Car accidents are unfortunately an all too common occurrence on Australia’s roads with thousands happening every year, ranging from minor prangs to serious crashes that result in fatalities. While there’s a huge range of factors that can contribute to a road accident, there are some common causes of many of them. Here’s a look at four of these.
Distraction and in-attention
Distraction and in-attention while you’re driving can be caused by a whole host of things. Just a few of the things that can take your attention away from the road include texting, talking on the phone, adjusting a CD player or GPS and the behaviour of other people in the car. Fatigue is also another major cause of in-attention on the roads. No matter what it is that causes you to lose focus on the road and your surroundings, it only takes a split second of losing focus for something to happen which can result in an accident.
Careless or reckless driving
There’s a huge range of things that people do (or don’t do) on the road which could be considered careless or reckless. Tail-gating is one of the most common behaviours which can easily result in an accident as when you travel too close to the vehicle in front of you, if it stops suddenly you may not have enough time to avoid a collision. Other common accident-causing careless and reckless behaviours include failing to do simple things such as checking your blind spot, giving way and looking before you pull out.
Speed
With all of the road safety campaigns to make us aware of the dangers of speeding, it is one of the most widely known causes of road accidents. It is also the biggest cause of fatalities on our roads. However driving over the legal speed limit isn’t the only way that speed can cause an accident. Driving too fast for the conditions you are in is also a major hazard that can result in an accident.
Alcohol and drugs
Alcohol and drugs are another common cause of accidents that are put in the spotlight with road safety campaigns. Having drugs or alcohol above the legal limit in your system affects you in a number of ways which makes driving unsafe. Alcohol can result in a slower reaction time, a reduced attention span, dulled thinking and blurred vision. Drugs can also result in these things, along with a number of other affects such as a distorted perception of time and distance. With this level of impairment, it’s easy to see why alcohol and drugs are such a common cause of accidents.
While you can’t control the actions of others on the road, all of these common accident causing behaviours are things that we can control in our own driving. By being aware of these and taking more care with your behaviour on the road, you can help to avoid adding to the statistics.
