Pedestrian Traffic Deaths Decrease in Georgia

A national study shows Georgia pedestrian deaths decreased between 2014 and 2015, despite a surge in national deaths that saw an increase of nearly 10 percent.

The report by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association reviewed national data from all 50 states to review the numbers of deaths of pedestrians by automobiles in the first six months of 2015 versus the first six months of 2016. That report made national headlines due to an alarming trend that saw pedestrian deaths increase as much as 10 percent nationwide.  That follows a trend which has seen pedestrian traffic deaths steadily increase since 2005. The irony is that traffic fatalities as a whole have steadily decreased during the same period, a phenomenon the report attributes to auto manufacturers making cars safer and therefore occupants more likely to survive a serious crash. These improvements have obviously have no effect on pedestrians.  And as more people travel by car due to historically low gas prices, and urban areas continue to expand road networks to handle increased traffic flow, traffic is becoming more dangerous for pedestrians nationwide.

However, Georgia is one of the few states in the study that reported a decrease in the number of deaths. There were seven fewer pedestrian traffic fatalities in 2015 during the same period of 2014.  The state typically reports about 80 pedestrian traffic deaths every six months. The numbers increased from 79 to 86 from January to June 2014 to the same period in 2015.

Pedestrians killed by automobiles are entitled to the same monetary damages in a vehicle-to-vehicle accident. The surviving spouse, or other family members, are entitled to wrongful death benefits if the automobile was at-fault for the accident. Automobile  insurance also applies to most traffic deaths involving a pedestrian, including uninsured motorist benefits.

The law firm of Jarrett & Price represents victims of accidents across the state of Georgia, with offices in Savannah and in northeast Georgia. Call (912) 401-8880