Our state of mind when we drive is an important element in staying safe on the road. Drivers who are aggressive and lose their temper pose a real threat and do cause injuries and fatalities each year. While it’s normal to get frustrated if someone cuts you off, aggressive driving is defined by the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA as a situation where “an individual commits a combination of moving traffic offenses to endanger other persons or property.”
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10 Things You Can Do Today to Prevent Car Accident Injuries in North Miami
Driving is the most dangerous thing most of us do every day. Unfortunately, car collisions in North Miami cause many fatalities and serious injuries each year. While you cannot impact how other drivers behave, you can reduce your risk of injuries and collisions by the actions you take.
Here are ten things you can start doing today to stay safer when you get into your car:
Proper Tire Care Can Reduce Your Risk of Car Collisions
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 8000 car accidents across the country each year are caused by tire problems. If you live in Homestead, Hollywood, or any South Florida community, you don’t have to deal with snow tires or the effects on ice on your tires. However, tire safety can still help you avoid some collisions.
You may have seen debris from tire blowouts on Hollywood and South Florida roads. These types of incidents can happen if a tire rolls over a sharp object on the road but can also happen if a tire becomes worn down or overheats. Tire blowouts can also happen due to tire defects.
How Mood Can Impact Your Risk of a Car Crash
Most of us consider car collisions in Homestead and across Florida to be caused by driver error, mechanical failure, and other issues. While it is certainly true these are major contributors to and causes of traffic accidents, studies have also shown that our moods can have a significant impact on our risk of car accidents.
A bad mood, for example, can lead to road rage. Uncontrollable anger can lead to speeding, aggressive driving, weaving in and out of lanes, and other dangerous behaviors which can lead to a collision, especially if you’re driving on busy city streets. In addition, road rage can lead to confrontations with other drivers, which can lead to collisions.
Dealing with Slippery Roads in Homestead
In Homestead and across South Florida, drivers are fortunate to not have to deal with icy or snowy roads very often. However, slippery roads can still happen in these areas thanks to spills and due to rainy conditions. Knowing how to drive on a slippery road is essential to avoiding car accidents.
When a road is slick due to rain or a spill, your tires can’t grip the road properly. This can lead to situations where your car does not brake as quickly as you need to, which can cause rear-end shunt accidents. In some cases, slick roads can also lead to drivers losing control of their cars. Multiple vehicle accidents are not uncommon in these situations.
Driving Safely in Miami Congestion
Traffic congestion happens in Miami, Hollywood, and across South Florida. Older roads, heavy reliance on traffic, bad weather, construction, and lots of residents and tourists can all contribute to traffic.
Congestion on the roads does not just lead to delays and frustration. It can also cause car accidents and even chain-reaction car collisions. When people are in a rush, they may get impatient and drive too close. Many Miami rear-end shunt collisions happen this way. Heavy traffic can also cause instances of road rage, which itself can lead to injuries.
Driver Assistance: Can it Prevent Car Accidents in Hollywood and Florida?
New cars and trucks have driver assistance systems (ADAs), and some experts say these systems can help cut car accidents in Hollywood and across the country. Driver assistance systems include features such as blind spot alerts, parking sensors, backup cameras, automatic braking, collision alerts, pedestrian detection, lane keeping systems, auto high beam lighting, and other features. They are designed to step in and help drivers with driving skills alone don’t work.
While much has been written about how driverless car technology may eventually stop accidents, these driver assistance systems may already be reducing collisions. In fact, studies and polls have found drivers with driver assistance systems have reported these systems have already helped them avoid crashes. Continue reading →
Multi-Car Accidents
Car accidents involving multiple cars increase your chance of injury, especially if the crash is a pileup or chain reaction collision in Homestead or your community. When you have multiple points of impact, you could be injured at any impact, meaning there are multiple risks. This type of crash also increases your risk of crush injuries if your car is one of the first or middle cars to be impacted.
Multiple-car accidents are caused by many factors. Often, these collisions occur on highways, especially in poor weather conditions where one car crashes into the next vehicle. These types of crashes are also more likely in high-traffic situations where cars are close together.
Staying Safe on Long Drives in Homestead and Florida
Long drives in South Florida bring with them extra hazards. Whether you’re driving in Hollywood, Homestead, Miami, across the state, or across the country, the longer you drive the more at risk you are of mechanical breakdowns, fatigue, distractions, and other dangers.
Long drives are a part of life. You may take long trips for college, to see friends and family, to head on vacation, as part of a move, or for any number of reasons. When you hit the road, these tips can keep you safer behind the wheel:
Is a Motorcycle Accident in Homestead More Dangerous Than a Car Accident?
We already know that motorcycle accidents in Homestead and other communities mean risk. Motorcyclists have fewer layers of protection than drivers—there’s no air bag, enclosed frame, seat belt, and other car safety system to protect them. But does that mean motorcycle accidents can lead to more injuries when compared with car crashes?
According to a new study conducted by researchers from Sunnybrook Hospital and the University of Toronto, motorcycle accidents may indeed be deadlier. The large-scale study examined 281,826 people injured in car crashes and 26,831 individuals hurt in motorcycle collisions. The results showed that those in motorcycle accidents had three times the rate of injury when compared with patients injured in cars. In addition, motorcycle accident patients had injuries ten times more likely to be severe when compared with car collision victims.