Each year in the U.S., thousands of people are killed and injured in traffic accidents. There are many causes of accidents: weather and adverse driving conditions, reckless or distracted driving, vehicle malfunctions etc. If you have been involved in a traffic accident, you should get in touch with a personal injury lawyer. If your accident involved a truck, you might need a specialist semi truck accident lawyer, since the regulations governing the trucking industry apply to such cases.
Even if your case does not go to trial, like 95 to 96% of all personal injury cases in the U.S., if you have a personal injury attorney or semi truck accident lawyer on your side, you can get the best deal for a pre trial settlement.
What are some of the biggest risks on the road?
In 2013 alone, the number of people killed in traffic accidents was 21,132 and around 2.05 million people were injured. Drunk or distracted driving account for a large number of traffic accidents. Some vehicles like motorcycles are disproportionately involved in accidents because it can be difficult for other drivers to see them. Once you know what the risks are, you can take appropriate precautionary measures.
As with so many other things, prevention is far better when it comes to traffic safety. You can’t control the actions of others on the road, but you can watch out for them and take steps to ensure your safety and the safety of others.
- Distracted driving
Distracted driving includes such actions as texting, reaching for a phone, and other visual-manual tasks associated with using cell phones or other electronic devices while driving. These increased the risk of an account threefold. In 2013, accidents caused by distracted drivers killed 3,154 people and injured 424,000 people. It is estimated that at any moment, around 660,000 drivers across America are using cell phones or other electronic devices while driving. - Drunk driving
Drunk driving is a leading cause of traffic accidents and an accident caused by a drunk driver injures someone every two minutes. The scale of the problem is too big for law enforcement to keep up with, and it is estimated that while there are less than 4,000 arrests for drunk driving each day, the total number of drunk driving incidents is around 300,000 daily.
On average, a drunk driver has driven while drunk 80 times before he or she is arrested for the first time. - Motorcycles
Motorcycle accidents are unfortunately all too common. Motorcycles are difficult to other drivers to see, and motorcycle drivers are very vulnerable. As of 2013, motorcyclists were estimated to be about 26 times more likely to die in an accident than a person in a passenger car, and the likelihood of injury was five times greater per vehicle mile traveled.
Thanks to persistent education efforts, the numbers of motorcyclists killed and injured in accidents is showing a decrease: the number of motorcyclists killed in accidents showed a 6.4% decline from 2012 to 2013, and the number of those injured declined by 5.4%, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
As of 2013, there were around 8.4 million motorcycles on the road in the U.S. Drivers are cautioned to watch out for motorcyclists specially during the summer months.
With all the precautions you can take, accidents do happen. If you have been involved in a traffic accident, you should contact a law firm to find out what your rights are. Experienced lawyers will be able to advise you on the best steps, what is the statute of limitations on your case, how much you can expect your settlement to be, whether you need a specialist semi truck accident lawyer, and much more. If your case involves a truck accident, a semi truck accident lawyer will be able to provide all the relevant information to support your case.
