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A car accident is one of the most common crashes today. Humans cause much of that. Sadly, millions of people have been killed in these unnecessary car crashes. Therefore, to ensure your safety and avoid risks, you must drive very carefully. The first thing to keep in mind is to abide by the traffic laws strictly.

However, nothing can guarantee that all other drivers are as careful as you are. To avoid unnecessary risks, you should dig deeper into the common causes of accidents. Below you will be taken through the significant causes of car accidents and how to avoid them. Let’s jump into them now!

What Should You Do to Prevent Car Accidents?

Every year, about six million accidents happen in the United States. Although this is an astonishing number, most of us have little information about preventing a car crash or what to do when confronting an accident.

In a study by researchers at the NHTSA and Virginia Tech about 6,950 car crashes, they show us a deeper understanding of what happened before the accidents. They get the information from the crashes via accelerometers, sensors equipped in the cars, and recorded videos inside and outside the vehicles.

Below are the most common car crash reasons. They are not caused by poor driving skills, but by incorrect judgment or distraction by the drivers.

1. Loss of Concentration While Driving

One of the most common causes of car crashes is distracted driving. It has been around for decades and is becoming a more significant threat year by year.

Do not lose focus while driving

The only important thing to keep in mind is to keep an eye on your surroundings as you drive. It also means no phone calls, no eating, no makeup, no texting, and no talking to the people behind the wheel. In short, you must not do anything else while you are driving. It is not too difficult to do but still ensures the safety of you and your traveling companion.

The leading cause of car accidents is not drunk driving, but distraction while driving. The drivers do not focus on the road and perform the correct driving tasks. Instead, they speak on the phone, send text messages, find or eat food, makeup…We will have a further analysis of each action below.

Drivers being distracted while driving is especially dangerous because it can happen at any time of the day while drunk driving usually occurs at night. According to NHTSA, 65% of traffic accidents are caused by the drivers being distracted three seconds before the accident.

2. Construction Sites

The construction sites are on the rise. Occasionally, mistakenly setting up construction sites can also occur. It will be difficult to predict this. Therefore, it is essential to keep an eye on the cones. Also, please pay attention to other drivers around you, as they may be confused. Of course, you must make sure to slow down in these areas to prevent the slightest accident.

3. Talk on the phone

NHTSA researchers said that dialing the phone number while driving will increase the risk of an accident by 2.8 times. While talking on the phone will increase the risk of an accident by 1.3 times.

Virginia Tech researchers also point out that using headphones or Bluetooth to perform a call is not safer than directly making it by the phones. Instead, you should use the voice command on your car. This driving support system is less risky unless the drivers lose concentration on the road or take their hands off the steering wheel frequently for long periods of time. Absolutely not using a mobile phone while driving is the safest way and has practical implications for all road users.

4. Carelessness or Hurry or Not Paying Attention to Your Surroundings

There are situations in which you must drive in a hurry. It is easy to understand, and most people can meet in life. However, careless driving will lead to unfortunate things for some drivers. They can drive much faster than permitted and collide with other people on the road. Usually, rear-end collisions have become commonplace and are the cause of many other accidents.

Many people still use a cell phone while driving despite warnings about the dangers of this. It is a sad fact that the driver needs to get rid of it immediately. According to the study, people who use a cell phone while driving are four times more likely to have an accident than usual.

People tend to label young and inexperienced drivers as careless and reckless. However, not only beginners but also people who have been driving for a long time can cause accidents. After passing the driving test, many people develop bad habits that affect their safety.

Each person must realize for himself that it is imperative to drive low speed and more carefully. If everyone can do this, the number of accidents will be significantly reduced.

5. Drive over the speed limit

Speeding is the cause of one-third of traffic accidents. The faster you drive, the less time you have to react to avoid unexpected obstacles, which increases the chance of a collision. That is not to mention the consequences of a crash could be more severe and devastating when you move at high speed.

According to NHTSA statistics, every year in the US, there are 12,500 deaths caused by overspeeding, accounting for 33% of traffic accidents, costing society 28 billion USD/year. It should be noted that just exceeding 56 km/h can cause a serious accident.

For instance, if you drive with an allowed speed of 48 km/h, when you detect pedestrians at 13.7 meters away and brake, your vehicle will stop before colliding with the pedestrians. If you exceed the limit of 56 km/h at a distance of 13.7 meters, after braking, the car will collide with the pedestrians at a speed of 29 km/h. This collision is strong enough to cause serious injury, such as internal organs damaged for the pedestrians.

