Driving can be dangerous, but it’s also a necessity in most people’s lives. Getting from place to place doesn’t have to result in accidents, but negligent and dangerous drivers take risks that put themselves and others in harm’s way.
Common causes of car accidents include being rear-ended, colliding with a parked car and being hit from the side. Rear-end collisions may be caused by an inattentive driver, a person who failed to perform maintenance on a vehicle resulting in the brake going out or as a result of a drowsy driver. Speeding may also result in a rear-end collision when a driver can’t stop fast enough to avoid stopped traffic.
Hitting a parked car is another reason for a collision. Hitting a parked car won’t always be a driver’s fault., and it’s not always going to be victimless. For example, if a parked vehicle has a person inside who suddenly opens a door, that person may be responsible for the injuries and damage caused to the other party due to negligently opening a door into the roadway. A police officer who pulls to the side of the road and parks to give a driver a ticket could be impacted by a vehicle that strikes his or her patrol vehicle pushing it into the officer.
Finally, being hit from the side is a kind of accident that happens at intersections in most cases. An example would be if you were driving straight through an intersection and were hit by a driver making a left-hand turn; a driver who pulls out into traffic might hit you from the side or could cause you to be involved in a front-end collision.
All these situations leave victims in a position to file a claim; they need to make sure they recover the costs associated with medical care and lost wages.
Source: theAllstateBlog, “5 Common Causes of Car Accidents – and How to Avoid Them,” accessed Sep. 12, 2016
