Articles Posted in Car Accidents

It is the day before Christmas Eve. As a result, millions of Americans are loading gifts and luggage into the vehicles and traveling to various destinations in order to be with loved ones and celebrate the holidays. If you are traveling by car or truck over the next week, understand that you face a heightened risk of being involved in a car accident when compared with most of the rest of the days of the year. Between Christmas and New Year’s Day far too many Americans perish or are injured while traveling by motor vehicle.

It is therefore critical that you follow certain safety tips in order to better ensure that you will not be involved in a devastating crash this holiday season. First and foremost, do not engage in dangerous driving behaviors. Driving while distracted, intoxicated, fatigued or emotionally aggravated are dangerous choices year-round. But given the heightened risk of accidents during the holidays, these behaviors can be especially dangerous in context.

In addition, it is important that you do a safety check on your vehicle before hitting the road. A staggering number of accidents occur only after tires have lost proper inflation, so checking your tires is particularly critical.

Federal regulators, auto manufacturers and safety experts depend on statistics to tell them what trends demand their attention. Depending on how statistics are formulated and analyzed, they may also provide answers on how to reverse or encourage certain trends, depending on the outcome desired. In terms of auto fatality statistics related to the past three years, an interesting set of numbers has emerged.

According to learned estimates by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a sharp spike in the number of fatal car accidents in the U.S. occurred in 2012. When the agency’s final numbers are released next month, they are estimated to reveal that road-related fatalities jumped a staggering 8.2 percent last year over the 2011 total. That number represents the first time that U.S. auto-related fatalities have increased over the last six year period.

Thankfully, there is good news accompanying this frustrating and tragic statistic. In 2011, highway fatalities hit a historic low. And following the devastating spike of 2012, the NHTSA predicts that the first six months of 2013 bore a fatality rate far closer to that of 2011 than 2012. Hopefully this positive news is partially resulting from less distracted driving behavior in 2013 than in 2012.

By this point in September, children of all ages are back in school. However, not all children, parents and motorists have adjusted to the particulars of schoolchildren’s commute routes and timing just yet. Because back to school can be a dangerous season, it is critical that everyone refreshes their safety knowledge in order to keep pedestrian accident and bicycle accident rates low.

First of all, adults should remember that children do not always look before they cross the street. Whether they are traveling on foot or by bike, children often act on their impulses first and think about the consequences of their actions later. As a result, it is imperative that motorists slow down and drive cautiously whenever children are present.

Second, it is important to observe special rules that apply in school zones during pick-up and drop-off times. Many areas ban any sort of distracted driving in school zones and all areas reduce speed limits in these spaces. In addition, motorists should never pass school buses which have extended stop sign arms and red lights flashing. These buses are dropping off or picking up children and motorists must not pass them at these designated times.

In recent years, safety experts, federal regulators and even the auto industry have expressed increasing concerns about the number of pedestrian and cyclist accidents occurring in the U.S. As roads and sidewalks become crowded with motorists, pedestrians and cyclists alike, it has become more important than ever that all travelers remain aware of those around them. When travelers cannot see each other clearly, accidents occur.

Unfortunately, it seems as if the auto industry is now home to potentially negligent manufacturers who are not only failing to reduce motorists’ blind spots in new vehicle models, they are actually making them bigger. In an effort to improve safety ratings in other areas, some auto manufacturers have created 2014 vehicle models that have wider blind spots than older and seemingly less safe models.

When a motorist cannot detect movement in his or her blind spot, that motorist may unintentionally collide with pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles present in the space marked by the blind spot. It is thus imperative that blind spots are reduced as much as is possible or that alternative technology is installed to help drivers see activity in their blind spots on a specialized screen.

A community near Seattle is struggling to cope with the recent death of a 16-year-old boy who was killed in a car accident earlier this month.

The Stanwood, Washington, boy was a passenger in a car that went off the road when its driver, a teenage girl, lost control on Pioneer Highway, rolled and went into a ditch. 

Five of the vehicle’s six occupants were hurt, but the 16-year-old boy is the only one who did not survive the car accident.

Dog owners often like to take their beloved pets on car rides. Whether a dog needs to visit the vet, the family wants to take their dog on vacation or a dog simply enjoys riding with his head out of the window, owners often allow their dogs to ride unrestrained on these car rides. Unfortunately, while Fido may love to ride unrestrained, driving with an unrestrained dog can increase a motorist’s risk of being involved in car accidents and increase risk of injury among all motor vehicle inhabitants.

Unrestrained pets of any kind, and dogs in particular, present a potential distraction to drivers. As a result, it is safest for dog owners to crate their pets on car trips. A restrained dog is less likely to create the kind of havoc that leads to distraction-related accidents.

Regardless of whether dog owners heed the practical advice that one should crate their dogs while traveling, dog owners should always avoid allowing dogs to ride in the front seat. Creating separation between the driver and the dog will help the driver to remain focused on the task at hand. Keeping dogs out of the front seat also protects them from airbag deployment and from flying into the windshield in the event of a collision.