Many drivers are unaware of the rules of illegal stopping on the roads of Georgia. Stopping can be dangerous in many places. Drivers may crash into parked vehicles or swerve to avoid them, causing a wreck. Police officers often breathalyze drivers who are illegally stopped as well as charging them with violating Georgia’s stopping law.
Under O.C.G.A. § 40-6-203 you are prohibited from stopping or parking in certain places. They include:
- On the roadway side of a stopped vehicle;
- On crosswalks;
- Within an intersection;
- On a controlled access highway
- Between a safety zone and the curb or within 30 feet of points of the curb immediately opposite the ends of a safety zone, unless another length is indicated by signs or markings
- On a bridge or another elevated structure;
- In the area between the roadways of a divided highway, including the crossovers; or
- in any location where highway signs prohibit stopping;
Where Remaining is Illegal Stopping in Georgia
In certain places, drivers can momentarily stop to pick up or drop off passengers but they must move on. They include:
- Outside a public or private driveway;
- Within 20 feet of an intersection or a crosswalk;
- Less than 15 feet away from a fire hydrant;
- Within 30 feet of the driveway entrance to a fire station or even on the street opposite to a fire station within 75 feet of the fire station access.
- Where official signs prohibit standing.
Illegal stopping accidents in Georgia can be very serious for the victims. They often involve trucks that are illegally stopped on the interstate or other highways. When drivers fail to pull off a fast-moving highway other drivers can crash into big rigs with terrible consequences.
Illegal Stopping Causes Deaths in Georgia
In October 2018, a man from Georgia man was killed in Decatur County. He crashed into the back of a tractor. The trucker stopped by the side of the road.
Police said a driver parked a John Deere tractor on the side of the roadway to close a gate on GA 309 just south of Lambert Harrell Road in Decatur County.
A 79-year-old man from Whigham was driving north on GA 309 and struck the back of the tractor, killing the driver. It’s not clear from WCTV reports if the tractor was parked illegally or if any charges were brought in relation to the accident.
Illegal stopping can be very serious. Illegally stopped vehicles cause numerous railroad accidents on grade crossings. An SUV stopped on a crossing in New York in 2015 led to a Metro-North derailment that killed six and injured 13 in Valhalla.
Vehicles stopped on the roads cause accidents, deaths and injuries every year. If you end up hurt, you may have grounds to file a claim against the at-fault driver. Please call our Georgia car wreck injury lawyers today at (404) 913-1529.