Most Common Car Accidents and How to Avoid Them

Driving is a huge responsibility. Many people don’t realize that before something bad happens to them on the road.

Although we shouldn’t panic about possible car accidents all the time, we should be very cautious when we drive. People’s lives depend on that and you also wouldn’t want to have to pay for damaged property.

Accidents could happen to everybody, no matter how many years of experience you have. However, there are ways in which we could decrease the chances of accidents and ensure our safety.

Tips for Avoiding Car Collisions

During driving, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Going out of your way to prevent car crashes will save you tons of trouble with documents, procedures, and money.

Sometimes the accident really depends on factors that are outside of your control, which is why it’s best to make sure that you’ve taken care of everything that depends on you.

To help you become a better and more responsible driver, we gathered the most common types of car accidents and all the ways you could prevent them.

Read-end Crashes

Undoubtedly the most common type of crashes are rear-end collisions. You could be hit by an unfocused driver or you could be the one who has hit somebody, but there are ways to avoid that.

To prevent rear-end crashes, it’s most important to:

• Keep the right distance;
• Stay focused;
• Drive only when you’re in condition;
• Pay attention to the road situation.

When you leave enough distance behind the car in front of you, the car will have enough time to stop before crashing into the rear end. In cold and rainy weather, you should keep an even larger distance if you want to stay safe.

Distracted driving is the number one cause of accidents, so don’t look at your phone or get distracted in any other way while driving. Keep your eyes on the road, especially if there are cars behind you or in front of you.

Side Crashes

Side crashes and sideswipe crashes are another pretty common type of road accidents. To avoid hitting somebody on the side, again, always pay attention to the road so that you could hit the brakes at the right moment when you see that a side crash could happen.

Be careful about reckless drivers, especially ones that are running the red light.

Sideswipe crashes happen when the sides of two cars scrape each other. They happen often when drivers are switching lanes or when a car is just joining the roadway.

To decrease the risk of such collisions, always give the right signals and drive at a safe speed. Remember to check your blind spots when merging in the roadway or switching between lanes.

Intersection Accidents

Road intersections are a spot that has all the conditions to be the perfect spot for car crashes. Many people still pass although the light is red, not thinking about the danger they are posing for other drivers.

Distracted drivers could also miss the red light and cause car accidents. To avoid them, always be extra careful at intersections.

When the light turns green don’t go immediately but take a few seconds to see if someone is coming through from the perpendicular lane. Most importantly, don’t speed at the yellow light in hope of catching it, because something much worse could happen instead.

Backing Mishaps

Backing is a process that requires a lot of attention because there are many factors for potential accidents. If possible, try to park in such a way that you won’t need to be backing out of the spot later.

If you would have to back up into traffic, better try and find a safer parking spot, especially if it’s heavy traffic.

You can make things much easier for yourself by installing a backing camera in your car. If you don’t have a camera, careful driving will save you from potential crashes.

Windshield

To avoid windshield damage, make sure you leave enough space between you and other passing vehicles. A lot of windshield damage happens due to rock and debris that get thrown by other cars.

When driving in terrains that pose a risk of flying debris pay even more attention and drive carefully so that you don’t damage your own windshield by spreading rocks around in the air.

Single-Vehicle Trouble

A car crash does not need to include more than one vehicle. Bumping in road barriers or other objects you are passing nearby is also something that could cause serious damage to your car. There are a few things you can do to prevent them.

Again, always keep your focus on the road even if there are no other cars around you. Keep a safe speed so that you can stop on time if there is an obstacle. Most importantly, always be equipped for the current weather.