Accident Prevention

Published on: October 5, 2021

Auto Tech Could Significantly Reduce Teen Accident Risks

Teen drivers have some of the highest accident risks. When a teenager is driving a car that is equipped with the latest safety tech, however, those accident risks reduce significantly.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted a study on the effectiveness of crash avoidance technologies and other safety systems on the accident risks of teen motorists. The study found that these technologies, if mandated on all automobiles, could prevent as many as 75% of all accidents involving teen motorists. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study results show that while it is not possible to reduce teen accident rates by 100%, it is possible to significantly reduce the risks of teen motorists being involved in accidents by getting them cars that are equipped with lane departure warning systems, forward collision avoidance systems and other car safety technologies.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that teen motorists have a risk of being involved in accidents that is as much as four times higher than for adult drivers. There are several reasons for those higher accident risks. Teen motorists have fewer years of experience successfully navigating traffic and crash risks. Additionally, teen motorists are more likely to be impulsive and may lack the critical judgment and reasoning skills that are necessary to avoid accidents. Teens are also more likely to be susceptible to crashes involving drunk driving and speeding. Passengers in the car also constitute a huge distraction for a teen motorist. All these factors combined significantly increase teen motorist crash risks.

Published on: September 3, 2021

Call for Updated Georgia Laws to Prevent Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

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.

Published on: August 3, 2021

Back to School Safety Tips For Atlanta Motorists

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

With many school districts across Georgia, including in the metro Atlanta region, beginning in-person learning over the next few weeks, it is important for schools, students and parents to keep essential safety tips in mind.

Most school districts across Georgia have announced that they will begin in-person learning soon, and some school districts have actually already begun welcoming students back to school.

If you are a parent, you should be aware of some essential safety precautions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is asking parents to take extra care while picking up and dropping their children to school. Look out for child pedestrians around the school. Look out school buses that may be very busy in the school zone. Avoid speeding within a school zone. Stick to safe speed limits in these areas and be mindful of the reduced speed limits during school hours. Be additionally careful when you are around a crosswalk. Do not block pedestrians near a crosswalk or force them to walk around your car. Look out for crossing guards or school patrol officers waiting for you to stop.

Published on: July 27, 2021

Past Driver Behavior is a Major Accident Indicator

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Drivers who have a history of rash or negligent driving practices are very likely to continue indulging in these practices in the future, increasing their risks of an accident.

According to researchers at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, past driver behavior is a very good indicator of future accident risk. In other words, drivers who have a history of poor driving, including speeding, drunk driving, driving under the influence of drugs and distracted driving are very likely to continue to engage in these practices. According to the researchers, this is the reason why we saw increased traffic accident fatalities in 2020 in spite of a reduction in traffic volumes. Even with lower volumes of traffic, Atlanta roads saw a higher number of traffic accident fatalities last year, with distracted driving, speeding and drunk driving pushing those numbers upward.

Past behavior is a reliable indicator of future driving. For example, a motorist who has a history of driving at high speeds will continue to be at risk of speeding. If anything, the behavior of such drivers is only exacerbated when the roads are less congested. In 2020, the streets saw lower traffic crash traffic volumes, but the empty streets only encouraged drivers who were already very prone to speeding to drive at very high speeds.

Published on: July 1, 2021

Study Confirms Role of Ride Share Apps and Reducing DUI Accident Rates

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Yet another study confirms the significant role that ride sharing apps like Uber can play in helping reduce injuries from drunk driving accidents in areas like the metro Atlanta region. The study finds that these apps help lower injury risks, and that the drop is even more significant in the case of younger drivers.

The results of the study were published recently in the JAMA Surgery journal, and explored the role of rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft in reducing injuries caused by accidents, specifically accidents involving impaired drivers. The advent of services like Uber has been a boon for intoxicated persons looking for a ride home that is safe, responsible cheap and convenient. Before Uber, drivers would actually have to designate sober motorists to take them home, or even worse drive themselves in an intoxicated condition. However, these apps make it easier for intoxicated motorists or their friends to ride home safely. The hope is that more people will use ride sharing apps during the upcoming Fourth of July weekend to prevent a spike in drunk driving related accidents.

