Top Causes of Car Accidents Part 2

Last week we talked about our first five causes of car accidents.  This week we’re going to cover the next five.  

Young Drivers

Unfortunately when we’re young our brains aren’t fully developed.  Not only that, but we think we’re invincible mixed with the ego of the ability to drive, the easily distracted mental state, and the inexperience, and young drivers are some of the most dangerous on the roads. 

Night Driving

Obviously, when things are dark you have less visibility.  Your depth perception can play tricks on you as well in the dark.  It’s important to remember this when you get behind the wheel.  It’s harder to see around turns, in foliage, and the road in general.  It’s easier for deer or other critters to sneak up on us, and it’s much easier for us to lose control if we glance down to look at our phones or change the radio station.  In fact, night driving nearly doubles the chances of an accident.  

Design Defects

We expect cars to be completely safe.  We check their crash test ratings before we buy and we trust the companies with our lives and our family’s.  But cars are machines with many parts and sometimes those parts can break.  You’ll hear of vehicle recalls all the time, but unfortunately, that’s not where this section can end.  While not exactly a design flaw – we can hit potholes or run over nails and blow a tire.  Our cars can “betray” us, even the best of them.  

Unsafe Driving

We all make mistakes, we’re not perfect.  Unfortunately when those mistakes happen behind the wheel a lot of damage and potential injuries can happen.  Some popular causes of accidents are improper turns, unsafe lane changes, tailgating and surprisingly wrong way driving.  You would be surprised how often people end up driving the opposite direction on roads.  

Driving Under the Influence

Everyone knows driving under the influence is dangerous.  We have all be taught not to do it, and with the availability of taxis, Uber, Lyft, and other ride-share programs there’s really no excuse for it.  When under the influence of alcohol or drugs, reaction times are dramatically decreased, not to mention attention.  So if the smallest distraction takes our focus away, and we need to correct our driving, often over-corrections happen or there isn’t enough time to correct the mistake and we end up in a car accident.  

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