subject: Common Causes of Car Accidents [print this page] Someone once said, "A car is not a toy, a car is a two-ton bullet." This was aimed at teenagers who tend to see driving as a privilege or a rite of passage rather than how adults see it. Approaching driving with some caution instead of abandon may make you an old fogey in the eyes of the kids, but you may have seen enough wreck, or even been involved in one or two to know that it's hipper to come home safe than wind up in the hospital or morgue.
It's unfortunate that so many people become victims of car accidents when a majority of them are preventable. Hundreds of thousands of people are injured, and tens of thousands are killed every year because of these kinds of car accidents.
Texting, rubbernecking, and other distractions are the most common cause of car accidents. Between 25 and 50 percent of all car accidents may be attributed to this cause. Many states have laws against texting while driving as evidence mounts that this is the main culprit in horrible car wrecks. Rubbernecking accidents on the road, checking out the scenery, changing the radio, and even reading while driving are causes of driver distraction.
It's wishful thinking, or dreaming, that all people will suddenly become hyper-aware drivers. If this were the case, there would be fewer families dealing with the death or maiming of a loved one.