6. Failure to Predict The Direction and Speed of Other Drivers

It seems simple, but actually, it is challenging. This error accounts for one-fifth of all road accidents today. Through this statistic, you can see the enormous impact this has on drivers.

When exiting an intersection or turning around, a driver may misjudge the direction of the person above or behind. In essence, people tend to take risks. But putting your safety in these things is not advisable.

Not just in everyday situations, the prediction is an essential skill when you drive a car. Through your observation, you must react deliberately and give perspective to locations about to happen on the road.

If you do not want to think too complicatedly, you can make assumptions about a hazardous situation’s potential cause. It could be carelessness or profit margins when driving.

No one can completely predict the actions that other drivers will perform on the road. In other words, they are entirely out of your control. Maybe in that situation, you follow your thoughts. But they are the things they do not do. In general, you must keep in mind that you never simplify the problem.

In such cases, the essential thing you should always keep in mind is to watch and wait. When you see a safe distance between you and any vehicle ahead, you can continue your action.

7. Send text messages

The accident risk of sending text messages while driving is up to 23.2 times more than that of driving with attention.

Research by NHTSA and Virginia Tech both came to the conclusion that composing and sending text messages is the most dangerous task in using cell phone features.

If you can not turn off your phone before driving, you should turn on voicemail and only listen to voicemail until you have parked in a secure parking space. You should only eat and drink when you arrive at a stopover.

For drivers over the age of 18 who have experience driving, they should consider when using their phones on the road. With drivers under 18 or newly licensed drivers, they need to be prohibited from using cellphones while driving.

8. Failure to Look Properly

Incorrect observation is also one of the most common causes of auto accidents. Naturally, there are many reasons for this.

While driving, fatigue is inevitable. And it has a massive effect on the driver’s perception and responsiveness. Besides, other influencing factors can also be the cause of driver distraction. It could be other passengers in the car or a song you listen to while driving. Besides, complacent drivers, lazy, or not fluent on the route is another cause of some accidents.

As mentioned above, the first and foremost rule that every driver must remember is maximum concentration while driving. Being awake and looking correctly is the most basic of the requirements that you must be aware of. Just a moment of not paying attention to your surroundings can cause or get into an accident. And it is not worth the mistake.

Keep yourself alert and alert to the road. Take a break if you find yourself unwell. If you find yourself distracted a lot, stop your car and calm down until you return to focus. While this may prolong your driving time, do everything in your power to protect your safety.

Tips to avoid car accidents

Above are the most ubiquitous reasons for car crashes, but there are still many more causes for car accidents. To avoid other accidents, you should keep these tips for yourself.

1. Put yourself in the most comfortable sitting position

Always make sure to be in control of the vehicle, starting with the best possible sitting position, so that you can easily hold the steering wheel and ready to put your foot on the brake.

2. Adjust the mirrors

Adjust all of the outside and inside rearview mirrors to fit your perspective for easily observing the surroundings

3. Put your hands at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock position on the steering wheel

This position allows the driver to steer and return the wheel the fastest in an emergency for passenger cars. However, with one hand on the steering wheel, this situation would be hazardous and hard to control.

4. Ensure the car is always in the best condition

The cars can fail and cause accidents in many different ways, such as tire explosion, brake loss, or wipers not working when it rains. Therefore, before getting in the car, you should make sure that your vehicle’s equipment still operates correctly.

5. Predict unusual situations

While driving, you should check your surroundings to anticipate any changes in the traffic and prepare for them. Usually, you can avoid a collision just by looking for an abnormality a few meters in front of the vehicle.

6. Recognize the car’s weaknesses

Usually, all vehicles have at least one blind spot. Blind spots are inevitable weaknesses in the design of all cars that prevent the drivers’ vision. However, they could become supporters in helping you see the lane better while driving when you get used to them.

7. Avoid driving in bad weather

Avoid driving in rough weather conditions such as heavy rain, hail, driving in snow, and fog. No matter how well equipped your car is or how well you drive, the stake of accidents is always high under these terrible conditions.

Final Thoughts

As seen above, the significant causes of car accidents and how to avoid them is demonstrated clearly. Before you drive, think about the people you love, the other big dreams you have not achieved in your life, or your business.

This way, you will become more aware of the importance of life and safer driving. Take care of yourself and eliminate any influences on your concentration while driving.

Nothing is more precious than your safety. Because of that, you should remember those tips in this article whenever you are on the road. Have a safe drive!