A coverage professional told country lawmakers Wednesday that Georgia traffic fatalities, accidents, and collision claims have fallen, thanks in an element to the kingdom’s new distracted riding law. Traffic fatalities fell 3.4 percentage in 2018 over the preceding yr, in keeping with Robert Hartwig, director of the Center for Risk and Uncertainty Management at the University of South Carolina: The locating reflect’s preliminary facts released last month with the aid of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, which found a 7 percent decline in fatalities. Hartwig informed the House Insurance Committee that the frequency of injuries concerning accidents additionally had declined the ultimate three quarters:
And he pronounced the frequency of collision insurance claims in Georgia has declined over the past five quarters:
These tendencies reverse years of increases that protection experts attributed in an element to distracted driving. Hartwig told lawmakers the most excellent news is due, in part, to the Hands-Free Georgia Act, which took effect last July. The regulation prohibits Georgia motorists from preserving their cell phones or different digital gadgets simultaneously as driving. Though the trends Hartwig noted started before the law took the impact, he stated public attention to distracted riding probably multiplied as the bill became debated in the General Assembly closing iciness, contributing to the decline in accidents and belongings damage.
Improved automobile era – like integrated hands-loose devices and automatic braking – also possibly contributed to the high-quality trends, he stated. Not all the information Hartwig introduced turned into excellent. Though insurance claims have fallen, the standard price of those claims has risen. That’s probably because automobiles are greater high priced. “Cars are rapidly becoming computer systems on wheels,” Hartwig instructed lawmakers. “And computer systems are pricey to restore.” Hartwig expected further declines in fatalities and accidents. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the Hands-Free Georgia Act is helping turn things around thru expanded focus and, as we cross ahead, extended enforcement,” he stated.
