Pedestrian accidents and deaths are on the rise in Georgia. That’s according to the 2018 Governors Highway Safety Association report recently released.
Among the injuries and fatalities are utility workers, construction crew members, and emergency services individuals who frequently conduct work on the shoulders and worksites along Georgia’s roadways.
Some of these jobs are considered high-risk and come with a higher degree of danger than most, and with this comes increased numbers of personal injury and workers’ compensation claims.
Construction workers, for example, have one of the highest rates of workplace injuries and fatalities. Police officers are also at higher risk of injuries and fatalities on the job.
Below is a look at more findings for Georgia from the GHSA report.
Georgia’s pedestrian death statistics
The annual report calls out 5 states who cumulatively make up almost half of all pedestrian deaths in the United States. Georgia is one of the five.
The total number of pedestrian deaths for these five states — comprised of Georgia, California, Arizona, Texas and Florida — make up 46 percent of all United States pedestrian deaths.
In Georgia, there were 32 more pedestrian deaths in 2018 compared to 2017:
- January 2017-June 2017: 101
- January 2018-June 2018: 133
For individuals working near roadways, increased danger on jobsites where there’s already a high level of danger is troubling.
In a recent incident in March of this year, a road construction worker in Paulding County was standing on a trailer hitched to the back of his truck that was parked on the side of the road. A car appeared to be heading right for the trailer, and as the worker attempted to avoid the oncoming car and jump to safety, he was struck and killed.
Georgia’s push to put an end to pedestrian deaths
In light of this disturbing data and the state’s growing problem with protecting pedestrians, Georgia lawmakers have been working to decrease pedestrian deaths by instituting educational grants and programs in cities that have a high number of people whose primary means of transportation is walking. Protecting school children is at the top of the priority list.
In addition to these programs, Georgia is also increasing the amount of crosswalks that have audible directions and countdowns.
As Georgia works to combat pedestrian accidents and deaths, here at Gerber & Holder Law our workers’ compensation attorneys are working tirelessly to get victims and their loved ones the compensation they deserve.
If you’ve been hurt in a pedestrian accident while on the job, contact us today to schedule your free consultation.
