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There has been yet another serious school bus accident in Georgia.Six students on a school bus suffered personal injuries in a truck accident in Cherokee County over the weekend.The accident involved a school bus and a tractor-trailer.The bus was taking students to the Free Home Elementary School when it struck a tractor-trailer early Tuesday morning.The bus driver, truck driver, and six students of the school suffered personal injuries in the crash and had to be taken to the hospital.

The year 2010 proved to be a dangerous year for Georgia school children.A number of accidents involving school buses and other vehicles were recorded last year, and some of these ended in personal injuries and even fatalities.The accident is under investigation, but according to CBS Atlanta, the school bus driver was a substitute driver.She had been with the Cherokee County School System since November.By all accounts, she had had sufficient hands-on training according to state laws.However, some parents have been questioning whether her driving was sufficient.

Besides, this school bus accident also brings up the question of seat belts on school buses.Atlanta personal injury lawyers would like to see some movement in this direction in 2011.New bus safety rules that were announced in 2010 include charter and intercity buses, but not school buses.This is in spite of the fact that school buses transport some of the most vulnerable passengers, and are at a high risk of being injured in an accident.

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Preventing deaths from auto accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents and bicycle accidents needs to be a top priority in Atlanta and throughout Georgia. A report by the Emergency Nurses Association, which rates states based on how they fare on 14 established criteria, shows that Georgia performs quite well on the parameters, but still has work to do.

The report by the ENA compares all 50 states, and rates them based on how they perform against the following criteria:

1. The existence of primary enforcement seat belt laws

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Cobb County police are on the lookout for a pickup truck driver whom they believe was responsible for a fatal motorcycle accident this week. According to police, the 60-year-old victim was riding his motorcycle, when he was cut off by the driver of a Ford F-150 truck. In order to avoid the accident, the victim was forced to go over the curb and across the sidewalk. The motorcycle struck a pillar on the sidewalk, and the victim sustained serious injuries. He was taken to the hospital, but succumbed to his injuries later.

Cobb County Police are on the lookout for the driver of the pickup truck. They say it is either a gray or black colored truck.

Unfortunately, most motorcycle crashes that Atlanta motorcycle accident lawyers come across seem to follow similar patterns. These accidents are caused not because motorcycles were speeding or driving rashly, but because the motorcyclists were not yielded to or were cutoff.

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Gwinnett County police are blaming reckless driving and failure to maintain lanes for a fatal accident over the weekend that killed a 19-year-old. A Valdosta man has been charged in the accident, which occurred on Sunday. According to police, the crash occurred near Lawrenceville. The suspect, James Griffin was driving a Silverado that swerved between lanes as it traveled southward on Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road, and then became airborne. The pickup truck landed on a Toyota Camry. The driver of the Camry was killed instantly in the accident.

The accident continues to remain under investigation, but police have already charged James Griffin with reckless driving and failure to maintain lanes.

Reckless driving is driving without regard for the rules of the road, or for other motorists’ safety. Such driving is much more harmful than merely disobeying traffic rules. Typically, reckless driving may include speeding, weaving between lanes, changing lanes improperly, running through red lights and other such undesirable driving practices.

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The family of a motorcyclist, who was critically injured in a motorcyle accident in Henry County over the weekend, has issued a plea for help in finding the hit-and-run driver responsible for the accident.

34-year-old Justin Hayes was riding his motorcycle on Saturday evening, when he was struck by a Toyota Highlander.The accident resulted in Hayes being thrown off his motorcycle, which resulted in critical injuries.He is currently being treated in the intensive care unit at Grady Memorial Hospital.He suffered multiple fractures, as well as internal injuries in the motorcycle accident.

His wife, Cheryl has issued a plea for help to anyone who can provide information that can lead to the hit-and-run motorist here.The Highlander was apparently being driven by a black female, between 20 and 30 years of age.According to police, the woman simply drove off after the vehicle struck Hayes.Anyone who may have witnessed the motorcycle accident, or may have some information about the crash, including repair shop workers or mechanics, are being encouraged to inform Henry County police.

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Mandatory Alcohol Testing Could Have Caused Decline in Truck Accident Fatalities

As Atlanta truck accident lawyers, we keep ourselves informed about the latest developments in trucking safety.A study by scientists at Columbia University seems to suggest that mandatory alcohol testing programs have been responsible for the decline in truck accident fatalities in 2009.Last year, saw a significant drop in these deaths, from 4,245 fatalities in 2008, to 3,380 fatalities in 2009.

The results of the study titled Effectiveness of Mandatory Alcohol Testing Programs on Reducing Alcohol Involvement in Fatal Motor Carrier Crashes show that these alcohol testing programs that were implemented in 1995, have contributed to an approximately 23% reduced risk of alcohol use as a factor in truck accidents.

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One Killed in Canton Truck Accident

A 22-year-old man was killed in a multi-vehicle accident involving a tractor-trailer and two passenger vehicles in Canton last week.The accident occurred on Wednesday evening on the exit ramp from Interstate 575 to GA 140.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a tractor-trailer ran a stop light at an intersection, and struck a Chevrolet Tahoe.The impact caused both vehicles to hit a Honda Prelude.The driver of the Honda Prelude, a 22-year-old resident of Canton, sustained serious injuries, and was declared dead at the scene.The driver of the Chevrolet Tahoe was also injured.

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Accidents Cost US $99 Billion in One Year

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has analyzed the cost of traffic accidents in the year 2005, and come up with a staggering estimate-$99 billion.

That’s right.Fatal and non-fatal injurious accidents including car, motorcycle, truck, bicycle and pedestrian accidents cost the American economy $99 billion in 2005.Mind-boggling as that number is, it’s probably just the tip of the iceberg.According to the CDC, it does not include other factors that could increase accident costs, like the increase in insurance premiums after an accident and an increase in taxes.

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Proposals to Mandate Speed Limiters on All Trucks Gather Steam

As Atlanta truck accident lawyers, we have supported efforts by truck safety groups to get the federal administration to mandate speed limiters on all commercial trucks.Ultimately, it might be environmental concerns that help meet that goal.

We’ve known for long that reducing speed limits on trucks can help prevent the catastrophic injuries and multiple fatalities that result during high-speed truck accidents.Besides, even a reduction of 1 mph in truck speed can contribute to a 1% increase in fuel efficiency. Environmental and trucking efficiency concerns are high right now, and this May, the President asked his administration to get to work on developing a policy that would tackle fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emission concerns.Speed limiters will help meet both these targets.

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A new piece of legislation that has been introduced in the U.S. Senate seeks to allow individual states to increase the gross weight limit on trucks plying the Interstate Highway System.The current gross weight limit in Georgia is about 80,000 pounds.If the legislation were to become law, trucking companies would be able to increase that weight to up to 97,000 pounds.

There are several reasons why Atlanta truck accident attorneys have a problem with this.For one, it would mean greater wear and tear on our already stretched highways.These are tough economic times, and funding for highway repairs and maintenance is already hard to source.The increased wear and tear from heavier trucks would leave Georgia’s highways compromised.

There’s another more serious reason why we strongly oppose any bill to increase funding for weight limits on trucks plying interstate highways.No matter how experienced a truck driver, he will find it a challenge to drive a trailer with an additional 17,000 pounds of cargo.Ask any truck driver and he will tell you that this is likely to be a safety concern if the bill actually becomes law.Trucking can be extremely strenuous, physically challenging work, and while experience can help, Atlanta truck accident lawyers often come across devastating truck accidents caused by experienced truckers.

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