Top 3 Reasons For Car Accidents
Michael Babboni
Car Accidents
Florida, just like every other part of the USA, has a lot of people with cars, motorcycles and even bikes and scooters. And that means a lot of people are on the road at any given time. No one is perfect, and neither are environmental or weather conditions, so sometimes accidents are going to happen.However, some accidents are more common than others, and there are many accidents that occur in Florida that are, sadly, completely preventable. In fact, the most common causes of car accidents in Florida are all things that don’t need to happen at all if people took their driving responsibilities seriously. These are the three top reasons accidents happen in Florida, and how you can prevent them.
Speeding
More than any other cause, speed is the usual reason accidents occur, although the reasons behind the speeding are many and varied. To many, a speed limit just seems like an excuse for the police to give people a ticket, or an unfair arbitrary number assigned to vehicles that slows people down and makes them later for appointments and other commitments than they need to be.
But the truth is, the speed limit was calculated to take average road conditions, average car performance and, most important of all, average human reflexes, and come up with a number that allowed people to act with maximum response time to sudden events on the road. Someone breaking the speed limit is also increasing the amount of time it takes to successfully brake, whether that’s to stop for a crossing dog, or make a turn safely. Failing to take this into account when speeding and braking often leads to accidents.
Ignoring Traffic Signals
Another common and entirely avoidable cause of accidents. Traffic signals—or signs—have been built in order to create a sense of structure, and give everyone on the road an idea of what behavior they can expect from other cars.
So when you have a situation where there’s a four-way stop sign intersection, and the car that arrived first comes to a full stop, then, as expected, crosses through the stop, it’s only natural that an accident would occur when someone else comes in, ignores the stop sign and continues full-speed ahead into the car that is already making its legal crossing. The same goes for people that fail to slow down when a traffic light goes yellow, and instead pour on the speed, trying to “outrun” a red light.
Distracted Driving
This is a relatively recent form of traffic misbehavior, but is now rising in “popularity” so quickly that it’s over-taken drunk driving as a major cause of accidents. Too many drivers are now taking their phones out while on the road, and reading social media, responding to text messages, or even taking photos and/or videos of themselves while driving. And this means that when something happens on the road that they aren’t expecting, such as a lane change, they are unable to react in time, or at all.
If you find yourself injured in a car accident because the other driver was guilty of one of these things, that’s not your fault. Talk to a St. Pete lawyer about a personal injury lawsuit and get what you deserve.