Metro Atlanta

Published on: July 10, 2021

Metro Atlanta Goes Back to Work: How to Avoid Car Accidents

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.

Published on: March 2, 2021

Metro Atlanta Region one of the Most Dangerous for Pedestrians

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

In Georgia, initiatives continue to grow for less car and more pedestrian friendly areas throughout the state. A new report, however, identifies the Metro Atlanta- Sandy Springs-Roswell area as one of the most dangerous areas for pedestrians in the country.

This alarming finding was part of a report that found a total of 1,160 pedestrian accidents in the Atlanta- Sandy Springs-Roswell area between 2010 and 2019. That makes it an average rate of approximately 2 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 pedestrians every day.

The list included the top 20 most dangerous areas for pedestrians in the country, and the Metro Atlanta region was the only area in Georgia that featured on the list. This region also had a Pedestrian Danger Index of 152.3. The Pedestrian Danger Index is a rating system that measures how dangerous it is for pedestrians to walk in an area or state, based on the number of pedestrian deaths that occurred in these areas or states. The data specifically focused on pedestrian accident deaths that occurred between 2010 and 2019. All data came from the Fatality Analysis reporting system.

Published on: February 20, 2013

Investigations Continue into Fatal Cobb County Teen Driver Car Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Investigations into a fatal accident in Cobb County that killed 2 teenagers are still being conducted.Investigators are looking at whether vehicle speed played a role in this particular accident.

The accident occurred about 10 days ago, when the driver of a Volvo lost control of his car.The car crashed into a brick sign, and exploded into flames.In the car were the 19-year-old driver and his 18-year-old passenger.Both were killed instantly.

So far, Cobb County police do not believe that alcohol or drugs were factors in this accident.However, toxicology tests will be conducted on the deceased driver.

Published on: November 22, 2011

Marietta Motorist Claims Seizure Caused Car Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A Marietta motorist, who was involved in a multi-vehicle auto accident, insists that the car accident was the result of a seizure that he suffered while driving.Police have already filed charges against him. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the auto accident occurred when the driver’s Ford F-250 struck another pickup truck on the same street.The motorist drove off after the accident and struck two more vehicles, before finally veering off the road and crashing into a tree.

Fortunately, the car accident did not result in life-threatening injuries for other drivers involved.The motorist has been charged with hit-and-run, driving too fast for conditions, failure to maintain lane and driving under a suspended license. Car accident attorneys regularly see cases in which a defendant driver claims a medical condition caused the accident. In order for this defense to be successful in a civil case, they must establish not only that the medical condition caused the accident, but that the medical condition was not known or it was not known that the medical condition would result in the issue which occurred.

Police say that he was fleeing the accident scene when he crashed, but the motorist claims that he has a history of epilepsy.According to him, he suffered a seizure at the time of the accident.The motorist says that he suffered petit mal seizures in his childhood, and was placed on medication.However, he stopped taking the medications after the seizures ended.The last time he had a grand mal seizure was three years ago.He does not know what caused this latest seizure that he suffered during the accident.According to him, he has no recollection of any of the events leading up to the accident.

Published on: October 11, 2011

Increase in Motorcycle Accidents in Metro Atlanta

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Atlanta motorcycle accident lawyers have been concerned about a spike in motorcycle accidents on metro Atlanta highways recently.Just last week, a motorcyclist was fatally injured in an accident involving his motorcycle and a tractor-trailer.The truck accident occurred in Gwinnett County, and has been blamed on an airborne tire tread from the tractor-trailer.

According to police, the thirty-five-year-old motorcyclist was riding his vehicle in the left lane of northbound I-85 when his motorcycle struck the tire tread.The impact caused the motorcyclist to lose control.He was lying in the center lane of the highway, and in the path of an oncoming 18- wheeler.The truck driver did not see him, and ran over him.He was rushed to the Gwinnett Medical Center, but died.

This is the most recent in a series of motorcycle accidents that have left Atlanta personal injury lawyers very concerned.In recent months, according to police officers, there have been at least half a dozen motorcyclists killed in accidents in metro Atlanta highways.In August, a motorcyclist was killed in an accident involving two vehicles.He had been riding a Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle, when his motorcycle was struck by two vehicles on I-75 near Cobb County.He sustained fatal injuries.Police believe that the accident was caused by a Porsche driver who fled the scene of the accident.Both the driver and his passenger were located by police about two weeks later.

Published on: August 20, 2011

Metro Atlanta Region One of the Most Dangerous for Pedestrians

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A new report titled Dangerous by Designby Transportation for America has bad news for Atlanta pedestrians and accident lawyers here. The report places the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta region at number eleven on the list of the deadliest cities for pedestrians in the United States. In addition to wrongful deaths, pedestrian accidents often result in the most severe injuries of any type of accident.

For Atlanta pedestrian accident lawyers, a look at the list suggests that nothing much has changed since Transportation for America came out with its pedestrian safety report last year.The Atlanta region continues to be fraught with pedestrian accident risks, a situation that is only likely to get worse as more pedestrians choose to walk.

According to the list, the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta region had a Pedestrian Danger Index of 119.3.The Transportation for America researchers arrived at the Pedestrian Danger Index for each region by calculating the number of pedestrian accident deaths for the region, relative to the amount of actual walking being done in that area.The researchers accounted for the fact that regions that have more pedestrians are likely to see more numbers of pedestrian accidents.The Pedestrian Danger Index allowed the researchers to compare diverse regions with varying pedestrian safety factors.

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: January 26, 2010

Teenager Killed in Stone Mountain Pedestrian Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Teenager Killed in Stone Mountain Pedestrian Accident

A Stone Mountain teenager was killed last week in an accident involving a teen motorist. Tanesha Williams was walking to her mother’s home after school when she was struck by the car.According to DeKalb County Police, the 17-year-old driver lost control of the vehicle and drove on to the sidewalk. The other two students with Tanesha suffered moderate injuries. Tanesha died later of her injuries. She was all of 14 years old.

Meanwhile, detectives believe that the teen motorist was likely trying to pass a second car at a high rate of speed. This likely caused the driver to lose control of the car, and driving up on the sidewalk and hitting the three pedestrians. Police still don’t know whether the second car was involved in the accident or if the two cars were racing.