Every year, between 35,000 and 40,000 people pass away in car accidents. The number of those who get injured is far greater. No matter how you break down the statistics, it’s clear that accidents are a major threat in the United States and that they happen to people far more often than most realize.
One way to attempt to prevent or at least curb the number of accidents is to understand why they happen. To this end, here are a few of the top reasons for car accidents:
- Speeding
- Drunk driving
- Distracted driving
- Weather conditions
- Reckless driving
- Night driving
- Red light running
What you will often find is that multiple reasons impact one accident. For instance, many drunk driving accidents happen at night. Not only are these drivers impaired, but their vision is already impaired by a lack of visibility. Both of these impairments could work together to make it so that they run a stop sign that they never see. If you are driving through that intersection at the crucial moment, you could get hit by that driver. A long list of factors and choices had been working together all night to cause that accident. When everything comes together, it puts you in serious danger, even though you did not make any of those mistakes yourself.
If you get injured in an accident, you may be able to seek compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and many other costs. Make sure you are well aware of the rights that you have and exactly what steps you’ll need to take to get the process underway.