While I’m most well-known as a lawyer specializing in workers’ compensation for Athens, GA citizens, automobile accidents are also a passion of mine.
The Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety keeps extensive data pertaining to traffic accidents, fatalities and injuries on file, and I took a look at the statistics in order to help you better understand what our state’s patterns are in that regard.
Let’s go over the most important aspects of those numbers:
Overview on Fatalities
The good news is that the report shows a decline from years before 2013, the last year for which data is available.
- 2013 fatalities: 1,179
- 2012 fatalities: 1,192
That’s a decrease of 13 roadway fatalities. That difference may not seem like a lot of people, but it’s a step in the right direction, and if you look at the numbers on a broader timeline, they’ve been dropping more and more every year since 2007.
Non-fatal Stats
Nonfatal injuries are a different story, however. They’ve gone up and down since 2007, but are currently on the rise. Moreover, the numbers are much higher in general than fatal crashes are, unsurprisingly.
- 2007 injuries: 128,315
- 2008 injuries: 115,878
- 2009 injuries: 122,961
- 2010 injuries: 110,132
- 2011 injuries: 104,529
- 2012 injuries: 115,618
- 2013 injuries: 116,458
- 2016 projections: 112,526
Fortunately, the projection expects to see the lowest number of traffic injuries since 2012.
Specifics
Beyond the hard numbers, they can be broken down to tell us other things, like whether a fatality was caused by a speeding driver, an intoxicated driver, a new driver, etc. Let’s take a look at some of these statistics from 2013.
- Motorcycle deaths: 116
- Unrestrained PVO* deaths: 376
- Alcohol-impaired deaths: 297
- Speeding-related deaths: 197
- Age 20-years-old (or younger) deaths: 156
(* = Passenger Vehicle Occupant)
The two things we can take away from the above numbers are (do I need to state the obvious?) DON’T drink and drive, and DO wear your seatbelt.
Furthermore, these were the top 10 counties (in 2011) with the highest automobile-related deaths, and their contributions (in percent) to the overall total of traffic fatalities in Georgia that year:
- Fulton County – 5%
- DeKalb County – 4%
- Gwinnett County – 4%
- Cobb County – 3%
- Richmond County – 3%
- Clayton County – 2%
- Hall County – 2%
- Carroll County – 2%
- Chatham County – 2%
- Bibb County – 2%
Since Atlanta is Georgia’s largest city by far, it’s no surprise that Fulton County tops the above list. With that, I urge you to please stay safe on the roadways, never drink and drive, always wear your seatbelt, and if you’re a motorcyclist, always wear a helmet.
If you were recently injured as a result of someone else’s negligence or reckless behavior on the road, I want to help you get the justice to which you’re entitled. Also, if you need one of the most qualified work comp lawyers in the Athens, GA area, give me a call today for a complimentary consultation.
The post The Facts About Traffic Safety in Georgia appeared first on The Law Offices of Darwin F. Johnson.