What Are The Top Causes of Car Accidents?
An interesting report by the Auto Insurance Center recently looked at data from every fatal car accident recorded by NHSTA from 2009 through 2013 to determine the leading cause in each state for driving fatalities, including drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.
The most common dangerous behaviors were:
- Failure to keep in the proper lane
- Failure to yield the right of way
- Reckless, careless, or distracted driving
- Overcorrecting
- Not adjusting to the road surface
- Driving on the wrong side of the road
- Not adjusting to a road obstruction
- Operating without the required equipment
- Making an improper turn.
Common Causes of Car Accidents
It’s practically a rite of passage, and usually “the other guy’s fault.” Whether you’ve seen a wreck happen or had a fender-bender of your own, there’s no denying that car crashes result in serious injuries and fatalities every year. Traffic accidents are the primary cause of injury in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with almost 7,000 people each day going to the emergency room with injuries from motor vehicle crashes. To make matters worse, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) reports that there were approximately 32,675 fatalities from motor vehicle collisions in 2014. If you have been hurt in a traffic accident, or have lost someone you love in such an accident, it is important to contact a car accident lawyer. The Mann Law Firm can help by reviewing your circumstances and discussing all available legal options. Call us at (478) 742-3381 or fill out our online form. We would like to meet with you to discuss your case, and we are proud to offer free initial consultations. Data compiled by the NHSTA reveals that there were 1,164 fatalities in Georgia in 2014 and that 24 percent of them were due to alcohol impairment. Statistics released by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) show a 25 percent increase in fatalities in the first quarter of 2015 compared to 2014.This increases the average number of fatalities a month to 100, which puts Georgia on track to have over 1,200 fatalities for the year – the highest in almost a decade.
Failing to stay in the correct lane was the most deadly driving behavior in more than 30 states, including Georgia. The report also concluded that deaths from drunken driving and from speeding are more prevalent in rural areas than urban ones.
Certainly driving under the influence of alcohol is a problem across the country. The FBI estimates that almost 300,000 incidents of drunk driving occur every day, but fewer than 4,000 people are actually arrested. There were 9,967 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities nationwide in 2014. Here in Georgia, almost 3,700 people were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver from 2003 to 2012. Even just getting buzzed by consuming a few drinks is enough to affect one’s driving because alcohol is a depressant that slows reaction time, makes it harder to focus, and reduces ability to properly judge situations.
Just as dangerous as driving under the influence is driving while distracted. Whether texting, talking on the phone, programming a GPS, eating, talking to passengers or adjusting the music, anything that diverts a driver’s attention away from the road can mean trouble. The value of having one’s hands on the wheel and eyes on the road is maximized when the brain is fully engaged. A recent survey by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that one-third of drivers asked say that they often engage in risky behavior while driving, even though they have a loved one who was killed or seriously hurt in a crash. These drivers believe their actions are unacceptable, yet refuse to change their habits.