According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Safety Council (NSC), the top three causes of car accident fatalities are distracted driving, speeding, and driving under the influence (DUI). Fortunately, all three of these are preventable as a car accident lawyer can explain further below.
Distracted Driving
Distracted driving includes any activity engaged in while operating a vehicle, which serves to take your attention from the road. This can be momentarily – like adjusting a song on the car stereo — to distractions which capture more of your time like eating in the vehicle or tending to a child in the backseat while operating the vehicle.
When you are distracted while driving, you miss opportunities to assess what is happening in front of you and around you. As an experienced driver knows, the conditions around you while driving can change suddenly. If you have 100% of your attention on the road you are simply more likely to be able to respond effectively to these sudden changes. This is true whether it is a driver ahead of you unexpectedly braking, or a vehicle in an adjacent lane coming into your lane without enough clearance to do so.
Speeding While Driving
The speed limits set for each stretch of road are based on many factors. The speed limit is reflective of what a driver might encounter on that stretch of road, and when a driver exceeds the speed limit they are less likely to be able to respond in time to changing conditions which might arise. Certainly this applies to braking in response to the vehicles around you; however, it also applies in more residential or crowded areas where you will encounter stop signs and traffic lights or pedestrians in the roadway.
Even if an accident is not your fault entirely, you may find it impossible to recover from the at fault driver if your speeding contributed to your inability to avoid the accident. In other words, while another driver’s failure to yield to you may have been the proximate cause of the accident, if you were speeding at the time, your speed will be considered when assigning fault for the accident as our friends can share at The Layton Law Firm.
Driving Under The Influence
In the age of Uber and Lyft, driving under the influence is an even more egregious offense than ever before. The reason drivers are not allowed to operate a vehicle under the influence are obvious, but as a reminder, your reaction time and ability to assess a situation on the road is impaired if you are impaired. Additionally, even if you are aware of what is happening, your reaction time will be affected if you are impaired while driving. Many drivers who are under the influence either miss an opportunity altogether to avoid an accident, or respond to changing road conditions by over-correcting or over-reacting. Many states have codified driving under the influence as a condition which gives rise to punitive damages. These are damages which can be assessed against the impaired driver in order to punish the driver for their behavior as well as to deter the driver from engaging in the behavior again.
If you or someone you love has been involved in a car accident, contact an attorney near you for help.