Georgia highways

Published on: June 7, 2023

Understaffed Georgia State Patrol Could Mean Higher Auto Accident Risks

The Georgia State Patrol has been steadily losing staff numbers, and there are fears that an understaffed agency could mean a higher risk of auto accidents on our already dangerous highways. When there are less police officers on the road to deter speeding and reckless driving, this conduct will only increase leading to more car accidents and pedestrian accidents.

According to reports, the Georgia State Patrol has been steadily and consistently losing staff members over recent years. In April 2022, the Georgia State Patrol had a total of 828 troopers. However, just a few months later in January 2023, that number had dropped to just 783.

This decline in staffing numbers at the Georgia State Patrol has been evident for a while now. Even as the number of vehicles on Georgia highways has increased exponentially, the number of troopers responsible for keeping these highways safe and responding to car accidents has not kept pace. For example, in 1977, 524 Georgia State Patrol troopers were assigned to keep motorists safe on the highways and respond to accident crises. In 2023, at one point, there were just 497 Georgia State Patrol troopers assigned to the highways, lower than they were at least 45 years ago. These 497 troopers were in charge of maintaining safety on highways that have a far denser population of motor vehicles than they had in 1977.

Published on: November 30, 2022

Many of Nation’s Deadliest Roads Run Through Georgia

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A new list of the most dangerous roads in the country includes at least three interstates that run through the state of Georgia. These highways are already very well known in the state for the large number of auto accidents that they see every year.

The list was compiled by Zebra car insurance company. The company used data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System to identify the states and cities that are home to the most dangerous roads in the country based on the number of car accidents and fatal crashes that occur on these roads. The company specifically looked at the number of car accident deaths for every 100 million vehicle miles traveled.

Taking top position, to no one’s surprise is Interstate 95, a notoriously dangerous stretch of highway that has long been known for the large number of car accidents, including fatal auto accidents, that occur here. Interstate 95 has long held the title of the country’s most dangerous highway. According to data by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2019, a total of 284 people were killed in car accidents on interstate 95. This highway has a fatality toll rate of 14.88 deaths for every 100,000 miles traveled. By any comparison, those are disturbing statistics.

Published on: October 24, 2022

Highway Safety Group Gives Georgia Good Ranking

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

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.

Published on: August 17, 2022

Georgia Ranks in Top 10 for Deadly Pedestrian Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A new report ranks Georgia in the top 10 in a list of states ranked based on pedestrian accident deaths. It is very likely that the majority of these pedestrian accidents resulted in wrongful death lawsuits.

The number of people being killed while walking has increased significantly over the last few years, especially during the pandemic. Even as there was a dip in driving across Georgia during March 2020, there was no corresponding drop in the number of fatal car accidents, especially those involving pedestrians. If anything, the number of people dying in these car accidents actually increased.

Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition recently released a new report titled Dangerous by Design. The report evaluates the performance of all 50 states in ensuring the safety of pedestrians, and ranks metropolitan areas as well as all 50 states based on the number of pedestrian deaths occurring in the states. Georgia is ranked at a dismal 9. There is more bad news. None of the states that are listed in the top 20 have seen any success in reducing the number of pedestrian accident deaths, compared to the previous report.

Published on: May 28, 2022

Construction Work on Accident-Prone Georgia Interchange to Begin Soon

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Anyone who has driven on the highways in the Atlanta area knows that construction and changes in traffic patterns are never ending. Not only is there a maze of highways in the Atlanta area but the connecting points of the various highways are also always being shifted one way of another.

The interchange at interstate 285 and interstate 20 East is one of the busiest interchanges in the state, and has been a particularly dangerous one for motorists. It’s one of the deadliest junctions in Georgia, and responsible for causing hundreds of accidents every year. However, if plans to fix this particular piece of roadway are successful, the rate of deadly accidents at this interchange could soon be minimized.

The design of this junction creates a sort of optical illusion that does not warn drivers about the steep curve that lies ahead until it is possibly too late to stop. These hazards have been responsible for causing a large number of accidents over the years. In fact, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation between 2016 and 2021, there were a total of 3,000 motor vehicle accidents occurring at the interchange. These accidents resulted in more than 110 deaths.

Published on: December 20, 2021

Georgia Highways to Benefit from Infrastructure Bill

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Transportation safety advocates have been hailing the infrastructure bill that allocates billions in spending on upgrading infrastructure. Georgia could be an especially lucky beneficiary of that funding.

The infrastructure bill recently signed by President Joe Biden will earmark a staggering $1 trillion for infrastructure funding across the country. Billions of dollars of those funds are on their way to Georgia where many bridges, roads, and highways will benefit from upgrades and repairs. The state has several bridges and highways that have been deemed dangerous or in “poor” condition by experts. At least 374 bridges in the state are “structurally deficient.” Additionally, more than 2, 000 miles of roads across Georgia are categorized as “poor.” These roads and bridges will benefit from the funding and receive necessary repairs from pot holes, to crumbling pavement and unstable foundations.

