Articles Posted in DUI Accidents & Dram Shop

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Driving under the influence of marijuana can be dangerous in any age category, but the drug may have a unique impact on the car accident risks of senior drivers.

According to the results of a new study, seniors who smoke marijuana and drive may have their auto accident risks impacted by their drug use. The results of the study were published in the January issue of JAMA Network Open. The study found that seniors who use marijuana may suffer from especially serious effects of the drug due to their declining cognitive skills. In  the study, the researchers found that seniors who were driving under the influence of marijuana began veering in and out of lanes about 30 minutes after using the drug. Irresponsible lane changes can increase your risk of being involved in a car accident.

Marijuana use can affect motor coordination and also affect decision – making abilities.  It can also affect reasoning and memory.  Declining cognitive function in seniors may already exacerbate the effects of the drug, and marijuana use, the researchers say, only compounds the effects of aging – related cognitive declines.  Additionally, seniors are very likely to be  on medications and these medications may also impact their cognitive function and aggravate the effects of marijuana use. For instance, common medications like those that are used to treat cardiovascular problems, hypertension, diabetes and other common problems that can affect seniors could result in side effects when combined with marijuana.

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The federal administration has kickstarted the rule-making process that would require drunk driving car accident prevention technology on all new cars.

This welcome announcement was made by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which recently  announced that it has started work on the rule- making process that would require  impaired driving prevention systems on all new cars.  These  systems  that work to prevent drivers from operating a vehicle include technology that measures the amount of alcohol on a person’s breath and prevents him from operating the engine if it detects a certain amount of alcohol in his system.  This  technology is very similar to the ignition interlock systems that are currently used in several states, including Georgia, as penalties for repeat drunk driving offenders.  Other  technologies that will be reviewed  include camera systems that can monitor eye movements in order to identify if a driver is impaired or driving under the influence of alcohol.

At this point, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiative   would  allow  regulators to collect data about the various systems that are currently in place in automobiles and their impact in reducing the incidence of driving under the influence of alcohol.  If things reach their preferred conclusion, we could have drunk driving auto accident prevention sensors, cameras or other systems in all new cars as a standard feature.  There is no doubt that this could significantly help reduce the number of car accidents caused by impaired drivers.

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Georgia continues to criminalize the use and possession of marijuana for recreational use. While there is a very narrow exception for use of marijuana for medical purposes, the statute is not nearly has broad as found in many other states. Accordingly, marijuana is not as readily available in Georgia compared to other states that have fully legalized marijuana for all purposes or fully legalized marijuana to medical use. As the findings of a  new study shows,  this may be for the  good since legalization of marijuana is linked to an increase in the number of auto accident personal injuries.

The  information comes from a new study that was conducted in Canada.  In  2018, Canada became the second country in the world to legalize the sale of marijuana for recreational  purposes.   According to the study, that decision has resulted in a significant increase in the number of auto accident injuries that are serious enough to  lead to a visit to the emergency room.

The study is quick to affirm  that marijuana – related emergency room  visits after car accidents are still uncommon, but the percentage of such auto accidents has been skyrocketing since the 2018 legalization of marijuana.   According to the study, there has been a  475% increase in car accident personal injuries linked to marijuana use, with the increase being even sharper following the 2018 legalization of marijuana. On the other hand,  there has not been  a similar increase in the number of alcohol – related car accident personal injuries resulting in emergency room visits during the same period of time.

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Statistics  from last year show that Labor Day was the second deadliest holiday in the United States in 2022, and this year,  with the incidence of drunk driving on the rise,  the risk of alcohol – related car accidents has never been higher.

Last year, one study by a car insurance app found that the Labor Day Holiday weekend ranked second only to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in the number of fatal car accidents recorded.  The  study  analyzed data between 2011 and 2020, and found that the Labor Day holiday was the second most dangerous holiday in the country. Over the study  period, the data showed  that more than 4000 people were killed in car accidents over Labor Day, many of them caused by drunk drivers. Approximately, 25% of deaths involved   teens   and young people in their mid 20s.  About  70% of this category of drivers were male.  The  second most at- risk category of drivers during the Labor Day holiday were drivers between the age of 26 and 35.

Drunk driving is likely fueling this increase in car accident deaths. Recent  data shows that driving under the influence of alcohol is actually on the increase across the country. Between 2020 and 2021, there was an increase of approximately 14% in fatal alcohol – related car accidents. Overall, there was an increase of approximately 10% in car accident deaths during the same period of time.  Clearly,  the role of alcohol in causing car accidents is increasing, and this is a cause of concern.

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When an individual has been convicted of drunk driving, they often are required to have an ignition interlock device placed on their cars. These devices prevent a person from starting a car until they have passed a breath test for driving. States have passed compliance laws that strictly require individuals who have had an ignition interlock device installed in their vehicle after a DUI offense to comply with these devices. The devices can only be removed once the person has shown to have complied with the devices for a defined period of time. These compliance laws seem to have much higher success than other methods of preventing repeat offenses and reducing the risk of alcohol – related car accidents.

Those  findings come from a new study conducted by the Governors Highway Safety Association. The report focused on the effectiveness of compliance- based removal components in ignition interlock device laws.  Currently, all states, including Georgia, have some form of ignition interlock device laws which require that they get devices installed in their vehicles that prevent them from operating their vehicle if their system contains more than a certain amount of alcohol.  At  least 33 states have compliance- based removal laws in place that clearly define conditions that must be met for an exit from the interlock device requirement.  Georgia, unfortunately, does not have a compliance- based removal component as part of its  ignition  interlock device laws.

