Car accidents are the third leading cause of death in the United States behind heart disease and cancer. If you understand the cause of car accidents, you can both prevent them and avoid them.
Whether it’s human error or mother nature, these causes wreak havoc on the car drivers and passengers. Keep reading to learn the five major causes of car accidents and what you should do if you’re ever a part of an accident.
- Distracted Driving
Distracted driving leads the way for car accident causes. Almost 3,000 people lost their lives due to an accident caused by a distracted driver.
Distracted driving means more than just texting and driving. Deeply entrenched habits like calling, texting, eating, reading, and grooming all while attempting to drive can cause an accident in the blink of an eye.
- Driving Under the Influence
In 2017 just about 11,000 people died because of a drunk-driving car crash. Driving under the influence refers to any sort of drug-related impairment including legalized marijuana. Foreign substances such as alcohol and drugs will slow down your reaction time and impair your judgment in general, making driving difficult.
- Speeding
Speeding isn’t always caused by the person who snubs the law and ignores the speed limit signs. We speed because we need to get somewhere fast, be it an emergency or just work. Anytime you go faster than the speed limit, though, you have less control of the vehicle, less reaction time, and a higher chance of becoming the cause of car crashes.
- Driving Recklessly
When you speed, take sharp corners too fast, pass people in no-passing zones, and generally just drive in an out-of-control fashion, you drive recklessly. Reckless driving causes thousands of accidents every year.
You also drive recklessly when you overdrive the conditions. If the weather is poor or you’re driving in a road construction area, drive with more caution.
Driving carefully tops the ways of how to avoid a car accident.
- Bad Weather
Mother Nature wreaks as much havoc on drivers as does human nature. Rainy weather along with ice and snow can make a road unexpectedly and quickly slicker than it normally is. Plus, bad weather affects visibility.
All of this leads to potential car accidents.
What to Do After a Car Accident
If you’re involved in a car accident, follow this basic procedure:
- Check yourself for injuries. You may be in shock, so check yourself over carefully.
- Check your passengers to see if they sustained any injuries.
- Get to safety. Assess your vehicle to see if you’re in a safe place and if you’re not, move yourself and passengers from the scene.
- Call 911. Once you know you’re in a safe place, contact authorities to come to help you. Then wait for help.
- Document the accident. If you have your phone on you, begin taking pictures of the scene so you have documentation of what happened.
- Contact your attorney. Let a car accident attorney take care of you. This attorney has the expertise to make sure you receive a fair shake.
Drive Smart
Only one cause of car accidents listed above comes from Mother Nature. Your driving attentiveness plays a major part in your safety, so drive smart.
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