Highway Accident Causes Injuries
Highway Accident Causes Injuries – A highway accident occurred in Sacramento on September 8, 2018, and resulted in injuries. It was reported by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) that a minimum of three vehicles collided. The CHP will be investigating the crash to determine what caused it and to assign fault to negligent drivers. The nature of the injuries and their severity has yet to be reported by authorities.
What Happened
The collision occurred shortly before 5:00 p.m. along the northbound lanes of Highway 51 close to H Street. It is unknown at this time whether drugs or alcohol consumption contributed to the crash.
Reasons Highway Accidents Happen
There are many reasons highway accidents happen, however, a few are seen more frequently. They are:
- Distracted driving: This behavior is quickly becoming one of the chief causes of a highway accident. Activities include playing with the radio, eating, applying makeup or talking with passengers. A major problem is texting or holding a phone and engaging in conversation while driving. Even hands-free cell phone use distracts a driver. It is important for drivers to focus on the roadway when driving to avoid a highway accident.
- Drunk driving: Any amount of alcohol can interfere with a driver’s cognitive ability. Higher blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels make the degree of cognitive impairment greater. It is impossible to drink and drive safely. Over one million drivers are arrested each year for driving drunk. However, this is just a fraction of the drivers who are actively engaged in impaired driving as substantiated by driver self-reporting analysis.
- Youthful drivers: Young drivers are often less experienced than older drivers. This is reflected in the way they react to emergency situations and even minor roadway happenings. Taking classes in safe driving techniques can decrease the experience gap and help avert a highway accident.
- Fatigued drivers: Some drivers take to the road when they have little sleep or are tired after a long day at work. This can pose significant problems for them and others, particularly when moving at highway speeds. Dozing off or closing your eyes for even a second can make you drift into an adjoining lane.
- Speeding: When driving on a freeway, it is vital to maintaining the speed limit. Under certain conditions, it is wise to proceed at a slower speed. Encountering delays in traffic, roadway debris or construction can lead to a highway accident when traveling at speeds of 55 m.p.h. The time it takes to stop or slow down is longer at higher speeds.
- Bad weather: When the weather turns bad, particularly rain and fog, more collisions occur. A primary problem is that drivers fail to slow down or provide ample room between vehicles.
Tips for Safe Highway Driving
There are ways that drivers can stay safe on the freeways around Sacramento. Some of them are:
- Maintain a safe distance: It is vital that you maintain a distance equal to three seconds of driving time between vehicles. Staying too close to a lead vehicle can make it impossible to stop in time if traffic slows, causing a rear-end collision.
- Stay right: It is better to stay in the right, non-passing lane when traveling on the highway.
- Concentrate on the road: Stay focused on the road. Distracted driving is a major reasons accidents happen.
- Driving alongside big rigs: There are roughly 3.2 million truck drivers in the United States, so sharing the road with them is a given. Make sure to be extra careful when passing or changing lanes around big trucks. Give them plenty of room, use signal lights and never pass on the right to avoid a highway accident.
- Watch speed: Driving faster than the speed limit endangers everyone on the road, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- Make sure other drivers can see you: Use your lights beginning at twilight. This makes you more visible when the sun sets.
Sacramento Car Accident Lawyers
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento car accident lawyer. If you have suffered injuries in a highway accident, you should turn to a seasoned injury lawyer. Call me at (916) 921-6400 in the city and surrounding areas, or use my toll-free line at (800) 404-5400 for free and friendly legal advice. You can also contact me online.
I’ve helped many residents of Northern California with injuries due to car and truck accidents as well as families suffering through a wrongful death.
I’ve been a California member of the Million Dollar Advocates for some time. This is a nationwide assembly of trial attorneys who have won more than $1 million for a client.
If you would like to read more about my practice from my peers, former clients and see how I handled previous cases, go to:
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