As a personal injury and wrongful death trial attorney in Atlanta, Georgia, I see a lot of the bad things that happen to good people.
But sometimes we see some good news.
Georgia’s fatal traffic wrecks declined from 1,729 in 2005 to 1,507 in 2008. The rate of Georgia road fatalities per miles traveled decreased 4 percent between 2005 and 2007, the most recent statistics her agency has. In the same period, seat-belt use increased nearly 9 percent, making Georgia’s usage the highest in the Southeast at 89 percent.
There are several possible reasons for the improvement:
- less driving due to higher fuel prices in 2008
- less driving due to the decline of the economy
- increased use of seatbelts
- improved safety features of cars and roads
Let’s hope that the fatality rate does not just back up when the recession finally ends. No matter how long or deep, all recessions do eventually end. Even the recession after the fall of the Roman Empire eventually ended — in about 500 years.
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Ken Shigley is a trial attorney in Atlanta, Georgia who has been listed as a "Super Lawyer" (Atlanta Magazine), among the "Legal Elite" (Georgia Trend Magazine), and in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers (Martindale). He is a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Mr. Shigley has extensive experience representing parties in trucking and bus accidents, products liability, catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, brain injury, spinal cord injury and burn injury cases. Currently he is Treasurer of the 40,000 member State Bar of Georgia.