The 12 Most Common Causes of Car Accidents in Florida
July 16, 2024 | Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers | Car Accident
What causes car accidents? There is no single answer to that question. Car accidents occur when someone makes a mistake on the road. However, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of ways to make a mistake while driving.
Take a closer look at 12 of the most common causes of car accidents in Florida (in no particular order).
1. Young Drivers
Insurance companies typically charge higher rates for teenage drivers for a reason. Younger drivers may be more likely to get into car accidents than older drivers due to inexperience.
In Florida, you can get your license at the age of 16. While it isn’t always possible to identify the age of a driver in another car, you can avoid areas that are popular with teenagers if you want to minimize your driving risk.
2. Speeding
Your vehicle is designed to drive at high speeds. However, when you are driving at high speeds, you have less time to react to dangers on the road.
If you are driving 60 mph, you are traveling almost 100 feet every second. This means that if you are six car lengths behind another car, you have less than a second to react if it suddenly stops. Speeding cuts that time down even more and frequently leads to accidents as a result.
3. Rain
Unfortunately, many drivers don’t respect the danger of driving in the rain. Your wheels lose their grip on the road when it is wet. The faster you drive, the more grip they lose. At a certain point, you lose enough traction that you can’t effectively control your vehicle.
What drivers often don’t realize is that this loss of control usually comes at a lower speed than the speed limit. The speed limit for a road is based on optimal conditions. Rain is anything other than optimal and can lead to accidents when drivers overestimate their control.
4. Drunk Driving
According to the National Safety Council (NSC), drunk driving is responsible for roughly 40,000 motor vehicle deaths in almost every year since 1982. That is over 1.5 million preventable deaths in 40 years. The best way to avoid a drunk driving accident is to never drive after drinking.
But even if you never drink and drive, you can still be hit by a drunk driver. Drunk drivers may be more common at night and on weekends, so it could be a good idea to avoid driving during those times when possible.
5. Wrong-Way Driving
Driving the wrong way on a one-way road may result in head-on collisions. These types of accidents are some of the most dangerous because the speeds of both drivers are effectively added together. Usually, wrong-way driving results from drunk driving, distracted driving, or drowsy driving.
6. Running Red Lights or Stop Signs
Accidents can easily occur at intersections, especially when drivers run red lights or stop signs. Florida mandates that all drivers obey the law and won’t give you a license unless you prove you know the laws. Most drivers expect, then, that other drivers on the road will respect traffic signals and signs.
When drivers ignore traffic signs or lights, it creates dangerous situations. For example, running a red light can result in a T-bone accident, which may result in serious injuries.
7. Unsafe Lane Changes
If a driver switches into your lane without any warning, you may experience a wreck. This situation can occur when a driver makes a lane change without checking their mirrors or looking over their shoulder. At high speeds, this can cause serious injuries to all parties involved.
8. Drowsy Driving
Driving while tired also causes car accidents in Florida. When you drive drowsy, your reaction times decrease significantly. In the worst-case scenario, you might fall asleep at the wheel. There is no way to react to danger when you aren’t awake.
9. Night Driving
As a rule of thumb, the better visibility you have, the easier it is to avoid accidents. When your vision is diminished for any reason, you have less time to react to dangers on the road. Nighttime driving inherently results in reduced visibility.
To add to the danger, you and other drivers may be tired at night, and drunk driving can be more likely to happen at late hours. Overall, if you can avoid driving after sunset, you may decrease your chances of being involved in a car accident.
10. Distracted Driving
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), over 3,000 people died as a result of distracted driving in 2022. Distracted driving is becoming increasingly common due to the increase of electronic devices people own and use in cars.
However, electronic devices aren’t the only cause of distracted driving. Some of the more common factors that distract drivers include:
- Children in the car
- Food or drink
- Pets
- Activities or events outside the car
When driving a car, you want to keep your eyes on the road at all times.
11. Tailgating
Good visibility doesn’t help if you don’t leave yourself enough room to react to the driver in front of you. When you’re on the road, you should give yourself enough space so that you can respond if they slam their brakes or engage in any other risky behaviors. Failing to do this can result in a rear-end accident that Florida law may consider to be your fault.
12. Failing To Signal
Drivers only have a limited number of ways of communicating with other drivers. Turn signals are one of those ways. When a driver fails to use their turn signal, they create a dangerous situation that requires other drivers to react quickly to unexpected actions.
Stay Vigilant on the Road in Florida
Even if you drive safely, other drivers on the road may not. If you spot someone engaging in any of these actions, try to avoid driving near them. While it may take time to pull over and wait for a dangerous driver to pass, doing so can help you ensure you and your family reach your destination safely.
Contact a Tampa Car Accident Lawyer from Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers for Help Today
For more information, please contact Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation with a car accident lawyer in Tampa today. We have five convenient locations in Florida, including Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, New Port Richey, and Lakeland.
We proudly serve Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Pasco County, Polk County, and its surrounding areas:
Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers – Tampa Office
601 W Swann Ave, Tampa, FL 33606
(866) 301-5223
Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers – Clearwater Office
600 Bypass Dr Suite 224-D, Clearwater, FL 33764
(727) 493-4418
Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers – St. Petersburg Office
111 2nd Ave NE Suite 350, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
(727) 314-5988
Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers – New Port Richey Office
5006 Trouble Creek Rd Unit #200, Port Richey, FL 34652
(727) 910-5060
Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers – Lakeland Office
1543 Lakeland Hills Blvd Suite 18, Lakeland, FL 33805
(863) 251-6196
