Car accidents are a common cause of many fatalities across the world. It is a tragic incident, but unfortunately, it occurs very frequently, leading to a lot of loss, sorrow to people as well as damage to property at times. Often, after an accident, we don’t think to fix our cars. The frequency of car accidents makes it inevitable that damage and scratches will occur. In order to prevent your car’s value from dropping, you need to have these problems resolved quickly. A car accident is likely to result in several dents in your vehicle. Finding scratches, dents, and cracks on your automobile after an accident is incredibly stressful. With an auto body repair shop, you can be assured you will get a high level of service and a fast repair of your vehicle if you apply for MPI benefits.
According to the results of a government survey, 64% of Australians who are over 18 years of age and have a driver’s licence have been in at least one car accident. These statistics are scary, and many people who have witnessed or experienced car accidents get traumatized for life so much so that they give up traveling by car completely. However, that is hardly an effective solution. To avoid such mishaps, it is important to know what causes them.
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DUI or Driving Under Influence
This is a major reason why many road accidents happen, whether minor or major. Driving under the influence of alcohol can endanger not only the driver’s life but also everyone who comes in their path.
There’s a pattern to drunk driving, and most of such incidents occur after sunset. It’s when people get off work and go out for a drink and then just drive home drunk. That is very irresponsible behaviour. The legal BAL (Blood Alcohol Limit) varies with body weight, and violating it is a punishable offense due to the car accidents it may cause.
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Distracted Driving
While some might take driving for granted, it actually is a considerable responsibility to steer a large metal vehicle at high speed without causing harm to anyone. Ignoring that responsibility is why so many accidents take place where a car runs down a pedestrian or collides with a fellow vehicle as the driver was distracted.
It is the duty of a driver to focus only on the road and nothing else. Drivers must not use their cell phones while driving or eat food.
A single moment of keeping your eyes off the road may cause an accident and result in people being injured or worse still dying. If you are injured in a car accident and want assistance with your claim for compensation you ought to consider contacting car accident lawyers for assistance. This way you will know that your claim is handled properly by professionals.
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Speeding
Speeding is another main reason why road accidents occur, and not just between cars but trucks and two-wheelers too. Speeding leads to many deaths throughout the year, and these accidents often happen because the one at the wheel loses control of the steering and collides with something or someone.
It’s a gruesome and tragic occurrence that can be prevented if the speed limit set by the authorities is abided by. The higher the speed of a vehicle, the more difficult it is to slow down, thus causing accidents. But as already mentioned, it can be avoided with responsible driving.
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Reckless Driving
If we go out on the road, we are bound to see some car drivers who have no regard for the rules and regulations of the road. They are reckless drivers. They change lanes without looking, tailgate other vehicles, ignore road signs and traffic lights, and much more. The thing is, these rules are in place for a very good reason, and violating them ultimately brings disaster in the form of car accidents.
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Wet Roads
We have discussed at large how human irresponsibility causes car accidents. Sometimes these tragedies occur without any human interference at all. For instance, accidents increase right after a heavy shower when all the roads are wet and slippery. Especially metalled roads are susceptible to this because the friction on them decreases due to contact with water. The chances of a car skidding on such a road are unfortunately very high.
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Unrepaired Roads
Roads and highways bear a load of many heavyweight vehicles throughout the day, and so a little wear and tear are expected. Cracked roads, if not repaired immediately, will break up further and lead to a huge crater-like crack. Such damaged roads are prone to accidents of all sorts- from motorbikes to car and truck accidents. Drivers won’t really look at the condition of the road while they are busy driving, and it cannot be expected of them either. Therefore, repairing damaged roads can also prevent collisions and accidents.
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Mismanagement at Intersections
Intersections where three of four roads meet often see more accidents than other places. This often occurs because of reckless driving, but sometimes it happens due to poor traffic management too. Sometimes traffic signals don’t show the red light, or maybe the traffic police mismanage the vehicular traffic leading to tragic accidents. However, these rarely happen as most road authorities are extremely cautious about intersections.
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Careless Pedestrians
Not always is the onus of a car accident on the driver; sometimes pedestrians are to blame too. They cross the road without looking, don’t use the sidewalk for walking, and walk on the main road. Such carelessness either leads to cars running these people over or the cars crashing into something else to avoid harming the pedestrian. Either way, it results in disaster.
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Animals
Yes, you read that right. Animals, too, sometimes are responsible for road accidents, but these are not frequent occurrences. In countries with rich wildlife that are free to roam around as they please, car accidents caused by animals are a common thing. In Australia the Kangaroo is the one animal that causes nine out of ten accidents caused by animals. They randomly jump in front of cars on highways and cause many disasters. Cattle are also responsible for many car accidents in this country.
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Poor Road Designs
The way that roads are constructed also plays a minor role in road safety. Sharp right-angled turns, too many bumpers or speed breakers, blind corners, improper lane division are also examples of road designs that lead to accidents.
Going out on the road, whether driving a car or as a pedestrian, does require a little responsibility on our part. Accidents cause much damage to health and public or private property. In worst-case scenarios, it even leads to death. The ramifications of a car accident are far-reaching – families are left with grief, roads are damaged, which hinders the daily movement of many people, and the victim may be left with a damaged body part unable to live normally again. All of this can be avoided with a little responsibility and discretion.