An interesting trend has emerged concerning serious accidents. The number of fatal car accidents reported every year has been going up. Historically, this number decreases annually. But it has recently been rising, and safety experts are concerned.
One thing that makes this reality interesting is that, while traffic levels are roughly back to normal now, they have been lower over the last few years. Simple analysis would tell you that there should be fewer car accidents, and certainly fewer fatal accidents, because there has been less traffic on the road. But the opposite has happened, and there are a few reasons why.
Dangerous driving
One reason is that people are engaging in dangerous driving behaviors. There’s been an increase in drunk driving, for instance. Many drivers are distracted by their cellphones. Some are under the influence of drugs. All of this means that drivers are making more mistakes than they used to, leading to more accidents – even with fewer cars on the road.
Increased speed
One unintended consequence of lower traffic levels is that speeds generally increased over the last few years. Speeding and reckless driving became more common. This means that the average speed at which car accidents happen has also gone up. Since speed correlates strongly with the odds of a fatal accident, this could be part of the reason for the increase in fatalities
Weight and performance of vehicles
Next, it’s important to consider that vehicles themselves are, in certain ways, becoming more dangerous. This is especially true with SUVs, pickup trucks and other large vehicles. They have been growing larger and larger, which is a danger to all road travelers. If a driver in one of these oversized trucks causes an accident, the odds are higher that people in a smaller car are going to sustain particularly serious injuries.
What can you do?
Because of this trend in fatal accidents, it’s important to focus on safe driving whenever you are on the road. With that said, accidents caused by other drivers are still going to occur, and you need to know how to seek financial compensation if you’re injured due to someone else’s negligence. Seeking legal guidance is generally a good place to start.