What You Need to Know Before Driving in the State of Georgia

A 2008 AutoVantage motor club survey ranked Atlanta the sixth-least courteous driver city in the nation.  If you’re a new driver to the state of Georgia, let’s work to reduce car crashes and make Georgia the most courteous driver city in the U.S!

The best way to accomplish that is by learning Georgia’s traffic laws and regulations and making sure you obey them all. To help you become familiar with Georgia’s Rules of the Road, we’ve listed the most important things every new driver in Georgia needs to know to drive safely:

Everyone who drives in the state of Georgia must purchase and keep auto insurance for their vehicle: The minimum amount of required liability insurance in Georgia is: Bodily Injury Liability: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. Property liability: $25,000 per person.

Fasten Your Car Seat Belt: Every time you get behind the wheel, you must fasten your seat belt in Atlanta, Georgia. Whether you drive a standard compact car, SUV, pickup truck, passenger van, utility van, and any type of motor vehicle used to transport passengers, all passengers must use their seat belt.

Texting while driving in Georgia is strictly prohibited and banned: Never take your eyes off the road. Taking your eyes off the road even for a moment while driving is always dangerous. Taking your eyes off the road to either read a text or type a text has become, according to recent nationwide studies, the main cause for car crashes.  Our brain works in mysterious ways. Experiments performed by Car and Driver Magazine shows just how inept we become when we drive and use our cellphones and other held hand devices. The level of inattention to the road and other drivers and slow brake time response is equivalent to driving drunk.

Drive at or below the Speed Limit: Georgia’s ‘Super Speeder’ law is meant to hurt high-risk drivers before they hurt someone else. There is a reason insurance rates are much higher for teenage drivers than for adult drivers. Teenage drivers are inexperienced. Just as practice makes perfect with anything we want to do well. Skillful driving takes practice. Safe driving just takes patience and caution. It may feel like fun to drive fast, but experiencing a terrible car crash and the risk of taking another life is a horrible nightmare one can never wake up from. Remember – even the most famous race car drivers have to obey the rules of the road like everyone else.

Never Drink and Drink: If the risk of losing your license isn’t enough to make you not drink and drive. If the risk of being in prison for an indefinite amount of time isn’t enough to make you not drink and drive. If the risk of wrecking your car and possibly someone else’s isn’t enough to make you not drink and drive. If having an arrest record that prevents you from getting into the college of your choice or getting the job you always dreamed of, isn’t enough to make you not drink and drive…then think about having to live knowing you destroyed an entire family because you took the life of someone else.
Do Not make Your car be a steel coffin. Never drink and drink.

Move Over Laws: If you see an emergency vehicle with flashing lights on the shoulder of the road you need to move over one lane, but do so only if it’s safe to change lanes. If traffic does not permit you to change lanes, slow your vehicle down and be prepared to stop if necessary. To disregard this law is considered a moving violation and could result in a hefty fine and points against your driving record which can severely increase your insurance premiums.

If you are in a car accident: Do not accept responsibility for having caused the accident. Georgia is a “Fault” state. That means the person that is determined to have caused the accident, their insurance company will be responsible to pay the medical costs and property damages for the other party involved. This is the reason Georgia law requires all drivers to carry liability insurance.

Georgia is also a “comparative state.” Georgia negligence law does allow for individuals to collect property damage monies even if they are partially responsible for causing the car accident. The term comparative is used to adjust what percentage of fault each party contributed to causing the car accident.

If you have been injured in a car accident in the State of Georgia, there is a statute of limitations requirement you need to know about. From the date of your injury, you have up to two years from that date to file a personal injury lawsuit. This “statute of limitations” applies to all personal injury-related cases. After the two-year window expires, you may lose your right to file a claim or receive monetary compensation.

When someone is injured in an accident in Georgia, he can sue the party at fault to collect monetary compensation for their medical costs, loss of income due to a long recovery time, property damage, and for emotional distress caused by the physical pain and mental suffering after the accident.

It is very important to know how to build a claim that will hold the party responsible for your car accident liable for all the costs associated with your injuries. Insurance companies have to protect their assets. Insurance companies typically offer small settlements. Insurance companies typically attempt to avoid going to court. But when injuries persist and you end up missing weeks of work, it’s not in your best interest to accept a lump sum that will not cover your present and future losses. Under these circumstances, hiring a personal injury attorney is your first and last defense line to protecting your assets.

In all personal injury claims, there are legal guidelines and complexities that can drastically alter the outcome of your case. Hiring personal injury legal assistance within Atlanta will help you avoid risk and maximize your compensation.