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In an ever-growing bid to reduce deaths and injuries on NSW’s roads, interactive statistics show there are many contributing factors to motor vehicle accidents. Our traffic lawyers have listed the top 10 main car accident causes.
Any car accident lawyers sydney will see continuous compensation claims brought to light by victims of these incidences:
- Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs
- Mobile Phone Use
- Speeding
- Weather Conditions
- Ignoring Red Lights and Stop Signs
- Young Drivers
- Night Driving
- Reckless Driving
- Unsafe Roads
- Driver Fatigue
Let’s explore each, one factor at a time.
Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol
Although authorities have taken extreme measures to help reduce the amount of people driving under the influence of alcohol more often than not, this is a leading cause of motor vehicle accidents across the state, and even country. Alcohol consumption often affects your ability to focus and as a result, imposes great dangers when operating a vehicle under the influence. These scenarios are even worse off as consumption is something we have control over and is often preventative.Friday drinks or Saturday bar hopping may sound like a great idea at the time, so here are some precautionary measures you can take:
- Drink within the permissible legal limit if you are a driver
- Nominate one person to be a designated driver (willingly, of course)
- Try to carpool or catch public transport
- Avoid getting in the car with an intoxicated driver and try to prevent them from operating a vehicle
Mobile Phone Use
With growing dependability and reliability on mobile phones these days – and applications such as Snapchat that require live posting – mobile phone use, and therefore distractions, are a growing contributor to motor vehicle accidents.
By diverting attention away from the road, and therefore missing vehicles, pedestrians, road signs and every important element one should encounter behind the wheel, there is also another preventative measure that can be taken. States have enforced strict laws in regards to mobile phone use, however this remains somewhat an epidemic amongst accidents today- even leading to fatal outcomes.
Our best advice is: DO NOT use a mobile phone and operate a vehicle at the same time. This simple habit causes a world of good.
Speeding
Speed limits are carefully enforced after factoring key features on our roads. These include road type, pedestrian activity, surrounding infrastructure and many key determinants in local governments differentiating between 40 km/h zones and 100 km/h zones. Drivers must be extra cautious in recognising the speed limit at any given point, and sticking to this speed limit. School zones and highways should not be travelled along at the same speed, which is another reason speeding can lead to detrimental consequences. By ignoring speed limits, drivers put themselves, passengers, other drivers and surrounding beings in harm and show little disregard for the law. Even though travelling at the required speed limit can still lead to traffic accidents, the faster one travels, the slower their reaction time in any case of prevention.
Weather Conditions
Fortunately for us, Australia does not experience as harsh weather conditions as colder climates such as snowstorms or tornadoes. Nevertheless, when it does rain here, it pours. Wet weather is another leading factor in traffic accidents. Poor weather conditions such as rain, hail or fog may impair drivers’ vision, reactions or general operating of vehicles.This factor is out of your control, what can we do to be as safe as possible? We cannot control the weather, but we can control our actions, so here are a few points:
- Take extra precautions in harsh weather conditions. For instance, if there is torrential rain and you are driving at the required speed limit of 60 km/h, slow down and travel at less of speed
- If you do not have to travel behind the wheel, wait until the weather gets better and you are confident and safe to drive from point A to point B
- It is especially crucial to consider the first three points to discuss and refrain from alcohol consumption; mobile phone use; and speeding.
Ignoring Red Lights and Stop Signs
Another preventative contributor is the complete disregards for traffic controls.
When the light turns red: STOP
When you are a Stop sign: STOP
Running red lights and Stop signs place drivers and oncoming traffic at risk, as the circumstances are placed in higher risk. Collisions with oncoming traffic are the most common result of this behaviour and can cause serious injuries. Governments place these controls for regulation and safety above all else and by ignoring these basic enforcements, serious consequences may occur as a result.
