THE LEADING CAUSES OF AUTO ACCIDENTS

Law Office of Daniel L. Crandall

Causes of Auto Accidents

Over 37,000 people die in road crashes in the U.S. each year, with an additional 2.35 million suffering injuries and disabilities. Negligence is at the root of many auto accidents. Some of the leading causes of auto accidents in the U.S. include:

Distracted Driving Speeding Aggressive Driving Driving Under the Influence

Distracted Driving In 2012, 3,328 people were killed in auto accidents involving a distracted driver, while 421,000 people were injured. Any activity that takes your eyes, hands, or mind away from driving is a distraction. Examples include:

Texting Talking on a cell phone Adjusting the radio Using a handheld GPS Personal grooming Eating Talking to passengers

Speeding

Speeding includes exceeding the speed limit, driving too fast for conditions, or racing. Speeding slows down a driver's reaction time to avoid a crash and can worsen the damage.

Speeding caused 28% of all motor vehicle crash deaths in the U.S. in 2014.

Aggressive Driving Aggressive driving occurs when "an individual commits a combination of moving traffic offenses so as to endanger other persons or property" and causes more than 50% of fatal accidents. Aggressive driving behaviors include:

Speeding Improper or erratic lane changing Tailgating Passing where prohibited Failure to signal Making an improper turn Failure to obey traffic signs Racing Illegal driving on the shoulder, in a ditch or on a sidewalk or median Operating a vehicle in a reckless, erratic or negligent manner

Driving Under the Influence

Alcohol impairs a driver's motor skills, judgement, attentiveness and cognitive function.

Every day, nearly 30 people in the U.S. die in motor vehicle accidents involving an alcohol-impaired driver, amounting to one death every 51 minutes.

Contact Us

If you have suffered an injury as a result of an auto accident, contact the Law Office of Daniel L. Crandall

for a free telephone or in-person consultation:

Local: 540-342-2000

Toll Free: 800-LAW-8000

Sources

http://asirt.org/initiatives/informing-road-users/road-safety-facts/road-crash-statistics

http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/distracted_driving/ http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/general-statistics/

fatalityfacts/overview-of-fatality-facts#Speeding http://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/aggressive-driving http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/impaired_driving/

impaired-drv_factsheet.html