car accident pedestrian deaths Tag Archives

Published on: March 13, 2024

Report: Slight Drop in Pedestrian Auto Accident Wrongful Deaths

A new report finds that there was a slight drop in the number of pedestrians killed in auto accidents during the first 6 months of last year. While any decrease in deaths from car accidents is welcome, the question remains what changes can be made to more greatly reduce the number of pedestrian accidents in which persons lose their lives.

The report which showed the slight drop in pedestrian wrongful deaths was released by the Governors Highway Safety Association and analyzed preliminary data from the first 6 months of 2023. There was some good news in the report. According to the data, there was a slight drop of 4% in the number of pedestrians killed in auto accidents between January and June of last year. Many states, including Georgia, saw significant drops in the number of car accident deaths involving pedestrians last year.

The rates of pedestrian accident deaths have shot up since the pandemic, and especially during the worst days of 2022 when the numbers skyrocketed to their highest numbers in over 40 years. Since then, transportation safety experts in Georgia and around the country have struggled with bringing these numbers under control. The challenge has been even greater now that there are more vehicles on the road as companies end their work -from -home policies and require employees to return to work. The larger number of vehicles on the roads translates into a greater risk of being hit by a car while walking, and especially so during challenging times like these, when pedestrians are already at risk from a number of other factors that increase their risks of being involved in car accidents like poor infrastructure.

Published on: March 23, 2022

Seven States, Including Georgia, Contribute to Majority of Pedestrian Accident Deaths

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The Governors Highway Safety Association says that pedestrian accident fatalities increased significantly in 2020 and the months after. Seven states, including the state of Georgia, contributed to more than 50% of those pedestrian accident deaths.

Previous data has shown that the number of motor vehicle crash–related deaths across the country overall has increased since 2020, and pedestrian accident fatalities seem to have constituted a significant percentage of the total. In 2020, according to data by the Governors Highway Safety Association, a total of 6,700 pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents across the country. That was a statistically significant increase of 5% over the 6,412 pedestrians who were killed in accidents in 2019.

The pedestrian accident fatality rate in 2020 actually rose to 21% in spite of the fact that there were fewer vehicles on the road as a result of the pandemic. The fact that there were fewer vehicles on the road does not seem to have had any kind of negative impact on the number of accidents on our roads, and this is a matter of huge concern.

Published on: June 26, 2021

Georgia Recorded 14% Increase in Pedestrian Accident Deaths in 2020

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

New state-specific data about pedestrian accident fatalities in 2020 has been released, and it shows that there was a significant increase in accident deaths recorded last year in Georgia.

The Governor’s Highway Safety Association recently released a new report titled Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State, which tabulates the projected number of fatalities in 2020 in each state. Overall, there was a significant increase in pedestrian accident deaths in 2020, compared to 2019. In 2020, there were a total of 6,721 projected pedestrian accident deaths, compared to a total of 6,412 the previous year. This constitutes an increase of 4.8% nationwide from the previous year. Overall, 309 more pedestrians died in 2020, compared to 2019.

The picture is equally dismal in Georgia, which recorded a 14% increase in the number of pedestrians killed in accidents across the state in 2020. There were a total of 239 pedestrian accident deaths in Georgia, while that number increased to 273 in 2020. That makes it an increase of 34 pedestrian deaths or a 14% increase in the number of deaths involving pedestrians.

Published on: January 27, 2011

Slight Decrease in Pedestrian Accident Deaths in Atlanta and throughout Georgia

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

There was a slight drop in the number of pedestrians deaths in auto accidents in Georgia in the first half of 2010. Last year, we had 77 pedestrian deaths in the first six months in auto accidents, compared to 78 pedestrian deaths in 2009. That is a very tiny decrease, but it is still better than the overall national picture, which actually shows an increase in pedestrian deaths in 2010.

Across the country, there was a .4% increase in pedestrian accident fatalities in the first six months of 2010. That increase came after several half-yearly estimates that showed a decline in pedestrian accident deaths over the past four years. The feds are at a loss to explain this increase. . An increase of .4% may not seem like much, but for any Atlanta pedestrian accident lawyer, any sudden spike like this should sound alarm bells.

One of the theories that are being thrown about for this increase in pedestrian accident fatalities, is simply more numbers of people taking to the streets. First Lady Michelle Obama has a nationwide anti-obesity campaign in full swing, and part of that includes Americans getting out of their cars and walking to work. Besides, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is pointing to an increasing number of pedestrians plugged to their music systems, smart phones and other gadgets while walking. A distracted pedestrian is at a much higher risk of being injured in an accident.