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When it comes to auto accidents, the numbers are real and they’re scary. In fact, in the US, nearly 40,000 people are killed in vehicle accidents every year.
We don’t tend to think about being involved in one until it happens.
Understanding where most accidents occur on the roadway can help you to heighten your awareness so you can avoid being involved in one.
Near Your Home
It’s not a big surprise to many that most accidents happen near your home.
You’re overly familiar with the roadway and your attention tends to drift off to other things. It’s important that you keep your awareness high when traveling on roadways close to your home to prevent getting into an auto accident.
Traffic Lights
When there is a change in the traffic pattern, it can create some confusion.
Traffic lights are next on our list of the most common places where accidents occur. Most times, people simply misjudge how much time they need to stop.
We all have a good feel for how hard we need to hit our brakes on a normal basis.
However, the decreasing speed of those in a vehicle in front of us or a simple glimpse away from the wheel can alter our perception of how hard we need to hit our brakes to stop effectively before causing a collision.
Parking Lots
This one may surprise you as you don’t likely think of bad accidents happening in parking lots.
The truth is that most parking lot accidents are simply fender benders where people overshoot their parking stall or backed up too far into another vehicle.
Although high speed is not usually at play when it comes to the parking lot, there are still a lot of accidents that occur in these confined spaces.
Rural Roadways
You may think that when you’re traveling on those rural routes that there are far fewer vehicles to worry about. Most have a lot of space to swear off the road to avoid accidents.
However, rural roadways seem to be home to the highest number of single-vehicle accidents that occur.
In most cases, drivers were speeding in excess and were unable to maneuver a risky turn.
In other scenarios, people can have issues with simply drifting off the side of the roadway as they lose their mental focus on the activity of driving.
In some rarer cases, lack of proper road maintenance can lead to accidents, usually when there is inclement weather involved.
Two-Lane Roadways
More accidents tend to occur on two-lane roads than major highways.
This is because there is a limited amount of space to work with. When vehicles breakdown or you need to pull over to the shoulder, there is always a lot of space on two-lane roads.
This results in more head-on collisions than on any other type of roadway structure out there.
Weather Isn’t Always To Blame
Car accidents are usually thought of as being a result of a drunk driver or inclement weather conditions.
This isn’t always the case. Most accidents generally occur in the afternoon hours between 3 and 6 pm in the summer months.
In fact, you’re more likely to be involved in an accident on a hot summer afternoon than during the cold, dark days of the winter months.
A lot more people are traveling on summer vacations or heading to picnics in the summer time and more cars on the road means a higher chance of an eventual accident.
Driving during the holidays also increases your chances of getting in a wreck.
Auto accidents happen every hour and some are more severe than others.
By understanding what the likely conditions are that cause these accidents, you can better prepare yourself to limit your possibilities of being involved in one.
When it comes to the instances above, it’s best to slow down and heighten your awareness of your surroundings.
This is a Guest Post by Austin Winder, a Public Relations Specialist. I live in Memphis, TN and graduated with a business and marketing degree from the University of Memphis.