The study focused on drunk driving accident rates after 2014 when Uber was introduced in the country, and compared those with accident-related injuries from before that time. They found that after ride sharing apps like Uber became available, accident injuries over the weekends in the area studied dropped by as much as 24%. The drop was the steepest – as much as 40% – in the under-thirty category. This is the group that is most likely to use ride sharing apps.

Published on: June 22, 2021

Safety Groups Fund Project to Prevent Speeding Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Concerned at the increase in the number of auto accidents caused by speeding motorists, a coalition of safety groups has launched two new pilot projects in two separate states aimed at designing strategies to prevent these devastating crashes.

The coalition consisting of the Governors Highway Safety Association, the National Safety Foundation and the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety are funding two separate pilot projects to study ways to reduce the impact of high speeds on motorist safety. The two states are being granted $100,000 each to design and develop speed management strategies to prevent these crashes. The programs are meant to focus on a combination of engineering design and enhancements and infrastructure improvements, as well as other proven methods of reducing speeding- related accidents, including education and awareness as well as public outreach. One state is expected to implement the program in a rural setting, while the other will implement the program in an urban area. The goal of the initiative is to design appropriate speed management strategies that can help reduce the impact of speed on highway safety.

Speed has always been a harmful factor in car accidents in the metro Atlanta region. Unfortunately, over the past year, the role of speeding related car accidents that resulted in fatalities has actually increased. Approximately, nine thousand people die annually in accidents caused directly by speeding motorists. Those numbers increased in 2020 when lower traffic volumes led to an increase in the number of motorists driving at excessive speeds, leading to a spike in the number of related accident deaths recorded last year. Speeding related accidents and their resulting injuries disproportionately affect teenage drivers more due to their relative lack of skill and maturity behind the wheel.

Published on: June 2, 2021

Bills Target Traffic Safety, Accident Prevention

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

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.

Published on: May 27, 2021

NTSB Recommendations to Reduce Traffic Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

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.

Published on: May 12, 2021

Avoid Drowsy Driving on Long Drives this Summer

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

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.

Published on: April 7, 2021

How Georgia can Reduce Risk of Wrong Way Driving Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

According to a new report by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the number of wrong-way driving accidents in the U.S. increased by almost 35% in recent years. Most wrong way driving accidents are the result of drunk driving, but they can also be caused by mistakes by older drivers or drowsy drivers. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently issued a list of guidelines for state transportation agencies to prevent these kinds of accidents.

Wrong-way driving accidents are some of the most devastating accidents that occur on Atlanta roads. These accidents typically involve head-on collisions that occur at high speeds that result in fatalities. Driving under the influence of alcohol is a primary cause of wrong-way driving accidents. Drunk driving – specifically, driving while excessively intoxicated – is strongly linked to wrong-way driving. Excessive alcohol intoxication or a blood alcohol concentration level that is between 0.8 and .15%, or close to double the legally permitted blood alcohol concentration level in Georgia, is often linked to these devastating driving errors.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety advises that state transportation agencies increase their implementation of DUI checkpoints or sobriety checkpoints. The Foundation also advises states like Georgia to strengthen laws requiring the installation of ignition interlock devices on the vehicles of motorists who are convicted of drunk driving. An ignition interlock device determines the level of intoxication of the motorist, and activates to prevent the motorist from starting the car if those intoxication levels are above a pre-set limit. Many states, including Georgia, require the installation of ignition interlock devices in the cars of motorists who are convicted of repeat DUI offenses. Several safety advocates have called for the application of these laws to all drunk driving offenders, even first – time offenders. A stringent application of the law would significantly reduce the number of intoxicated motorists on our streets.