Top 6 Causes of Car Accidents in Georgia

Car accidents usually have common causes that can have serious consequences. People lose their lives, sustain injuries that can affect them forever or take a long time to recover, and their vehicles can get a lot of damage that will take time and money to fix.

Typical car accident injuries are concussions, whiplash, muscle strains, and broken bones. After a car crash, people might not even know they have injuries because of the shock. Without proper medical care or awareness that they need medical care, their injuries can become more severe.

When you’re in a car accident, your whole life is put on hold. Whether you’re dealing with a physical injury that requires hospital visits to heal or mental injury that needs a mental health professional, you need time and patience to recover. But recovery can get expensive, and if you’re kept from work, you might not know how you’re going to pay for treatment. Our Atlanta car accident lawyers might be able to help you get compensation that you can use to cover those medical expenses and your pain and suffering. Bey & Associates believes in standing up for others and fighting for your rights.

What Leads to Traffic Fatalities in Georgia?

The Georgia Department of Transportation reported that traffic fatalities are up by 33 percent. 2016 had 129 more fatalities than 2015 with 1,561 fatalities.

Many of the causes for traffic fatalities are like issues in other states.

• Distracted Driving. 74 percent of fatalities happen because something distracted the driver, the driver was impaired, or they were driving too fast in inclement weather. When drivers check their phones or try to eat while driving, their full concentration is no longer on the road. Alcohol greatly affects the driver’s ability to make decisions, stay awake, or have quick reactions. Bad driving conditions like storms make the road slippery and hard to see.
• Inability to Stay in Lane. Many drivers either don’t stay in their lane or don’t signal when they need to switch lanes. This leads to 60 percent of fatalities.
• Single Vehicle Crashes. About 51 percent of fatalities occur when a single vehicle crashes into a fixed object.
• Seatbelt Use. While about 43 percent of victims in a fatal accidents were wearing seatbelts, many do not even though a seatbelt could prevent people from ejecting from cars.
• Involve Motorcyclists, Bicyclists, and Pedestrians. 16 percent of fatalities involves people not in passenger vehicles. There’s been a 40 percent increase of accidents with pedestrians, and 7 percent involve motorcyclists and 2 percent are bicyclists.
• Involve a Truck. 10 percent of crashes happen with a small vehicle and a truck or tractor-trailer.

You can implement safe driving behaviors and help reduce the fatalities. Always wear your seatbelt, avoid distractions like your phone, fiddling with the radio, and drive when you’re alert. Never drive when you’re impaired or tired. When you’re aware and alert, you’re making the road safer for you and everyone else.