The Six (6) Best Ways To Avoid Car Accidents

There are about six (6) million reported car, truck and vehicular accidents every year in the United States, about two (2) million drivers and passengers in car accidents experience some permanent injuries every year, and it is estimated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that approximately ten (10) million car, truck and other vehicle collisions are unreported every year. Source: Driving Tests.Org.

There are at least six (6) major causes of traffic collisions and exacerbation of injuries, sometimes even causing deaths resulting in wrongful death accident claims.

To avoid being a victim to one or more of these (6) major causes of traffic accidents and/or suffering more severe injuries that otherwise could be prevented, and to keep yourself from being added to these alarming car crash statistics, here are a few safety tips to follow:

• Allow a safe space cushion between your car or other vehicle and the car or vehicle in front of you. In other words, do NOT follow any other car, motorcycle, truck or other vehicle too closely as you may rear end it if it suddenly stops in front of you. Rear end collisions are a major type of injury accidents, with approximately 120,000 rear end collisions in California every year. Always assume the vehicle in front of you may make a sudden stop. For example, a child may come running across the street. A dog may dart into the road. A young adult may suddenly ride his bike or skateboard into the street. The other driver may realize he or she missed making a turn. To be safe, always allow a safe stopping distance between your car or truck and the vehicle in front of you.
• Never turn left until it is absolutely safe to do so. Of course, this sounds like an obvious rule to follow. But in our over 45 years of handling personal injury and wrongful death accident cases, we have seen far too often injury accidents resulting from a car turning left when it was not safe to do so. In fact, such collisions often cause more serious injuries than other car accidents. For example, when several cars are lined-up to turn left, sometimes the driver of the car behind the first car in line to turn left gets impatient and honks his or her horn because that driver from his or her position cannot see other vehicles approaching from the opposite direction. The first car in line upon being startled by hearing the loud honk may get nervous, scared, panicked, feel rushed or simply feel pushed, or otherwise pressured to turn left before it is clear and safe to do so. The car that honked will not be there to pay your damages if you turn left before it is clear and safe to turn left and cause a collision. Therefore, do not let the honking driver cause you to rush and get into a car crash. Also, sometimes the left turning driver assumes the car approaching straight from the opposite direction will stop for a traffic signal light that is turning from green to yellow to red, but it does not stop so it is absolutely important to be sure the opposite approaching car or other vehicle stops before you start to turn left. Before turning left, be 100% certain the intersection is clear and it is safe to turn left. Never assume the other approaching car, motorcycle or truck will stop; always be 100% sure it is stopped or clearly is stopping before you commence to turn left.
• When turning right at an intersection, always look left, right, and then left again before turning right. All too often we see cars strike a pedestrian or bicyclist that is going straight on the street or sidewalk because the right turning car driver failed to look one more time to his or her left before turning right. Sometimes in the time it takes to look left then right and turning (without looking left again) a pedestrian or bicyclist travelling from the left to the right of the right turning car driver manages to come in front of the right turning car or vehicle, causing great injury to the pedestrian or bicyclist. Taking an extra moment to look left one more time before turning right can prevent a catastrophic injury accident to the pedestrian or bicyclist.
• Do NOT drink and drive. Again, this sounds obvious, especially with all the advertisements and notices about the dangers of drinking and then driving. But drunk driving crashes continue at an alarming, but fortunately decreasing, rate. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that in 2017 almost 30 people died in drunk driving crashes every day in the United States. That literally works out to one person dying every 48 minutes because of drunk driving! Fortunately, these deaths have declined by about one-third in the last thirty (30) years. Nevertheless, drunk driving car and other vehicle collisions killed 10,874 in 2017! All these tragic deaths and damages, including hospital and medical charges and property damage, resulted in an estimated cost of $44 billion in 2017.
• Never text and drive. It is not only illegal but a major cause of injury accidents. Use of a cell phone or mobile phone or other mobile device while driving, whether texting or holding it while talking, often called distracted driving, is another significant cause of injury accident collisions. Distracted driving is defined as including any activity while driving a car or other motor vehicle that diverts the attention of the driver while driving a motor vehicle, including texting or talking on the phone, eating and drinking, turning your head while talking to a passenger, putting on make-up, or adjusting your radio or navigation system. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that in 2017 distracted driving, including from texting while driving, caused 3,166 deaths in the U.S.
• Always use your safety restraining equipment – Seat belt and should strap. While this sixth safety tip may not help avoid a crash, it should reduce the chances of dying in a crash and also reduce the severity of any injuries sustained. Clearly one of the best choices drivers and passengers in cars, vans and trucks can make is to “BUCKLE-UP”. Fortunately, it is estimated that approximately 90% of car drivers and passengers used their seat belts and restraining devices in 2018. And, as a result, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that approximately 15,000 people were saved in 2017 because they used their seat belts. As a corollary, it is interesting to note that in 2017, about 37,133 people were killed in car, truck and other vehicle collisions, and of that number a staggering 47% were not wearing their seat belts and restraining devices. That is a very high percentage, especially given the fact that about 90% of vehicle occupants use their seat belts. It is estimated that over 2,500 of those killed would have survived if they had been using their seat belts.

Conclusion

Following these six (6) basic safety tips to avoid a car accident (and as to using your seat belt to lessen the chances of dying and reducing the severity of any injuries in a traffic accident) will help prevent many collisions and injuries that result from failing to follow these six (6) tips.

If you are involved in any traffic collision and sustain any injuries, we advise you to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer right away.

You may contact us 24/7 for an absolutely FREE consultation and if we take your injury accident case we take it on a contingency fee – that means you do not pay any fee unless and until you WIN!

Please contact us now – You will be very glad that you did!

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