Young Drivers
It is no doubt; the moment you receive your driver’s licence is one of the happiest moments in your teen years. Often, inexperienced drivers may feel pressured, nervous and panicky when they are on the road, especially when they are alone without the guidance of an instructor or supervisor. This lack of experience can sometimes lead to car accidents, due to this inexperience, or on the opposite end of the spectrum, recklessness.Tips for Teens:
- Always obey road rules
- Do not experiment anything on the road (like how fast your new car can travel)
- If you do not feel confident driving alone, continue to practice with a responsible adult until you do
Night Driving
Driving at any time of day can be dangerous, however driving at night has proven to heighten this danger, with this environmental condition being another leading cause in traffic accidents. Whether this is a result of poor eye sight or not being able to see what lies ahead, it is extra important to be extra cautious while travelling in darker circumstances. As compensation lawyers, when a claim has been brought to light (pun intended) one of our key considerations is the lighting, such as streetlights and how helpful they were, at the time of an accident. In the lead up to occurrences caused by poor vision at night, determinants can be headlights, road lights, traffic lights or lack thereof as key contributors for accidents that may occur as a result.
Reckless Driving
Reckless driving is never a justification.Reckless driving may be in the form of:
- Excessive speeding
- Sharp turns at full speed
- Tailgating other vehicles
- Road rage
- Street racing
Whatever the circumstances may be, these are highly illegal and culprits endanger the lives of themselves and others by engaging in these means of reckless driving. If you come across a driver who is compromising the safety of road users, we highly recommend as citizens to report these drivers.
Remember, Fast and Furious was just a movie and should not be re-enacted.
Unsafe Roads
Local governments try their best to maintain the safety of our roads and ensure the wellbeing of drivers travelling along. Unsafe roads may be in the form of:
- Inadequate street signs
- Dangerous intersections
- Blind spots
- Confusing lanes
- Potholes
In encountering any of these conditions, drivers have a responsibility to take further precautions to prevent any motor vehicle accidents.
Our advice when faced with these conditions is that are more prone to accidents is to leave a lot of room between yourself and the vehicle in front of you, so that if you do need to change travelling conditions, you can do so in enough time. You must also concentrate even more so on your driving, leaving all distractions aside and aware of movement of traffic, while travelling at the speed limit.
Driver Fatigue
Driver fatigue remains a high concern for road users today. As substantial campaigns to raise awareness have been, this is still a growing concern in the busy lives we lead. Micro-sleeps main occur at night and if any point, as a driver, you are feeling sleepy or drowsy, it is safe to “Stop. Revive. Survive. ”What is a Micro-Sleep? Micro-sleeps are episodes of light sleep that can last only seconds (sometimes as little as five seconds) in which the brain “goes to sleep” involuntarily is duller situations- such as driving along a lengthy road after a tiring day at work.Caused by fatigue, signals of micro-sleeps can be head jolts and drooping eyelids, and if at any point drivers experience these feelings, it is safest to always pull over before resulting in far deeper consequences.
CLAIMING COMPENSATION WITH TRAFFIC LAWYERS
As experienced compensation lawyers, our traffic lawyers have successfully handled many claims of victims involved in traffic accidents. Our team of car accident lawyers will work hard to ensure you get the compensation you are entitled to and your case is handled to the best of our ability as an experienced vehicle accident law firm.
As recovering from a motor injury, either physically, mentally or emotionally can be difficult and timely, we aim to tackle the competing laws of claims, while you focus solely on your recovery.
Our expertise extends to the following:
- Whiplash injury claims
- Head, neck, back and spinal injury claims
- Brain injury claims
- CTP Greenslip claims
- Car, motorbike and truck accidents
- Pedestrian injuries
- Medical expenses claims
- Wages claims
- Care claims
If you have a claim you would like a Car Accident Lawyers in Sydney, or Australia-wide, to assess, contact us.
You can also read our article: “Car Accident Attorneys Tell All: What to do immediately after a car accident happened”.
The comments in the article are general in nature and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice. Anyone intending to apply the information contained in this newsletter should seek their own professional advice to independently verify their interpretation and the information’s applicability to their particular circumstances. This article is issued as a helpful guide to clients and for their private information. Therefore, it should be regarded as confidential and not be made available to any person without our prior approval.
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In the first step, we will help determine the merits of your compensation claim and advise on the likelihood of a successful claim.
