Traffic accidents are a daily occurrence, thankfully with improvements in car safety and how vehicles are now designed, many of these accidents are minor and leave passengers unscathed. There are still serious accidents that can take place however because although cars are now safer, they are also a lot faster than they used to be. There are many different causes for road accidents that extend to beyond the speed of a car and 99% of the time, the accident comes down to human error, I recently spoke with some car accident lawyers in Philadelphia who informed me of the most common reasons that accidents take place, here are the top 5.
Drunk Driving
Although completely illegal, many people still decide to drink and drive, some make this reckless decision because they are drunk and many others think that they haven’t had enough alcohol to take them over the limit. Unfortunately, alcohol leaves drivers impaired and slows their reactions, as a result, drivers under the influence of alcohol are one of the biggest causes of traffic accidents.
Speeding
Despite their being regular signs for speed limits and plenty of warning signs about the dangers of speed, many drivers still ignore the speed limits and cause many crashes. When drivers speed, they are required to have much faster reactions and many simply don’t react fast enough to hazards on the road which leads to many accidents. Those who speed present an even greater danger to other road users as crashes at high speed are far more likely to cause serious injury.
Distracted Driving
With so much more technology in our cars these days, the amount of accidents that are caused through distracted driving has increased greatly. Mobile phones are usually the biggest culprits here as people continuously text and drive or speak on their phone whilst driving, despite many ‘driver friendly’ call options, many of which included in the car itself, there are still far too many accidents caused by those distracted at the wheel by phones and other gadgets.
Rain and Snow
When the rain and snow is heavy, there are far more accidents than on a warm summer’s day, the roads become slippy and more caution is needed. Whilst you could think that Mother Nature is at fault here, and you would be partially correct, in reality many drivers simply do not change their approach when the weather turns. Drivers should be far more cautious, drive slower, brake earlier and ensure that they are using the right headlights and road signals. Unfortunately many ignore the weather and end up having accidents.
Teenagers
First passing your driving exam is an exciting time for teenagers, unfortunately this enjoyment is cut short as they account for the largest demographic who have car accidents. A car full of friends, music pumping and driving faster than they probably should are usually the reasons for teenagers to have so many accidents, especially when all of this is coupled with their lack of road and driving experience.
