Every year, thousands of people are involved in automobile accidents. In almost every accident, somebody acted negligently, and could have avoided the accident by exercising more caution.t
I have represented thousands of accident victims and seen over and over again common accident mistakes. Most of the time, only one person is at fault. Sometimes, more than one drive shares the blame.
The following suggestions are given to help you avoid causing or contributing to an accident. This is not a hypothetical list. This is a list gleaned from years of seeing thousands of situations occur in the lives of my clients.
Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or a Controlled Substance. It’s never a good idea. Some of the worst accidents I’ve seen are caused by drunk drivers. Most people who consume alcohol do not think they are too impaired to driving. Alcohol impairs reaction time, and those fractions of seconds can make a difference in driving situations.
Falling Asleep at the Wheel. If you get tired while driving, pull over and take a quick nap. I drive long distances frequently, and I pull over when I get tired. Don’t fight hrough it.
Overcorrecting. Many of the accidents I see are people who overcorrect. People see something in the road they don’t want to hit, and they swerve to miss things that would not hurt them if they hit them. Road cones. Tumbleweeds. Rubber from tires. My advice is to hit the object, and brace yourself. In most cases, the consequences are far less severe than swerving at a high rate of speed. My wife just lost a friend who was ejected from her Hummer (she was not seat-belted, either) when her husband swerved to miss a road cone, rolling vehicle several times.
Running a Red Light. Don’t enter an intersection after the light turns red. Ever.
Turning Left on a Yellow Light. When the light is turning yellow, vehicles going straight try to beat the light. But the person who needs to turn left has been waiting in the intersection. The fatal mistake I have seen time and again is the turning party turns on the assumption that the speeding car going straight is going to stop. That is a risk you should not take. Assume nothing. Even though the light turns red, you are already in the intersection. Most street have a delay between when the light turns red the opposite lights turn green. Besides, you face far less risk with cars that see you ahead of them that are accelerating from a stopped start than to pull in front of a car going 45 miles an hour.
Following Too Closely. It is hard in crowded traffic to keep a safe distance between you and the car in front without someone cutting in front of you, but you have to discipline yourself to do it. Think of space as a big cushion or pad of safety. That buffer of space will save you from many accidents that occur when people in front of you have to slam on their brakes or take evasive action. Many of the rear-ender accidents I handle could have been avoided if people just gave themselves more space between them and the car. The rule of thumb is one car length per 10 miles an hour, or a 2-second buffer between you and the car in front of you.
Driving in the Parking Lane. The shoulder of the road is not a lane, even though many people use it. I have seen many accidents occur as people try and use this as a travel lane. People turn into them all of the time. Any lane to right of a white line is not a driving lane.
Failure to Adjust Speed Given the Road Conditions. Too many people travel too fast, ignoring speed limits. Also, people fail to adjust their speed when hazardous conditions exist. Speed limits are maximum speeds, and if hazardous conditions exist, drop your speed below the maximum so you can have time to react to approaching conditions.
Failure to Pay Attention. Many accidents also occur because people get distracted, talking on their hand-held cell phones, leaning down to pick something up, eating, talking to someone in the car, etc. Your car is not a restaurant, phone booth or office. Force yourself to avoid distractions and remember that fractions of seconds matter if you are going to avoid or prevent accidents.
Changing Lanes without Looking. Always check your and blinds blind spots when changing lanes. I have seen a number of side swipe cases because people failed to do this.
Making Illegal Traffic Maneuvers. Don’t’ make maneuvers, such as U-turns, in places where they are not allowed. The double dashed center lanes on many of our roads are not merge left lanes, they are left turn only lanes. Only use them for their intended purposes.
I know if everyone followed the rules, I would probably be out of a job! Most people will not take my advice--but I hope you do.
