Intersection accidents are often severe and could have been prevented.
Intersections are known as a breeding ground for car accidents. The Federal Highway Administration reports nearly 2.5 Million intersection accidents every year. Nearly 40 percent or 1 Million accidents are due to intersection collisions. Roughly 50 percent of these result in serious injuries whereas 20 percent are fatal. Our St. Louis accident lawyer knows the most common cause of intersection accidents.
Converging lanes are prone to car accidents
Speeding and running red lights are the most common causes of these accidents. Speeding is dangerous in any situation, but when you are driving through an intersection, the risk becomes even greater. It causes an estimated 165,000 accidents annually and 700-800 fatalities. Drivers often run red lights by driving above the speed limit as they approach the intersection. Yellow lights are designed to alert drivers to slow down and prepare to halt. Speeding cars at the intersection can result in a devastating accident.
Negligence on the part of one or more drivers within the intersection can result in a crash.
Impatience at the intersection is yet another behavioral trait that results in the increased number of accidents. Often you will observe drivers approaching the intersection start accelerating to beat a red light. What they fail to contemplate is that a slight miscalculation on their part can result in injury or even death. Broadside or t bone accidents are likely to occur in this case.
Other causes such as problematic traffic signals, slippery roads, fog, snowfall, and infrastructure damage cannot be neglected. Maintenance of your car can prevent accidents. Additionally, cars with tires with less than the minimum legal tread depth and failing breaks may cause accidents due to their inability to stop in time.
Vehicle defects are responsible for only 5% of intersection crashes. Statistical data from National Highway Traffic Safety authenticates that 95% of intersection collisions are caused by human error. This means, a majority of accidents can be prevented just by ensuring better driving behavior.
Seeking legal help for an intersection collision
If problems such as road rage, drunk driving, impaired driving and distracted driving can be prevented, we can reduce the number of accidents that occur on our intersections and roadways each year.