Lewisville Car Accident Lawyers
Causes of Texas Auto Accidents
The most common cause of traffic accidents in Texas, and throughout the nation, is human error -- inattention and bad choices behind the wheel. Studies consistently show that well over 90% of all car crashes could have been avoided if the people involved had taken a little more care. In fact, a 2006 joint study by Virginia Tech and the Auto Club concluded that driver inattention was the leading factor in most crashes and near-misses they studied. The top driver distractions the study found included eating, using a mobile phone or other device, "rubbernecking", looking for something inside the vehicle, personal grooming and even reading while driving. The scientists found that looking away from the road for more than two seconds doubled drivers' chances of an accident. Driving while sleepy increased the risk by four to six times.
Despite decades of public education efforts, driving under the influence of alcohol also remains a common cause of accidents. Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that at least one driver was legally drunk (with a BAC of 0.08 or higher) in 32% of fatal accidents in 2007. On average, this is one alcohol-impaired traffic death every 40 minutes in the United States -- and 33.4% of those killed are people other than the drunk driver. Those numbers are even higher after 9 p.m. and for younger drivers. Driving drunk is also associated with a greater risk of unsafe behaviors like speeding, driving without a valid license and failing to use a seatbelt.
Accidents caused by defects in a vehicle are less common, but they do happen. Every year thousands of cars and/or auto parts are recalled due to tire failure, safety defects, seatbelt failure, defective airbags, door latch problems and incorrect placement of fuel tanks, which can lead to an explosion after a rear-end accident. Toyota recently recalled millions of vehicles due to a problem with the accelerator. These types of defects can lead to life threatening accidents and injuries.
Roadway defects are another small but serious cause of car wrecks. Roads can be defective and unsafe by design, or shoddy maintenance might lead to roadway defects. For example, a road whose curve obscures drivers' view of oncoming traffic and an intersection without a traffic signal may both be considered defective by design. Defective road maintenance could mean unsafe cracks in the road, failure to salt the road after a snow storm or even failure to trim trees that obscure the view of important road signs. In either case, the organization potentially at fault is the government agency -- local, state or federal -- responsible for building and maintaining the road.
Responsibility matters a great deal after a serious car accident, because the person who's at fault -- or his or her insurance company -- is legally responsible for any costs and damages that result. Unfortunately, many insurance companies deny their liability or even try to blame victims of serious accidents for their own injuries in order to avoid paying out large sums of money.
If you've been hurt in a serious Dallas traffic accident caused by someone else's carelessness, Dina Steele, Lewisville car accident lawyer, is ready to fight for your rights. To learn more about your legal options, please contact Steele Law for a free consultation immediately.