Car accidents do not just happen without any reason. It is always caused by something, resulting to fatal injuries and damage to properties. However, car accidents can be avoided, especially if you know its most common causes. By knowing the causes, you can practice a better and more defensive driving habit.

Driving While Under the Influence of Alcohol and Drugs

One of most common causes of car accidents is drunk driving. If you’ve been driving for a long time, you would feel like your car is an extension of yourself. It gets you where you need to go, and it gets you home. Because driving becomes automatic in time, you’ll feel like you can still drive yourself home even if you’ve had too much to drink or have taken drugs. What you don’t take into consideration is the fact that alcohol and drugs do affect your judgment and reflex. A simple road distraction could easily make you miscalculate your actions and cause an accident.

Speeding

Speeding over the speed limit is prohibited and is considered a crime. Anybody caught speeding will be apprehended by the police patrol, and depending upon the severity of the crime, he could end up facing jail time. However, even if laws have been put in place to prevent speeding, there are still some people who drive beyond the speed limit. It may be because they’re late for an appointment, enjoying the thrill of a fast ride, or simply testing just how far a fast car can go. Whatever their reasons may be, speeding does not allow room for the driver to correct a mistake, a mistake that could have been easily avoided if he was driving within the allowed speed limit.

Multi-Tasking

As mentioned earlier, driving comes naturally and automatically to those who are used to it. Because of this, they feel that they can multi-task when they are on the road. They send text messages while driving, talk with someone over the phone, do their makeup, eat and drink, etc. Multi-tasking divides your attention between the road and what you’re doing. Since you’re not fully concentrating on your driving, it could easily lead you to misjudge the actions of another driver or pedestrian, causing an accident.

Weather and Road Conditions

The weather condition also plays a huge role in car accidents, increasing the risk for road problems. This is because snow, fog, rain, and debris can easily obscure your vision. The road will also be slippery, so you will have to be extra careful when driving under extreme weather conditions. There is nothing that you can do to control the weather though, but the only way to avoid accidents is to be more than just a defensive driver. You have to be more cautious, more alert, and more attentive on the road.

If you’re not careful when you’re driving and if you don’t follow traffic rules, you could end up causing a car accident. If this happens, hiring a good criminal defense attorney is important if you want to at least reduce the penalty you might incur. The service of a lawyer is especially important if the accident resulted in the death of the victim.

Jennifer Daley is a freelance writer for several law-related sites. In Massachusetts reckless driving is one of the top causes of accidents. If charged with negligent vehicle operation, you could end up in jail.

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