LOWNDES CO. – Final numbers from an annual crash report put together by the Southern Georgia Regional Commission show around 3,700 crashes on city and county roads in 2016.
“Once you see how big it is, it’s eye-opening,” says Cormac Kavanaugh, a Valdosta resident.
The 2016 crash report shows 500 more total wrecks and seven more fatalities than a report from four years ago.
“It’s pretty terrifying to me,” says Jacob Bennett, a South Georgia resident. “I actually have a lot of anxiety about driving, so it’s really difficult for me and hard to think about.”
Bennett says, living in the country, you still see crashes and with no other cars around.
“It’s usually one car that runs off the road and into a tree or something,” says Bennett.
Many people list various reasons as to why the number of accidents continues to rise in their hometowns.
“One of the reasons is probably distractions in the car,” says Kavanaugh. “Mostly with their cell phones.”
“Multiple people that I have ridden in the car with still use their cell phones and it isn’t safe,” says Bennett.
The report shows the leading causes of an accident include following too close behind another vehicle or failing to yield. It says a majority of wrecks occur under wet conditions.
“I feel like it’s something people do realize is happening, but they put it in the back of their mind,” says Kavanaugh.
Many residents hope that will change, and people will think twice when behind the wheel.
Another SGRC crash report was conducted for pedestrians and bicyclists. It shows more than 450 wrecks in South Georgia over four years.
The report says some leading causes are failing to yield, inattentiveness, and disregarding a stop sign or signal.
