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Across the metro Atlanta region, many employees have been heading back to work after a year of working from home.  Even more are expected to return to work after Labor Day weekend.  Many employees, however, are also still continuing to work from home, and this has led to interesting fluctuations in traffic patterns which could impact car accident patterns as well.

In large metro areas, like the metro Atlanta region, that typically have had predictable rush-hour traffic patterns, rush hour in the “new normal” is significantly different from Feb 2020.  And with large numbers of employees still working from home, rush hour may not immediately return to pre-2020 levels. Other cities that see heavy rush-hour traffic are seeing similar changes in patterns.

In fact, in many of these cities, there is significantly lower traffic being recorded between 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM. Such declines in early morning traffic are being seen across the country. There has also been a drop in commuter traffic after 8:00 AM, but the drop is not as significant as the drop in the early morning hours.  This indicates that even commuters who are going to work now are choosing to delay their commute. This is in sharp contrast to pre-2020 levels when traffic during the 8 AM to 10 AM commuter shift was markedly lower than the earlier shift.

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.

It may be surprising to know that as many as half of all child passengers in the United States are travelling in car seats and booster seats that are incorrectly installed or not suitable for the child’s age or weight specifications. Yet, many parents continue to remain unaware that they may be placing their child at risk of serious injuries in an accident.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is sponsoring Child Passenger Safety Week between September 15 and September 21 this year. The aim of the campaign is to make sure that parents know the importance of securing their child in the correct car seat for his age or weight, as well as making sure that the car seat is properly secured and installed. Parents should also remember to get their child’s car seat registered with the manufacturer.

One of the most important things to remember is to make sure that the car seat is installed correctly. You can get your car seat checked by a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician to ensure that it is correctly installed. Find a car safety seat inspection technician near you by using this tool. Remember, an incorrectly installed car seat is at risk of coming loose or collapsing in an accident, causing serious injuries to the child.

A brain injury is one of the most devastating injuries a person can suffer in an accident.  Brain injuries are not only debilitating to the victim, but they can have a tremendous impact on the victim’s family as well.

Car accidents as well as slip, or trip, and fall accidents are two of the most common causes of brain injuries.  And as serious as brain injuries are, they are also, surprisingly, one of the most difficult and complicated injuries to diagnose and treat.   According to the International Brain Injury Association, approximately 1.5 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) every year.  Of these, 75% are classified as mild TBI.  Unfortunately, a mild TBI is often unnoticed or misdiagnosed because many victims do not have visible symptoms that most people associate with a brain injury.  Because of this, the mild TBI has been called a “silent epidemic.” However, the term “mild” can be misleading as these injuries can still have long-term and devastating complications on a victim’s life.

Many times a person may have been involved in a slip and fall or a car accident and, although he or she may not think they sustained serious injuries, could very well be overlooking some classic symptoms of a brain injury or mild TBI.   Symptoms of a brain injury or mild TBI include (1) any period of loss of consciousness, even if just for a few seconds, (2) any loss of memory immediately before or after the accident, (3) any altered state of mind such as confusion or disorientation at the time of the accident, (4) any neurological problems including speech, vision or hearing, (5) headache, nausea or vomiting, and (5) fatigue, sleepiness or dizziness.

We have all seen it too often in the Atlanta area – delivery drivers and other commercial vehicles driving too fast or recklessly for the traffic conditions in an attempt to get to where they need to be.  Recently, there have been a few cases in the news where a driver of a commercial vehicle was involved in a car accident while on the job.  In one case, a delivery driver of a very well-known sandwich company rear-ended another vehicle causing injuries to both people in the car that was hit.  In other cases, a tractor trailer driver crossed a median and caused a head-on collision resulting in catastrophic injuries.  And earlier this year, a limousine driver was driving too fast for the conditions causing the limo to swerve off the road and killing all eighteen of its passengers.

In all of these cases, the offending driver of the commercial vehicle was on the job when the accident occurred.  In such situations, the employer of the negligent driver can be held liable for their employee’s actions.  Under Georgia law, if an employee causes a car accident while driving a vehicle owned by his employer, it is presumed that the employee was acting in the scope of his employment.  In order to avoid being held liable for the accident, the employer must show that the employee was not acting in the scope of his employment at the time the accident occurred.  This doctrine is known as vicarious liability.

An employer can also be liable for their employee’s negligence under the theory of negligent entrustment.   In order to recover compensation against an employer for their employee’s negligence, you must be able to show that the employer had actual knowledge of the employee’s negligent behavior.  In other words, if the employer knew that their employee had a pattern of, or caused, other prior accidents, while on the job, the employer could be held liable if they did not take any action to prevent their employee from causing any further accidents.