10 Most Common Causes of Car Accidents | The Levin Company (2023)

The 10 most common causes of car accidents

There are many causes of car accidents. However, some occur more frequently than others. If you were injured in acar accidentIt is important to understand what caused the accident so you can use this to get maximum compensation. Each type of car accident is different and requires a different type of investigation.

Our car accident lawyerwill investigate your accident closely to determine the true cause of the accident. By determining the causes of the accident, your attorney can also determine that multiple parties are at fault for the accident and your injuries. This is an important step in winning your case and getting the compensation you deserve.

The ten most common causes of car accidents

The top ten causes of car accidents include:

1. distracted driving
2. drunk and drug driving
3. bad weather
4. Reckless driving and road rage
5. acceleration
6. Running red and yellow lights
7. stop signs
8. wrong curves
9. road hazards
10. steer tired

#1 Distracted driving

The statistics on distracted driving are alarming, especially given that in most situations, distracted driving is almost entirely avoidable. Experts believe distracted driving is a major public health problem in the United States. Distracted driving leads to reduced reaction time, an inability to keep the vehicle in lane, and catastrophic accidents resulting in serious injury and death. We all take risks every time a driver checks their cell phone behind the wheel.

Unfortunately, the use of cell phones and GPS technology in vehicles has increased the number of car accidents caused by distracted driving.

Despite the alarming risks of texting, and despite state laws (even in Pennsylvania) making texting and driving illegal,NHTSA Accident StatisticsThey estimate that at any time of day more than 850,000 drivers in the United States are texting or using cell phones behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. These drivers have a significantly higher risk of being involved in an accident than other drivers.

Victims of car accidents must hold distracted drivers accountable for their negligent actions.

Fortunately, Pennsylvania law allows auto accident victims to recover from any party that causes an accident and injury through negligent or reckless acts. In many cases, victims can recover significant compensation for their losses, which can include medical expenses, loss of income, property damage, and physical and emotional pain and suffering.

more aboutCar accidents caused by distracted drivers

#2 Drunk and drug driving

For almost 40 yearsMothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)He brought the nation's attention to the problem of drunk driving as a killer on American highways. In the decades that followed, the public advocacy of MADD and similar organizations and the passage of drunk driving laws made a difference on the public health problem of drink driving and its close cousin, impaired drug driving. However, drink driving remains a significant national problem.

In Pennsylvania, driving while drunk and under the influence of drugs is illegal; However, in just one year, about 1,500 crashes involved drunk or intoxicated drivers in Philadelphia. It is important to note that Pennsylvania's drunk driving laws extend to driving motor vehicles under the influence of legal prescription drugs that cause side effects similar to drug or alcohol intoxication.

If you were injured in atraffic accident drunk, it is important to know that law enforcement will focus on the criminal aspects of your case. Therefore, you should hire an experienced Pennsylvania auto accident attorney to look after your interests while you recover.

more aboutCar accidents caused by drunk drivers

#3 bad weather

Weather-related road conditions often play a role in the origin of car accidents. In fact, it is one of the leading causes of car accidents.

When bad weather causes a car accident, you may be wondering how to claim compensation. While you can't sue Mother Nature, the driver who hits someone in thick fog, for example, is still liable for the accident. All drivers must be very careful when driving in bad weather to avoid accidents.

Bad weather conditions require caution when driving. A road that is safe to drive at 60 mph in the spring can be dangerous at 30 mph in a downpour.

Drivers driving their vehicle in inclement weather, e.g. B. when the roads are dry and clear, they can be held legally responsible for the accidents and injuries they cause. Never assume that you should let the driver who collided with you get away just because the weather was terrible at the time of the accident.

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#4 Reckless driving and road rage

Riding or riding in a motor vehicle has an inherent risk of accident and injury. However, these risks are significantly increased when other road users act irresponsibly. While some drivers simply make a mistake, others may consciously choose to drive dangerously. If an intentionally dangerous driver causes an accident, all injured parties have the right to claim compensation for their losses from that driver.

Most drivers become impatient behind the wheel at some point in their lives. Traffic and slow drivers can frustrate you, especially when you are in a hurry or late. However, this impatience cannot make you drive recklessly or aggressively. Drivers who let their emotions override their driving judgment can cause serious and fatal accidents. In fact, aggressive driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents. Reckless driving, road clutter, and unauthorized use are some of the most common aggressive driving behaviors.

more aboutCar accidents caused by reckless driving

#5 Speeding

According to a March 2018 NHTSA speeding survey, this frivolous acceptance of driving above the speed limit is a significant problem on US highways. Speeding contributes to a high proportion of serious accidents. In fact, in a recent year, speeding drivers caused26% of all fatal accidents, resulting in the loss of 13,000 lives.

For every 10 mph over 50 mph a car travels, the likelihood of the driver and passengers being killed in an accident doubles. The NHTSA study makes a particular observation that although increasing the speed limit increases the severity of accidents on freeways, 86% of speeding fatalities do not occur on freeways.

In other words, speeding isn't just dangerous on freeways, it's especially dangerous on neighborhood streets, city streets, and other roads, and is almost always evidence of negligence.

more aboutCar accidents caused by speeding

#6 Running the red and yellow lights

Crossroads are among the most dangerous spots on the road. One thing that makes intersections with traffic lights so dangerous is that yellow lights precede red lights. The Association for Psychological Science (APS) reports that amber lights "represent one of the most dangerous obstacles people encounter on the road" because they force drivers to make an unsafe decision in a second or less.

