How to Keep Yourself and Your Family Safer on the Roads

Common Causes of Accidents and How to Avoid Them

Distracted Driving. One of the key reasons that many accidents happen nowadays is because drivers are distracted. This has become a more prominent threat in recent years, as so many people have a reliance on checking their smartphones for emails, texts, calls, and updates regularly. To stay safe, you need to put your phone away when you’re driving. As well, avoid other distractions when at the wheel, such as reading, applying makeup, fiddling with your clothing, and changing music.

Driving Under the Influence. Unfortunately, even with the greater awareness around the risks of drunk and impaired driving these days, it remains one of the leading causes of accidents in the United States. To not only keep yourself and others safe from a crash, but to also stop yourself from being fined or arrested, you need to take a taxi or car service, walk, or get a friend or family member to drive you if you have a few drinks.

Speeding. Of course, speeding is always another common problem when it comes to being on the roads. If you don’t want to injure your car, yourself, or others, or get faced with an expensive fine, you need to stick to the speed limit at all times. Focus on road signs around you indicating a change of permitted speed as you go, particularly in areas you’re not familiar with.

Reckless Driving. Reckless driving is another cause of many crashes that needs to be avoided. This refers to actions such as being aggressive, changing lanes quickly, tailgating, running red lights, going the wrong way down a one-way street, taking improper turns, merging lanes without looking, or giving way to others, and more.

Other Factors. Some other common causes of accidents include:

• Bad weather — in particular rain, fog, snow, and ice
• Lack of visibility when driving at night
• Animal crossings
• Design defects in vehicles
• Construction sites and other changes to roads or conditions
• Tire blowouts

It is important to stay focused on the road ahead and other drivers and things around you when you’re driving, so that you see potential hazards before they cause you to be in an incident.

What to Look for When Purchasing a Car

When it is time to buy a car, keep in mind that, although you’ll be looking to save money and get a good deal, sometimes a more expensive vehicle will be more cost-effective over the long run. When it comes to safety, consider that the size and weight of a vehicle matter considerably. Larger, heavier cars tend to offer more protection than smaller, lighter ones as there is less structure in the vehicle available to absorb the energy of a crash.

Another factor you should look at when comparing vehicles is whether or not they have a crashworthy design. Vehicles with safer structure have elements such as:

• Crumple zones to absorb the force of crashes
• Airbags
• A very strong occupant compartment, roof, and side panels to handle impact and/or rolling
• Proper seat belts in all the right areas

It also pays to look for cars with crash-avoidance technologies. For example, some vehicles are now equipped with adaptive headlights which shift direction as you steer, so that you can see curves in the dark much better. There are also technologies involving auto-brake systems, collision warnings, blind-spot detection, lane-keeping assistance, and more.

What to Do If You Get in an Accident

The first thing to do after an accident is turn on your hazard lights, and make sure that everyone involved (both inside cars and outside them, if pedestrians or animals are involved) is okay. If possible, you should get everyone to relocate to safety, such as to the sidewalk or shoulder of the road.

If anyone has been hurt, don’t hesitate to seek help immediately, by ringing 911. Don’t forget that injuries can be internal, and therefore not show visible signs, so if people seem groggy, unresponsive, unclear, or otherwise not quite right, it is better to get them checked out sooner rather than later.

Next, it is important to exchange information (such as names, phone numbers, licence numbers, licence plate numbers, email addresses, and insurance details) with any other drivers involved. You may also want to take down the details of any witnesses to the accident. It also pays to take photographs of your car and the scene.

As well, police will likely be called, so you will need to file a report with them, and document the damage to your vehicle. Even if you’re only been involved in a very minor crash, it can be worthwhile getting the police to come out so that you have a report to reference if you develop health issues later on from the accident.

Your insurance company will also need to be contacted, so make sure you have as much information as possible that you can forward on to them (this includes a copy of the accident report compiled by the police officer).

If you or one of your family members is injured in a crash, you may want to think about getting legal advice and putting in a compensation and/or medical claim. In particular, it pays to contact specialists in the area, such as these car accident attorneys in San Antonio.

Alexa Mason

Alexa Mason is the blogger behind Single Moms Income, a personal finance freelance writer, and an online entrepreneur. Come hang out with her on Facebook and Pinterest.