Using a cell phone while you operate a vehicle greatly increases the likelihood you will end up in a collision. According to the National Safety Council, you are up to 23 times more likely to end up in a car accident while texting than if you had both eyes on the road. To combat the epidemic of distracted driving taking place around the state, Georgia passed a new law that went into effect on July 1st earlier this year. Here is everything you need to know about the new law, but for the most part, as long as you keep your phone out of the way, you will have nothing to worry about. The Hands-Free Georgia Act This law prohibits motorists from holding a cell phone while a vehicle is in motion. That means they cannot make a call or text with an exception if there was an emergency taking place. You can also hold a…

Drivers across Georgia have likely heard about the new Hands-Free Georgia Act, which goes into effect beginning July first. Other states have implemented similar laws and have seen a 16 percent drop in fatal accidents caused by distracted driving. It is hoped that this new law will have a similar effect in Georgia. This new law prohibits the use of cell phones and other mobile devices while on a roadway. In addition to forbidding people from texting while driving, this law states that drivers are not allowed to be holding their phone in their hands or touching their phone with any other part of their body while driving. It also prohibits all cell phone usage for teenage drivers and forbids all drivers from recording video, with the exception of continuously running dashboard cameras, or watching videos not related to navigation. However, there are some exceptions to this new law. Drivers are…

Drivers in Georgia and the rest of the United States face the same roadway risks associated with distracted drivers. Mobile tablet or smartphone use by someone behind the wheel creates a serious distraction that has been linked to car accidents. Data reviewed by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal facts about the hazards of driver distractions. From 2011 to 2012, the number of people injured in distracted driver accidents increased by 9 percent from 387,000 to 421,000. The year 2012 also saw 3,328 deaths in similar crashes. In 2011, distracted driving caused 17 percent of car accidents in which a person was injured. The CDC defines sources of distraction in three ways: visual, manual, or cognitive. Texting and driving are especially dangerous because the activity causes all three types of distraction. Texting makes the driver take his or her eyes off the road, remove one or both…

  While Georgia prohibits adults who are behind the wheel of a motor vehicle from a specific type of cellphone use, texting, many states have enacted bans on cellphone use altogether while driving. In large part, the reason that lawmakers in Georgia and other states enacted these bans is the troubling correlation between cellphone use while driving and traffic accidents resulting in death or injuries, as expounded by various statistics and studies. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving can be a mortal mistake. Reportedly, distracted drivers caused 18 percent of deadly traffic accidents throughout the country in 2010. In this way, distracted driving was responsible for the deaths of 3,092 people in total. In that same year, 2010, crashes attributed to distracted driving caused 416,000 people to suffer injuries, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports. A Pew survey indicates that four out of every 10…