Georgia Truck Accident Lawyers Blog

Cell phone use and texting while driving are major problems on the Georgia roads and nationwide. Our Atlanta automobile injury lawyers see far too many cases in which drivers distracted by cell phone use are causing serious injury and death.

Even though the police are too seldom required to determine whether cellphone use was involved in an accident, the data about texting or phoning while driving is alarming. Harvard researchers estimated that drivers on cellphones cause about 2,600 fatal crashes a year and 570,000 accidents. Hands-free devices do not eliminate that risk. Other studies show that someone legally drunk could outperform a person texting behind the wheel.

While a large measure of the responsibility for these accidents lies with drivers, consumer groups are now questioning the role of the wireless phone industry in the problem, and why the industry has fought against restrictions on the use of these devices.

Last week an article in the New York Times alleged that the industry was intentionally blinded by massive profits to the dangers. The article pointed out how the industry has continually promoted the use of phones while driving. It specifically cited one ad showing a businessman on the phone and asking, “Can your secretary take dictation at 55 m.p.h.?”

In California, the mobile industry fought off bans on talking while driving for years, at one point arguing that they were looking out for consumers.

Congress has slowly begun to focus on this issue and proposals for bans are now circulating in both houses. None seem to be a priority, and it appears that individual states will have to address this growing danger. The lawyers at Finch McCranie LLP urge you to contact your elected representatives in an attempt to move this issue to the front of the legislative agenda. The problem will only continue to grow worse and innocent people will be seriously injured and killed simply because a driver is distracted by cell device.

A few months ago, a collision between a motorcycle and a car in Atlanta, Georgia left a client, the rider of the motorcycle, seriously injured and without three of his toes. The motorcycle accident occurred when an SUV, driven by an Atlanta physician, ran a red light on Marietta Street, striking the side of our client’s motorcycle. Fortunately, there were witnesses who came forward. Paramedics, who arrived on the scene transported him to a nearby trauma center where three of his toes and part of his foot was amputated. The motorcycle accident resulted in our client incurring thousands of dollars in medical bills, substantial lost wages and a permanent injury, which will affect his mobility for the rest of his life.

If you or a loved one has been injured or if your loved one has been killed in a Georgia motorcycle accident, contact the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP at 800-228-9159. We have over 40 years of experience in representing injured victims of automobile accidents, motorcycle accidents and truck accidents.