The  Governors Highway Safety Association focused on two states that   have compliance – based removal laws and two states that do not have such laws.  The study established that states that have compliance -based laws have  much lower recidivism rates  for drunk driving compared to states that do not have such compliance laws in place. The Governors Highway Safety Association researchers say that there is no way to absolutely confirm that these higher recidivism rates in states that do not have compliance -based removal laws were related to the absence of these laws and that other factors could also play a role.  But  they also stress that compliance -based  removal laws do  provide an extra layer of protection that can prevent these auto accidents. The researchers  are encouraging states like Georgia to review their ignition interlock laws to identify deficiencies and correct  these in order to make these laws more effective.

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While there have been many theories for the disturbing rise in auto accident wrongful deaths across the country,  one under examined factor is now under the scanner.  Experts  believe that a drop in police enforcement since just before the pandemic is possibly partly responsible for a spike in car accident deaths.

Car accident deaths in 2022 were as much as 18% higher than the numbers in 2019.  They have continued to increase, spiking even during the pandemic when vehicular traffic volumes were at all time lows.  During  a time when American roads should have been safest, they were actually even more dangerous than before the pandemic with normal traffic volumes.  This   phenomenon was also uniquely American.  Most Western countries did not report increases in car accident deaths during the pandemic.  Many, in fact, actually saw a drop in car accident rates as a result of lockdowns and lower traffic volumes.

There have been a number of theories that have been espoused as reasons for the increase in car accident deaths in the United States.  From  an increase in speeding to larger volumes of distracted drivers, experts believe that a combination of factors has led to a spike in the number of people being killed in car accidents.  However, one particular factor has not received a lot of attention and NPR recently addressed this.  The report by NPR says that a drop in police enforcement across the country is at least partly responsible for the spike in car accident deaths.

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Georgia gets a mention in a new list of some of the worst driving states in the country, thanks to a new study which considered a number of factors including car accident rates while assigning rankings.

The rankings come from research conducted by Quote Wizard.  The Quote Wizard team analyzed more than ten million insurance quotes before arriving at these findings. The company releases its list of the worst driving states in the country every year and this year, Georgia is mentioned in the top 25 worst driving states in the United States. The state ranks at number 17 on the list.

The research team used several parameters, including the number of auto accidents, DUI violations,  number of speeding tickets issued in each state and the citations for violations for running a red light or using a cell phone while driving.  According to the research team, states that were ranked in the top 25 worst driving states had high auto accident rates compared to the states that were ranked at the bottom of the list which had lower car accident rates in comparison.

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People who have suffered an alcohol related personal injury, like an injury that results from a drunk driving car accident,  may have their chances of dying in the year after the injury increase significantly.

As the holiday season commences, it is important for Georgia motorists to understand that driving under the influence of alcohol, or otherwise using alcohol irresponsibly in a manner that  causes them personal injury may actually increase  their chances of dying in the year after the injury.  According to the results of a new study that was published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, when a person suffers an injury of the kind that results from an alcohol -related car accident, or any alcohol-related accident, especially an injury that is serious enough to require hospitalization, the chances of the person dying after the injury increase by a staggering 5 times.

The researchers looked at people who suffered from alcohol – related disorders and analyzed their fatality risk after suffering a serious personal injury related to their alcoholism.  Different types of injuries were studied as part of the research. These injuries include those that result from drunk driving accidents as well as slip and fall accidents which are common when a person is inebriated and not in complete control of his senses. The researchers also included those injuries that occurred as a result of attempted self-harm,  or  when the person is involved in drunken fights.

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A judge in Fulton County has set a bond for a motorist who police allege, caused a drunk driving accident on I- 20 early in the month.  The impact of the crash caused one of the passengers in the car the motorist hit, a 21-year-old woman to be ejected from the car.  She sustained fatal injuries.  The other people in the car were also injured, and still recovering in the hospital.

This judge set a bond of $310,000 for the alleged driver on charges that range from DUI to first degree homicide.  For the family of the woman killed in the accident, it’s been a frustrating experience to see the man they believe responsible for their loved one’s death out on bond.

There has been a decline in injuries and fatalities caused by drunk driving accidents across Georgia.  For example, in 2008, there were 416 deaths caused by drunk driving accidents.  That was a decline over 2007, and mirrored the drop across most of Georgia, and, in fact, most of the country.  Much of this decline can be attributed to better enforcement efforts  .Law enforcement has become more aggressive about cracking down on drunk drivers randomly over the weekends and major holidays.

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Auto safety group Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety has released its annual report on performance and highway safety measures. This year, Georgia has been ranked well, notching up a Green ranking, the highest on the list, a finding that is encouraging to the Atlanta car accident attorneys at our firm.

The 9th annual Roadmap to State Highway Safety Laws compares all 50 states and grades them based on their adoption of 15 basic traffic safety laws. The 15 laws include everything from seatbelt and motorcycle safety to graduated driver’s licensing programs and distracted driving measures.

Georgia received a Green ranking, and the report found that the state performed well by implementing at least 11 of the laws the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety recommends.  However, many feel Georgia could do better.  One of the ways that the state could improve its highway safety record is by raising the minimum age for getting a learner’s permit, and enacting stricter nighttime and passenger restrictions on graduated driver’s licensing programs for teen drivers.  Sadly, teenage drivers are some of the biggest victims of auto accidents every year.  Stronger graduated driver’s licensing laws in Georgia may help save more teen lives in accidents every year.

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