Macon, Georgia Concussions Can Affect Driving Performance Even After Symptoms are Gone Lawyer

Concussions Can Affect Driving Performance Even After Symptoms are Gone

The prevalence and consequences of concussions in professional American football have been all over the news in recent months. Thousands of lawsuits have been filed, alleging that the NFL knew about the risks of repeated concussions but hid that knowledge in order to get players back on the field faster. Currently, a settlement has been approved that could result in the NFL paying $1 billion over 65 years. Athletes across many sports and all skill levels are indeed susceptible to concussions, but they aren’t the only ones. Suffering a concussion in a vehicle accident is extremely likely and can stem from even a minor fender-bender. Falls are also a common cause of brain injury. Damage to the brain is not always immediately obvious. Becau[...]...

Macon, Georgia Passenger Vans: More Room, More Risk Lawyer

Passenger Vans: More Room, More Risk

After a few false starts, the modern van made its first noteworthy appearance in 1983. The Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager models manufactured by Chrysler that year made these roomy vehicles a more affordable option for families. With the ability to easily reconfigure seating to handle varying volumes, vans effectively replaced station wagons in the automotive market. A popular subcategory, 15-passenger vans are widely used to carry athletes, schoolchildren, scouts, church members, campers, seniors, travelers, and other groups. But is the convenience worth the risk? According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 15-passenger vans are a safety threat due to a high rate of rollover accidents. The problems stem fr[...]...

Macon, Georgia I-16/I-75 Interchange Construction Lawyer

I-16/I-75 Interchange Construction

Commerce is the cornerstone of the economy, and moving goods along quickly and efficiently is key. Here in the “The Heart of Georgia,” the original goal of I-16 was to link I-75 with the Port of Savannah to aid in transporting commodities. Officially named the James Gillis, Sr., Memorial Highway, in honor of a longtime Georgia Highway Department director, it now also serves as a hurricane evacuation route for coastal areas. Its importance allowed the I-16/I-75 interchange in the city of Macon to be constructed in the early 1960s through the middle of the Pleasant Hill community -- a move that many blame for the subsequent downfall of the neighborhood. In addition to the blight of the Pleasant Hill area, research by the Georgia Departme[...]...

Macon, Georgia Georgia Highway Fatalities: An Epidemic? Lawyer

Georgia Highway Fatalities: An Epidemic?

We all do things we know we shouldn’t. Maybe you consume too much sugar or smoke cigarettes or don’t wear sunscreen in the summer. Many dangerous behaviors are tied to the way we drive -- too fast, after having “only a few” beers, while using our phones, without wearing our seatbelt. Chances taken behind the wheel are having a big effect on the Peach State’s population, resulting in a startling increase in fatalities and a new campaign launched by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT). “DriveAlert ArriveAlive” aims to educate drivers about how a few fundamental changes in their driving behavior can improve safety while reducing both crashes and fatalities. Statistics released by the GDOT this fall show a 25 percent[...]...

Macon, Georgia Hercules Tires Grapples with Recall Hydra Lawyer

Hercules Tires Grapples with Recall Hydra

Since 1966 when the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act was passed, more than 24 million tires have been recalled because of safety defects. Further, it is estimated that defective tires are responsible for nearly 8,000 motor vehicle accidents every year. Tires, like many products, are imprinted with alpha-numeric codes that detail a wealth of information. All tires sold in the U.S. are required to display a code that starts with DOT and is then followed by 10 to 12 characters that can be used to identify the manufacturing location, tire size, manufacturer's specifications, week of manufacture and year of manufacture. Deciphering this code can prove vital to your safety, particularly because tires that appear to be made by one [...]...

Macon, Georgia Fasten Your Belts (If Possible…?) Lawyer

Fasten Your Belts (If Possible…?)

Public service campaigns rely heavily on memorable phrases that are easy to remember and easy to repeat. We’ve all heard “seat belts save lives” and while that overall concept is true, the real sound bite should be “seat belts could save more lives.” Why? Because, like any other car part, seat belts fail, but when they do, lives are at stake. They are arguably the most important part of automotive safety. When you get in your car and buckle up, you expect that your seat belt will stay latched and restrain you in the event of an accident. In fact, that is the main concept behind the push for mandatory seat belt laws – to keep occupants from being ejected in a crash or impacting the car’s interior. Known as the “second collis[...]...

Macon, Georgia Backseat Passenger Lawyer

Backseat Passenger

Safety was not a primary concern for America’s first automobile designers. Seat belts for adults were not standard equipment in cars until the 1950s. Additionally, the initial intention for car seats was to keep children from moving around inside the vehicle rather than protecting them during collisions. Child restraint systems as we know them today didn’t become widespread until the 1970s. In 2002, a U.S. federal law went into effect, requiring automobile manufacturers to ensure that all cars have standard anchors, tethers and hooks present in passenger vehicles in order to secure baby car seats. Car crashes are the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 14 and under, according to the National SAFE KID[...]...

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 vehicle 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 safe[...]...

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 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[...]...

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Proving a Brain Injury Claim in Georgia: The Importance of Medical Evidence

Imagine this scenario: While running errands on a weekend, your car was hit in the rear by another vehicle.  You find out that the other driver was distracted by his cell phone and didn’t see your car stopped at a red light. The other driver was going f...