Car accidents range from minor fender-benders to deadly all over the country. Crash data suggests that some of the same causes often cause fatal crashes as any other accident type.
When vehicles crash, what often factors into the reason behind it? While some data suggests that a collision with a fixed object, such as a pole or guardrail, accounts for some of the fatalities, most often, the cause is a crash between two motor vehicles. Learn about the top contributors to these types of horrific and catastrophic crashes.
Driving distracted
To ensure everyone’s safety on the road, drivers need to concentrate. When the attention wanes for even a few seconds, it may result in a failure to see the danger up ahead. Distracted driving has become the most cited reason for crashes, both fatal and non-fatal. Checking text messages, emails and social media accounts diverts the driver’s eyes for an average of six seconds. In that time, a vehicle traveling at 55 miles per hour can go the length of three football fields.
Driving intoxicated
Drunk or intoxicated driving used to hold the top spot for crashes, especially fatal ones. When a person drinks any alcoholic beverage, there is a chance of impairment. While researchers have conducted studies on the amount of alcohol needed to quantify someone as drunk, there are too many variables involved for any kind of uniformity. As such, law enforcement has established roadside sobriety challenges and breath tests to determine a driver’s impairment.
When a driver is not at his or her best behind the wheel, it may have disastrous and fatal consequences. Staying off the phone and free of chemical influences may go a long way to reducing crashes.