(Ga. L. 1953, Nov.-Dec. Sess., p. 556, § 64; Ga. L. 1963, p. 254, § 4; Code 1933, §§ 68A-311, 68A-312, enacted by Ga. L. 1974, p. 633, § 1; Code 1981, §§40-6-50,40-6-51; Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 5; Ga. L. 2003, p. 329, § 1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 684, § 3/HB 273.)
Cross references.- Construction and regulation of limited-access roads generally, § 32-6-110 et seq.
Editor's notes.- Ga. L. 2005, p. 684, § 1/HB 273, not codified by the General Assembly, provides; "The General Assembly finds and determines and recommends as follows:
"(1) The Georgia Department of Transportation has a job of overwhelming proportions and addresses the ever-increasing transportation needs of the state through the hard work and dedication of outstanding leaders and staff;
"(2) There is a need in this state to reduce emissions and improve air quality by increasing traffic flow and reducing traffic congestion and decreasing drive times;
"(3) The Department of Transportation is urged to use creative and innovative methods to deal with gridlock and traffic congestion in Georgia and especially in the metropolitan areas;
"(4) Upon passage of this enabling legislation, the department is urged to implement FlexAuto lanes where applicable and to commence the implementation of such lanes in as timely a manner as is practicable;
"(5) The Department of Transportation is requested specifically to identify 20 major areas with a history of traffic congestion in and around our state that will derive the most benefit from the use of FlexAuto lanes and, after identifying these areas, to create and rapidly implement a plan for use of such lanes in such areas;
"(6) Studies and construction models used successfully in other areas within this country and others should be used as models where traffic flow was improved and emissions reduced by using creative and innovative methods to deal with gridlock and traffic congestion; and
"(7) The model used in Virginia is being studied by Israel, France, Japan, Germany, and England."
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
Emergency lanes.
- Because "emergency lane" has a meaning commonly understood by drivers following the rules of the road in Georgia, the term "emergency lane" as used in statutes is sufficiently definite to meet constitutional standards. Payne v. State, 275 Ga. 181, 563 S.E.2d 844 (2002).
Because a truck driver witnessed an accident on a highway in which two vehicles veered off the road into a ravine presented an emergency, the truck driver's act of stopping in an emergency lane to run into the ravine to provide assistance was in compliance with O.C.G.A. § 40-6-50(b), and not in violation of O.C.G.A. § 40-6-203. Reid v. Midwest Transp., 270 Ga. App. 557, 607 S.E.2d 170 (2004).
Tractor trailer illegally parked in emergency lane.
- Trial court erred by granting summary judgment to the defendants in a wrongful death action upon concluding that the plaintiffs' decedent was 50 percent or more responsible for the decedent's own death because there was an issue of fact as to whether the decedent would have died but for the presence of the tractor-trailer illegally parked in the emergency lane. Reed v. Carolina Cas. Ins. Co., 327 Ga. App. 130, 755 S.E.2d 356 (2014).
Cited in Merritt v. State, 288 Ga. App. 89, 653 S.E.2d 368 (2007).
RESEARCH REFERENCES
Am. Jur. 2d.
- 7A Am. Jur. 2d, Automobiles and Highway Traffic, § 247.
C.J.S.- 60A C.J.S., Motor Vehicles, §§ 652, 654.
ALR.
- Automobile accidents on street or highway divided by parkway or other neutral strip, 165 A.L.R. 1418.
Automobiles: accidents arising from merger of traffic on limited-access highway with that from service road or ramp, 40 A.L.R.3d 1429.