Our law firm continues to read through statistics recently released by the Georgia Office of Highway Safety relating to motor vehicle collisions in Georgia. One particularly distressing set of statistics indicate that there were a total of 1,703 traffic related deaths in the state last year. As Atlanta based car and truck accident attorneys representing individuals who have suffered the wrongful death of a family member, these numbers are of interest as they evidence just how dangerous Georgia's roads can be.
The Atlanta metropolitan area far and away accounted for the most car or truck accident fatalities within the state last year. Fulton County had 123 deaths, Gwinnett County 93, DeKalb County 85, and Cobb County 65. Adding these figures together, 1 car or truck accident fatality occurred in one of these counties for every 10 throughout the rest of Georgia. Every county in the state had at least 1 motor vehicle death, with the exception of Clay County, Jenkins County, Lincoln County, Miller County, and Wilcox County.
In reading through the Georgia Office of Highway Safety statistics, our firm was interested to learn about the type of vehicles associated with traffic related deaths in Georgia last year. Of all car or truck related fatalities, 1035 involved a passenger vehicle of some sort, while 511 involved a pickup truck. The most alarming statistic, however, related to the use of seatbelts. Stunningly, 301 the 1703 fatalities involved an occupant who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision. This accounted for almost 20% of all deaths on Georgia's roadways last year.
