Driving in the snow. Of course, here in Georgia, it doesn’t snow very much, but if you recall in January of 2014, we did have a fairly significant storm in which there were many people who were stranded on the roads, and there were many car accidents during that time period. If you are caught driving in the snow in Georgia, Atlanta area especially, or any part of Georgia, if you’re going on a down slope, you should slow down as slow as possible. If you are approaching an intersection and the roads are icy, or slick, or sleeting, or anything of that nature, of course, you should plan on stopping before the intersection, long before the intersection itself.
You should also be prepared that the driver ahead of your vehicle may have to stop unexpectedly in those conditions. Just be aware of that and be on the lookout for that in case that does happen. Tires have a tendency, of course, to slip when they’re on the ice or on a sleeting situation simply because they lose contact with the road. Especially since they don’t salt here, or generally don’t salt the roads here in Georgia, you want to make sure that you’re driving extremely slow, well below the speed limit. If necessary, just pull off to the side of the road.
Anti-lock brake systems can help driving in these conditions, but a lot of times drivers are actually startled, because when the anti-lock brake system kicks in, they feel like they’re being jerked forward and backward. They feel like they’re losing control of the vehicle. Probably, the best thing to do when it starts snowing here in Metro Atlanta or in Georgia, stay off the roads. The last time in Georgia in 2014, there were like I said before a lot of vehicle accidents here and the insurance companies tried to claim that they were not responsible for any accidents and injuries simply because the act of snowing was an act of God.
I had a case which the insurance company did try to raise that defense but ultimately we prevailed on the case. If you’ve been involved in an accident in Georgia where you’ve been involved in a snowy situation, and the other driver was operating their vehicle negligently call my office at 770-792-1000.