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Common Causes of Crashes Seen By Automobile Accident Lawyers

Automobile accident lawyers operating in Oregon sees literally hundreds of car accident cases each year.  These accidents typically involve people that have been injured due to the reckless and negligent actions of others driving on the road, or those that didn’t take the proper precautions to avoid a car accident.  However, this number is nothing compared to the national numbers.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly 32,210 people lost their lives in motor vehicle accidents in 2011, and countless more were seriously injured.  The sad truth about these accidents is that many of them could have been prevented if drivers had simply paid more attention to the road, and not fallen victim to common driving mistakes that some of even the best drivers make at times.  The next time you’re on the road, be sure to consider these commonly lethal driving mistakes.

Swerving & Erratic Driving

One of the most common lethal driving mistakes made by drivers all across the United States is swerving.  This may include not staying in the proper lane, drifting into other lanes, or erratically changing lanes without using proper lane change techniques.

Speeding

When you drive above the speed limit posted on the roadway, or you choose to drive faster than the conditions of the road require, you are speeding.  Speeding is considered to be the second most deadly driving mistake made by drivers on the roadways according to the NHTSA.  When driving on the highway, you want to pay particular attention to your speed especially when posted speeds are greater than 55 miles per hour.  It is a fact that nearly 30 percent of all deadly car crashes happen when vehicles are going 55 miles per hour or more.

Failure to Yield

When you fail to yield, you are disregarding the rules of right of way.  Understanding right of way is important, because these are established regulations that dictate which vehicles have the right to, for instance, continue in a lane without stopping.  If you don’t understand or heed right of way guidelines, you will likely be involved in an accident.

Driving While Impaired

There are actually two categories to driving while impaired.  Of course, the first instance is when a driver takes to the road and is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  Recent statistics show that almost every 45 minutes, someone is killed by a drunk driver.  This is an extremely high number of people and it is always a tragedy.  The other kind of impairment typically has to do with driver fatigue.  According to the NHTSA, more deadly crashes occur between the hours of 3am and 6am.  This is more than almost any other time of day.

Driving While Distracted

There are many things that can grab our attention while we are driving.  You may be eating a sandwich, or applying makeup.  You may need to grab something from the backseat of your car, or out of the glove box.  You may even be distracted by a person in the vehicle or a child that is demanding attention.  Today, one of the most common driving mistakes is taking your eyes off the road to attend to these distractions.  A particular distraction that is seeing a lot of regulation across the country today is the use of cell phones while driving.  Many states have banned texting while driving, or using a cell phone without an hands-free device, such as Bluetooth.

If you have been in a crash because of any of these acts of negligence, you can contact Oregon automobile accident lawyers for a free consultation at (503) 222-4411.