Georgia Personal Injury Law Blog

With the chance for up to three inches of snow, motorists in Macon and Bibb County will face "significant" travel woes for the next 24 to 48 hours. As temperatures fall, precipitation could move from freezing rain, to sleet and finally snow, leaving the area roads potentially very treacherous. Given the rarity of major snow events in Middle Georgia, most drivers have limited winter driving skills, and many teens and young adult drivers may never have driven a vehicle in these conditions. This means that in addition to driving carefully and maintaining control of your own vehicle, you need to beware of actions by other negligent or inexperienced drivers, whose driving may cause car accidents. While many people were rushing to the store in anticipation of the storm, Macon-Bibb County Emergency Management Director commented that there was no need to panic, suggesting most people could get by for the day…

In Macon, as with most American cities, we drive a lot. Many people work in Atlanta or the southern suburbs. Most people think nothing of driving there to go shopping or to catch a Braves or Falcons game. And the more miles we drive, the greater the exposure to the risk of a car accident. Many people believe themselves to be safe drivers. They drive the speed limit, most of the time. They pay attention to road signs and changing road and weather conditions. They signal their turns and leave an appropriate following distance to the car in front of their vehicle. Many have driven years or even decades without a car accident. But none of that makes them immune to having a car or truck accident in the future. Because, in reality, driving always involves some amount of luck. Luck that you are not glancing at your phone at the very…

Older drivers are generally safer than young drivers. Many of the safety messages dealing with safe driving are directed towards teen drivers. This makes sense, as they are young and inexperienced as drivers. Activities like texting and other distracting tasks increase the danger that a young driver will get into a situation where they can't control their vehicle and wind up involved in a car accident. However, young drivers are not the only drivers who present a threat; drivers older than 75 are the second most like to be involved in a fatal car accident. What is more difficult, in dealing with these drivers, is that they may have spotless driving records and take offense at someone suggesting they hang up their car keys. There is another problem. While a town like Macon may have an old-fashioned downtown, many of the businesses have left and a large percentage of people live…

While most weddings leave the participants with fond memories, a wedding north of Atlanta, brought nothing but sorrow. On their way leaving the wedding reception, the bride and groom were involved in a terrible car accident, and the bride was ejected from the vehicle. The vehicle rolled over and land on top of the bride. The groom, who was also injured in the car accident, attempted to save her, but there was nothing that could be done. A man who stopped to assist found the groom with his face and hands covered with blood. He called 911 and tried to comfort the groom. The Georgia State Patrol said the couple had just left their wedding reception when the groom, who was driving, swerved to avoid hitting a dog in the road. He then lost control of the vehicle and the car rolled down an embankment. The bride was ejected during the…

Driving can seem like an overwhelming task, when something goes wrong. Rain is falling in the Macon area and the roads are a little slick. A driver approaches an intersection, when they hear their cellphone ring, sitting on the passenger seat. Reacting, they look in that direction and reach for it. When they return their eyes to the road, they see the traffic signal has turned red and traffic has stopped in front of them. They slam on the brakes and the car begins to slide. What should they do? For an experienced driver, instinctively they steer into the slide, are able to recover, and narrowly avoid a car accident with a vehicle in the other lane. For the teen driver, who may never have driven in rain, and lacks years of driving experience, this could have been a disastrous scenario. A new report from the New England Journal of…

Most Americans think that speeding is bad, which is good, because as Lucy reminds us in Charlie Brown's Christmas, "the mere fact that you realize you need help indicates that you are not too far gone." According to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 91 percent of American drivers believe drivers should slow down, but more than two-thirds speed at least sometimes when they are on the road. Speed kills and is a factor in about one-third of all car accidents. While most drivers seem to recognize the increased risk of car accidents and fatalities that accompany speeding, a great many are willing to engage in this behavior. This conflicted perspective may be a result of the tendency of many drivers to recognize the failings of other drivers, yet are blinded by overconfidence bias with respect to their own behavior. The survey which was conducted by NTHSA…

We all know the holidays are fraught with peril when it comes to driving on the highways and byways. Everything seems to conspire to make the roads a more dangerous place. From fewer hours of daylight and more bad weather, to more parties and social events that entail alcohol and drinking, to frazzled shoppers attempting to find that one item to finish their shopping list, the streets and roads around Macon have many hazards. A study by the University of Alabama's Center for Advanced Public Safety, looking at data from that state, found during the holiday period, that the six days before Christmas were the most risky. That period had 18 percent more car accidents than Thanksgiving and 27 percent more than New Year's Day. It pays to take extra time and an extra deep breath. Racing through parking lots at stores, just to beat another driver to a parking…

There is no doubt that driving while intoxicated is a negligent and reckless decision. Alcohol impairs vision, decision making and reaction time, none of which are helpful when trying to drive. The unfortunate truth of the matter is that there are a seemingly endless number of accidents that act as an example of the damage that this behavior holds. A recent drunk driving accident occurred in Georgia that acts as an all too real reminder of the consequences of impaired driving. The accident occurred on Sunday, Nov. 8, at approximately 3:30 a.m. It started when a vehicle ran out of gas. The driver was forced to stop on the side of the road, and a Good Samaritan stopped to help. While the two vehicles were pulled over alongside the road, a third vehicle involved itself in the situation. This third vehicle wasn’t there to help. Instead, the driver slammed into the back…

You never think your are driving to a car accident. You get in their car or truck, and head down the road in Macon, or to destinations unknown in Georgia, but you never believe it will be your last drive. Certainly, Paul Walker and Roger Rodas did not believe when they left the charity event on Saturday they were going to crash within minutes. Sure, the car they were driving, a red 2005 Porsche Carrera GT was temperamental and could be dangerous if mishandled. But, they were both experienced racecar drivers. The driver could easily handle the Porsche on a city street well enough to avoid a car accident. Nonetheless, the Carrera GT struck a utility pole and exploded into flames, killing both men. Police ruled out that they were street racing with another car, but they suspect speed played a role in the accident. The Carrera GT is a car…

Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the agency that investigates transportation accidents, issued a statement that was critical of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the agency responsible for oversight of the truck and bus industry. The NTSB, because of its investigatory role in truck and bus accidents, has a great deal of insight as to the types of safety violations that lead to deadly truck accidents, and criticized the FMCSA for a lax response to companies' failures to comply with safety regulations. The NTSB cited four accidents within the last 12 months as examples of where the FMCSA had evidence of the companies involved safety violations, yet failed to act prior to the fatal crashes that left 25 dead and 83 injured. Two crashes involved bus companies that had various violations, including defective brakes, inappropriate tires, numerous vehicles placed out of service and a history of driver…