Where car accidents are concerned, some types of car accidents are more common than others and some types of car accidents tend to be particularly deadly. Taking a look at the statistics related to car crashes reveals quite a bit about how people come to be seriously injured and even killed in car crashes.
Conditions
The conditions on a roadway play significant parts in car crashes. In fact, according to a study from 1985, highway conditions played a part in approximately 34% of the serious crashes examined.
The conditions on a roadway can be related to the maintenance of the road in question, the tightness of the corners on a roadway or the weather at any given time. Weather is a particularly tricky factor to deal with, considering the fact that it can change very quickly and that its effects on roadways are not always apparent. For instance, a sudden summer rainstorm may not seem to have made the roads very slick, but that may only be because vision is diminished because of the lower levels of sunlight.
Drunk Driving
Driving under the influence of alcohol is a major contributor to people getting injured and dying in car crashes. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 40% of accidents involve alcohol in one way or another. Over the years, however, the rate of people being killed in alcohol-related crashes have actually gone down. Researchers oftentimes attribute this to the tremendous efforts that have been made to publicize the dangers of drunk driving and the increasingly severe penalties levied against drunk drivers when they are convicted of a crime.
Vehicle Maintenance
Vehicle maintenance also plays a significant role in car crashes. Tires that are not properly inflated, brakes that are not checked regularly and other factors can all contribute to causing car crashes that could have otherwise been avoided.
Negligence
Negligence plays a role in many fatal car crashes, including the ones caused by the factors listed above. For instance, a driver who’s driving far too fast for the current weather conditions may be regarded as having been negligent. A drunk driver is certainly committing a negligent act, in that they are doing something any reasonable person would understand puts other drivers at risk. Not properly maintaining a vehicle may also constitute negligence if it directly contributes to harming someone. There are many types of fatal car crashes, and many of them are preventable. Taking care of your vehicle, driving sensibly given conditions and not driving while intoxicated can prevent many common accidents.
