According to records from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of people killed in all motor vehicle accidents in Georgia last year was down slightly from the previous year. There were 1,540 vehicular fatalities statewide in 2017 compared to 1,556 in 2016. This decrease was also seen in the number of people who died in accidents involving both speed and alcohol. The number of deaths in crashes involving large commercial trucks, however, rose.
Across Georgia, 179 lives were lost in large truck collisions in 2016. Last year, that number jumped to 214. In Cobb County, 2017 marked the second year in a row in which the number of large truck fatalities increased. In 2015, two such deaths were recorded followed by four in 2016 and then eight in 2017. The eight deaths last year represented almost 16 percent of the county’s total accident fatalities. Overall, in the five years from 2013 to 2017, Cobb County lost 28 lives in large truck accidents.
The situation is not much better in some of Cobb’s neighboring counties. Truck accident deaths in both Bartow and Fulton Counties last year accounted for more than 17 percent of their overall fatalities in motor vehicle crashes. Together, these two counties saw 23 people die in wrecks in which some type of large commercial truck was involved.
If you would like to learn more about the factors that may contribute to accidents involving tractor-trailers and what you should do after you or someone you know is involved in such a wreck, please feel free to visit the truck crash compensation page of our Georgia personal injury website.
