If you feel like people are driving more recklessly in Atlanta than they were several years ago, you’re right, according to data from the Georgia Department of Transportation.
By the numbers: The number of crashes in the 11-county metro Atlanta area caused by aggressive driving, driving while distracted, and speeding increased from 96,870 in 2013 to 116,871 in 2022.
- The number of fatalities in these crashes has more than doubled in the last nine years, from 187 in 2013 to 483 in 2022.
- Deaths from crashes increased from 230 in 2019 to 289 in 2020.
What they’re saying: People are driving faster and more aggressively, Marietta Police Department spokesperson Chuck McPhilamy told Axios.
- When we weren’t on the roads as much in 2020, drivers “had a sense of freedom and an illusion that there weren’t others on the road,” so they ramped up their speeds – and haven’t slowed down since, McPhilamy said.
The result: Marietta police are seeing a spike in the severity of crashes its traffic officers are investigating.
- Just in March, the department reported several crashes that resulted in deaths or serious injuries, including one that injured two construction workers and another that left a motorcyclist fighting for his life.
- Speeding and distracted driving are the two main factors in accidents around the city.
- “We’ve all become so accustomed to driving that we’re not giving that same seriousness or attentiveness to the wheel and the road while we’re behind the wheel of a car,” McPhilamy told Axios.
Yes, and: The never-ending I-285/Ga. 400 interchange reconstruction project is causing drivers to get “frustrated” while traveling through Sandy Springs, police Sgt. Matthew McGinnis told Axios.
- The changing traffic pattern implemented by crews to accommodate the project leaves drivers confused and having to make last-minute exits from…
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