Each year, thousands of people are killed and hundreds of thousands more suffer serious injuries as a result of car accidents. However, the overwhelming majority of these accidents come from well-known causes. In fact, when it comes to car accidents, these are known as the “big three,” and account for over 95 percent of all incidents each year. On this blog, we’ll discuss this “big three” of car accident causes and offer you a few tips on how you can avoid falling victim to one of them.
Alcohol & Drug Intoxication
It’s against the law to drive while intoxicated by drugs or alcohol, and yet thousands of people do it every year, and every year it causes thousands of accidents, serious injuries, and millions of dollars in property damage.
Perhaps the worst part about these types of accidents: they’re almost entirely preventable. If you know you’re going to be going somewhere and enjoying alcohol, be sure to plan for your ride home by either taking a taxi or traveling with a designated driver. Likewise, if you’re taking new medication and aren’t sure how it’s going to affect you, always wait a few days after starting to make sure that the medication doesn’t impair your ability to drive safely. Believe it or not, even legal and doctor-prescribed medications can lead to a DUI arrest if they inhibit your ability to drive safely.
Finally, if you see a driver who is swerving in their lane, unable to hold a steady speed, or jamming on their brakes unexpectedly, there’s a pretty good chance they’re intoxicated. Give them plenty of room and only pass them when you can do so with a wide berth. When you do go to pass them, do so quickly and put as much distance between yourself and them as possible.
Reckless Driving
Reckless driving is driving in a way that deliberately or knowingly neglects your duty of care to other drivers who you share the road with. While most people think reckless driving is simply driving way above the speed limit, it can also include things like weaving in traffic, cutting other drivers off, tailgating, making reckless lane changes, street racing, or even driving around at night without your lights on.
Reckless driving is also a fairly easy accident cause to avoid. Operating your vehicle safely is an important duty that can’t be understated, and failing to do so can lead to all sorts of problems. Be sure to signal lane changes, operate your vehicle at a safe speed, and always do your best to keep the roads safe for other drivers around you, and you should be able to avoid one of these accidents.
Distraction
Distracted driving has rapidly caught up to both intoxication and recklessness as one of the leading causes of car accidents, and this is largely due to the fact that within the last decade or so, cell phones have become a common part of our daily lives. Today, text messaging, emailing, and making phone calls has never been easier, and countless numbers of studies have shown just how dangerous this can be.
However, distractions don’t just stop with technology: everything from billboards on the side of the road to your GPS system to even a standard car radio can all be distractions behind the wheel. Anything that can bring your attention, mental capacity, and even your physical ability away from the task at hand could be the cause of a serious car accident.
Have you been injured as a result of a car accident cause by one of these “big three?” Call the Waterbury car accident attorneys from Fitzpatrick Santos Sousa Perugini, P.C. today at (203) 583-8299 and request a case evaluation!