Articles Posted in Car Accidents

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. While it is always important to avoid distracted driving, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) uses Distracted Driving Awareness Month to place special emphasis on getting teens and other drivers to keep their focus on the road.

Each year, the NHTSA develops a new campaign and encourages state agencies, parents, and educators to get involved. Last year’s campaign was, Phone in One Hand. Ticket in the Other. This year’s campaign is called, U Drive. U Text. U Pay.

Of course, the risks of distracted driving extend far beyond receiving a ticket from the police. Distracted driving is one of the most common causes of vehicle accidents, and numerous individuals suffer serious and fatal injuries every year. Injuries caused by distracted driving are 100% preventable. If you know someone who frequently lets distractions interfere with their driving, or if you or a loved one has suffered injuries at the hands of a distracted driver, Distracted Driving Awareness Month is a good opportunity to speak up and spread the word about the risks of distracted driving.

This article looks at two categories of damages that often go overlooked in auto accident litigation: punitive damages for driving under the influence and compensatory damages for physical damage to personal property in the vehicle.

Punitive Damages where the At-Fault Driver was Under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol

Under Georgia law, someone who causes an accident while driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol can be held liable for both compensatory and punitive damages. What does this mean?

Motor vehicle collisions cause most back and neck injuries. Falls account for a large percentage of others. Lifting at work is also a frequent cause. The most common location of a spinal injury is the lower back because it supports so much weight.

The Spine

The spine consists of 24 articulating vertebrae and nine others that are fused. The articulating vertebrae are separated by spacers called discs. The articulating spine is divided into separate sections. There are seven cervical vertebrae in the neck, twelve thoracic vertebrae in the middle of the back, and five lumbar vertebrae in the lower back. The spine houses and protects the spinal cord. The most serious injuries to the spine involve the spinal cord.

Are you almost 16 years of age, the youngest legal age to drive, in the state of Georgia?

Are you moving to the state of Georgia?

If so, you will need to know what the required car insurance is for drivers in the state. We will discuss the minimum car insurance required for drivers who wish to operate motor vehicles in the state of Georgia in this post.

After a car accident, it is a very stressful and difficult time. It usually takes weeks to settle a claim with an insurance company. Victims are also busy trying to get their cars fixed as they search for information, not to mention recovering from any injuries. A question many people often ask is whether or not they should sue after a car accident. There are several factors that you should consider when deciding.

Establishing Fault

The first thing you must do in order to sue is establish that the other driver was at fault for the accident. This means that you need to be able to prove in court that the negligence of the other driver or a third party caused the accident and the resulting damage. This is usually done during a claims process with the involved insurance companies. All parties (drivers, witnesses, passengers, and other parties including law enforcement) involved in the crash will explain to the insurance companies the details about how the accident happened, the names of everyone involved, and the resulting damages.

Most people want to teach their kids to do the right thing, and they generally try to model good behavior in front of them. Unfortunately, many parents are falling short of the ideal when it comes to distracted driving. According to a recent study published in Academic Pediatrics, approximately 90% of parent drivers have admitted to at least one of the ten major distractions that researchers measured in their study.

The worst activity that parents tend to do while driving their children is texting. Texting while driving is illegal in many states, and is extremely risky behavior. The study also assessed talking and emailing on the phone. Other distractions considered in the study were eating, drinking, changing the music, personal grooming, feeding children, picking up dropped items, using navigation systems, and reading directions.

The study found that parents were doing these activities both with the child in the vehicle and alone. This research highlights just how common risky behaviors are done while driving. One way to help avoid accidents is for parents to be more aware of the bad habits they are modeling to their children.

As the seasons change, and children head back to school, it is time for drivers to begin thinking about keeping kids safe as they walk or ride their bicycles to and from school. Getting those children to school and home again safely each day is the responsibility of every driver on the roads. From watching your speed to keeping track of your blind spots, these tips will help keep everyone safe this season.

Watch for Child Pedestrians

Children of all ages tend to keep their focus on their friends, chatting, and even playing games on their way to and from school. All drivers must be aware of these student pedestrians, watching them closely, and being prepared for unexpected dashes off the sidewalks or across an intersection. Taking great care in areas where children trek to school helps drivers avoid accidents.

On Saturday, June 28, 2014, the Georgia State Patrol responded to an accident at the intersection of Oak Grove Road and Athens Highway in Gainesville, Georgia, to find a Ford Explorer had crossed the concrete median and crashed head-on into an oncoming big rig truck. All five people in the Explorer were killed in the wreck and only the truck driver survived.

Devastating Crash Takes Lives

The Explorer’s driver, Amanda Lynn Pardue, 34, was later found to have methamphetamine in her system. In addition to Pardue and her children, Kaleigh Emfinger, 8, and Eli Emfinger, 2, their neighbor, Robbie Adams Hollis, 52, and Hollis’ grandson, Dalton Martin, 13, were killed in this tragic wreck. The 34-year old driver of the tractor-trailer, Eric Franklin Eberhardt, was treated for his injuries at a local hospital and then released.