Georgia Motor Vehicle Accident Statistics
According to the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, in 2015, there were 1,432 car accident fatalities in the state. This represented a 22.8% increase in fatalities when compared with 2014. The state had 385,221 total vehicle accidents in Georgia in 2015.
During the first six months of 2016, Georgia had 701 car collision deaths. The ratio of alcohol involvement remained about the same as in previous years, in which approximately one out of every four accidents involved alcohol impairment. There were 1,561 total traffic fatalities here in 2016.
Pedestrian Deaths in Georgia
For the United States, there were 5,376 total pedestrian fatalities in the year 2015. This figure reflects a 9.5% increase in pedestrian deaths compared to 2014. In Georgia, there were 193 pedestrian deaths in 2015. Of all the car collision deaths in Georgia in 2015, 13.5% of these were pedestrian fatalities.
Factors Involved in Georgia’s Pedestrian Motor Vehicle Accidents
One of the most common reasons for the increase in car accidents in the state was found to be distracted driving. This is based on an analysis done by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and the National Safety Council, which revealed that there was a significant increase in head-on collisions involving lane and road departures, which is indicative of texting and driving and other forms of distracted driving. This analysis of data also indicated that another factor in accidents resulting in pedestrian fatalities was the use of cell phones by the pedestrians, which caused them to be distracted by talking or texting while walking, and as a result, failing to follow traffic signs and signals.
These types of distracted driving accidents were thought to be more closely associated with younger drivers, but the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and the National Safety Counsel determined that these types of accidents were becoming more prevalent with older drivers as well. In fact, approximately 60% of all car accidents here in 2016 occurred at least in part due to a driver failing to stay in his or her lane.
Georgia’s Efforts to Reduce Pedestrian Deaths
The state of Georgia, through the Georgia Department of Transportation, has set a goal of reducing all motor vehicle accident fatalities by 41 each year. This goal was created in line with a country-wide goal of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials to reduce all car accident fatalities throughout the United States by 1,000 each year. Due to a sharp rise in accident-related deaths in this state in 2015, the Georgia Department of Transportation launched the program, “Drive Alert, Arrive Alive,” which was designed to teach drivers how to implement minor changes in their typical driving behavior in order to save lives by reducing the number of motor vehicle accidents.
This state has also launched a campaign called, “See and Be Seen,” which encourages drivers to look out for pedestrians and also encourages pedestrians to walk in crosswalks and other areas where they can be easily seen.