rear-end accidents

Georgia Rear-End Collisions – What You Need to Know

February 9, 2024 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

An accident can happen in an instant. One minute, you are driving along or stopped at a traffic light, and suddenly, boom, you are hit from behind. Getting hit in a rear-end collision can be traumatic, and it can also result in serious and painful injuries. A rear-end collision can hurt the driver as well as any passengers in your vehicle. If you were hurt in a rear-end accident, you may be owed compensation for your injuries and damages. An experienced personal injury attorney will assist you with your claim.

About Rear-End Collisions

Rear-end collisions are the most common type of accident in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Almost a third of all vehicle accidents in the United States are rear-end collisions. A rear-end accident happens when a driver hits another vehicle from behind. The front of one vehicle hits into the rear of another. The severity of the crash depends on a variety of factors, such as the speed at which the vehicles are traveling and the size and weight of the vehicles involved.

How to Prove Negligence in Rear-End Collisions in Marietta

August 11, 2023 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

If you have been involved in a rear-end collision, you may be experiencing injury or property damage. These are not incidental issues and may prompt you to consider getting compensation.

If the car accident was caused by another driver, you may be entitled to compensation. This can be financial compensation that can help you deal with the physical and financial implications of an accident, such as medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damage.

However, before you can receive compensation, you must prove the legal concept called ‘negligence.’ Talking with a personal injury lawyer in Marietta may help ease your concerns and understand your legal options.

What You Need to Know About Rear-End Collisions in Cobb County, Georgia

August 4, 2023 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

A rear-end collision in Georgia is when one motorist drives into the back of another vehicle. In the United States, nearly 2.5 million rear-end collisions are reported every year.

This type of collision is responsible for approximately 29% of all crashes. According to the Insurance Information Institute, rear-end collisions are responsible for over 7% of traffic-related fatalities and almost 20% of fatalities involving two cars.

In a recent news report on WSB-TV, two people were killed after an SUV slammed into the back of a parked tractor-trailer on I-75 in Cobb County. This early morning crash involved a Jeep crossing travel lanes to ram into a transfer truck hauling a utility trailer, stopped on the eastern shoulder of I-75 North at Chastain Road.

Watch Your Back for Rear-End Collisions

June 11, 2021 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

Realistically, there is not much you can do if you are on the receiving end of a rear-end traffic accident. Few people keep a constant watch on their rear-view mirror to look for threats – pretty much everybody focuses their attention on what is ahead of them – and even if you see a car bearing down on you from behind, you rarely can tell if the person actually is going to hit your vehicle before stopping. Even if you know that to be the case, as often as not you have nowhere to go to get out of the way anyway. Most rear-end accidents happen when your vehicle is stopped and the driver of the vehicle behind you fails to notice in time.

Rear-end Accidents Happen More Than Any Other Collision

Rear-end crashes are the most frequent type of traffic accident, accounting for nearly one-third of all collisions on the roadways. Other sources claim that 40% of the 6 million or so traffic accidents in the United States annually are rear-end collisions. Either number is a significant percentage, especially if you are in the car being struck from behind. Occupants of the front vehicle in a rear-end accident suffer the most injuries. This is largely because the impact is unexpected for the occupants of the vehicle being hit from behind and they have no time to evade or prepare. Further, airbags are not designed to deploy in rear-end collisions and rarely do unless the car being rear-ended is forced into a vehicle in front of it by the impact. In contrast, the airbags in the vehicle behind deploy as designed. Common injuries among occupants of the vehicle struck from behind include face, head spinal cord, and neck injuries, as well as whiplash.

Rear-End Accidents are a Fact of Life

March 30, 2021 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

Rear-end accidents happen all the time, and they can be a pain in the neck, often quite literally. Whiplash, a neck injury caused by rapid movement of the neck back and forth, resembling the cracking of a whip, is a common result of being in a vehicle that is struck from behind. Whiplash is bad enough, but rear-end accidents can cause any number of other injuries, as well, particularly at high speeds. Such accidents are, unfortunately, fairly common. In fact, rear-end crashes happen more often than any other kind of traffic collision. Nearly 30% of all traffic accidents involve a rear-end collision, leading to a considerable number of injuries and deaths every year. In fact, reports indicate that there are about 1.7 million rear-end traffic accidents per year, resulting in about 1,700 fatalities and another 500,000 injuries.

Drivers Usually are the Cause of Rear-End Collisions

When one vehicle strikes another vehicle from behind, the odds are pretty good that the driver of the vehicle hitting the vehicle from the rear has messed up and is at fault. It is not always true, but it is a pretty good bet. Tailgating contributes to more than a third of all traffic collisions, making it an obvious cause of the majority of all rear-end collisions. In a more general sense, federal statistics blame 87% of rear-end accidents on drivers simply not paying attention to traffic and what is in front of them. Other sources identify more specific causes, but many seem to be rooted in driver inattention or error, including: