The Most Common Types of Car Accidents
To the dismay of millions of Americans every year, car accidents are incredibly common. With car accidents comes the potential for injuries, loss of property and other damages. Knowing the most common types of car accidents can help to be more protected while on the road and avoid an unnecessary accident or worse yet, death.
While there are many reasons for a car accident, these are the most common types of collisions that result in injury or death.
Rear-End Collisions
A rear-end collision occurs when one car strikes another car from behind. Even a low-speed rear-end collision can cause major injuries such as damage to the neck, spine, chest, head, and body. The trouble with rear-end collisions is that they often happen unexpectedly, giving the driver no time to react in a way that would help protect them from injury.
Causes of rear-end collisions include things like failing to stop properly before a red light or intersection, changing lanes without signaling, following too close behind another vehicle, hazardous road conditions, and faulty vehicle equipment like brakes or tires.
According to recent data, rear-end collisions make up roughly a third of all injury-causing accidents in the United States.
Front-End Collisions
Also known as head-on collisions, Front-end collisions occur when two vehicles strike each other head-on or front-to-front. Front-end collisions are responsible for the most fatalities of any type of collision in America.
Most often front end collisions are caused by excessive speed, hazardous road conditions, distracted driving, improper passing of other vehicles, and bad weather.
Front-end collisions have a higher rate of death due to the position of passengers in relation to the point of impact and the overall rate of speed when driving. Even in lower-speed crashes, the force of impact on the spinal column as well as the potential for other concussive force injuries can result in life-altering injury.
Side Angle Collisions
Side angle collisions are often depicted in movies as being horrific and devastating, and rightly so. These types of crashes can occur when one vehicle is heading straight and impacts a second on its side. This most commonly happens when one vehicle is turning and the other impacts it at a high rate of speed.
Among vehicle collisions, side angle collisions are responsible for over ¼ of all accidents that result in injuries. Among the causes of these types of accidents are distracted driving, failing to yield to other drivers, driving under the influence, running a red light or stop sign, and excessive speeding.
Stationary Impact Collisions
Though not the most deadly, stationary impact collisions account for a surprising number of accidents. These types of accidents occur when one vehicle is sitting still and another one impacts them from the rear, front, or side.
The injuries from these types of accidents can be just as severe as other types of crashes depending on the speed of the oncoming vehicle and the position. These types of crashes most often occur in parking lots where a parked vehicle is struck by another vehicle trying to maneuver in the area and at stop signs and red lights due to distracted drivers, people not obeying traffic laws, and hazard weather or road conditions.
The unfortunate reality is that any collision has the potential to cause serious injuries. As a result, it is extremely important that anyone involved in a car accident seek medical attention and be evaluated by a doctor. Some injuries may not manifest themselves immediately, others may increase in severity as time goes on.