Georgia pedestrians

Published on: October 6, 2022

Georgia Recorded 45% Increase in Pedestrian Car Accident Deaths Since 2019

Georgia recorded a staggering 45% increase in pedestrian wrongful deaths in car accidents between 2019 and 2021. The state is one of the worst performing ones when it comes to controlling these fatality numbers.

Latest data by the Governors Highway Safety Association shows a dramatic increase in the number of pedestrian fatalities recorded in Georgia between 2019 and 2020. The increase was approximately 45.6% or an increase of 106 fatalities in pedestrian auto accidents between 2019 and 2021. In 2019, there were 239 pedestrian car accidents wrongful deaths in Georgia, and that number increased to 348 fatalities in 2021. That was a significant increase in 2021, compared to 2019.

In 2020, Georgia recorded 281 deaths in pedestrian car accidents, an increase of 67 from 2019, and a percentage point increase of 23.8 percent. The state performs poorly on a number of parameters. Georgia’s tally of pedestrian wrongful deaths in 2021 was the third highest increase in pedestrian car accident death numbers. Georgia had a rate of 2.62 deaths for every 100,000 pedestrians in 2020 and a rate of 3.22 deaths for every 100,000 pedestrians in 2021.

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: October 1, 2019

DeKalb County Boosts Pedestrian Safety Efforts

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

There is no doubt that the metro-Atlanta area is growing by leaps and bounds. With that growth comes increased traffic, congestion, and unfortunately motor vehicle accidents. Some of these accidents can be deadly, especially when a pedestrian is involved.

DeKalb County is the second most dangerous county for pedestrians in Georgia, second only to Fulton County. In fact, between 2014 and 2016, there were a total of 67 pedestrian accident fatalities in DeKalb County. Pedestrian deaths, during this period of time, accounted for around one- third of all traffic accident fatalities in the county.

Alarmed by these statistics, officials at DeKalb County have decided to take firm and strategic action to reduce the number of pedestrians killed in traffic accidents, and make the county roads safer for all. DeKalb County Health Board officials are discussing ways to reduce these fatalities with Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety officials, as well as representatives from the DeKalb County Police Department and other concerned pedestrian safety advocates.

Published on: April 15, 2019

What you Need to Know about Pedestrian Safety Laws in Georgia

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The number of pedestrians has been increasing all throughout Georgia as more people choose to walk for health or recreational reasons. The City of Atlanta has especially taken extra efforts to become a more walker friendly town. Therefore, as a pedestrian, you should be aware of the protections and rights afforded to you under Georgia laws. Learning about these laws will help you obey traffic rules as well as keep you safe.

First of all, pedestrians have the right of way on a marked crosswalk in Georgia. If you are already waking on the crosswalk, then all motorists must stop and yield to you. The law requires the driver of a car to stop and remain stopped while the pedestrian is crossing the road. The motorist can only resume driving when the pedestrian has safely completed crossing. This essentially means that a motorist can’t try to squeeze by you, or barely give you any room to squeeze by them while they are on the road.

However, the picture becomes different when you are crossing the road outside of a designated crosswalk. Now, the motorist’s have the right of way which means that you must yield to motorists who are driving. As a pedestrian, you also have the duty to look in both directions to first make sure that the street is safe to cross – a lesson that we all learned as children. This does not mean that a motorist can continue to speed towards you though. A driver still has the duty to avoid hitting a pedestrian if he or she is already in the process of crossing the street. A driver also must anticipate that a pedestrian could attempt to cross the street at any point, and has the duty to warn a pedestrian of their approach by honking the horn or give some other type of warning.

Published on: May 25, 2015

Georgia Records Drop in Pedestrian Accident Fatalities in 2014

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Georgia looks set to record a decline in pedestrian fatalities in 2014. During the first six months of 2014, those numbers dropped to 50 pedestrian fatalities, from 76 fatalities during the same period of time in 2013.

The statistics were released by the Governors Highway Safety Association, which presented its pedestrian fatality data for 2014. The report has certain interesting findings.For example, it shows that pedestrian fatalities are now much more likely to occur in urban areas.Back in 1975, approximately 59% of pedestrian fatalities occurred in urban areas, and that number increased to 73% by 2013.

One statistic has remained consistent since 1975. Males account for approximately 70% of all fatalities.

Published on: May 27, 2014

Pedestrian Fatality Study Underscores Georgia’s Poor Record

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Georgia ranks at the bottom of the heap when it comes to protecting pedestrians from serious or fatal injuries in accidents.

According to a new study, a small group of states accounts for some of the highest number of pedestrian fatalities in the country.The study was conducted by the National Complete Streets Coalition, where researchers analyzed numbers involving more than 47,025 pedestrian fatalities that occurred over a 10 year period. When analysis of the data was complete, some states were found to have an abysmal record in keeping pedestrians safe and preventing accidents.

The study established a Pedestrian Danger Index, which measured the number of fatalities relative to the number of pedestrians on the street, and found that some states had managed to keep fatalities very low. These included New York and Washington DC.

Published on: June 6, 2011

Woman Critically Injured in Acworth, Georgia Pedestrian Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A 19-year-old woman, who was injured when she was struck by a pickup truck as she walked on a crosswalk, continues to remain in a critical condition in the hospital.The man who was driving the pickup truck that struck her has been arrested. As an Atlanta personal injury lawyer, often the worst cases I see involve pedestrians. Motorists must remember that whenever they approach an intersection, they need to slow down to protect pedestrians.

The woman was walking on the crosswalk when she was hit by the truck driven by 19-year-old Dalton Mason.He was arrested by police a little while later at his home in Acworth.He has been charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian, failure to stop at a stop sign and other charges.Preliminary investigations seem to suggest that the pedestrian had the right-of-way here.

Preventing pedestrian accidents in Atlanta is going to be even more challenging in the summer with more pedestrians on the street.Besides, rising gas prices have already meant more pedestrians choosing to walk to work than drive.These pedestrians are likely to be at risk from motorists who fail to respect even a pedestrian’s most basic rights.

Published on: April 25, 2011

Georgia Needs Work on Preventing Bicycle Accidents and Pedestrian Accidents this Summer

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Georgia has some of the lowest rates of bicycling in the US.That probably has something to do with the fact that this is one of the most dangerous states for bicyclists in the country.In fact, Georgia ranks at number eight nationwide for the number of bicycle accident deaths and, of course, these means there are also a significant number of injuries.As any Atlanta injury attorney will tell you, the state is not much safer for pedestrians either.According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Metro Atlanta region is the 10th most dangerous metropolitan area for pedestrians in the country.This summer, the Georgia Department of Transportation needs to focus on how to reduce pedestrian accident and bicycle accident deaths.

There’s no doubt that a pedestrian in Atlanta is at serious risk of injuries in an accident.For example in Georgia, pedestrian accidents make up just 1% of all traffic accidents, but these deaths account for 10% of all traffic accident fatalities every year.

Few cities in the country have the kind of congested traffic that Atlanta has, and pedestrians and bicyclists have a big role to play in relieving some of this traffic.It’s the reason why Atlanta bicycle accident lawyers believe in the need to encourage bicycling and walking as sustainable, efficient, and most importantly, safe means of transportation.However, encouraging biking in Georgia has been an upward climb, because of the high risk of injuries to bicyclists here.

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.