While some states treat an amber light as the corresponding red light, the Pennsylvania driver's handbook is less clear, advising drivers to "slow down and prepare to stop" but allows them to proceed through an intersection if they notice that it cannot be safely stopped in time. . . As a result, drivers in Pennsylvania see yellow lights and are often forced to make an on-the-fly decision, "Can I pull up to that light, or should I slow down and wait?"

APS reports that research into the auto insurance industry indicates that 85% of all drivers cannot find the right answer to this dilemma. Too often they think yellow lights mean 'hurry up'. If they make the wrong decision, accidents can hurt innocent people.

#7 Career Stop Signs

Intersections controlled by stop signs instead of traffic lights also pose a hazard to motorists on Philadelphia freeways. The IIHS reports that “One-third of all intersection accidents in the United States and more than 40% of fatalities occur at intersections with stop signs happen”, which adds up to around 700,000 accidents with stop signs per year.

One would think that most of these accidents involve absent or non-stopping drivers. But the IIHS found that only 17% of drivers involved in these accidents admitted not stopping. Most of the drivers insisted they stopped, but they didn't see the other car coming. In other words, it turns out that the driver's decision making is the real danger at intersections with stop signs.

In addition to stopping at stop signs, Philadelphia drivers must evaluate for themselves when it is safe to continue (much like drivers must evaluate whether to slow down or speed up when a light turns yellow). Drivers don't always make the best decisions, and road conditions don't always make it easy.

A driver who misjudges when it is safe to cross an intersection with a stop sign may be negligent, but so are local governments and highway authorities, who have a duty to keep intersections without stop signs clear of obstructions. and cross traffic.

If you were injured in an accident at an intersection with a stop sign, an experienced auto accident attorney can help you identify the culprit.

#8 Wrong curves

Turns are one of the most common pre-crash events in motor vehicle accidents on US highways. Left turns are typically the most common, followed by right turns and then U-turns. .

These accidents occur most frequently at intersections, but also occur when crossing a lane, for example when turning left in a shopping center car park. The risk of accidents caused by improper turns increases when drivers do not use turn signals or when driving in poor weather conditions.

Left-turn accidents can be particularly deadly situations, especially when it involves collisions between a turning vehicle and a motorcycle. These T-shaped collisions, in which one vehicle collides perpendicularly into another vehicle, exert catastrophic forces on the drivers of both vehicles, often resulting in serious injury and death.

more aboutT-bone car accidents caused by improper cornering

#9 Dangers on the road

Drivers have a right to expect road surfaces to remain free of debris, potholes and other hazards that could cause them to lose control, and that other vehicles are the right size and weight to drive on a given road. At a minimum, drivers need traffic attendants or other drivers to alert them to hazards.

Unfortunately, sometimes those responsible do not provide adequate warnings and do not maintain or repair roads to keep them safe for traffic. Some common manmade road hazards that drivers should be warned about, but are often not included:

• holes
• Overhead obstacles such as manhole covers
• Ruined road shoulders
• Changes in the road surface, e.g. B. from paved to dirty or from smooth to grooved
• Missing lane markings or traffic signals.
• Slippery surfaces from spills
• Wide or extra wide loads
• Steep curves and inclines
• visual impairments

Those responsible for the safety and cleanliness of our roads must take precautions to ensure that dangers do not appear out of nowhere. This could mean cutting overhanging branches from roads to make them less likely to fall over during a storm and ensuring roads have adequate structural support to prevent subsurface conditions from eroding their integrity.

When an accident occurs because of a hazard on the road, the job of an experienced car accident attorney is to find out who is responsible for the hazard not being there and/or to make motorists aware of the hazard so that they can take appropriate action can take precautions. These parties often include local and road authorities, private landowners and owners of vehicles that have caused damage or hazards on the road.

more aboutTraffic accidents caused by defects and dangers on the road

#10 Driving drowsy

The average adult does not sleep the recommended hours each night. As such, they can tire on a daily basis, especially on long morning and evening commutes. Drowsiness while driving is the cause of many car accidents. When a driver is tired, they can overlook cyclists or pedestrians on the road. You may run a red light or miss a stop sign. You can even fall asleep at the wheel and end up in traffic.

ÖAAA Foundation for Road Safetydiscovered that sleepy driving is similar to drunk driving in many ways. Drivers have slower reaction times, poor coordination, and impaired judgment. In fact, law enforcement officers often pull in drivers on suspicion of drunk driving, only to find they were just too tired to drive safely.

more aboutCar accidents caused by drowsiness while driving

Not sure what caused your car accident? Call the Levin Company.

At The Levin Firm, our attorneys have years of experience investigating the causes of auto accidents that have devastated our clients' lives. We have the know-how to investigate and prosecute the cause of any traffic accident. Contact us today to arrange a free consultation to discuss the causes of your car accident.

Lawyer Gabriel Levinis an experienced and compassionatePersonal Injury Attorneydedicated to protecting the rights of injured accident victims. To schedule a free consultation with Mr. Levin, call our office today at (215) 825-5183 or fill out the formContact formcan be found at the bottom right of this page.