Georgia Truck Accident Lawyers Blog

The storm that effectively shut down Atlanta for most of the last week will likely increase the risk of Georgia trucking accidents as drivers hit the roads looking to make up for lost time.

In other cases, bad weather and black ice have led to numerous trucking accidents, according to FOX Atlanta.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports the storm cost $300 million in unrecoverable retail sales. Planes were grounded. Stores and offices were closed. And trucks didn't make deliveries.

The paper reports the heart and soul of the Atlanta economy -- its transportation and logistics industry -- was virtually paralyzed as flights were canceled and the trucking industry sat out the storm. Trucks carry 88 percent of the freight moving through Atlanta -- more than 1 million tons a day. Most of that traffic goes through the Atlanta area, according to the Georgia Motor Truck Association.

A typical grocery store gets 80 deliveries a week. For a couple of days, deliveries dropped to near zero. UPS alone has nearly 5,000 trucks and vans covering Georgia, in addition to more than 300 tractor-trailer rigs. For days, nothing moved.

While operations as large as UPS have plans in place to effectively deal with such closures, many smaller companies do not. Smaller grocery distributors, furniture warehouses and other companies may push delivery crews to the limits or beyond, increasing the danger to the motoring public.

And, as the spokesman for the trucking association points out, getting caught up is made all the more critical by the possibility of a long winter with more snow.