What would you assume are some of the most common reasons for car accidents? There are a bevy of reasons why car accidents occur, of course. But most people would answer this question with some similar answers: distracted driving, drunk driving, and inattentive driving. And for the most part, these answers are correct. Cellphones have made drivers less attentive; some drivers lose their focus; and others consume alcohol before getting behind the wheel of a car.
But there are more specific reasons why many car accidents occur, and researchers at the University of Michigan discovered some of these reasons in a 2008 study. Let’s discuss some of them here.
One critical reason why some fatal pedestrian accidents occur is because of the dreaded “rolling red light turn.” This is where someone pulls up to a red light while attempting to turn right without fully stopping. They check to their left to make sure that there are no cars coming, and then they proceed through the intersection without a full check to their right — where pedestrians could be.
Another critical reason that many accidents happen is drowsy driving, which has fallen under the radar in recent years with the rise of texting while driving and cellphone use while driving. There are still far too many people that don’t get enough sleep before driving for extended periods, and these fatigued drivers are creating a lot of havoc out on the road.
Source: Slate, “Anatomy of a Car Crash,” Steve Casner, Nov. 21, 2017