If you are curious about the causes of car accidents, you will discover a never-ending list. What caused a particular accident is definitely up to the police. It is a must to know the cause in order to identify the culprit. If the accidents are caused due to other driver’s negligence, visit gkbm.com to check out what options you have to take actions against the at-fault person.
The causes of car accidents can be classified under three heads – driver’s mistakes, technical failure and bad weather.
Human Errors
Drivers’ mistake is the major cause of automobile accidents. While it is possible for us to control our cars, we’ve no way to control others’ actions.
Human errors responsible for car accidents can be as follows:
- Distracted Driving: Getting distracted while driving is the leading cause in most of the car accidents. According to reports, gadgets and gizmos are the main cause of distraction for the drivers. Cell phones and DVD players often cause loss of concentration. Other viable causes of distraction are eating, kids, makeup etc. In this world, everyone wants to handle several tasks simultaneously. It is important to remember that human brains cannot handle multitasking. The habit of being a multi-tasker must be abandoned when you are behind the driver’s wheel.
- Under the Influence: Driving under the influence of alcohol or any prohibited drug is considered a serious human error that could cause car accidents. Alcohol or illegal drugs negatively affect your ability to think clearly and that increases the risk of motor accidents.
- Unfamiliar with Laws: Being unfamiliar with the traffic rules – teenage drivers belong to this category – also causes severe accidents. Taking a quick turn or picking up speed beyond limit is a must-avoid on roads. Extra precaution should be adopted while driving in an unfamiliar area.
- Health Conditions: Heart attack, stroke, extreme tiredness, seizures and even feeling sleepy while driving can end up causing horrible car accidents. Medical conditions are not always predictable. However, you must assess your health-related risk factors before throwing yourself on the driver’s seat. If you are feeling out of sort, don’t dare to drive.
Technical Faults
Mechanical faults can result from different reasons. Sometimes, mechanical faults are beyond the driver’s’ control while other times not.
Failure in Car Maintenance: Routine upkeep is a must for proper functioning of your car. If regular maintenance work is neglected, it may cause motor accidents. Bad brakes, bald tires, broken rods and other faulty parts must be repaired and/or replaced before you hit the road.
Design Defects: You are not responsible if the design of your car is defective. However, such error is not very common. Defective design also causes accidents. The auto manufacturers take the cars off the market if the problem is identified. But most of the time, it is identified only after accidents take place.
Non-Functioning Traffic Lights: If the traffic lights go out of order suddenly, it may cause accidents. If you are unfamiliar with the area, it is likely that you will miss the outage and drive through the intersection.
Bad Weather
Even though bad weather means dangerous roads, it is still considered a driver’s error in the event of an accident. Dense fog, heavy rain, snowfall, storms etc are extreme weather conditions and likely to cause problems for the drivers. You should avoid driving if the roads are not safe enough to move on without risk.