Close to 9 billion dollars in funding will be directed to defective highways and roads in the state. An additional $225 million will be allocated for conducting repairs to bridges. Roads in the metro Atlanta region are likely to benefit from repairs as a result of the funding. Mass transit in Georgia will also benefit as a result of the funds. The bill includes more than 1.4 billion dollars to be spent over the next five years on public transport systems in Georgia. Efforts to expand public transportation have long been attempted in the Atlanta area. The additional funding may help get overdue improvements finally implemented. Expansion of mass transit and public transport services will ease congestion in the metro Atlanta region and other areas, and make the roads safer for all commuters to use. Mass transit is safer and more convenient than driving for many Atlanta residents, and expansion will definitely be welcome

Published on: November 20, 2020

Worrisome State of Georgia’s County-Maintained Roads

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A new report finds that many county-maintained roads in Georgia have been chronically undermaintained and in poor shape, increasing the risk of accidents for motorists travelling on these roads.

That information was published in a recent report by transportation research non-profit group, TRIP. The group recently released a report titled Moving Georgia Forward: Road and Bridge Conditions, Traffic Safety, Travel Trends and Funding Needs in the Atlanta region. The group conducted a survey of a number of counties in the state starting from 2019 and ending in 2020, specifically focusing on the condition of the transportation network of the state. The survey found that as many as 22% of roads in Georgia that are maintained by counties, are in substandard condition.

Not only are these roads in poor condition, but there also does not seem to be any hurry to get these roads fixed any time soon. Funding shortages will only ensure that many of these roads will continue to be deficient well into 2021 and beyond. At the current funding rate, only approximately 12% of the total number of miles of roads that are in need of repair work, including resurfacing, will be fixed in 2020. Overall, only 52% of the total amount of funding that is required to fix the entire network of county-maintained roads, is available for use. Hundreds of thousands of people use these county roads on a regular basis, and when these roads are poorly maintained and unsafe, they pose a serious risk of accidents to motorists.

Published on: October 27, 2020

Pedestrian Safety Concerns on Atlanta Highway

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The Governor’s Highway Safety Association marked October as National Pedestrian Safety Month, even as pedestrian safety concerns loom in Atlanta.

Atlanta residents who frequently use Hollowell Parkway, a stretch of state highway that expands from Northside Drive to I-185 have been raising concerns about several pedestrian accidents in the area. There are no pedestrian crossings on this approximately one-mile stretch of Hollowell Parkway. This means that pedestrians are put to great risk when they have to cross the street. As a result, there have been a number of accidents in the area.

Hollowell Parkway is a very busy highway, that is used very often by trucks. The Atlanta Bicycle Coalition calls this stretch one of the most dangerous roads in Atlanta. According to law enforcement, since 2016 alone, there have been as many as 7 pedestrian accidents on the stretch of road. During the same time, there have been 40 pedestrian injuries occurring on Hollowell Parkway.

Published on: July 13, 2017

Safety Group Questions Georgia Trucking Highway Project

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A safety group is questioning whether a proposed transportation safety project that would add several new miles of truck-only lanes on I-75 in Georgia has been well thought-out and could pose safety risks.

The two billion-dollar transportation project would add as many as 40 miles of trucks-only lanes between Macon and McDonough, and now it appears that the project was given the green light without a proper audit of whether is necessary or feasible. Earlier, an audit by the Georgia Department of Audits questioned the feasibility and viability of the project, and especially the wisdom involved in allowing such lanes. No other project in the United States has involved the installation of so many truck-only lanes, and according to the Georgia Department of Audits, the Department of Transportation green-lighted the project without sufficient evidence that the $2 billion price tag was a justified investment.

Now the United States Public Interest Research Group is also questioning the advisability of having so many truck-only lanes. The group has listed the project as one of the nation’s biggest highway boondoggles – and one that includes a massive waste of public time and money. Public Interest Research Group in its report is also criticizing governments across the United States for their propensity to rush into major transportation projects without bothering to fix a massive backlog of highway repair and other safety issues. In the case of the I-75 project, Public Interest Research Group says that the benefits to the trucking industry have been prioritized over recommendations to use railroads for movement of freight.

Published on: January 22, 2013

National Safety Organization Ranks Georgia Highways

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

National safety organization, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, recently released its 2013 Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws, which rates states on how they performed on the enactment of 15 basic traffic safety laws.The laws include everything from text messaging bans, to graduated driver’s licensing programs for teen drivers.While these types of reports don’t do much to help accident victims, our Atlanta car accident attorneys believe there is value in reviewing the results and how our state’s legislature is performing.

AHAS ranked all 50 states and the District of Colombia.The bad news seems to be that many states have regressed as far as passing important and effective highway safety laws are concerned.In 2011, 16 safety laws were passed by states, while 22 laws were passed in 2010.However, in 2012, states passed just 10 highway safety laws.

The report was based on whether states had enacted important traffic safety laws, including those related to seatbelts, booster seats, motorcycle helmets, driving requirements for teenage drivers, driving while impaired, and laws that ban texting while driving for all motorists.States were given 3 color-based ratings – green, yellow or red.Green denoted the best performance, and indicated that the state has significantly advanced towards adoption of all recommended highway safety laws.Yellow indicates a state that is working towards enacting many of these laws, but still has a lot of work to do.However, a classification of red indicates that a state is dangerously behind in the adoption of key traffic safety laws that can keep motorists safe.