Car accidents are a very serious matter. Every year, thousands of people are injured and even killed in car accidents. In a study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a total of 35,092 people were killed in car accidents in 2015 alone. Over the past ten years, an alarming average of 35,000 people have been killed in car accidents each and every year.

In order to better educate drivers to become more aware of their own driving habits and actively work to make our roadways safer, here are seven main reasons for car accidents and fatalities in this country:

• Speeding: One of the most common and dangerous causes of car accidents. It’s estimated that roughly 30 percent of all car accidents are due to speeding.
• Drunk Driving: Operating while intoxicated impairs judgement and restricts motor skills making it one of the most dangerous things a person can do. Every day 28 people in the United States are killed due to drunk driving – that’s one death every 58 minutes.
• Distractions: Whether drivers are busy eating, doing their makeup or conversing with passengers, distracted driving is a very serious issue and people need to give the road their undivided attention at all times. Distraction is responsible for around 16 percent of all accidents.
• Cellphones: Look around on the road and it’s common to see people looking at or talking on their cellphones. Cellphones distract drivers’ eyes, minds and hands from the road and the issues seems to only be getting worse as people become more and more dependent on their phones.
• Weather: Roughly 22 percent of recent accidents have been due to people not taking necessary caution while driving under adverse road conditions such as rain, snow and fog. Severe weather necessitates extra care in driving and simply slowing down a bit and giving the road 100 percent of your attention is enough to save a life.
• Red-Light Accidents: These accidents come from people running red lights. Whether it’s on purpose or due to negligence, running red lights has killed around 700 people every year between 2010 and 2014.
• Driver Fatigue: Driving while tired may seem like no big deal, but it can often be as dangerous as driving intoxicated. Fatigue, like intoxication, impairs judgment and negatively affects motor skills. Fatigue is responsible for nearly 2 percent of all crashes

By reading and understanding the common causes of driving accidents and fatalities, it may hopefully become easier to take a close look at one’s own driving habits and improve them for the better. Driving is not just some involuntary action we do every day to get to work, it is a full-time job and when we’re behind the wheel, we must all keep our mind’s completely on task to keep not only ourselves safe, but to keep everyone else on the road safe as well.

If you or a loved on has been injured in a car accident due to someone else’s negligence, do not hesitate to seek legal counsel. The attorneys at Hupy and Abraham are incredibly skilled and will fight to get you the compensation you deserve. We can be reached at 800-800-5678 or via chat online 24/7 at hupy.com.

For more information visit www.hupy.com