Auto Accidents: Looking a Little Further

In our office—and thus in our blog—we frequently deal with the fall-out from auto accidents, which account for a majority of the personal injury cases that we deal with. The aftermath of car accidents require a great deal of work and attention in answering many questions: Were there damages? Who was at fault? Was negligence involved? Will insurance cover this? How are medical bills going to be paid? How do we ensure the victim receives the compensation they deserve? While we certainly look at the causes of the accident in order to prove negligence on the part of the negligent driver, many causes of auto accidents in general are overlooked.

Auto accidents constitute a serious— and deadly—problem in this country. For every auto accident that ends up as a case file in a law firm, there are countless other dangerous drivers plaguing the highways and back roads of states all over the country, minutes and mere feet away from causing horrible accidents. In this sense, it is clear that the cases we—and attorneys in our field—deal with represent just a tiny, miniscule fraction of potential accidents that exist all over the countries, waiting to happen. Let’s take a look at some of the facts and causes surrounding auto accidents and dangerous driving—incidents we hear about and those we don’t.

Below are some startling statistics from the U.S. Center for Disease Control.

More people ages 5-34 die from car crashes than from any other single cause in the U.S.
Every 15 minutes, somebody dies in the U.S. in a car crash.
Every single day, eight teenagers die in a car crash in the U.S.
These statistics are enough to make anyone queasy. Getting behind the wheel can be deadly and, for that reason, doing so is a tremendous responsibility that should be done with the utmost caution. The top cause of a car crash is distracted driving. This includes:

texting, using Twitter, using Facebook, using Instagram while driving
taking a sip of a beverage or taking a bite of food while driving
looking at something out the side window for an extended period of time (the guy who got pulled over for speeding, a hot dog stand, a billboard, etc.) while driving

Another top cause of car crashes is speeding. In fact, the majority of drivers speed. Yes, going even 5 mph over the speed limit is speeding! Posted speed limits are not arbitrary numbers—these numbers are carefully calculated by physicists in order to make sure that drivers travel at a speed at which they have ample time to slow down without crashing into the car ahead of them.

Additionally, drunk driving is a major problem! Driving while intoxicated means impaired vision, severely reduced reaction times, reduced ability to concentrate, feeling drowsy, difficulty multitasking, and many, many more devastatingly dangerous factors.

Not every driver who engages in distracted driving, speeding or drunk driving is going to get into a car accident. Still, the statistics prove, time and time again, that if you don’t engage in those dangerous, reckless and negligent activities, you are far less likely to get into a (perhaps fatal) auto accident. Engaging in reckless behavior seriously increases the likelihood that you will get into a car crash and injure somebody else—or yourself.

Driving is a privilege and a responsibility, not a right. With tens of thousands of deaths every year from car accidents, the issue is a serious one. Car safety—and education surrounding car safety—is a vital component of keeping our streets safer and thus our society healthier. We hope you’re safe out there on the roads!

If you have any questions about this article, or if you or anyone you know have been the victim of a motor vehicle crash, please contact us at the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg for a free consultation by calling 561-266-9191 or emailing daronberg@build.simple.biz.

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