Car accidents are usually not intentional. This is why people refer to them as accidents. Unfortunately, this can have devastating consequences.
One thing you can do to avoid an accident is to understand what causes them.
Distracted driving
Distracted driving accounts for about 18% of all car accidents. A cell phone was the cause of around 7% of these accidents. Most of the drivers admit to using a cell phone when they were in an accident. Texting is illegal in Virginia and is a primary offense. The fines for this are usually set near a steep $125 for the first offense and $250 for any offense after that.
Inexperienced, distracted drivers have the highest death rate due to distracted driving. These drivers are between the ages of 16 and 19.
Children are also a major cause of distracted driving car accidents. Allowing your children to move about the car cabin or be generally disruptive while you are driving is very dangerous.
Speeding or aggressive driving
Speeding and aggressive driving accidents account for over 19% of car accidents. Driving aggressively and speeding can cause you to lose control of your vehicle very quickly. Obstacles on the road also become more dangerous when you are speeding.
Driving while under the influence
Although this violation is one that many people talk about, it is not nearly as big of a problem as distracted driving. This is because over 33% of all vehicle deaths are due to driving while under the influence.
With more vehicles on the road than ever, driving as safely as possible is important to avoid a car accident.