If you’ve ever been in a car accident, chances are that it happened five or fewer miles from your home. In fact, there’s precisely a 23% chance that it happened one mile or less from your home and a 29% chance that it happened between two and five miles from your home. Although no one can say for sure why car accidents are so much more likely to happen close to home, one thing is clear: Automobile accidents tend to happen more often in certain places.
If you’ve been lucky enough to avoid being in a car accident so far, the most important thing you can do to protect yourself is to stay alert.
One of the reasons that people are more likely to crash close to home may be that when people drive in familiar places, they’re more likely to go on “autopilot” and less likely to react in time to dangerous situations. Stay in the moment by staying alert and you may be able to avoid a crash.
Proximity to home isn’t the only factor that can influence the likelihood of an accident. Other factors include:
- Time of day. With so many drivers on the road, it should come as no surprise that rush hour is an especially dangerous time to drive. According to esurance insurance, 16% of fatal car accidents occur between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., and another 31% of fatal accidents happen between 6 p.m. and midnight.
- Busyness. Although it may seem counterintuitive, deserted roads may be more dangerous than busy ones. According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), there were nearly 3,000 more fatal accidents on rural roads than on urban streets in 2013 alone.
Unfortunately, even someone who does everything “right” on the road can find him- or herself injured in a car accident. With over 250 million cars on American roads, chances are that every one of us will be injured in a car accident some day. And, with that in mind, one of the easiest ways that you can minimize physical harm to yourself in the event of a crash is by wearing your seatbelt.
Unless there is a manufacturing defect in your vehicle’s seatbelt, your seatbelt is more likely to help protect you from physical damage in the event of an accident than harm you. Although many drivers neglect to wear their seatbelts when they make quick trips close to home, the statistics prove that most accidents happen so close to home that no quick trip should be considered in a “safe zone.” Buckle up, no matter how short your trip.
Domnitz & Domnitz, S.C. are experienced Milwaukee car accident lawyers eager to represent anyone who has been injured in a car accident through no fault of his or her own. Call us today for a free, no-obligation consultation if you think you have a case.