People drive or ride in cars so often that it is easy to forget how dangerous a car can be. At any moment, a driver could encounter debris on the road, bad weather, mechanical failure and other challenges that make it unsafe. The challenges themselves then must be correctly dealt with by the person driving the car. Often times, these unexpected challenges lead to an accident. According to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an eye-popping 94% of all motor vehicle accidents are caused by driver error. Vehicle failure, environmental conditions and other hard to define reasons cause just 2% of crashes.
Common examples of human error
There are some typical reasons for crashes that occur again and again. These include:
· Recognition error: This occurs when the driver does not identify a hazard. Distracted driving often leads to drivers not having enough time to recognize an oncoming danger.
· Decision error: Even drivers who remain engaged in driving may make a bad driving decision. These can include driving too fast for the conditions, misinterpreting others’ intentions, performing risky maneuvers, misjudging the speed of other drivers, and going too fast.
· Performance errors: This involves recognizing obstacles and dangers and failing to execute preventative measures to avoid the danger. One common example is overcorrecting when avoiding an obstacle.
Determining the cause of an accident can require evidence from the scene
No one wants to be responsible for causing injuries or property damage to others, so the drivers involved may come to the wrong conclusion regarding who caused an accident. Some accidents require independent investigators and witnesses to determine who is at fault for an accident. If you are involved in an accident, getting the name, address, and phone number of all independent witnesses can be crucial to proving your case. Photographs are also very important, especially ones that show skid marks or the rest position of the vehicles after an impact. The attorneys at Goldstein, Ballen, O’Rourke & Wildstein, P.C. provide free consultations for automobile accidents and will review all of the evidence you can provide from the accident scene.