Parent Urges State to Make Intersection Safer
Cobb County residents are petitioning the Georgia Department of Transportation to improve an intersection they say has caused numerous car accidents, according to WSB-TV 2 Atlanta. The intersection, the crossing of Meadows Road and Lewis Road, was the site of an accident this past week. There have been several more accidents at the intersection over the last several years. The mother of one of the teenagers who sustained injuries in the recent accident wants the state to install a four-way stop at the intersection.
Crash Blinds High School Athlete
The most recent accident occurred on Saturday, August 6, at around 2pm. A car filled with football players from McEachern High School in Powder Springs crashed. The driver, an honors student, lost an eye in the crash, and will likely suffer from facial deformity. The passengers sustained broken bones in the accident. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that almost all of the Atlanta metro area’s most dangerous intersections are outside of the I-285 perimeter. One intersection, Memorial Drive and North Hairston Road in Stone Mountain, was the site of 22 accidents last July. The Atlanta Regional Commission believes that most dangerous intersections are located outside of central Atlanta because drivers in the suburbs are traveling at greater speeds, increasing the odds of an accident.
Government is Responsible for Building Roads to Standards
If someone has an accident at a dangerous intersection, how does this affect their liability in a lawsuit? This depends on what makes the intersection so dangerous. If, as the Atlanta Regional Commission believes, these suburban intersections are so dangerous because the drivers are traveling at high speeds, then the question becomes whether the drivers are exceeding the speed limit. If someone is violating the speed limit at the time of the accident, they may be liable for negligence in a lawsuit.
On the other hand, if the intersection is dangerous because the state or local government has made some mistake in its design, construction, or maintenance the state may be liable for negligence instead. In general, the state is immune from lawsuits related to road construction when the state agency has followed standard engineering procedures, especially those included in state laws. However, if they failed to meet those standards, the government agency could be liable for damages when their mistakes lead to injuries. If the government was only partly responsible, and the driver also violated the rules of the road, then both parties can share liability for injuries.
Standard Engineering Practices Determine Placement of Four-Way Stops
In a car accident like the one at the intersection of Meadows Road and Lewis Road in Cobb County, the mother of the teenager believes that the intersection should be a four-way stop. The standard practice, as the Federal Department of Transportation’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices describes, is for the agency designing the road to conduct a traffic study to determine if the intersection qualifies for a four-way stop. If the two roads are of similar traffic intensity, and if the overall traffic does not justify a traffic light, the agency should install a four-way stop. If these conditions are true, but the agency has failed to install a four-way stop, the agency may be liable for negligence if the failure causes a car accident. If the teenagers were also violating rules of the road, like speeding, then the state may only be partly liable for their injuries.
Get Legal Help
Have you been injured in a car wreck in Georgia? Get in touch with a car accident attorney at Williams Elleby Howard & Easter in Cobb County to get the compensation you deserve.
