Driving Violations that Should Be Avoided to Prevent Car Accidents

Car accidents always leave victims devastated physically, mentally, and financially. As it is, victims may likely suffer injuries and incur damages, which could lessen their chance of full recovery if they are not compensated after the mishap.

To show the frequency of the road accidents in the country concerning cars, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released statistical showing that there were 32,885 fatalities in 2010. Actually, the car accidents in the country have reached an annual number of more than six million cases per year.

Of the approximately three million people who suffered injuries in car accidents, about 65 percent of them have been permanently disabled. Incidentally, one of the states with the highest number of fatalities is California. In the findings of the NTHSA, California has recorded about 2,715 fatalities that same year.

Traffic authorities should help in alleviating the situation by strictly implementing road traffic rules. For the part of the motorists, they should be aware of the common driving violations so that they may avoid them. Here are some of them:

• Driving above and beyond the speed limits;
• Excessive intake of alcohol and other illegal substances that affects a driver’s capacity to handle his car competently;
• Poor vehicle maintenance;
• Failure to abide by the traffic rules and regulations; and
• Driver distractions such as the use of cell phones and excessive conversations with other passengers.

Aggressive Driving: Causes and Prevention

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), aggressive driving is seen as the primary cause of auto accidents in the United States. The agency said that 56 percent of auto accident deaths were because of aggressive driving behaviors. This was seen as one of the outstanding factors why 32,885 people were killed in 2010 due to road crashes.

For the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), aggressive driving is defined as an occurrence in which a motorist performs a certain or a combination of “moving traffic offenses” that may “endanger other persons or property.”

An aggressive driving behavior can be any one or a combination of the following:

• Venting out emotions while driving;
• Getting distracted by another activity or an event worth seeing while driving;
• Following too closely on rear-end of the preceding vehicle or tailgating;
• Frequently changes lanes which may obstruct the flow of traffic, as well as threaten motorists who are moving only on a certain lane;
• Crossing the intersection at fast speed with no regard to the traffic light; or
• Exceeding the posted speed limit of a certain thoroughfare.

Looking at Teenage Driving Statistics and Causes

Teenagers are less likely to drive than adults. However, teenagers are more likely to get killed in traffic crashes than adults. In fact, in the United States, the fatal crash rate per mile driven for teenagers aged 16 to 19 is nearly 3 times as that of drivers aged 20 and over. Teens aged 16 to 17 have a high crash rate per mile driven that is twice as high as that of teens aged 18 to 19.

Statistics from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation showed that 3,155 teens aged 13 to 19 were killed in vehicle crashes in 2010. Though it is 10 percent fewer than the records in 2009, it accounted to 10 percent of all recorded traffic deaths, which amounted to 32,885.

Immaturity and lack of driving experience are the primary reasons why teenagers die in traffic crashes. What makes teenagers vulnerable to such horrible mishaps is the fact that they engage in activities that they usually do to complement their driving. Here are some of the known distracted driving activities that teenage drivers and passengers do:

Important Pointers about California Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycle crashes in California are among the leading causes of motorists’ deaths in the state. According to available statistics, in the year 2009, almost 400 people were killed in motorcycle accidents in California. This number presents the real risks involved in riding motorcycles in the state.

In the State of California, different tort laws are in effect; this means that motorcycle riders who were injured in accidents caused by another party may be eligible to claim for a civil case that aims to compensate the victims.

Hence, if a motorcycle rider gets injured due to a distracted motor vehicle driver, the former presses civil charge against the latter in light of California tort law.

In California, motorcycle accident victims may be entitled to different personal injury compensations including, but not limited to: