Car accidents are, by nature, unpredictable. There is no exact science to forecasting or preventing them. However, there are evident patterns in when and where crashes occur – and knowing these patterns can help reduce the risk of an incident. In this article, we cover a few common accident scenarios and what you can do in these situations to avoid becoming a statistic.
Neighborhoods
It may sound surprising, but the majority of car accidents happen close to home. In fact, a Progressive Insurance study from 2004 found that approximately 52% of all accidents occur within just five miles from a person’s home. Generally, we’re more likely to crash in our own neighborhoods than anywhere else.
This can be explained by our brain’s propensity for going on autopilot when we’re driving familiar routes. If you’ve ever arrived at a destination only to realize that you were in a trance-like state the entire drive, then you know this phenomenon. When we drive in familiar places, we tend to rely more on muscle memory than on our vigilance and active driving skills (dulling our ability to react to unexpected occurrences).
The two most important things you can and should do every time you drive is buckling up and stay alert. As long as you keep your mental faculties fully active, you will be a better, safer driver on the road.
Parking Lots
When you combine lots of cars in a compact space with stressed-out drivers all vying for limited parking spaces, you get a hotbed for accidents. Parking lots are arguably the place where most low-speed collisions occur. Common parking lot accidents include vehicles backing up into each other, vehicles backing up and getting clipped by passing vehicles, vehicles sideswiping other vehicles as they park, etc. While accidents at these sites very rarely result in significant injuries, the vehicle damages that often result can be expensive to repair.
Daily Commutes
In large sprawling metropolitan cities like Los Angeles, commuters spend hours each day stuck in traffic. Many commuters multitask behind the wheel, putting on makeup, fiddling with the radio, eating food, shaving, and even brushing their teeth. Additionally, people may feel physically exhausted or mentally frazzled from getting up early or from having a hard day at work. When you take all of these factors into consideration, it’s not hard to see why many crashes occur during rush hour.
What should you do if you’ve been injured in a car accident?
If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident caused by another party, please don’t hesitate to contact the experienced car accident lawyers at Wilshire Law Firm for immediate legal assistance. We can help you get compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. For a FREE comprehensive case evaluation, call us today at 1-800-52-CRASH.
