Georgia's Most Dangerous Roads: Major Cause of Fatal Auto Accidents

Rural roads and interstate highways are where many car accidents occur that result in serious injuries and fatalities.

It might seem like traveling in crowded cities would endanger one's life more, but this often is not the case. People traveling on rural roads and highways are traveling at greater speeds and sometimes are not as alert as drivers who are driving in city traffic.

There are many different causes of interstate highway accidents:

• Vehicles crossing over the center median and colliding with oncoming traffic
• Semi-trucks crossing into other lanes, fishtailing, or jackknifing
• Driver fatigue
• Defective automobiles, trucks, or equipment
• Drunk drivers
• Poor road design
• Inadequate guard rails or medians

Between the years 1994 and 2008, there were 23,640 highway fatalities on Georgia's highways. Speeding accounted for 21.5% of these, 25% involved a drunk driver and 55.7% involved persons that were not wearing their seat belts.

These statistics allowed Georgia to make it onto the list of the top 20 states that had the most dangerous roads in the country. These notorious roadways are otherwise known as killer roads. The statistics were also broken down into three different counties. The highest number of deaths occurred in Fulton County on 1-75, which accounted for 124 deaths. The county with the second highest number of fatalities was DeKalb County, with 104 deaths occurring on 1-285. Clayton County had the third most dangerous stretch of roadway with 48 deaths on 1-75.

Based on a study conducted by the Department of Transportation, it is clear that drunk driving, speeding, or failure to wear seat belts caused these high death rates.

Seat belt use is the most significant factor in fatalities on these dangerous stretches of Georgia roads.

There have been many studies that show that Georgia's rural roads are even more dangerous than even interstates. Statistics from 2007 show that 527 deaths were reported having occurred on Georgia's most rural roads while only 342 deaths occurred in metropolitan areas.

There are quite a few reasons why rural roads are more dangerous:

• They are typically narrow
• Many do not have shoulders
• They are typically only two lanes wide
• There is nothing separating traffic except a painted line
• There can be driveways that are hidden where cars enter and exit
• They can be curvy with blind spots
• Wildlife in the area can wander out in front of oncoming cars
• There is usually no lighting except that from the car's headlights
• The roads can be poorly maintained

If you are the victim of an auto accident on a rural roadway or interstate highway in Georgia it may take longer for emergency personnel to reach you to render care. The injuries you sustain can be life threatening or cause you lifelong pain. If your accident was caused by the negligence of another driver then you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries.

Our experienced Atlanta and Georgia auto accident attorneysare available to assist clients throughout all of Georgia, including but not limited to Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Gainesville, Macon, Marietta, Rome, Roswell, Savannah, Smyrna, Valdosta, Warner Robins and all smaller cities and rural areas in the state. No matter where you are located, we are just a phone call away, and we will even come to you. Call us 24 hours a day/7 days a week for your Free Consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333). Or visit us online at www.montlick.com where you can use our Free Case Evaluation Form or 24-hour Live Online Chat.