{"id":11776,"date":"2014-11-05T16:51:42","date_gmt":"2014-11-06T00:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/?p=11776"},"modified":"2023-05-25T17:55:24","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T17:55:24","slug":"reduce-the-risk-how-to-avoid-the-5-most-common-car-accidents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/auto-insurance\/auto-insurance-news-blog\/reduce-the-risk-how-to-avoid-the-5-most-common-car-accidents\/","title":{"rendered":"Reduce the Risk – How to Avoid the 5 Most Common Car Accidents"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve probably heard the old saying \u2013 it\u2019s not the car, it\u2019s the driver. Well, there\u2019s more truth to the saying than most people give it credit for. And, since, in most cases, the driver, and not his car, is at fault in an accident, truer words were never spoken. Just ask your car insurance<\/a> company.<\/p>\n

In fact, there are 5 common car accidents\u2026 and, in none of them is the car itself responsible. While you can\u2019t possibly avoid every accident, you can be more aware of how to reduce your risk by following some simple advice for each one.
\n1.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The Rear-Ender<\/strong> \u2013 This is a very common accident and occurs when one car collides into the back end of the car in front of it. You\u2019re at fault \u2013 period. You can\u2019t talk your way out of this one. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, rear-ender crashes make up 29% of all accidents.\u00a0 While following too closely is a common cause, 64% of those involved in these accidents were not looking at the road at the time of the crash.\u00a0 This includes talking on their cellphone, texting, adjusting the radio, extinguishing a cigarette\u2026and, fill in the blank.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0How to avoid<\/strong> \u2013 Keep a safe distance from the car in front of you. Maintain a safe speed and pay attention to the road \u2013 not your cellphone. Do not text or occupy yourself with any other distraction while driving.
\n2.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The Parked Car<\/strong> \u2013 If you hit a parked car, you were either not paying attention, or you need a few parking lessons. Leave a note with your name, phone number and any other pertinent information if the car you hit is unattended.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0How to avoid<\/strong> \u2013 When parking your car, avoid parking too close to other vehicles. If the spot says \u201cCompact\u201d and you drive a large pickup truck, don\u2019t park there. If you\u2019re parked on the street, don\u2019t crowd the car in front of or behind you. If you had a tough time getting in, they\u2019ll have an equally hard time getting out\u2026and you\u2019re leaving your car vulnerable to damage.
\n3.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The Dreaded Hydroplane<\/strong> \u2013 This is usually associated with wet weather when you drive through standing water or rain covered highway. Speed is usually a culprit in unsafe conditions where the tread of the tire loses contact with the road surface when a thin layer of water gets between the two. It results in complete loss of control with the tires losing traction.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0How to avoid<\/strong> \u2013 During wet weather, slow down for the conditions. Regularly check your tires for worn down tread, cutting down on traction and increasing your chances of hydroplaning. If you start hydroplaning, don\u2019t stomp the accelerator or the brakes. Take your foot off the gas and apply easy, but steady pressure to the brakes to help your car slow down enough to regain traction.
\n4.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The Animal Collision<\/strong> \u2013 Wild animals don\u2019t have a copy of the DMV manual and behave like, well\u2026wild animals. They\u2019re unpredictable and will make their way across a highway in spite of traffic. And, depending on the size of the animal, such as a deer or moose, colliding with one can not only severely damage your vehicle, but put your safety at great risk.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0How to avoid<\/strong> \u2013 Pay attention to cautionary animal crossing signs \u2013 they\u2019re there for a reason. On dark rural or mountain roads, use your high beams and slow down to a safe speed in case one darts out unexpectedly. Be sure to be considerate of oncoming drivers by dropping to your lower beams until they have passed.
\n5.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The Side Impact<\/strong> \u2013 These crashes occur when one driver fails to stop at a light or stop sign and collides with (\u201cT-bones\u201d) the vehicle with the right of way. Side impacts are especially dangerous because the sides absorb less energy and leave the passenger more prone to injury.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0How to avoid<\/strong> \u2013 Don\u2019t take the fact you have the right of way for granted. Just because you do\u2026doesn\u2019t mean there isn\u2019t some distracted guy coming your way. Maybe he\u2019s had a few too many and fails to see the red light or stop sign at the corner. Be aware of conditions and make sure you\u2019re not the one blowing through the red light or stop sign. Also, look into buying a car with side airbags. They\u2019re highly effective in reducing head injuries from side impacts.<\/p>\n

Of course, you can\u2019t prevent all accidents from happening, but with a bit more cautious driving and focusing on prevention, you might avoid the next one \u2013 and keep your car insurance rates from going up.<\/p>\n

Have you been involved in one of these common accidents? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve probably heard the old saying \u2013 it\u2019s not the car, it\u2019s the driver. Well, there\u2019s more truth to the saying than most people give it credit for. And, since, in most cases, the driver, and not his car, is at fault in an accident, truer words were never spoken. Just ask your car insurance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[308],"tags":[174],"importance":[],"type-content":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11776"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11776"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26269,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11776\/revisions\/26269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11776"},{"taxonomy":"importance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/importance?post=11776"},{"taxonomy":"type-content","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type-content?post=11776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}