Over 20,000 Citations Were Issued Since Last July That Were Associated with Distracted Driving

MACON, GA – According to wgxa.com, Georgia’s new Hands-Free Law has made a significant impact on Georgia communities.*

Since 2016, Georgia has had over four thousand five hundred traffic related deaths.  Per the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, there were six hundred thirty five fatalities in 2019.  

While these numbers of still high, it is two percent less than this time the year before.

"Our lives are more important than a phone call, text message or anything that's on that phone, it can wait, we work with a lot of people that have lost children, parents, spouses, because of a text message," said the Manager for the Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

According to the manager, he is hoping that the number of fatalities will be reduced with the inception of the Hands-Free Law which came into effect last year.

Per the manager, "94% of traffic accidents in the country every year are due to human behavior, which means they can be prevented, if people will slow down and obey the speed limit, not get on their phones, not drive under the influence of alcohol, not get behind the wheel when their sleepy or taking prescription medication.”

Since the Hands-Free Law went into effect in July of last year, the Georgia State Patrol has issued 22,327 citations.  This does not include those issued by local police officers located across the state.

Under Georgia’s Hands-Free Law, you cannot have the phone in your hand or on any other body part.  If it’s in your pocket or purse, that is not against the law.  Drivers, in order to talk on their cellphone, must pair it with a Bluetooth device, which is allowable under the law.  

Accident News is a driver safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes.  To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Source:https://wgxa.tv/news/local/gsp-22327-citations-for-distracted-driving-since-last-july