Macon, Georgia Beep. Beep. C’mon, Pal. Move it! Lawyer

Beep. Beep. C’mon, Pal. Move it!

Lane courtesy. Sounds quaint, doesn’t it? The practice of yielding to or moving over so that faster moving traffic may pass seems like a fairly innocuous concept, yet it’s a key factor in many accidents. When drivers choose to block the left lane, whether intentionally or not, they are making the roads less safe and efficient for everyone. To bring public awareness to this issue, June has been designated as Lane Courtesy Month. The history behind the left lane reveals that it was developed more than 50 years ago for the express purpose of allowing cars to pass another vehicle and then immediately return to the right lane. Now that there are so many more vehicles on the road, failure to keep right negatively impacts traffic safety, traf...

Macon, Georgia Outfit Your Bike for Safety Lawyer

Outfit Your Bike for Safety

The basics of a bicycle seem rather straightforward. Two wheels, a seat, handlebars and a frame. Even the first hobby horses that preceded today’s bikes did not have a chain, gears or pedals – riders simply pushed the contraption forward with their feet. Yet, the history of bicycle invention is quite complicated. One indisputable fact is that the popularity of bicycles came before automobiles. Nowadays, bikes have to share the road with cars and are at risk for being hit from the side, from behind and by drivers who fail to yield. In 2012, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 726 cycling-related deaths and 49,000 cycling-related injuries, and many more injuries likely go unreported. Meanwhile, the number of bicyc...

Macon, Georgia Poison Prevention Awareness Lawyer

Poison Prevention Awareness

The mention of poisonous substances may bring to mind the skull and crossbones image found on old bottles. While such hazardous materials certainly exist, medications and many household products used in the wrong way, in the wrong amount or by the wrong person can be poisonous. It’s important to be aware of the dangers of poisonings and how to prevent them. According to the Centers for Disease Control, poisoning is the leading cause of injury death in the United States. Most of these fatalities are due to drug and medicine misuse and abuse. More than 3.1 million calls were received by America’s 55 poison centers in 2013, with about 2.2 million of those calls dealing directly with poison exposures. The remaining calls were by people look...

Macon, Georgia Crumple Zones Lawyer

Crumple Zones

Most of us don’t give much thought to infrastructure – the roads and bridges that we travel over every day. According to the World Economic Forum, the United States, which used to have the best infrastructure in the world, now ranks 16th. Decades of neglect have resulted in crumbling concrete, corroded steel and a massive problem with no real solution in sight. In Georgia alone, there were almost 6.6 million licensed drivers in 2012 – that’s a lot of wear and tear on the transportation system. New Report Raises Concerns About Georgia Roads One group evaluating surface transportation concerns for all 50 states is a Washington, D.C., based private nonprofit research organization known as TRIP. A September 2014 report by TRIP concl...

Macon, Georgia Car Seat Recall: Graco Buckles Under Pressure Lawyer

Car Seat Recall: Graco Buckles Under Pressure

Required by law in every state, child restraint systems are intended to protect children from injury or death during vehicle collisions. In Georgia, children under 8 years old must ride in an approved safety seat or booster seat that is suited for their height and weight, and it is recommended that children under the age of one be secured in a rear-facing infant seat. There are a huge variety of models available, which should all be harmless by design, yet defects cause millions to be recalled every year. RECALLED MODELSAprica, Argos, Classic Ride, Comfort Sport, Cozy Cline, Head Wise, My Ride, Nautilus, Ready Ride, SafeSeat, Size4Me, Smart Seat, SnugRide, and Teutonia Model Car Seats.The largest car seat recall so far in the US occurred t...

Macon, Georgia Health Hazards of Leaf Blowers Lawyer

Health Hazards of Leaf Blowers

The rather innocuous looking leaf blowers that many Americans use to save time on yard and garden maintenance elicit surprisingly strong responses from their opponents. Termed “dust blowers” by some adversaries, these machines are now restricted in many communities. Local regulations across the country limit leaf blowers’ use to certain times of the day or year, prohibit gasoline-powered versions but allow electric ones, and even completely ban their use altogether. The most obvious hazard presented by leaf blowers is noise pollution, which can interfere with communication, sleep, and work. The average leaf blower measures between 70 to 75 decibels at 50 feet. That’s 20 decibels more than the acceptable ambient noise levels recomme...

Macon, Georgia Young Football Players and Brain Injuries Lawyer

Young Football Players and Brain Injuries

The physical demands of a young athlete are immense, especially for those who play team sports like lacrosse and football where blows to the head from collisions and falls are part of the game. Before their brains even get a chance to fully develop, young players have to learn how to avoid and how to handle debilitating injuries. Brain injuries can result from years' worth of small jolts to the head or from one major impact. According to the NCAA Injury Surveillance Center, 10% of all college football players sustain brain injuries, which is an average of 1,364 per year. The growing awareness that concussions can have serious long-term effects has led the NCAA Football Rules Committee to adopt harsher penalties for targeting on the field. ...

Macon, Georgia DOT Reports 10% Of Fatal Crashes Involve 15-20 Year Olds Lawyer

DOT Reports 10% Of Fatal Crashes Involve 15-20 Year Olds

Although there are thousands of accidents in the United States every year, a newly released U.S. Department of Transportation report shows that nearly 10% of all drivers involved in fatal crashes were between the ages of 15 and 20 years old. Inexperience Not The Only Factor Involved The DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently released a new Traffic Safety Facts report that summarizes 2011 national crash data for young drivers between 15 and 20 years old.  The report, compiled by the NHTSA's National Center for Statistics and Analysis, shows that young drivers between those ages were involved in 4,347 fatal crashes. While the inexperience of young drivers may be part of the equation, the report also suggests that ma...

Macon, Georgia Slip & Fall Accidents: The Difference between Negligence & Carelessness Lawyer

Slip & Fall Accidents: The Difference between Negligence & Carelessness

Slip and fall accidents are responsible for sending over one million people to emergency rooms every year, according the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) – resulting in steep medical costs, lost income and physical pain and suffering.  When the accident happened on someone else’s property and liability is an issue, how can you determine whether an owner was truly negligent if they claim you were being careless? Playing the He Said / She Said Game Whenever a premises liability accident occurs, you’re likely to get into a he said / she game over how the accident occurred – especially when insurance companies are involved.  In fact, many insurance companies will attempt to invoke what’s called the “open and obvious doctri...

Macon, Georgia 5 Ways to Increase Your Chances of Succeeding in a Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit Lawyer

5 Ways to Increase Your Chances of Succeeding in a Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit

Motorcycle accidents often result in far more damage and injury than those involving cars, trucks and other vehicles in which drivers and passengers are more protected.  If you're in a motorcycle accident, the most important thing to do is to seek immediate medical attention for your injuries. While the last thing on your mind is litigation, knowing these 5 things can increase your chances of succeeding in a lawsuit, if it comes to that. File a police report.  It's important to file a police report to document what happened, how it happened and when it happened.  Without a report, the circumstances of a motorcycle accident can turn into a he-said / she-said contest.  If the police don’t come to the accident scene, which does hap...

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8 Laws Georgia Drivers Should Know

It can be hard to remember every single driving law that exists, especially if it’s been many years since you attended your driver’s education class. Georgia periodically updates its laws,  which means there’s a good chance that some of the state’s...