GDOT official sees common theme among road deaths

The death toll on Georgia highways has surpassed 1,200 for 2017, and one official said there seems to be a trend among the fatalities.

 

"We're seeing a huge increase in the amount of single-vehicle, run off the road crashes, where there's really nothing else involved except the driver.  The driver is leaving the road," Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) District One Engineer Brent Cook said.

 

District One covers Northeast Georgia.

 

The cause of many of the crashes, according to Cook, is something state officials from law enforcement to the Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) caution against.

 

"A lot of it is involving distracted driving," Cook said.  He said distracted driving includes everything from texting and driving, eating while driving and even driving while sleepy.

 

Cook stopped by AccessWDUN this week to discuss the Drive Alert. Arrive Alive. program coordinated by GDOT. Listen to other comments from Cook on the Friday afternoon edition of WDUN's Afternoon News Wrap between 5 and 6 p.m. 

 

Last year, the death toll on Georgia roads topped 1,500.

 

Follow this link to see the numbers of traffic deaths in Georgia over the last decade.