5 Common Causes of Auto Accidents that won’t surprise you!
- Distracted Driving
- Speeding
- Drunk Driving
- Reckless Driving
- Weather Conditions
20 other common causes of Auto Accidents
6. Running Red Lights
When you’re driving your car, red means stop and not doing so usually leads to car accidents in Atlanta. Drivers that run red lights, run the risk of causing wrongful death because they often cause side-impact collisions at high speeds. To avoid a car accident, look both ways for oncoming cars as you approach a green light.
7. Running Stop Signs
Stop signs should never be ignored, but when they are, serious car accidents are often the result. Each year, thousands of people die in auto accidents that occur because one driver ran a stop sign. It is so sad that one of the most common causes of Auto Accidents (anywhere in the country) is because many of us ignore Stop Signs. Many rollover accidents and side-impact car accidents result from drivers that run stop signs in the Greater Atlanta Area. You should always look both ways when proceeding through a stop sign.
8. Teenage Drivers
Youth is wasted on the young, but careful driving is never wasted on young drivers. Unfortunately, teenagers aren’t often known for their carefulness. When teen drivers hit the roads they don’t always know what to do and that lack of experience ends up causing car accidents.
More about how teenage drivers cause car accidents
9. Night Driving
Driving in the daylight can be hazardous, but driving at night nearly doubles the risk of a car accident occurring. When you can’t see what’s up ahead you don’t know what to anticipate as you drive towards it. As the sun goes down, your awareness of the road and cars around you must go up.
More on how night driving is a top cause of accidents
10. Design Defects
No product is ever made perfectly, and cars are no different. Automobiles have hundreds of parts, and any of those defective parts can cause a serious car accident. Many automakers have had problems with design defects in the past, including Ford Explorer rollover accidents and Toyota’s unintended acceleration crashes.
11. Unsafe Lane Changes
There will always come a time where you need to get over to another lane (i.e. exit from a freeway, get in the correct lane to make a turn, etc.). When drivers don’t make safe lane changes properly, it often leads to a car accident. To prevent a needless car accident, use your turn signal, check your blind spots and always proceed carefully into the next lane.
12. Wrong-Way Driving
Everyone has lapses in judgment, but when behind the wheel of a car, those clouded instincts can be deadly. You can turn down a street thinking it is a normal right turn when in actuality, it is a one-way street in the opposite direction. When you go the wrong way, everyone is in danger because as you head towards a car accident.
13. Improper Turns
At Essa, Janho & Associates, LLC. we recommend using turn signals and lanes designated for moving either right or left. When drivers ignore the rules of the road, car accidents are often the result. To prevent a car accident, always look for signs and obey the proper right-of-way before you make a turn.
More about car accidents caused by improper turns
14. Tailgating
Many drivers are impatient and reckless, driving so close to another car that they cannot react in time if the car in front of them brakes suddenly. Many fatal car accidents have occurred when a motorist dangerously tailgated another driver at high speeds. You can prevent these car accidents by giving the car in front of you a one-car-length buffer for every 10 mph you drive.
More on how tailgating is a top cause of accidents
15. Driving Under the Influence of Drugs
It’s not only alcohol that is dangerous when mixed with drivers on the road. Drugs, both legal and illegal, can impair your ability to fully function as a driver. If your mind isn’t clear and you don’t have complete control over your body, getting behind the wheel can lead to serious car accidents.
More about drugged driving car accidents and why you need a lawyer in your local state and city.
16. Ice
Not super common in Atlanta, though we had our share of black ice over the last couple of years. So, you’re driving down 75, it’s dark and you want to get home to enjoy your recorded series on NetFlix. Next thing you know, you’re Automobile is spinning dangerously out of control because you hit black ice. Common Causes of Auto Accidents are not anticipating a certain road condition.
17. Snow
Snow’s dangerous mixture of ice and water is a dangerous recipe for car accidents each winter storm. Like ice, snow is not something you usually encounter when driving in San Diego. Cities with cold winters know all-too-well just how dangerous snow can be for commuters.
18. Road Rage
Everyone has been angry at another driver for one reason or another, but some drivers let their rage overcome them. By tailgating another driver in anger or speeding past another driver only to pull in front of them and brake, these road “ragers” cause many needless car accidents each year.
19. Potholes
Motorists in San Diego are well aware of the dangers posed by potholes in the street. Drivers run the risk of losing control of their car or blowing out a tire when they drive over these potholes. If you see a pothole in your car’s path, you can avoid a car accident by making sure that your tires do not drive over it.
20. Drowsy Driving
Driver fatigue isn’t talked about a lot, but how well can we expect anyone to drive when they’re having trouble staying awake. Most of the car accidents caused by drowsy driving occur at night. If you find yourself wanting to fall asleep at the wheel, pull over when it’s safe and try to take a quick 30-minute power nap.
21. Tire Blowouts
Most highways are littered with the scattered remains of a tire blowout. Tire blowouts can cause you to lose control of your vehicle, and they are especially dangerous for bigger automobiles like semi-trucks. When encountering a tire blowout, try to maintain control of your vehicle and pull over safely and you will likely avoid a serious car accident.
22. Fog
Fog isn’t the most common weather occurrence, and that’s good news for car accident statistics. Driving is a skill that requires the ability to see, but fog makes it extremely difficult to see sometimes more than a car length in front of you. Avoid car accidents by using your running lights and never your high beams when driving in the fog.
23. Deadly Curves
Some people call them dead man’s curves, but everyone should be careful when approaching a curve. Many motorists have lost control of their cars along a dangerous curve and lost their lives in a car accident. So when you approach these signs, take note of the posted speed limit and drive cautiously to avoid a car accident.
24. Animal Crossings
While drivers are required to know the rules of the roadway, wild animals do not take driver’s education. Wild animals will wade out into the street, and it’s up to you to make sure that you don’t get into a car accident with them. Take caution when you see an animal crossing sign and use your high beams when traveling in rural, woody areas.
25. Street Racing – Another Cause of Auto Accidents
Glorified by the Fast and the Furious movie franchise, street racing is an underground culture of fast cars and deadly car accidents. With turbo engines and nitrous oxide boosters, cars often reach very high speeds during a street race, making any resulting car accident much more dangerous and unlikely to yield any survivors.