For the last 14 years, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, a coalition dedicated to making America's roads and highways safer, has released a highly influential annual report card examining the progress made by the 50 states in passing basic traffic safety measures. Indeed, this year's report was perhaps more anticipated than normal given the dramatic increase in motor vehicle fatalities over the last two years, with statistics showing that traffic deaths increased by 7.2 percent in 2015 over 2014, and 8 percent from the first nine months of 2016 over the first nine months of 2015. As far as the structure of the report, it essentially awards the states one of three ratings -- green (best), yellow (intermediate), and red (worst) -- based on how many of the 15 so-called "optimal laws" that Advocates believes are essential to preventing serious and fatal accidents have been passed. Some of these…

Given the staggering number of serious and fatal motor vehicle accidents attributed to distracted driving -- particularly those involving the use of a smartphone while behind the wheel -- it was perhaps only a matter of time before the question arose as to whether liability rests with more than just the negligent motorist. Indeed, there has recently been an uptick in the number of lawsuits seeking to hold smartphone manufacturers and companies behind popular apps liable for the injuries suffered and losses sustained in motor vehicle accidents. By way of example, consider a lawsuit filed against the ubiquitous mobile app Snapchat right here in Georgia. For those unfamiliar with Snapchat, it's a messaging app that enables users to send both pictures and videos that essentially self-destruct within seconds of their being viewed by recipients. In the aforementioned Georgia lawsuit, a couple pursued legal action against both Snapchat and a 19-year-old…

Did you know that more than 40 million drivers in the United States are age 65 and older? Older drivers pose specific threats when it comes to car wrecks, largely because of physical changes that compromise their driving abilities. Studies show that older adults in Georgia and other states may experience age-related deficiencies in cognition and visual acuity, increasing the likelihood of an auto accident. Older drivers can prevent some of the age-related declines by taking extra steps to stay safe on the road. These preventive measures include regular check-ups at the eye doctor to make sure that their vision is not deteriorating. Older drivers are also encouraged to avoid distractions in the vehicle while driving -- eating, talking on the phone and texting can be particularly troublesome for these drivers. Most elderly drivers are better served to plan their driving route in advance and avoid operating their vehicles in…

Three children suffered serious injuries after the vehicle in which they were riding was struck by another vehicle in Jackson County, Georgia, in mid-January. The children -- two teens and an elementary-school student -- were riding with their father on the way to school when they were involved in the injurious car accident. Authorities say that the victims were taken to nearby hospitals, and one was transported via helicopter because of worsening injuries. State officers are currently investigating the collision. Witnesses reported that the white sedan in which the children were riding was struck by a pickup truck while attempting to cross a highway during the trip to school at about 7:30 a.m. on U.S. 441. Another vehicle then struck the pickup truck, which flipped over because of that initial collision. It is not clear exactly who has been deemed at-fault for the crash. A family member of one of…

Due to the rigors of everyday life -- going to work, attending school, raising children, managing a household, etc. -- many people find themselves operating on a sleep deficit on a regular basis. In fact, even those people who don't have these types of concerns can still find themselves sacrificing sleep, perhaps staying up late to read, watch television or spend time with friends. While most people try to offset the loss of a few hours of sleep with an extra cup of coffee or two, the reality is that most will end up going through the day feeling altogether drowsy. As rough as this can be, it can also prove to be incredibly dangerous should they make the decision to get behind the wheel. According to a recently released report by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, those drivers who sleep less than the seven hours per day recommended by the…

For the last twenty years or so, public policy around driving privileges and the ways they are licensed has been the center of an active and ongoing debate. One of the key topics when it comes to licensing drivers and regulating their safety has been the country's methods of training and licensing drivers. Many states have responded to pressures from public safety advocates and parents' groups by instituting graduated licensing programs. They claim these programs increase oversight and help teens learn to be more responsible on the road, pointing to the multi-stage process of earning various levels of driving privilege as evidence of a more adaptive learning curve when these laws are put into place. As of 2011, all 50 states now have some form of graduated license program, and the evidence about their effectiveness has started to come in the form of studies designed to look at the impact…

At this moment, thousands of people throughout Georgia are busy relaxing after what has likely proven to be an exceptionally busy Thanksgiving week complete with cooking a huge dinner, visiting with seemingly innumerable relatives and, of course, making a long car trip. Indeed, AAA has estimated that as many as 1.2 million people here in the Peach State will travel 50-plus miles away from home from Wednesday through Sunday, a considerably larger number than in recent years owing in large part to lower gas prices. While the first part of the trip is now in the books, traffic experts are warning motorists that there is still the return voyage to consider and, by extension, that there is still the matter of safe driving to consider. In case you remain unconvinced, consider that the National Safety Council has estimated that as many as 50,300 people will be seriously injured and another 437 will…

It is a well-known fact that distracted driving is incredibly risky, yet it still causes many of the accidents on the road today. This is partially because of the nature of driving - any task that requires constant attention and vigilance is also going to have operator distraction as a weak point, because the human attention span is finite. At the same time, there are a few key ways you can minimize distraction to add to your personal safety. Types of distraction The first step is to understand the main types of driver distraction. They are: Cognitive Visual Manual Most people are fairly used to handling visual distractions, and vehicles are typically designed to minimize them. It's why many people stream music or podcasts in the car, but very few attempt to watch a movie while they are in the driver's seat. Most visual distractions come from roadside spectacles, including landmarks,…

While the last few decades have seen automakers make tremendous strides in protecting vehicle occupants involved in crashes, the last few years have seen these safety efforts shift considerably. Indeed, the focus now seems to be more on preventing car crashes altogether via so-called self-driving technology than enhancing existing safety technology. Indeed, there are many vehicles currently out on the roads and highways equipped with some degree of self-driving technology right now, such as cruise control systems that don't just set a speed, but also help steer the vehicle and keep it within its lane. As fascinating as this development has been, it goes without saying that drivers of vehicles equipped with this sort of technology are in no way able to take their eyes off the road completely and, by extension, that we are still several years away from fully self-driving vehicles. Interestingly enough, a group of researchers at…

Several weeks ago, our blog discussed how a recently released study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that road debris was responsible for over 200,000 car accidents from 2011 through 2014, and, even more shockingly, caused roughly 39,000 injuries and another 500 fatalities from 2001 through 2014. If these numbers still seem hard to believe, consider the story of a woman right here in Georgia who suffered devastating bodily trauma after the car in which she was riding struck a piece of equipment that had fallen off a work truck. What exactly happened? On New Year's Eve 2010, the woman was riding in the passenger seat of a friend's car on Georgia 400, just north of former toll plaza, when a metal vice grip, later discovered to have fallen from a Department of Transportation truck, came crashing through the windshield. Tragically, she was placed on a hospital ventilator…