With all of the hundreds of thousands of drivers in Georgia, there are bound to be ones who weave in and out of traffic, ignore the speed limit, and purposefully cut other drivers off. All of these behaviors have one thing in common; they are considered aggressive driving and have many repercussions including fines and revocation of licensure depending on the driver’s age and state of residence. In serious circumstances, aggressive driving can result in accidents that injure or even kill the people involved. When a person understands aggressive driving and its consequences, careful actions can be taken to avoid driving dangerously. The Governors Highway Safety Association explicitly defines aggressive driving in Georgia as such actions including:          Disregarding traffic laws          Disrupting traffic flow          Tailgating          Reckless driving          Carelessly passing another vehicle While some drivers may succumb to their anger and participate in aggressive driving and road rage, there…

The act of teenagers borrowing the family car can be considered a rite of passage in many American families. Most of the time this happens, the result is harmless. But on occasion, something can go terribly wrong and an accident ensues that harms others. In such instances, the question can come up whether those who actually owned the car were negligent in allowing another person to drive it. This question comes under the legal theory known as "negligent entrustment." In Georgia, courts have defined negligent entrustment of a motor vehicle to be when an automobile owner lends his or her car to another person (it does not have to be a family member) to someone whom he or she knows (that is, has actual knowledge) is incompetent to drive or is otherwise habitually reckless. The negligence on the part of the vehicle owner in lending it to someone who should…

It can be difficult, at times, to determine the cause of a car collision until after the completion of an accident investigation. Although it might appear as though a driver acted responsibly by obeying the traffic laws, a thorough investigation by the police or by an attorney acting on behalf of a victim suffering a serious injury might disclose evidence to prove the person was a negligent driver. A recent auto accident in which three vehicles were involved appears to have been caused by a driver who obeyed a stop sign. Unfortunately, the individual failed to yield to other traffic in the intersection as he drove away from the stop sign. The result was a three-car accident that sent three people requiring medical treatment to the hospital. According to police, one of the drivers pulled away from a stop sign without maintaining a proper lookout for other vehicles in the…

Two Georgia brothers, both members of their high school marching band, were killed in an accident that involved two vehicles. Their vehicle, a small sedan, was traveling north on a local roadway when the driver turned west and collided with a rental truck. The small sedan was struck on the driver's side. Authorities say that the weather might have played a factor in this accident. The driver of the truck, a 44-year-old man, was taken to a local area hospital, as was the oldest brother and driver of the small sedan. That brother, who was 17 years old, died from his injuries the next morning. The younger brother, who was 15, died at the scene of the accident. The wreck occurred within a quarter of a mile from where the boys lived. Both boys were members of the marching band and both were percussionists. They were remembered by friends and…

If you are a parent, one of your nightmare scenarios is likely the possibility of being involved in a car accident while your children are in the car. You can drive as defensively as you can, but that does not mean that every other driver is being as careful as you, and a serious, injury-producing accident can happen that has little or nothing to do with how well you were driving at the time. Your second line of defense when it comes to protecting your children when they travel with you in an automobile is to understand and comply with Georgia's safety laws governing children in cars. Child safety laws depend heavily on the age of the child; the younger the child, the stricter the precautions must be. The threshold age is eight. If your child is not yet eight years old, you are required to have an approved safety seat…

You could lose your right to compensation by waiting too long after a car collision to sue the negligent driver who caused you to suffer serious injuries. Georgia law sets time limits within which you must file a lawsuit or risk having your claim dismissed when you do finally sue. This law is referred to as the statute of limitations. The purpose of the statute of limitations is to prevent car accident victims and others who may suffer a serious injury at the hands of a negligent party from delaying the filing of their claim. Delays could place the defendant at an unfair disadvantage by not being able to investigate the claim while the evidence is fresh. Witnesses may disappear or forget important information as time goes on. Evidence that might have existed following the event might be lost or destroyed with the passage of time. A Macon car accident victim normally…

"Dram shop" laws in Georgia and elsewhere in the United States pertain to the legal duty of the owner of an establishment that serves alcohol to stop serving liquor to a customer who shows signs of intoxication, with the purpose of reducing incidents of people drinking and driving. In the majority of these cases, if a person who is injured in a drunk driving-related accident sues such an establishment, the management and the intoxicated customer will be different people. But a recent incident in Atlanta shows that this distinction is not always the case. The family of a motorcyclist who died when he was involved in an accident with an allegedly drunk driver is suing multiple defendants, beginning with the manager of the restaurant where the alleged drunk driver -- who also happened to be the manager himself -- as well as the company that owns the restaurant chain and…

Car accidents happen every single day in Macon and the rest of Georgia. A lot of them are simple fender benders or low-speed impact collisions. But even a seemingly minor car collision could result in a concussion or other form of brain injury. It’s important to know the symptoms of these types of injuries, as ignoring a concussion could lead to major issues later on. In general, there are four categories of symptoms to look out for. The first is issues with memory and thinking. Someone who has suffered a concussion may not be able to think clearly or concentrate. They may feel like they are thinking slower than usual and may be unable to retain short-term memories. The second category is also mental but involves the victim’s emotions. They may feel irritable or sad. They may also feel nervous, or just more emotional in general than they usually are. Next…

The old common-law doctrine of contributory negligence, which used to hold that if a plaintiff was in any way negligent he was barred from recovery, has been superseded in virtually every state including Georgia. Most states today use some form of comparative fault (also referred to as comparative negligence) when apportioning between the plaintiff and the defendant or defendants their respective share of the blame for the occurrence of the event that led to the plaintiff's injuries. In Georgia, the general rule of comparative fault is that if the jury finds that the plaintiff is 50 percent or more at fault this has the same effect as the old contributory negligence rule: the plaintiff is barred from any recovery. As long as the plaintiff is less than 50 percent at fault, then the plaintiff's award is reduced by the percentage of his or her negligence. Thus, for example, if in…

According to statistics released by the federal government, more than 150 billion text messages are sent each month in this country. It should not come as a surprise that 20 percent of teenagers and 10 percent of adults admitted to engaging in extended text messaging conversations while driving. Georgia has enacted several laws aimed at making highways safer by restricting activities by drivers that put other people at risk of serious injury in an auto accident. For example, school bus drivers in Macon and in other communities are prohibited from using their cellphones for talking or texting while driving. This ban also applies to drivers who are younger than 18 years of age. Drivers 18 years of age and older are prohibited from texting and driving. These cellphone laws are primary violations under state law. As a primary violation, a police officer may stop a motorist who is in violation without…