. This seems especially true during rush hour in metro Atlanta. Trying to maneuver around a large commercial truck or 18-wheeler can be challenging, to say the least. One of the main reasons why driving around a large truck is tricky is due to the fact that the truck driver may not always see your car, which makes the chances of a being in an accident that much greater. More often than not, when a passenger vehicle is hit in an accident by a large commercial truck, the resulting injuries can be very severe.

Here are some tips on what you should always keep in mind when driving around a large commercial truck or tractor trailer.

Do not come to a sudden stop in front of the truck. These trucks have a much larger stopping distance. This means that it takes them much longer to come to a complete stop after the driver applies the brakes. If you are driving in front of a tractor trailer, braking suddenly can mean that the truck may crash right into your car with devastating consequences.

Published on: January 3, 2019

Preventing Bicycle Accident Injuries in Children

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

We all remember that great feeling you had when you finally learned how to ride a bike. However, no piece of recreational equipment has as much potential for serious injury to children as the humble bicycle. Research indicates that far too many children are being rushed to emergency rooms across Georgia every day with injuries that result from bike accidents

Bicycling is, and has been for generations, an extremely popular activity for children. Bike riding can be done any time of the year and almost anywhere you go. The risk of injury, however, are ever present and increase significantly when children are allowed to ride a bike without following basic safety protocols.

Research published in the journal Injury Prevention recently indicates that many as 50 percent of all bicycle injuries that require treatment at an emergency room involve children below the age of 12. The number of children who were not wearing bicycle helmets at the time of the accident was also similar. Only half of children below the age of 5, and only 32 percent of children between 13 and 19 years of age were wearing helmets at the time of the accident.

Published on: December 26, 2018

Safe Driving on New Year’s Eve

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Safe Driving on New Year’s Eve

Few holidays are more universally celebrated than New Year’s Eve. Unfortunately, the holiday sees a dramatic uptick in the number of accidents, especially those involving alcohol and speeding. According to some estimates, Americans are much more likely to drink over New Year’s Eve than any other time of the year. In fact, the U.S. Department of Transportation reports that an average of 300 people die nationally between the week of Christmas and New Year. That makes the streets of Georgia especially dangerous to be on this time of year.

Celebrating responsibly should be a no-brainer, but far too many people ignore basic safety precautions, and end up causing injuries not just to themselves, but also to other motorists on the road. This New Year’s eve, take steps to avoid becoming just another drunk driving accident statistic.

Published on: October 8, 2018

NTSB: To Reduce Accident Fatalities, Communities Must Tackle Speeding

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, speeding motorists pose a serious problem on our roads. Between 2005 and 2016, speeding-related accidents killed more than 132,500 people. In Georgia, the annual number of deaths caused by speeding drivers in 2008 to 2017 averaged from 1200 to over 1500 each year. Until authorities and communities address the very real risks and dangers posed by speeding, no real progress can be made in reducing the number of accident fatalities in the United States.

There are two ways in which speeding increases the risk of fatalities. First, a speeding motorist is less likely to be able to respond in time to prevent an accident. Second, the kinds of injuries that occur in a speeding-related accident are very often fatal, due to the very severe impact caused by the speeding vehicle involved. In fact, the National Transportation Safety Board statistics show that speeding-related fatalities accounted for approximately one-third of all traffic deaths. That number was close to the number of people who died in drunk driving accidents during that same period. However, while a lot of attention and activism is directed towards drunk driving, speeding generally does not get as much focus as an accident causing factor.

The National Transportation Safety Board identifies the recent trend in communities to raise speed limits as one of the reasons why speeding continues to claim so many lives every year. It is a no-brainer that higher speed limits only encourage drivers to drive even faster. In 2015, the maximum speed limit on Georgia highways was raised from 65 mph to 70 mph. Georgia is also one of the few states that has anti-speed trap laws.

Published on: November 14, 2017

Georgia Lawmakers Consider Anti-Distracted Driving Measures

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Lawmakers in Georgia are looking closer at steps that can be taken to strengthen the state’s laws targeting distracted driving in order to reduce the number of accidents involving electronic distractions.

In 2016, there were more than 1,500 fatalities on Georgia highways, a one-third increase from 2015. It’s not clear how many of those fatalities were directly linked to the use of electronic devices while driving. However, it is very likely that the overall national increase in traffic accident fatalities is directly linked to more motorists using cell phones and texting while driving.

In fact, statistics show that just in last year alone, the Georgia Department of Driver Services issued more than 3,800 citations to motorists who were found using phones while driving. That was an increase of more than 30% from 2015.

Published on: May 10, 2017

Shutting Down Red Light Camera Programs Costs Lives

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Cities that choose to shut down their red light camera programs may see a spike in the number of people killed in traffic fatalities caused by red light violations.

According to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, red light camera programs in several large American cities were responsible for saving as many as 1,300 lives in accidents through 2014. Shutting down these programs cost American lives, with fatality rates shooting up as much as 30% in cities that have chosen to shut down red light camera programs. In 2014, according to data, red light violations caused more than 700 fatalities and over 126,000 injuries.

Red light camera programs not only reduce the risk of violations, but also lead to greater adherence to the rules and fewer violations, leading to a lower risk of accidents when programs like these are publicized. In addition, when red light camera programs are in place, violators can be apprehended easily. Unfortunately, even though the benefits of red light camera programs are easy to see, they have been met with opposition by local communities. That has led to many of these programs being shut down in several cities across the country. The total number of communities with red light camera programs in the country fell in 2014 to a total of 467, from a high of 533 in the year 2012.